Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
We made it to Seoul! After a ten hour forty minute flight from Sydney yesterday we landed in Incheon and caught the express train to Seoul station.
The time zone here is two hours behind Sydney, so by the time we settled in our apartment on the sixth floor near Seoul Station, it was 11:00pm here, or 1:00am Sydney time! Given we had woken at 5:15am to get ready, it was a long long day - over eighteen hours.
Today we walked over 10km or nearly 15,000 steps.
This morning we arose early as we had an appointment at Gyeongbokgung Palace ... most stores (businesses) don't open to customers before 10am, and often close late into the night.
Gyeongbokgung is a former royal palace in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1395, it was the first royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and is now one of the most significant tourist attractions in the country. The palace was among the first landmarks to be established in Seoul.
We arrived nearby at 8:30am where we indulged ourselves with a freshly made waffle before meeting our guide and a professional photographer, we both dressed in traditional Korean outfits and went on our way - back in time. These special photos will be shared in a week (when the photographer sends them to us) and will be worth waiting for . . . .
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Wandering through the palace grounds, and knowing that in Joseon times, us as royalty had the blessing/privilege of being permitted to go anywhere within the country, let alone the palace grounds, was mind-blowing. 80% of the Korean population, (peasants) who were the backbone of the food production (farming) were not permitted to cross a particular bridge (in the palace confines) which were set aside only for the royal family (5%) and the nobility (15%).
Our attention was directed to the roof tops of the royal residences and how there were differences in the hierarchy as to how many monkeys each roof top has, determines the importance of each heir to the Joseon King.
1395 - 1910 designates the Joseon reign which had only 27 kings during this period, with their average life span ranging between 25 - 27 years. Thus they saw a dire need for a continuation of the royal blood line through many concubines, the bearing of numerous children, as at least 75% of those offspring would perish during an outbreak of disease.
This afternoon we visited Myeongdong to buy some warmer clothes because the morning temperature is below freezing. We also appreciated the Christmas decorations.
Seoul has an excellent public transport system with clean, efficient trains and buses, with most journeys costing around $1.50.
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