Korea Nice Picts
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Close to my hotel: Hongik University main gate. (The University is also called "Hongdae".)

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Flea market in a park, near Hongdae.

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The Han river, near my hotel, has a nice hiking trail.

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Hello!

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Suwon is a fortified city, about 30 miles South of Seoul

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Suwon's fortified gate.

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Some of the ramparts.

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The city has grown and swallowed up much of the fortifications

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My friend to me to Songnisan National Park. It has a beautiful Buddhist temple (as most parks do) and miles of lovely hiking.

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Enterprising local farmers at the entrance of the park.

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The Buddha is gilt with gold but you might be dissapointed to learn that he's made of concrete… Sorry.

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Hiking trail begins... Unfortunately, we ran out of time.

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On the return from Songnisan, this tree has a unique story. I now know of two trees who have been given the rank of minister.

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Back in Seoul, the lock museum.

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This is where the foreigners tend to hang out. Itaewon used to be full of American GIs. It has a lot of good restaurants and interesting shops. Clothing and antiques.

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Yeouido is an island in the Han river, the center of Seoul. There are many government and corporate buildings here.

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Hibiscus… National flower of Korea.

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Near my hotel. How could I resist?

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The trench is actually the entrance to the student services, cafeteria, library and so on. The gardens are the roof.

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Just up the hill from the Womens' University is the beginning of another large park. Bongwosa is a Buddhist temple.

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Lotus blossoms. Buddha is often depicted seated on a lotus flower.

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Actually, this is a "royal residence" where the king actually lived. Its not extravagant.

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I received a free tour from this very kind lady. It was fun. Everytime I made a comment she liked she'd laugh and hit me. That's the "ajuma" personality.