My SEOUL E-Book

Carlo Reltas

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 167

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Seoul - the capital of a divided country whose southern part developed from a war-ravaged poorhouse into one of the world's leading economic powers within a few decades. Sam-sung, Hyundai and LG are global brands that everyone knows. The cultural heritage of this Asian tiger and Korea's magnificent landscapes are far less well known. Seoul is a high-tech city. Its citizens live under the spell of smartphones. Its history was shaped by kings, monks, wars, heroes and sacrifices. Carlo Reltas presents 77 places in words and pictures - always informative, critical and entertaining. He takes visitors to royal palaces and parks. The author explains modern architecture like the iconic Dongdaemun Design Plaza and historical sights like the city wall. He roams markets, neighbourhoods, churches and temples as well as museums, concert halls and memorials. He takes you to his favourite restaurants, to the mountains, to the sea and ... to the inter-Korean border to the Demilitarised Zone. And he does not leave out the Itaewon disaster, where at least 158 young people died on Halloween 2022. WITH 143 COLOUR PHOTOS The author Carlo Reltas was a journalist and manager of an international news agency for decades. Since leaving the news business, he has lived near Heidelberg, in Abu Dhabi and on the road. Since August 2020, he has been living in Seoul.

Leseprobe

Carlo Reltas 

MY SEOUL

77 interesting Places 

in Korea's vibrant Capital

For Kosimar

Carlo Reltas

My 

SEOUL

77 interesting Places 

in Korea's 

vibrant Capital

CARE Publishing

Offenbach

Cover: 

In front of Heungnyemun Gate  

of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul

All photos (also inside the book):  

C. Reltas 

© Copyright by CARE of Sattler 2022

ISBN: 978-3-756551-33-0

Publisher: CARE of Sattler

August-Bebel-Ring 22, 63067 Offenbach

[email protected]

