A relatively new square opened in 2009, the ‘Gwanghwamun Square’ is one of the new places where Seoulites like to hang out. It is located right across the historical Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
At the centre of the square is the statue of ‘King Sejon the Great’, a respected king of the Joseon Dynasty and the creator of Hangeul, Korea’s alphabet. The story of King Sejong is exhibited underneath the square.
I would have loved to check this out but travelling with the Dutchman is always a compromise. He doesn’t like all these culture baggage but is willing to go with me as long as we don’t get into the facets of it, such as visiting a museum or staying longer in said place. There are a few museums that interests him though, such as the Holocaust Memorial Museum we visited in Berlin this year in March. Now, that was an exemption.
Here at Gwanghwamun Square you can loan the king’s robe and headdress for free and take pictures. We didn’t avail of this but I had fun taking pictures of those who did.
On the other side of the square is a statue of ‘Admiral Yi Sunshin’, a naval commander who fought against the Japanese during the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 16th century.
He died in battle and became a popular hero to the Korean people. So popular that after many centuries later, he has a TV series dedicated to his life portraying the admiral as the ‘Immortal Admiral Yi Sunshin’.
Turning left we encountered ‘Cheonggyecheon’ (Cheonggyecheon Stream), a 8.4-kilometre public recreation river stream that flows through downtown Seoul dividing Jongno-gu and Jung-gu.
This was a $900-million urban renewal and beautification project that opened in 2005. Initially receiving a lot of criticism but later became a favourite of Seoulites to hang out. The area is indeed a lovely place to stroll on and to get some fresh air as well. A cool escape within the city so to speak.
This is how Cheonggeyecheon looked before (in the first half of the 20th century, picture courtesy of wikipedia):
And this is Cheonggeyecheon now:
It is very interesting to take note that all these were new. South Korea only experienced economic boom in the second half of the 20th century (15 years later after the Second World War) and into the 21st century.
In fact my first introduction to Korea was the product called Lucky Goldstar. My mom bought a big Lucky Goldstar washing machine in the early 80’s. The brand name Lucky Goldstar stuck to my head. Lucky Goldstar was later renamed to LG.
Travel Period: October 2012
Destination: Jongno-gu (Seoul Old City Centre), South Korea
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