Monday, June 23, 2014

Seoul (Day 1): Insa-dong and Bukchon - strolling through Seoul's traditional neighborhoods

Between meals on our food tour, Veronica led us through some of the historic neighborhoods of Seoul.  Most of the traditional architecture in Seoul was destroyed during the wars and subsequent modernization, but here the lovely old residences have been preserved and can still be appreciated.  

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A street lined with traditional houses in Insadong.  The traditional houses are
expensive to maintain, so most of them have now been converted to restaurants
or guest houses.  

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A famous and well-preserved traditional residence. It now houses a French restaurant. 
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Bukchon is a more residential neighborhood, with many old houses are still
residences.  Newer houses are built in the traditional style.
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Detail of a door latch
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Traditional houses are built around a courtyard
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The rice-paper windows and doors are lovely, but I would miss being able to see out
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With all the rain, we got to see these neat spouts in action
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Jeep!
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I love the juxtaposition of this traditional street in the foreground with
the skyscrapers of modern downtown in the distance
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