Visiting Korea: Day 6 Palaces, Museums and Samgyetang

After returning from Busan, we were once again back in Seoul. To start off our day, we stopped at Seodaemun station (exit 4) and followed the directions towards Gyeonghuigung. On the way, we made a short stop at the Korean National Police Heritage Museum. The museum is pretty small so 10 minutes would be sufficient. You will get to take a pictures of yourself seated in a police car and motorcycle and learn more about UTIS (Urban Traffic Information System).

Gyeonghuigung is just located next to the Police Museum. This palace is much smaller than Gyeongbukgung and is admission-free. Take your time to stroll around the area before moving on towards the Seoul Museum of History which is just a short walk away. The Seoul Museum of History was packed that day with many groups of students on tours. However, we still had a great time! We enjoyed our time here learning more about Korea's History as the exhibits were pretty good and included English translations and models which enabled us to understand better. We easily spent about 1.5 to 2 hours here.

After exploring the museum, we headed to Tosokchon for lunch. The place is renowned for its samgyetang (ginseng chicken) and during peak hours you should expect a queue. However, the wait is not long as service is prompt and the restaurant is huge. Add the ginseng wine served to you for a stronger taste.

After a delicious lunch, we walked to the National Palace Museum which is located just next to Gyeongbukgung. There is a huge collection of relics from the Joseon dynasty and Han empire. You will also find some Western-influenced items here which were originally from Deoksugung (another palace which we did not have time to visit).

At 3pm, we then waited in front of Gyeongbukgung to view the changing of guards procession. It is quite interesting to watch the whole regalia of musicians, guards and drummer. After watching the 15 minute performance, we walked to the National Folk Museum. This museum was way larger than expected and contains interesting exhibits on the daily life of Korean people in both their indoor and outdoor exhibitions. Entrance to both the National Palace Museum and National Folk Museum is free.

From the National Folk Museum, we walked towards the King Sejong statue at Gwanghwamun. Here, we went underground to visit The Story of King Sejong and The Story of Admiral Yi Sunshin. Both men played huge roles in Korea's history and their achievements are documented well in both exhibits. You will learn that hangeul, the Korean alphabet, was created by King Sejong while you will see various examples of Admiral Yi's courageous and successful attempts in war.

This was a day in which we learnt a lot about Korea's history and culture. It was a tiring day packed fully with lots of activities so we headed back to Hongdae for a quick dinner and called it a day.