Seoul’s Other Palaces

05 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Seoul, South Korea

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Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul

This is post five of twelve on our autumn trip to South Korea. Check out the other posts in this series here:

The first time we visited Seoul, we managed to hit Seoul’s top 2 palaces, the Changdeokgung Palace and the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Both palaces were very beautiful and I highly recommend visiting each one if you’re visiting Seoul for the first time.

Since this was our second time visiting Seoul, however, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to hit up the two palaces we had missed during our Selfish Year trip – the Deoksugung Palace and the Changgyeonggung Palace.

Yeah, they have a White House-looking building. Weird, huh?

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Eating Our Way Through Seoul

04 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Seoul, South Korea

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Bonga, Kyochon Chicken, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea

This is post four of twelve on our autumn trip to South Korea. Check out the other posts in this series here:

Having eaten our way through the northern side of Seoul during our Selfish Year (and because Mrs. Selfish was less mobile this time around), we decided to try some of the eats on the Gangnam side of Seoul.

Seoul has tons of good restaurants, and is a fairly cosmopolitan city. That being said, I am admittedly and whole-heartedly a cheap eats kind of guy. $10 – $15 per person is my idea of a good meal, so Michelin restaurants were simply not in the cards.

Below are some of the delicious (and affordable) eats we found. Be warned, they are largely Korean chains, but that doesn’t preclude them from being mouth-wateringly delicious.

Fried Rice and Galbi at Yoogane

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Checking Out Seoul’s Spirits

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Seoul, South Korea

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Bongeunsa Temple, Jongmyo Royal Shrine, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul

This is post three of twelve on our autumn trip to South Korea. Check out the other posts in this series here:

After a good night’s rest, Mrs. Selfish and I woke up at the Park Hyatt Seoul refreshed and ready to take on the day. The thing I enjoy the most about visiting different countries is probably the food a strong sense of place.

Now I know what you’re thinking. How can a city have a strong sense of place? I’m not sure how to explain it, but there are just some cities that do. New York, Tokyo, Paris, San Francisco… these are all cities with unique characteristics – so much so that if you were blindfolded and dumped in the middle of downtown you could instantly tell where you were.

Seoul has a bit of that. From the thousands of coffee shops that dot the landscape, to the overly sculpted beautiful Seoulites roaming the streets, to the bizzarro integration of ancient and beautiful temples amidst modern skyscrapers.

The beautiful Bongeunsa Temple fits that perfectly, an ancient(ish) temple nestled in the middle of Gangnam.

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4 Nights at the Stylish Park Hyatt Seoul

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Hyatt, Seoul, South Korea

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deluxe, Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul, standard, suite

This is post two of twelve on our autumn trip to South Korea. Check out the other posts in this series here:

For our first stop in South Korea, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to head back to Seoul. Seoul is an easy city to get to from the States and is the hub for Korean Air, which has direct flights from several cities including San Francisco.

Seoul was also an ideal place to recover from our 16 hours of jetlag, since we already had an idea of where to go, what to do, and what to eat. To make things even less stressful, I booked us for 4 nights in the stylish Park Hyatt Seoul, set in the heart of Gangnam.

Yep, Gangnam style reference – except! – you can actually see the top of the Park Hyatt Seoul in the bottom right corner of this shot. It’s that close. Unfortunately, no Psy sightings this time around.

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Savoring Seoul Food: The Chicken Edition

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Seoul, South Korea

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Asia, Chicken Noodle Soup, Fried Chicken, HanChu Fried Chicken, Myeongdong Dakhanmari, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea

Mr. Selfish and I certainly enjoyed the Korean food in Seoul. We loved the bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap, but there was something missing – chicken. Specifically, we were on the hunt for Korean fried chicken, which is seasoned with many spices, including salt and sugar, prior to frying. We also learned that Korean chickens are different from the ones U.S. since they are typically smaller and have less protein. As a result, the chickens are usually fried whole and then chopped into smaller pieces. The fried chicken is then typically served with pickled radishes of some sort.

Mr. Selfish looked for the best Korean fried chicken places in town, and we decided to go to HanChu Fried Chicken, which was located at 549-9 Sinsa-dong. It wasn’t a fancy place but it sure was tasty.

