Sunday, December 2, 2012

Delightful Sunday in Insadong

Today was a delightfully mild day for December in Seoul, about 7 degrees C with a light wind and sunny.  I needed to do some Christmas shopping, so fortunately my Korean friend Sangok agreed to guide me through the gift shops of Samcheongdong and Insadong.

Samsung Galaxy 3 failed on the lighting, but at least you can see the food

Samcheongdong is a charming area with many cafes, restaurants, and art galleries.  I started my afternoon by downing a delicious breaded pork cutlet filled with kimchi and cheese in a cozy diner. We then navigated to a couple shops – I don't want to give away what we found lest I give away to my family what gifts I will be bringing home in my suitcase!

We stopped for coffee, then walked south to nearby Insadong, a more popular pedestrian mall full of small art galleries, craft shops, and tasty restaurants. This is by far the best place in Seoul to go hunting for Korean souvenirs and I had an easy time finding good presents inside the many shops. Again, I won't give away what I purchased, but I did find traditional Korean wrapping paper to place all my gifts in!

With Sangok at the Insadong pedestrian area

Insadong was lively today. We saw a musical "get out the vote" parade (the Korean presidential election is December 19th) as well as a traditional performance of the Samul Nori performed by a group of college students.  I wished I had my real camera as my Samsung Galaxy S3 could barely capture the action.

My future visitors to Seoul will certainly receive a tour of this area!

Samul Nori : a drum and gong performance

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