The next day, I went with a dear friend of mine on a tour to the old Seoul. We started with the exploration of 인사동 (Insadong), a neighborhood full of stores and restaurants conveying a traditional feeling. I had the chance to try a 한복 (hanbok), the Korean traditional costume.

While looking for 북촌 (Bukchon), a must-see traditional village in Seoul, we walked past 조계사 (Chogyesa), “the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism” according to Wikipedia.

We finally found the road to 북촌 (Bukchon) after asking old ladies and getting lost for almost an hour. Little did I know that I needed special training to walk to the top of the hill/mountain. The steep and sinuous roads made me realize how hilly Seoul is, especially compared to French cities, which are relatively flat.

The views from the top were breathtaking. The spectacle was somewhat spoiled by some tourists who would not stop taking pictures in front of the scenery… They ended up being in almost all my pics.

After walking around the old village of 북촌, we went back down the hill (and worked my ass muscles—fessiers in French—at the same time) to get my prize at the Korea Times office, just to make my mom and dad proud.

And on the way, we stopped at 경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung), which used to be the palace of the Emperor in the Joseong dynasty.

Similar to London, tourists can watch the change of the guards throughout the days (More information about the schedule). You can get a preview of what it looks like on my YouTube channel.

There is also the National Folk Museum near the palace, a great visit to learn more about how people used to live in Korea, from the ancient times to the 1950s.

A photo posted by Victor Cornet (@tuxisback) on Dec 9, 2015 at 9:38am PST

The day did not end there, as we went up the 남산 mountain (Namsan) through the cable car. I am not fond of heights, so the ride was… interesting. All the Korean insults I had learned so far were restituted in the fashion of Mariah Carey’s whistle register, to the amusement of the other passengers of the trolley.

I expected much from going on top of the Seoul tower, but as we got on top the 남산 (Namsan), I quickly understood that the ticket we bought for the cable car did not give us access to the Seoul tower, but merely to skip the horrendous walk leading to the tower. Since the weather was simply terribly cloudy, we decided not to fork another 30 bucks to go on top of the tower, and instead splurged on hot chocolate while admiring the wonderfully cloudy views of Seoul and the Han river.

The night ended in a fried chicken joint followed by my first 노래방 (norebang, Korean karaoke) in Korea, just to check how different it was and to my non-surprise, it was the same.

A photo posted by Victor Cornet (@tuxisback) on Mar 18, 2015 at 5:48pm PDT

In conclusion, this was probably the day I walked the most in my life! The map below shows the different places I visited.