SEOUL – CITY OF CONTRASTS, South Korea, 2023
Seoul, the capital of South Korea is the city of contrasts for me. Modern skyscrapers next to thousands of years old palaces, state-of-the-art infrastructure next to traditional street markets, and a society that seems to seamlessly incorporate a somewhat conservative mentality and pop culture.
You can start your day strolling around Gyeongbokgung Palace and admire people in traditional Hanbok dresses, take a light lunch in any of the magnificent teahouses in the famous (and very posh) Gangnam district, and eat dinner at one of the small, hidden away from the street restaurants in Jongno-gu, such as Parigaok (Maison de Paris), which serves fabulous French cuisine – you will feel like you traveled several places in one day!
Then there is the DMZ – De-Militarized Zone between South and North Korea, a border barrier that was established after the Korean War and divides the country to this day. What I learned from visiting this historic site was that Koreans are wishing for peace and unity – just like that majority of humans. We all do have much more in common than what divides us.
Seoul, I will be back (especially with my camera – there is so much to capture), and I will definitely be staying at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun again. Besides the fabulous views and great location, I really enjoyed the breakfast. The biggest surprise of my stay was the lovely Kim at reception who greeted me in perfect Viennese German! It turned out she had lived in Vienna for 11 years (that’s longer than my children lived in the city they call home!) and went to the famous Modul University Vienna to study hotel management.
Concluding, you can spend 2 days or 2 weeks in this fascinating metropolis and not get bored!
