NAMDAEMUN --The South Gate of the City

History of Namdaemun A few weekends ago, I decided to take a little venture around the greater Seoul area. My travels led me to the Namdaemun Gate, also meaning the "GREAT SOUTH Gate" of Seoul. In Seoul, there are several gates that have historical significance as they were the main gateways into the city during the Joseon Dynasty, when the whole city was enclosed. The Namdaemun gate, officially called, Sungnyemun (숭례문 / 남대문), translates to "Gate of Exalted Ceremonies," originally controlled access to the capital city & kept out Korean Tigers (wow folks!). Referred to as the #1 National Treasure of Korea, this gate represents the oldest wooden structure in Seoul. Construction began in 1395 during the reign of King Taejo of the Joseon, and was complete a short 3 years following [1398].

Photo of Namdaemun (South Gate)

This gate is a true site to behold, very beautiful and majestic in nature. An authentic display of the traditional Korean culture.

Namdaemun illuminated at night

The GREAT FIRE While I have been in Seoul since January, there have been many important places that I have traveled. I want to make sure that I get the WHOLE Korean experience. As a result, I have learned a great deal about Korean culture and their source of pride. Unfortunately, in my schedule, I failed to visit the Namdaemun Gate early enough. Much to the whole nations dismay, on February 10th, a gentleman who the media reports only by his surname Chae, attempted to destroy the historic landmark by putting it on fire!!!!! I later found out that the reason the man claimed to start the fire is because his land got taken away from him in some type of unfair court case. This fire was his own personal protest...and to make matters worse, this man was 69 years old!

As you can imagine, the whole country was in dismay. I can remember the afternoon that it happened very clearly. That evening I returned to my apartment after a busy day at the office and decided to turn on the TV. It didn't take long for me to realize that on almost every "Korean" channel, I could see live coverage of this structure burned. . .

After watching coverage like that one above, I really had no clue what was happening. I tried CNN, but they hadn't picked up the story yet. But watching the building burn was quite surreal. I knew something MAJOR was happening,...I just didn't know what. So, after quite a while trying to figure out what was going on, I just changed the channel...

The next morning during breakfast, I was quite shock by the stories reported in the Korea Herald (English language Korean paper). Wow! I missed it! I had the perfect opportunity to see the #1 Treasure of Korea, and it had slipped from my fingers in one evening!

Namdaemun Gate after Fire

Some of you reading may not be big history buffs and find this type of discussion kind of boring. But these type of historic landmarks are really cool places to visit because there is generally, a lot of activity surrounding them! Let me tell you about a few:

The Doksugung Palace

This was a cool place just like most of the palaces around Korea. But the reality is, if you've seen one palace, you pretty much have seen them all. This may be a strange comment coming from me, cause I can truly enjoy the artistic display & differences from one palace to the next. However, it does not make for an interesting addition to my blog (at least not this one, I will show you another palace in greater detail another time).

A few steps from the Great South Gate is Doksugung Palace. Of course it once housed royalty of the Korean nation until the Japanese came to Korea and overtook it :( It is quite beautiful though, and has guards that stand watch of this historic monument. I was lucky enough to walk up just as the changing of the Guard Ceremony was taking place, please see below:

Other photos at the Doksugung Palace....

This is the entryway into the Palace

The Guards dressed in ceremonial robes for the Change of the Guard

A traditonal Korean Drum

The Namdaemun Marketplace Located in the Jung-gu area of the city, this 24 hour market can be a shoppers dream! Complete with booths, malls & arcades full of goods to meet almost all tastes and styles. Actually, it can be quite overwhelming to take in at once. During my first visit to this area, it was quite cold, so the marketplace full of people to block the spine-chilling wind was definitely a welcomed site. There are so many different places to shop in this marketplace right across from the Namdaemun Gate.

This market is considered a traditional type of Korean market and offers all types of clothing, kitchen ware, spices & traditional Korean items. Oh Really.... I had one of the most unique experiences that I have had in a long time at the Namdaemun Market. I was really excited to be there, carefully taking in all the sights, products & sales around me. Before coming to Korea, I had heard so much about the different marketplaces & how they have things that you never even dreamed (or had a nightmare) about. ANYWHO! I was on my trek...having a good ole time...laughing at some of the knock-offs (really, how many L's are in Louis Vuitton?), trying to figure out the clothing sizes (that is much more difficult than one can imagine), and much more.

Before coming to Korea, there was one conversation that I had that really kind of bugged me (no pun intended), it was a small matter of the silk worm. At first thought, when someone mentions a silk worm, I think of a nice flowing silk chemise, ...right? WRONG! In Korea, they are also considered a snack, YES I said a SNACK FOOD...that you eat! Fear factor watch out! Being the epicurean that I am (yeah right!), I was anxious to see this Korean delicacy along with other options that I had not witnessed before. Well, I finally found them in the highly esteemed Namdaedum market...

These silkworms are placed in a heating device & served warm. They have a very unique scent that I can not liken to ANYTHING I have ever smelled before.

(for your viewing pleasure) Other interesting Korean delicacies witnessed along the way...

It is said to be like a spicy pasta in sauce, of course the pasta is derived from rice and is pretty solid. I have heard that it is quite good...I just haven't mustered up the strength yet 2 taste it. I will keep you posted though. In Korean, they refer to this treat as "Sora," to us, they are small spiny turbine shells. People eat the organism on the inside like a clam.

These tasty little treats can be found in many areas of Seoul, supplied by street vendors. Different vendors make various shapes depending on their cooking device that is reminiscent of a waffle iron. Batter is poured into the hot iron, sweet red bean paste in placed in the center. Served hot out of the iron, these are good!

Hope you enjoyed today's posting...as you can tell, Korea has a LOT to offer...

K