Distribution: epubli – a service of Neopubli GmbH, Berlin,www.epubli.de

Table of contents

Cover

Dedication

Title

Imprint

Preface  The Tiger's Loop to the Top of the WorlD

 I.Royals: Glory of a distant past     

01 Gyeongbokgung – Main Palace in the City 

02 Changdeokgung – Official Residence with Secret Garden     

03 Changgyeonggung – The most romantic of all

04 Deoksugung – Tradition & modernity together

05 Unhyeongung – Wedding place of the hero queen

06 Yongmyo Shrine – Ancestor Cult for Monarchs

II.Parks: Oases of calm in the hustle and bustle of the big city     

07 Hangang Parks – A quasi-infinite riverbank

08 Seoul Forest – Urban forest in the middle of residential area 

09 Seoul Grand Park – With gondola over lake and zoo  

10 Olympic Park – a Place for Joy and Peace

11 Hyochang-Park – Small, fine, packed with heroes

12 Montmartre-Park – Auguste Rodin makes them dance 

III.Modern Achitecture: the new Korea   

13 Dongdaemun Design Plaza – a Spacecraft 

14 City Hall – E.T. sends his regards 

15 Lotte Tower – Korea's top, 555 meters high  

16 Gukhoe – Parlament versus Präsident   

17 Cheonggyecheon – a revived River  

18 Yeouido – Financial district full of skyscrapers

19 Bridges – Banpo fancy, World Cup elegant   

IV.Historical buildings    

20 City Wall – Bulwark around Korea's Capital  

21 Blue House – Long the Centre of Power

22 City Gates – Dongdaemum and Namdaemun  

23 Gwangtonggwan – Älteste stets aktive Bank  

V.Markets: Living traditions 

24 Gwangjang – Market at the Cheonggyecheon  

25 Namdaemun – Trading place for centuries  

26 Flea Market – a Collector's Paradise  

27 Tongin – Strolling from snack to snack 

VI.     Special quarters      

28 Gangnam – Shopping paradise, modern, stylish  

29 Hongdae – This is where the music scene pulsates  

30 Insadong – Still "in" after decades    

31 Jongno 3-ga – "World class" says Time Out   

32 Ihwa – Village idyll with murals  

33 Bukchon – Neighborhood with Hanok tradition  

34 Itaewon – World Food Street, Girls, Boys & Clubs

35 Myeongdong – Most beautiful temples of consume

VII.   Temples & Churches   

36 Jogyesa – Order temple in the middle of the city

37 Golden Buddha - Temple deep in nature reserve

38 Myeongdong Cathedral – Seoul's main church

39 Jeoldusan – "Upon this rock I will build my church"

VIII.    Museums & Galleries

40 The Leeum – the Lee Samsung Art Museum

41 Korean National Museum – Cultural Heritage!

42 Folk Museum – Everyday life in the past made tangible

43 Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

44 Art Sonje Center – Exciting Group Exhibits

45 Kukje Gallery – Exquisite international artists

46 Galerie König – Berlin, London, Seoul, logical47 Seoul Battleship Park – Border Patrol Veterans

IX.    Sports Venues

48 Olympic Sports Center – The World Came 1988

49 World Cup Stadium – Korea 2002 im Fußballfieber

50 Let's Run Park – Racecourse at the foot of mountains

X.   Memorials and memorial sites

51 King Sejong – Inventor of Korean alphabet

52 Admiral Yi Sun Shin  – Held im Krieg gegen Japan

53 Yu Gwan Sun – Martyr of 1920

54 Comfort Women - Wound in Korea's Soul

55 War Memorial – Commemoration of Korean War

56 National Cemetery - Graves for many thousands

57 19 April Cemetery - 180 died for Democracy

XI.   Concert halls / Reading room

58 SAC – Hier brüllte der König der Löwen

59 Sejong Cultural Center – Temple for a Great King

60 Lotte Concert Hall – In the elevator up to Classic

61 Starfield Gallery – a Reader's Paradise open for all

XII. My favorite cafés and restaurants 

62 Parc – Korean at its finest

63 Hyatt – Elegance and class at the Namsan

64 La Bistecca – Italian in Itaewon

65 The Lover – Dresdener brings Quark to Korea

66 Baker’s Table – German bread, German cuisine

67 The Restaurant – Gourmet Temple in Art Gallery

XIII. Mountains: Heights around the metropolitan basin

68 Namsan – the city's local mountain and landmark

69 Inwangsan – High-level walk along the city wall

70 Bukhansan – Up on the highest peak around Seoul

71 Bugaksan – Mountain throne over the palaces

72 Gwanaksan – Challenge on the south bank

XIV. Beyond the City: Day Trip Destinations

73 Muuido Island and Yongyu Beaches

74 Jangbongdo – Idyll with a Robinson Crusoe touch

75 Nami-Island – Island in bend of Han River

76 Namhansanseong-Festung – World Heritage

77 DMZ – Cold War at the Demarcation Line

aa Map tip

bb About the author

cc By the same author

Preface:

The Tiger's Leap to the Top of the World 

   In a land with thousands of ancient and magnificently restored temples, in a city with five1 royal palaces, speaking to Koreans the author was mostly astonished by one special statement: „We are still a relatively young country!“ After World War II and the end of the Nazi regime, also in the author's homeland Germany  there was occasional talk of "Zero Hour". Apparently, this applied to an even greater extent to Korea.

   The nightmare of the Japanese colonial régime since 1910 had come to an end. The nuclear bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had sealed the defeat of the big neighbour in the East. The Korean royal family had not played a role in the resistance against the imperialists from the Empire of the Rising Sun. Quite the contrary, the last emperor Sunjong, whom the Japanese had downgraded to a king without power, had gambled away, after over 500 years reign of the Joseon dynasty, all confidence of his people by accepting to act as a mere marionette of the colonial rulers.  

