Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Day 17 - Changgyeonggung Palace and goodbye Korea

 Friday, December 5th, 2025

This morning we awoke to a snow covered Seoul and had until after lunch to explore, before having to head to Seoul train station to check in for our 8pm flight home.  The view out of our hotel room window has changed with a dusting of snow since the photo we took yesterday.


We caught the bus to visit another amazing palace in Seoul, the Changgyeonggung Palace, located just a few kilometres east of Gyeongbokgung Palace which we visited on Day 1.  And we were not prepared for how special this would be, with the snow covering everything and the place practically deserted . . . .













Below is the King's throne.   The painting behind the Korean king's throne, called Irworobongdo (日月五峯圖), represents cosmic order, the king's supreme authority, and the eternal harmony between Heaven, Earth, and Humanity (Cheon-Ji-In). It features a red sun (representing the king) and a full moon (the queen) over five majestic peaks, symbolizing stability and the monarch's central role in the universe, ensuring the dynasty's prosperity and longevity.




























We then caught the train to Myeongdong for a little shopping and some lunch.


Eventually we picked our bags up from the hotel and walked to the Airport check-in section of Seoul train station.  A genius idea.  So we purchased a ticket for the express train to Incheon Airport, checked in our bags with Asiana Airlines, received our boarding passes, went to customs for a stamp on our boarding pass, then with more than three hours before our flight departs, caught the express train to the airport.

Once at Terminal 1, we scanned our various tax refund receipts and then went through an express screening process (because customs had already stamped our boarding pass at Seoul train station) and had time to receive our tax refund (KRW80,000) and heading to Gate 10.

The flight home was just under ten hours, so we left temperatures of -2 degrees C and landed in Sydney on Saturday morning to almost +40 degrees C.

Asiana Airlines once again provided excellent service and tasty food, the Airbus A380 was very comfortable and less turbulence on the return flight to Australia.


Check back in a few days, we will post the details of each location where we stayed and other thoughts to help you plan your adventure to Korea!

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