August 13, 2005

I took a long walk through the center of Seoul today. After lunch I took the subway to Dongjak station, just south of the Han river, and crossed the Dongjakdaegyo bridge, getting some nice photos along the way. Then I walked along the Han river on a bicycle path until I got to the Banpodaegyo bridge, then headed north in Yongsan-Gu, past the U.S. military base. I visited the Korean War Memorial, which is very impressive - it's centered around a giant dagger or knife pointed toward the sky. Then I got lost until I found Seoul Station. A vagrant pointed the way to Kyobo Bookstore, where I ate supper, then I took a subway and bus back home.

With a few exceptions people were very nice. Almost everyone I talked to, soldiers, police, vagrants, bus drivers, and regular folk were friendly, and many of them helped me find my way despite my horrible Korean.


View from bridge over Han river


Korean War Memorial


This guy was sitting near other vagrants at Seoul Station. He
knew a little English and pointed the way to Kyobo Bookstore.