Thursday, September 29, 2011

NUS MBA Business Study Trip To Korea - Sunday Part 3

After lunch we were ready for some serious sightseeing...

The first place we stopped by was this stream which flows through much of central Seoul... It's only quite recently that they made the embankments this way though... I think...




The decorated horse carriages parked nearby made for a pretty sight as well...




From there, we walked to a place called City Hall which consisted of a wide boulevard which contained two statues...



One, of the admiral Yi Sun Shin who helped fight of Japanese attacks in the 1500s....



And the other, of Confucious, whose teachings have had a major influence of Korean thinking and culture...



It was only later that I learnt exactly what this place was called and its significance, which I will leave you to read (partially) for yourself if you wish....



Gwanghwamun Square, as befitting an archetypical city centre, is flanked by cultural buildings such as the opera house (or was it theatre)....



And contains on the pavement at the side a timeline, coated with water, listing the important developments of the Korean peninsula over the years...



But this is really what we were headed for - King Sejong's Palace...




It was he who came up with hangukmal, the standard Korean text used nowadays. It seems he was pretty good at picking a scenic site for his palace as well. Notice the mountains in the background...

And I'm afraid I have to run again, for until the exams are over, I've set myself half-an-hour for blogging each day...

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