Seoul: Style, Energy, Color and Fun!

Seoul is an eye-opener.  I confess I had little knowledge and no expectations about Seoul before I went, so it was a real delight to find such a cosmopolitan, stylish and enjoyable city.

When Karen and I walked into our hotel, we found ourselves in a contemporary, funky, and very stylish lobby.  There was a wall full of traditional Korean pottery jars across the lobby from a giant gold “Alice in Wonderland” sofa with a very high back and five swings with bright green vinyl seats.  Our room was roomy and lovely.  We had a balcony with a great a view of the city, white linens and a giant red strawberry painted on one wall.  The bathroom was a room with frosted and clear glass walls, mirrors and a toilet that dings genteelly, once when you sit and twice when you get up.  How could you not like such a place?!

Seoul’s big, sprawling metropolitan area is home to roughly half of the country’s almost 50 million people.  As we toured the city, we found it to be a lively, cosmopolitan place with an eclectic interior design sense that is stylish, sizzles, and just plain fun.  True, the architecture is generally rather drab and uninteresting – the buildings, including miles of Co-Op City type apartments, seem to have been built in the ‘80’s – and it is dirtier than Japan.  But there is sculpture throughout the city, some ordinary but others quite fun.  The subways system is easy to navigate, taxis ubiquitous and inexpensive, and people helpful.  There were even red-shirted volunteers who would run up to you and ask if they could help whenever you seemed lost.  And there is a much wider range of food than I saw in Japan.  In the expat area around the IP Boutique Hotel where we stayed, there were Turkish, Arab, Mexican, French, German, Japanese, American and Nouvelle European restaurants, to name a few.

Seoul street scene

Man in summer garb on the subway

The people we saw are interesting and diverse, too.  We saw Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesians, and Arabs in addition to people from Germany, Australia, Sweden, and Italy.  As is true everywhere, there is a wide range of dress, and Seoul is generally casual.  But there was a lot of stylish dress, too, with women and men putting together outfits in new and quite interesting ways.  Koreans are more casual than the Japanese, slouching and lounging, laughing and talking more loudly, while the Japanese sit straight, are quiet and reserved.  Everyone had a Smartphone, with the Korean-made Samsung being somewhat wider than the American brands.  In the subways, we would often see an entire row of riders with Smartphones and ear buds, watching videos, playing games or emailing.  Yes, Karen noted, they get reception in the subways, even when deeply underground.  Korea has the fastest Internet system in the world.

Contemporary Art.  We went several times to Insadong, where we indulged our love of contemporary art and crafts.  In one gallery we saw wonderful sculptures including one of Queen Elizabeth and of Marilyn Monroe.  We spent the better part of a day at the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, a building complex that houses the collections of Samsung’s founder.  The Lees had a superb collection of traditional Korean ceramics as well as of contemporary Korean and international art.  Outside was a pair of Louise Bourgeois spiders and inside a special exhibition of young artists.

On one hot and sweaty day, we took a tour bus up to Seoul Tower so we could see the city from above.  As we walked up to the tower entrance, we saw children playing in a shallow pool where misty rain spurted up out of the ground.  They laughed and danced, stepping on the water holes then leaping back in delight as the water burst forth.  On either side of the tower was a row of plastic trees made of Smartphone covers, hearts, key tags, and the like, many with little notes or sayings.  As we waited for the bus to take us back, we noticed a couple of green buses who drove up, backed into their parking spots, and plugged themselves into a charger: electric buses being refueled.   

Ceramics. We came to Korea in large part to see the ceramics, since Karen had been a potter.  Korea’s ceramics were so beautiful and finely done that several centuries ago the Japanese came to Korea, abducted some potters, and brought them back to Japan.  The country is known for its celadon, and the Leeum Museum’s collection is outstanding.  The objects are beautiful in shape, with painted or inlaid designs ranging from the simple to the intricate.  Some were white porcelain, others had a lovely green celadon glaze, while still others were a mix of white and red figures underneath a green glaze.  Korean ceramics had a big influence on Japanese and Chinese art, and they in turn affected Korea’s pottery.

We took a day trip to Icheon, about an hour from Seoul by bus, to visit the World Ceramics Museum, which sits in the middle of a park dotted with ceramic sculptures.  The complex includes the Toyaseum, which houses the museum’s collection of fine ceramics from all over the world; Ceramix, which had an exhibit of the best ceramics of 2011, studios for resident ceramicists, classrooms for children’s workshops; and a museum shop.  Everything was decorated eclectically with ceramics, perhaps the result of student projects.  It was fun, fascinating, and wonderful stuff.

