🇰🇷 South Korea
Did not expect this reaction to our leaving, but I guess it’s not too surprising… -S 🇰🇷
Old versus new.
(I tried out one of these robots yesterday at the museum: youtu.be/Uz18snYjQ…) -S 🇰🇷
Yup, of COURSE this would be when we were visiting! -J🇰🇷
We had a lovely chat with our taxi driver on the way to the airport. He had Google translate running, so he would speak in Korean and it would translate to English for us. And Vice-versa for him. So much easier to communicate than when I first started traveling! -J 🇰🇷
National Museum of Korea
Went to the National Museum of Korea yesterday. Frankly, I learned more at the War Museum yesterday. But we did learn a few things and saw a bunch of artifacts. The green helmet was won at the 1936 Olympics by a Korean who was forced to run for Japan, since Japan was occupying Korea at the time. The marathon was one of the premier sports at those Olympics and Hitler declared that whomever won would get a metal and this helmet, which came from Olympia, Greece. But because this Korean was considered an “amateur” he wasn’t given the helmet and the helmet stayed in Germany. In 1994, Germany finally awarded it to the man who won. That man donated it to the Museum because he considered it to be for “all the Korean people.” -J 🇰🇷
We managed to be in Seoul during what may be the worst snow storm they have ever had in November. Without any winter clothes! We have been getting numerous safety alerts on our phone about the snow crisis. But it made for some pretty pictures when we went to the National Museum of Korea. -J 🇰🇷
We managed to find some good beer at Chillhops Brewing, a welcome respite from the cold. -S 🇰🇷
I kid you not, this is an actual logo for a brewery I visited here in Seoul. -S 🇰🇷
It’s a winter wonderland here in Seoul -S 🇰🇷
Who is the jerk who ordered all this snow?! We definitely didn’t bring enough clothes with us ❄️🌨️🥶 -J 🇰🇷
And then we woke up to snow… 🥶 -S 🇰🇷
A brewery taproom hidden behind a vending machine? Sounds fun! Unfortunately, the beer was awful. -S 🇰🇷
Looking forward to trying out “happy” tomorrow morning. I’ll probably pass on “cow” though… 😂 -S 🇰🇷
We made sure to stop at Craic House to mark off another country on our quest to drink a Guinness at an Irish Pub in 32 different countries (this makes 14/32). It’s also the first Irish pub I’ve visited since my dad passed away 🫤 -S 🇰🇷
Afternoon at South Korea’s War Memorial
We spent the afternoon at South Korea’s War Memorial museum. This was an interesting overview of South Korea’s military history from the wars leading to the Three Kingdoms (~244 to 927 AD), the wars of Goreyo to Japanese occupation (936 - 1920), the Liberation from Japan in 1945 through the Armistice with North Korea in 1953, then through South Korea’s involvement in the Vietman, and finally South Korea’s involvement in military conflicts through the present. While not the best military museum we’ve been to, I felt the overview was pretty decent. I did feel that the Korean War info was a bit skimpy, but with the ongoing tensions with North Korea, I wonder if sensitivity is needed/warranted. In any event, I learned quite a bit today. -J 🇰🇷
Well played, Subway. -S 🇰🇷
This place is available for everyone. -S 🇰🇷
After the cathedral, we wandered some of the streets of Seoul, taking it all in. The pastries looked fabulous, but we were still full from breakfast. -J 🇰🇷
We also visited the historic Myeongdong Cathedral, just around the corner from our hotel. -S 🇰🇷
