National Museum of Korea

We have had some glorious weather over the long weekend (apart from Saturday of course). Today is Children's Day which is when parents spend time with their children and buy them presents. We also had yesterday off work to make it a 4 day weekend.

Bridget and I went to the National Museum of Korea in the morning which is in an impressive modernist building set in a park near Yongsan.

The National Museum of Korea

There is a section dedicated to Hangul, the Korean language. Koreans are rightfully proud of their alphabet which was created by King Sejong (the one who lived at Gyeongbokgung Palace) in the 15th Century. Before the invention of Hangul, Chinese characters were used to represent the Korean language. As anyone who has ever tried to learn Chinese will tell you, there are thousands of characters used in Chinese script. It can take many years to learn to read Chinese and thus most of the population of Korea was illiterate as only aristocrats could take the time to learn to read. King Sejong saw there was a need for a more simplified written language and a phonemic alphabet was devised with 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Each syllabic block includes at least two letters with at least one vowel and one consonant. Hangeul is the only invented alphabet in use in the world today.

It was far too nice a day to be indoors, so after a quick scoot around a couple of the galleries and the museum shop, we ate a picnic lunch in the park and were told off by a guard for sitting on the grass, ooops! I was interviewed by a bunch of university students who wanted to ask foreigners about the ways in which they greet friends and family and what they think about Korea.

The Museum from the "Lake of Reflections"

Later on in the afternoon, we went our separate ways, Bridget went to Itaewon and I decided to head for Myeongdong to do a little shopping (the museum shop wasn't big enough to quell my shopaholic tendencies).

Unfortunately, Myeongdong (which is one of Seoul's main shoppng districts) was absolutely heaving, so I decided to walk towards Jonggak to catch the subway back to Bucheon instead.

I walked past Cheonggyecheon stream which runs the length of Seoul city centre and which used to be covered by a busy road. A few years ago, the government decided to uncover the stream and make a park running along either side. You can cross the stream via conventional bridges or via stepping stones, be careful not to get your feet wet! The stones help to regulate the speed of the flow of water.

Cheonggyecheon

The main landmark in this area is Jongno Tower which is 33 storeys high. There is a bar and restaurant on the top floor which is famous for its views of the city and is a traditional place for Koreans to propose to one another. So if you ever get invited for a meal there, you may go home with more than just indigestion!

Jongno Tower