Seoul - Cheong Gye Cheon

This time the trip to Seoul was a good one. I met with some new faces and made several new friends. Links to my previous trips to Seoul as below :

Seoul Again
Tour 2 Seoul Part One
Tour 2 Seoul Part Two
Tour 2 Seoul Part Three
On Top of the Dragon Peak : Lost Love Found

Introducing Cheong Gye Cheon this time.


The second trip to Gyeongbuk Palace (the largest palace of the Joseon Dynasty) was nice. The snow setting made it extra memorable. It was cold weather despite early March.

Gyeongbuk Palace was said to be the most beautiful among the five other palaces.

I was trying to relate to the first female royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty - Dae Jang Geum. Was it the same palace ? I was told by my friend, that smaller doors were for women to their own palace courtyard. True ?

A big padlock for one of the palace connecting doors.

Decorations and colors used in Korean traditional architecture.

Hyangwonjeong (The Pavilion of Far Reaching Fragrance), an island built in the midst of a lotus pond.

Trees showing off their first budding spring flowers in late winter.

Cheonggye Stream, also known as Cheong Gye Cheon is a 5.8km creek flowing through downtown Seoul and then meeting the Han River.

During the presidency of Lee Seung-man , Cheong Gye Cheon was covered over with concrete for roads and in 1968, an elevated highway was built over it.

In July 2003, Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak initiated a project to uncover and restore the stream. It was a major undertaking as not only did the highway have to be removed, but years of neglect and development had left the stream nearly totally dry and 120,000 tons of water had to be pumped in daily. Apparently it was a successful project.

Night view of the city and Seoul Tower from where I have stayed - Hyundai Residence.