At a nearby pottery area, we visited only a few of the shops and kilns of more than 300 potters offering a wide variety of traditional and contemporary ceramics.  Karen bought a lovely traditional set of bowls with a deep red glaze, a gorgeous celadon bowl and some contemporary plates.  I added to my collection with a couple of plates and bowls.  We came back tired but thrilled with our purchases and the day.

Gyeongbokgung gate detail

Tradition.   No trip to Seoul would be complete without visiting at least one of its palaces to learn something about the country’s history.  Korea was ruled by a series of dynasties from 2333 BC (yes) until 1910, when it was annexed by Japan.  W went to Gyeongbokgung Castle, a large complex of buildings that was first built in 1394 as the main and largest palace of the Joseon Dynasty.  Its wooden buildings were richly painted in lively green, blue, orange and pink geometric shapes.  Like Japan, the roofs were tile, often with small statues on top to ward off evil spirits.  Surrounding the complex were walls of brick laid in geometric patterns, with narrow gated entryways.  It was quite lovely.

Wood carving, Mokin Museum

The castle museum housed a number of exhibits depicting the traditional Korean way of life.  There we saw several ceremonial masks, traditional garb, some huge baskets, and a wonderful palanquin for a senior official with one wheel that helped the carriers.  Both there and in Insadong, we saw lots of pongaji, a decorative fabric piecing technique used with linen and silk. 

We had a great time at the small Mokin Museum, which houses colorfully painted wooden wall hangings and statues with a human face.  Rustic in form, the work was delightful, with very expressive faces.  They are used to decorate funeral biers (there’s usually one for a village), to ward off evil spirits, and for other celebrations. 

Fabric.  I brought Karen with me to a fabric market, housed above a large produce market.  We walked upstairs into a shop filled to the brim with gorgeous silk fabrics.  There were so many it was hard to focus and choose, but ultimately I bought several yards for quilting and Karen a number of scarves for gifts.  When we walked out, we didn’t see any more fabric shops, instead stalls selling ready-made clothes.  Then Karen pointed left.  There down a hall and around the corner was a seemingly endless line of fabric stalls, each packed to the ceiling with bolts of fabric.  We think the entire market must have been at least a couple of blocks long and a block wide, selling mostly silk, but also cottons, linen, and other fabrics.  I have never seen so much fabric in one place in my life.

Shopkeeper's handiwork

We stopped at one of the many shops selling traditional silk used to make clothing for weddings, baby celebrations, etc.  The shop owner proudly showed us some of the gowns he had made himself, with lovely piping and detail.  Much of his business, I think, is in making custom gowns for his clientele.  He also showed us silks in deep hues, each with small hand-painted designs on them.  After some discussion, Karen bought enough of that silk for me to make her a scarf.  Then I started, selecting half-yards of many different colors of the more gauzy silk to use in making a wall hanging.  The shopkeeper was so delighted at our interest in the silk and his handiwork that he pulled fabric off the ends of bolts for me to have – free.  I think he gave me more fabric than I had bought!

Food.  One morning Karen and I went to a Korean cooking class taught in English.  In a lovely studio with carefully laid out utensils and ingredients at each cooking station, we joined four others:  a Swedish couple, a young German man on vacation, and a Parisian woman here while her Bulgarian husband played a series of concerts with the Seoul National Orchestra.  Our teacher was wonderful, showing us how to make the kimchee cucumber and beef bulgogi, two traditional Korean dishes.  She helpfully told us what other ingredients we could use that we could easily find back home.  Afterwards, we got to eat what we had made – quite tasty!

Nanta.  How can I describe Nanta?  Formally, it’s a "90-minute nonverbal performance".   What it really is, is a lot of fun, slapstick, energy, rhythm and “music”, built around a bit of a plot and with a lot of audience participation.  It’s a theatrical experience like you’ve never seen, and one that packs the house, 4 shows a day, every day, in four theatres around Seoul.  It’s played in 41 countries and a couple of hundred cities and is, I think, a Korean specialty.   The show is so popular that we had trouble getting tickets.  But it’s another great example of Seoul’s spirit, fun-loving and with pizzazz. 

 

Me & my Chinese zodiac sign, the rooster

All in all, we had a great time in Seoul and found ourselves energized by the sights, sounds, and people of this cosmopolitan city.  If you’re thinking of traveling to Asia, think about including Seoul in your trip.