In the main hall of Bulguksa Temple near Gyeongju, Sakyamuni Buddha is worshipped, who was "enlightened" 2500 years ago. Originally built in the 8th century, the temple was burned down during the Japanese invasion in 1593 and rebuilt in 1765.

   So the  winners of World War II created a new political landscape. The United States of America installed a capitalist, parliamentary system in the South, the Soviet Union a communist régime in the North. Plans and negotiations for joint elections failed. And so Korea went the German way of division – with the difference that it has continued to this day on the Korean peninsula and that there is no silver lining of unification on the horizon.

   Formative figures in South Korean postwar history were Rhee Syng-man, the first president from 1948 to 1960, Rhee Syng-man2, who had acted increasingly dictatorially and finally had to give way to a popular uprising, and, after barely two years with brief interim reigns, former General Park Chung-hee. Park ruled the country with a harsh dictatorial hand from 1962 for 17 years until his assassination in October 1979, but is considered the father of Korea's economic miracle. His consistent reform course with strict five-year plans for the modernization and industrialization of the country meant privations for the population, but bore fruit in the medium term. While in the 1960s and 1970s many Koreans escaped poverty in their homeland and emigrated to Germany or other industrialized countries as miners or nurses, today's Korea is itself a country of immigration for workers from Southeast Asia.

As early as the beginning of the 1980s, South Korea was regarded as one of the "tiger economies. The initial four "Asian Tigers" had all taken a giant leap forward in their economic development. In addition to South Korea, these were Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Jaebeol's3, family-owned conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai, drove development. South Korea documented its push for modernity by hosting the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, and fourteen years later by co-hosting the World Cup with Japan. In 2010, South Korea proudly invited the leaders of the world's most important nations to its capital for the G-20 summit. A year later, South Korea's annual foreign trade volume surpassed the one-trillion-dollar mark for the first time4. To the people of Seoul, this was worth erecting a monument. Since May 2012, the Trillion Tower has stood on the forecourt of COEX, a complex comprising a mall, trade fair center and conference center.

In 2011, South Korea's foreign trade reached an annual volume of more than one trillion dollars. The Trillion Tower commemorates this mark of success.

    The head of the Korea Foreign Trade Association (KITA), Sa Kong-il, summed up where the tiger has leapt: "By joining the '$1 trillion club,' 5 Korea's trade has advanced from the periphery to the center of the world market." This applies to the quantity as well as to the quality of the products. Whereas South Korea exported mainly cheap textiles in the 1970s and 1980s, today it exports high-quality products. The highest export value is achieved by automobiles, followed by semiconductors and ships as well as cell phones. Even the entertainment industry, with K-pop and the boy band BTS as its flagship, is big business. However, negative aspects also cloud the success story. The widening gap between rich and poor, the low birth rate and the disadvantage of women lead us to expect social tensions.

    "My Seoul" couldn't leave out the Trillion Tower. However, the first thing that catches the eye of tourists in Seoul when they stroll between the skyscrapers on Sejong Daero in the city center is the Royal Palace at the end of the boulevard. There are many palaces in Seoul. More than describe them, the author wants to tell their story. In the process, the reader encounters such outstanding figures of Korean history as the tragic figure of Queen Myeongseong or her husband Gojong, who wanted to stand up to the neighboring empires of Japan and China by elevating himself from king to emperor, but who ultimately only brought about the end of the Joseon dynasty, which had ruled Korea for over 500 years, all the more quickly with this pomposity that was not supported by anything.

    After so much history, readers are taken to several parks in the city for rest and relaxation. But exciting encounters occur here as well, with a peaceful monk, a heroic hand grenade thrower and a trio of painters from Paris. Great artists were also at work in Seoul's testaments to modern architecture, most notably British-Iraqi building grand master Zara Hadid, who died in 2016. Her Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a quite extraordinary building, certainly already one of the new landmarks of this city, but nevertheless not without controversy.

