Korea - jenjake.com

Korea

For Jen’s 40th, we left Willow with her grandparents, grabbed our passports and took a business class Korean Air flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia with a 3-day stop-over in Seoul, South Korea. Because we took so many pictures, we’ve split up Korea and Cambodia into three entries. Cambodia Part I (days 1-2) is below.

Flying business class to Korea

The view from our hotel in Seoul

The view from our hotel in Seoul

Jen enjoying our fabulous business hotel bathroom

Exploring Seoul

The Lotte department store

Seoul city scene

Jen on a walk the morning after we arrived

The baby fat store

Where cats like to stay in Korea

A cat above the rest

Tony & Leo stayed here

View to North Korea

From the bus on our way to Panmunjom

First stop on the DMZ tour

Mangbaedan Memorial Altar (where displaced

Mangbaedan Memorial Altar in the DMZ

Imjingak (park was built to console those from both

Reunification ribbons on a barbed wire fence at

On these ribbons, visitors write prayers of peace and

Train destroyed during the Korean War

Miles of barbed wire

Barbed wire at the border

Not the happiest place on earth

Jake with destroyed train

Jen with North Korean soldier

Taking a walk to the Freedom Bridge

Freedom Bridge gate

Reunification ribbons

Spying North Korea

Amusement park an Imjingak

Panmunjom - UN main conference room

Posing with South Korean soldier

Jake doing Korean soldier impression

Wonder what he does after the tourists are gone

Conference table (1/2 in N. Korea and 1/2 in S. Korea)

North Korea's JSA building

UN buildings between North and South

North Korean soldier

Or is it a statute?

One guard stands with body half shielded by the building

U.S. soldiers in fatigues

Staring down North Korea

Conference building for important talks

Looking to the right

Looking to the left

Conference room

Conference room

Memorial for ax murders

US soldiers supervising a tree trimming were killed by

North Koreans tell a different story

View to North Korea

Bridge to North Korea

Barbed wire across the way

Barbed wire across the way

Noodle stalls at Gwangjang market

Noodle stall where we stopped for breakfast

Apparently the Korean morning news programs

Mmmmm breakfast

In Changdeokgung palace

Touring Changdeokgung's Secret Garden

Jen in the Secret Garden

Library in the distance

Pagoda in Changdeokgung Secret Garden

Island of foliage in Buyongji Pond

Jake with the library

Roof of Yeonghwadang, a pleasure pavilion for the

Ceiling of Yeonghwadang

Part of the roof structure of Yeonghwadang

Buyongji Pond area

Buyeongjeong pavilion

Jake with entrance to the Royal Library

Entrance to the Royal Library

Must remove shoes to enter

After taking pictures of Yeonghwadang

Enjoying the tour

Secret Garden pavilion

The gate of perpetual youth

Aeyeonji Pond pavilion

Aeyeonji Pond pavilion

Trees with crutches

Yonkyongdang House in the Secret Garden

Sacred rock outside of Yonkyongdang House

Yonkyongdang House window

Yonkyongdang House

View from Yonkyongdang House

Jeondeokjeong pavilion

roof of Jeondeokjeong pavilion

roof of Jeondeokjeong pavilion

ceiling of Jeondeokjeong pavilion

recently painted

pavilions are repainted every 10 years

Jeondeokjeong pavilion

Jeondeokjeong pavilion

Jeondeokjeong pavilion

Jen & Jake with Jeondeokjeong pavilion

The garden that was extremely private space for

Jen enjoying the Secret Garden

There are over 26,000 specimens of a hundred

750-year-old incense tree

Guardian figures on the roof

Changdeokgung main gate

View of Injeongjeon (the royal audience chamber)

Haetae, mythical fire-eating beasts that supposedly

Taking photos with Injeongjeon

Haetae, mythical fire-eating beasts that supposedly

Taking photos with Injeongjeon

Wide view of View of Injeongjeon

Entrance to Injeongjeon

The royal audience chamber

Jen & Jake with Injeongjeon

Posing at Injeongjeon entrance

Rank stones: markers to place civil and military

School children at the palace

Jake Facebooking

Guardian animals

Where did Jake go?

Jake imagines what it would be like to be king

Jake strikes a regal pose

Vigilant guardians

Tired of having his picture taken

Fabulous colors

Jen couldn't stop looking up

Wish we could make our cedar shake roof look like

Ceiling pattern

Ceiling pattern close-up

The style is: "Dancheong."

It is a decorative coloring found in Korean traditional

The history of dancheong can be traced to the colorful

Red was used on building parts exposed to sunlight

Buddhism brought Chinese to Korea

Door with breasts

Practicing English

They were really proficient!

Seoul has a lot of really unique architecture

Looking over the wall

Gyeongbok Palace

Gyeongbok Palace with business men

Gyeongbok Palace through arch

colorful bus stop

Rock pile outside of National Folk Museum

To ward of evil spirits

Jangseung carved faces that were placed at village

Korean vampire?

volcanic stone sculptures

used as worship pieces in Korean folklore

Example of tradition Korean architecture

Inspiration: Palsangjeon Hall at Beopjusa Temple

A 5-story wooden pagoda built in 553 AD

Astrology statute

Jen with her year

More serious please

Small man in Korean Folk museum

Exit sign (actually not sure what this said but I liked the

Traditional Korean dress

Gyeongbokgung Palace guards

Gyeongbokgung Palace guard

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Is that beard real?

Changing of the guard about to begin

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Ready to make the switch

Get out of the way, tourist

Ok, maybe a little smile

The other palace guard

Couldn't get him to crack a smile

statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Plaza

King Sejong was the fourth king of the Joseon Kingdom

Jake slapping high-5 with Sejong

Accomplishments: reinforced Korean

Also used the creation of Hangul and the

Admiral Yi Sun-shin statue in Gwanghwamun Square

a Korean naval commander famed for his victories

Looks ready for blast-off

Seoul loves signs

Seafood market from above

Noryangjin Fish Market

See seafood galore

Market goes on forever

Shrimp of all types

and sizes (about a 1,000 won to the dollar)

Mussles on steroids

Lots of things we'd never seen before

Not sure what most of this was but it smelled nice

End of the market

A little chili powder?

This smelled a bit fishy

Where some of that chili powder went

Rice, a Korean staple

In the subway station

Seoul's subway was superb

Jen & Jake subway pose

Jen & Jake subway pose II

Janganpyeong antique market

Time for lunch at Gwangjang market

A bad place to leave your money

Jen explores Gwangjang market

Device for making mung bean pancake batter

Bukchon: neighborhood we stayed in