Jongmyo Royal Shrine, Changdeokgung, Namsangol Hanok Village, N Seoul Tower and Cheonggyecheon

It's just our Day 3 in Seoul but it seemed we have covered a lot the previous day. Most of my travelmates were a bit exhausted the day after and my sister is having a headache after getting up so we decided to play it easy that morning. It was also drizzling outside which would have prevented our travel plans - or so I thought, but it didn't ruin mine.

Wearing a hoodie, I traversed through the alleys from where we were staying and arrived in Jongmyo Royal Shrine just after a short 5-minute walk.


After paying an entrance of KRW1000, I was allowed to proceed inside this UNESCO World Heritage Site of the oldest Confucian shrine today which was established since the 14th century.


Not a lot of people inside as there were still drizzles dropping that early morning. Inside, I wheezed through paths, visiting the structures one by one. These are the things I stumbled upon during my short visit:

pathways


beautiful greens and some fauna along the way


South Spirit Gate of the main shrine


Jongjeon, the main shrine


South Spirit Gate of Yeongnyeongjeon


Yeongnyeongjeon, the Eternal Peace Shrine


ponds


pathway to Oesammun, the front gate. also the entrance/exit gate


As I go out and stroll around the park in front of Jongmyo, I noticed this statue. Suddenly its top, which looked like a headgear from afar, seemed to be moving.


Looking closely and zooming in, it was a relief to see that there was a bird on top. At least I know I wasn't imagining things!


I saw this Catholic Church from there and decided to head back and get my friends and my sister to join me and pay a visit to this church.


Jongno Catholic Church


As we came in, we were led by people whom we didn't understand to the actual church, which is downstairs. It seemed to me that it was like on a lower ground/basement level. The timing was good but we didn't expect that a service was actually going on when we arrived there. The mass service was delivered in Korean language however so we can just imagine which part of the ceremony we were in based on hints.

inside the church, after the service


Before we left, we were offered a cup of some sort of juice or tea after the service. I didn't have a cup but the others who did cannot tell what exactly was in it.

We then proceeded to another UNESCO Heritage site, Changdeokgung.


Admission fees were KRW3000 each, which included a guided tour.


me


We weren't allowed to roam around the palace like we were doing in Gyeongbokgung. Strictly, we have to follow our guide and be where she is bringing our group.




Injeongjeon, or the throne hall


other halls


our guide, blending in the environment


Nakseonjae


The group was allowed to take a few minutes of rest in front of the Buyongjeong pavilion and Buyeongji pond where a beautiful scenery surrounded us. We took this opportunity for a group jump shot!


gardens


It was a long walk but it was well worth it for the view of the scene and learning the stories behind what we see. As we go through and exit the grounds, we're left with the usual question - what's next?


With the help of the map and some suggestion from people we spoke to, we found ourselves on the way to Namsangol Hanok Village.


Admission is free to the village. It showcases cultural shows, traditional houses and experience of the folk culture for visitors.


I've seen a few kids running around playing with this ring but I'm not sure what this is for.


entrance to a section in the village


street game


We found a spot where potteries examples and how to make them are displayed.


On the other side, there were few model houses showing way of living for folklores..


.. and that's where we took this picture of our group! :)


me, posing with a mascot


After the quick village trip, we hopped on a bus nearby Chungmuro Station.


Our destination - N Seoul Tower! We've seen this tower in a number of Koreanovelas, it has attracted us everywhere we went and people around are recommending to go there so here we were!


Tickets to go up the tower costed KRW8000 each.


From above, one can see an unobstructed 360-view of Seoul.


me


the tower, painted in the glass


The sun was already going down and we decided to stay a little longer to wait and see the night view from the top. While waiting, we sat and rested for a bit while taking pictures of ourselves.


view from the top as it gets dark..


sunset

messages in tiles


When we went down, I saw a couple of bears and didn't hesitate asking for a picture with them. Coincidentally, this is also where the Teddy Bear Museum is located. However the people with me were not interested. :(


The color of the tower changes to blue, green, orange, pink, yellow, white with the help of LED nights at night. We stayed a bit and watched the change of colors of the tower.

white LED light of the tower


N Seoul Tower entrance at night


floating man?


It was dinner time! We proceeded to Cheonggyecheon to see the famous water stream at night but we had dinner first at Omuraisu-tei, a Japanese restaurant.


pepper and pickled cucumber sides


my meal, sausage, beef patty with corn, potatoes, egg and rice!


look how happy I was!


group photo!


After dinner, we proceeded right to Cheonggyecheon, a stream at the heart of the city. It used to be dirty and drying up, it was revived and now is a nightly attraction and recreation area for tourist and locals.


views at Cheonggyecheon


We then walked from here all the way back to our inn. Then we passed under one of the bridges and I thought it was a good opportunity for another photo..


.. so I asked Patrick O. to take these "emo" picture using my camera..


That ended our very long day and we sure were happy to see our beds again. We sure had covered a lot and I can't believe we've done all these in just a day. Tomorrow we will leave the city with good memories, but wait yet as we do something before we fly off!