    The historical buildings presented subsequently again provide insights into the political and economic history of the city. The walks through centuries-old, but also newer markets convey Korean everyday culture and the attitude towards life of the Koreans like little else. The same applies to some special neighborhoods, which are a must for every visitor to Seoul: From chic Gangnam with its boutiques to traditional Bukchon with its wooden hanok houses to the eternally young Insadong with its wide range of local handicrafts, to the youthful music scene in Hongdae to the noisy party mile in Itaewon, which became the scene of a huge tragic disaster in October 2022.       

    A large part of Korean youth is religiously indifferent. In fact, more than half of Koreans do not profess any religion. But the Buddhist cultural heritage is unmistakable in so many temples and monasteries, and not least in the devout believers praying there. Among Korean Christians, Catholics have suffered the most severe persecution. The Jeoldusan memorial bears witness to this. Seoul's political monuments and memorials are dedicated to the resistance against Japanese ambitions for supremacy, the war with the communist North, but also the struggle against dictatorship in its own young Republic of Korea.

   "My Seoul" sets as bright counterpoints to these somber but highly interesting chapters of Korea's history the city's magnificent museums, concert halls and sports venues. In addition, the author presents his restaurant favorites and favorite mountains around and in Seoul.

   Finally, the author suggests day trips, at first to the islands of Muuido and Jangbongdo, which satisfy the longing for the sea. But some may find the river island of Namiseom even more beautiful. With the mountain fortress of Namhansanseong and the DMZ, the demilitarized zone on the border with North Korea, we come full circle. Tragedies caused by politics determined and still determine the lives of many Koreans in this country divided in two.

    "My Seoul" in no way claims to define the undoubtedly 77 most important places of the Korean capital. Rather, the author lets his personal preferences guide his choice of topics. Occasionally, he also provides glimpses of his own experiences. He hopes that readers will nevertheless, or perhaps precisely for that reason, enjoy following him to the "77 interesting places in Korea's vibrant capital."

Carlo Reltas

November 11, 2022 

1 Four of the five palaces are featured in this book. The fifth, Gyeonghui-gung in the west of the city center, was largely destroyed during the Japanese occupation. During restoration in the 1990s, only a third of the buildings were restored.

2 In western media, Korean names are often listed - as is customary in English - with the family names at the end, thus using the example of the first South Korean president: Syng-man Rhee. In this book, the South Korean order is maintained with the family name at the beginning, thus using the example of the current president: Yoon Suk-yeol.

3 The top five Jaebeols (as of 2020) were Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, and Lotte.

4 In 2021, according to The Economist, South Korea exported goods worth US$667.5 billion and imported goods for US$597.5 billion. The total volume of foreign trade thus amounted to just under 1.3 trillion US dollars.

5South Korea became the ninth member of the One Trillion Dollar Club at the end of 2011. The other eight members are the USA, Germany, China, Japan, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy. 

I.

 ROYALS: 

Glory of a distant past

Throne Room at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace in the heart of Seoul

01    Gyeongbokgung – Main Palace in the City

   The newcomer to Seoul who strolls north along the large King Sejong Boulevard in the city center automatically runs toward the capital's largest and most important palace. Against the backdrop of Bugaksan Mountain, the Gwanghwamun Gate at the end of the avenue separates the modern capital's gears from Seoul's royal past. Gyeongbokgung, the "Palace of Radiant Bliss," dates from the end of the 14th century. It was completed in 1395, three years after the beginning of the reign of the last Korean dynasty. Twenty-seven monarchs from the Joseon dynasty ruled Korea until the Japanese occupiers forced the last emperor, Sunjong, to abdicate in 1910.

   Not surprisingly, the Japanese colonizers thoroughly altered this symbol of Korean statehood. They left the main hall Geunjeongjeon as well as the picturesque Gyeonghoeru Pavilion built in a pond untouched. Conversely, during the reconstruction of the extensive original complex starting in 1990, the Koreans removed the palace of the Japanese governor general, from which the lords from Nippon had ruled their "province" of Korea.