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The Second Palace We Visited in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Seoul, South Korea

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Asia, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea

Mr. Selfish and I visited Gyeongbokgung Palace during our five-day stay in Seoul. This palace is the largest of the five grand palaces in Seoul. It was first constructed in 1395 but since then, it has been burned and abandoned several times. It wasn’t reconstructed until 1867.

We enjoyed the reenactment of the royal guard outside the main gate (Gwanghwamun). Just like the guards at Buckingham Palace, they will remain still when you pose for a photo next to them.

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Photography Fun at the Trickeye Museum in Seoul

21 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Seoul, South Korea

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Asia, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea, Trick Eye Museum, Trickeye Museum, trompe l'oeil

Mr. Selfish and I have posted our fair share of silly photos on this blog. This post is to rule over all of those photos. We went to the Trickeye Museum in Seoul, which is located at Seogyo Plaza B2, 357-1, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu. The museum uses the technique of trompe l’oeil to make masterpieces and other scenes into 3-D interactive photo opps.

The first part of the museum consists mostly of converted masterpieces.

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Staying at the Westin Chosun

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Seoul, South Korea, Starwood, Travel Hacking

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Selfish Year, Selfish Years, SPG, Starwood, Westin Chosun

Since we were spending our 4-year anniversary in Seoul, I decided to book us in a hotel I knew Mrs. Selfish would love: the Westin Chosun. After staying at the Westin Munich and the Westin Bangkok, Mrs. Selfish and I were solidly in the Westin camp, thanks largely due to their “heavenly bed.”

The Westin Chosun was a great pick. Not only did it match the Westin brand (even maintaining the Westin smell, which is kind of creepy), but the location is extremely convenient. It’s within walking distance of many of Seoul’s historic sites, and only a short metro ride away from Gangnum and other areas.

It also gave me an opportunity to take advantage of Starwood’s buy 4-nights, get 1-night free redemption policy. The Westin Chosun is a category 5 hotel, so booking a room cost us 48,000 SPG points.

Getting There & Check-In

Getting to the Westin from Incheon Airport was a very smooth process, thanks to the airport limousine bus service, which departs from bus stop 4B/11A. Mrs. Selfish and I purchased two tickets on the bus for about 15,000 won each (around $14.50), and only had to wait 5 minutes. An hour later, we arrived at the Westin!

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Savoring Seoul Food: Bulgogi, Galbi, and Bibimbap

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Seoul, South Korea

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Asia, Bibigo, Bibimbap, Bulgogi, Food & Drinks, Galbi, Namsangol Sanchae Jip, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea, WooSung Galbi

Of the primary Asian cuisines, Mr. Selfish and I probably have the least amount of experience with Korean food. We didn’t officially become foodies until our time in Orlando, which does not have much of a Korean food scene. As a result, we knew that we had to maximize our time in Seoul and try as many Korean food as possible.

Bulgogi is grilled marinated beef, and it was listed as #23 on CNN Go’s list of the world’s most delicious food. The meat is typically marinated with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and pepper. It is then grilled and served with lettuce and a dab of ssamjang (a thick spicy paste).

We ate bulgogi from a little restaurant across the street from the Westin hotel that I had discovered from a thread on Chowhound. The restaurant didn’t have an Internet presence otherwise and seemed to be called “Korean Restaurant.” It was quaint, had a great atmosphere with jazzy music, and had traditional real-wood grills for each table.

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The First Palace We Visited in Seoul: Changdeokgung Palace

18 Saturday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Seoul, South Korea

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Asia, Changdeokgung Palace, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea

Mr. Selfish and I spent five days in Seoul. Prior to our arrival, we had heard all of the headline news concerning North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric against the U.S. and its installation of missiles on the launch site. I am happy to say that we survived our stay in Seoul, which was entirely without incident.

Seoul has five grand palaces that were built during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). Most of them were severely damaged during the Japanese occupation from 1910-1945. The first palace we visited was the Changdeokgung Palace, of which only 30% of the pre-Japanese structures are still in existent. This palace is known for being built according to the natural topography as opposed to imposing its architecture on the land.