Korea Day 1: Gangnam Area

First Day: March 26, 2013

We arrived at Incheon International Airport at 6am.  Just in time for the 10am walking tour I had reserved days before our trip, or so I thought.  We waited for about an hour in the immigration, partly due to a number of tourists who cut in line.  Then, we rode the wrong train to our hostel.  Instead of taking the ordinary train (one that stops on every station), we took the express train that leads directly to Seoul Station, and had to backtrack two stations to Hongik Station.  We had no idea of which subway exit to go as my brother forgot to take note of the one nearest to our hostel.  A couple of minutes was spent on asking directions, a few more on checking-in, and more on travelling to our destination.  When we finally reached Seolleung, it was way past our scheduled time; it was already 11am.  Fortunately, our tour guide had patiently waited for us.

Seolleung houses the tombs of the 9th king of the Joseon Dynasty and his second wife.  According to our tour guide, during the Joseon Dynasty, the royal family practiced Confucianism and denounced Buddhism.  Because Confucians do not believe in afterlife, there were no funerary objects of any sort buried with the dead as practiced in royal burial ceremonies in other cultures.  This is why when the Japanese came digging for treasures, they found nothing but the remains of the dead.

The burial mounds are located in the high points of the area to signify the high social status associated to the king and his family.  Surrounding them are stone statues of animals, facing outward, ready to protect the king against any impending danger.  Arranged to reflect the order of ranking, the stone status of two civil officials are placed one step lower the burial mound, but one step higher the stone status of two military officials.

Aside from being a historic site, Seolleung is also a home for a forest of pine trees.  I believe this is the reason why the place is frequented by sketchers; we saw amateur artists, each preoccupied with their own work of art, on our way out.

Located five minutes by car is a Buddhist temple, Bongeunsa Temple.  Our tour guide helped us find a temple guide better equipped to tour us around than she is.  We were introduced to two series of paintings mounted on the four walls of one temple.  The first series depicts the life of Buddha from his birth to his enlightenment, while the second series, placed right below the first one, makes use of the story of how a boy was able to tame a cow to symbolize the life of Buddha.  Each painting in the second series corresponds to a painting in the first series.  The walking tour ended in the 23-meter tall Maitreya Buddha Statue, which was constructed for hope of peace between South and North Korea.

Entrance of Bongeunsa Temple

Buddha Statue inside Bongeunsa Temple

Our tour guide then left us pondering on the irony of a Buddhist temple placed side by side with the resting place of an anti-Buddhism royal family.  I highly recommend the Seoul City Walking Tour to anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of some of Seoul's frequently visited spots.

We had lunch in COEX Mall, located just across Bongeunsa Temple.

COEX Mall

We left for Apgujeong-dong after.  Apgujeong-dong is a shopping street renowned for high-end stores.

The building behind is Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong Street.  It houses luxury brand stores.

We were so tired that we decided not to proceed to Garosugil, the Gingko tree-lined street.

And there ends our tour of Gangnam, the area which inspired the song, Gangnam Style.

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For the selection of walking tour routes and to join one, visit http://www.visitseoul.net/en/statics.do?_method=includeHtml&category=/&fname=tour_walk&m=0004004004001&p=04

Directions to Seolleung: Line 2, Seolleung Station, Exit 8