    As soon as the visitor has passed through the Gwanghwamun Gate, he is immersed in another world, in another time. Nothing here seems museum-like, the buildings do not seem very old, nor are they, since their reconstruction or renovation was only a few decades ago. Court life seems more alive than ever. Everywhere courtiers walk around in pretty traditional dresses, the festive Hanbok costume. On their journey back in time to the 19th century, however, they have taken their smartphones with them, with which they take pictures of each other. Visitors who have rented Hanbok costumes in the vicinity of the palace enjoy free admission. Gyeongbokgung is especially magical in the summer when traditional musicians play in the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion under the evening lights. Then, for moments, time travel seems real.   

 Address 161 Sajik-ro | Public transport subway line 3, buses 109, 171, 272, 601, 606, 401, 406 | Opening hours Nov-Feb 9-17 h, Mar-May 9-18 , Jun-Aug 9-18.30 h, Sep-Oct 9-18 h | Nearby National Folk Museum of Korea (no.42) 

   Main hall Geunjeongjeon

02    Changdeokgung – Official Residence with Secret Garden

    The last emperor of Korea, Sunjong (1874-1926), was granted only three years of regency. Then he was forced to abdicate by the Japanese occupiers in 1910. The center of his waning power was the throne room in Changdeok Palace (the name suffix "...gung" means palace). A throne that had to be ascended via eight steps, a magnificent mural behind the broad throne chair with motifs of the Korean mountain landscape, golden flowing net curtains - the splendor deceived the true balance of power.

   Paradoxically, Sunjong's father Gojong had upgraded his kingdom to an empire and given himself the title of emperor as late as 1897, when Japan's influence was already growing stronger. Sunjong was thus the second and last emperor of Korea. He died 16 years after being deposed where he was born: in Changdeok - virtually under house arrest by the Japanese occupiers in an extensive palace complex and an even more extensive palace garden, the so-called Secret Garden, where only the monarchs and their guests were allowed to enter.

    Completed in 1412, Changdeok was the second palace of the Joseon Dynasty after Gyeongbokgung, located only a little further west, but it was nevertheless the preferred residence of the kings. Unlike the Gyeongbok Palace, which was built according to strict rules (accurate north-south alignment), the arrangement of the Changdeok's buildings is harmoniously adapted to the hilly landscape. Its architecture is characterized by an "asymmetrical beauty unparalleled in Korea," according to the official description of the palace. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

   The main attractions for tourists are the central "Hall of Benevolent Rule" (Injeongjeon) with the throne room and, of course, the once forbidden beautiful "Secret Garden" - formerly reserved for Korea's rulers, now finally open to everyone (nowadays access from neighbouring Changgyeong Palace).

Address 99, Yulgok-ro | Public transport subway station Anguk (line 3), buses 109, 162, 710 | Opening hours  daily 9-18 h (Feb-May, Sep-Oct), daily 9-18.30 h (Jun-Aug), daily 9-16.30 (Nov-Jan) | Close Changgyeonggung-Palast (no. 03)

In this hall, Korea's last emperor Sunjong received his state guests.

03    Changgyeonggung – The most romantic of all

   The inventor of the Korean alphabet, King Sejong the Great, built a palace on the site of Changgyeong Palace as early as 1418 for his father King Taejong after his abdication. At this scenic spot, the aim was probably always to create comfort and coziness. Demonstrating state splendor was never in the foreground here, but rather creating a pleasant ambience. In 1483, King Seongjong had a large palace complex built here for three royal widows. 

   The neighboring Changdeok Palace did not offer enough space for the entire court. Changgyeong, with its cluster of separate houses, became the residence for royal widows, concubines, princesses and other court ladies. Changdeok and Changgyeong together virtually formed a small royal city. Together they were also called Donggwol (East Palace) as a counterpart to the Gyeongbok State Palace further west, which was built according to strict architectural rules. Together, the residents of Changdeok and Changgyeong also used the back garden, the Secret Garden.