Seoul: Part 2

On August 3 we headed to the World Cup Stadium to watch FC Seoul play Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

The home team is FC Seoul

We weren't allowed to buy tickets in advance so we arrived at the stadium 3 hours before the start of the game

There were a lot of people in line already

Here's the view of the city

It was a pretty nice stadium

Paul was excited to be a part of the team

You can bring your own food so naturally, the folks behind us brought a box of chicken

These are the Suwon fans

They had a lot of good songs

The Suwon Bluewings

Look at the FC Seoul fans making words in the stands!

FC Seoul were the 2012 Champs

FC Seoul has a mascot (see below) who was supposedly beamed down to Seoul World Cup Stadium by his intergalactic spaceship in 2004.

The mascot's name is SSID (Seoul & Sun in Dream). He and Mr. Met should meet.

These are the FC Seoul fans - not sure why they have a picture of Che

Some action

More action shots...they prefer acrobatic aerial kicks over control of the ball (that was Paul's addition, obviously)

The fans were captivated by the action

I'm not sure why there is a blow up kangaroo doll but the Suwon fans were passing it around

Seoul World Cup Stadium all lit up - the final score was 2-1 (FC Seoul won)

Back on the subway

Paul loves it

On August 4, we did some more exploring around Seoul which included visiting the statues of Admiral Yi Sun-shin and King Sejong and also checking out Gyeongbokgung Palace.

In front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin

Love these reflection shots from remnant puddles

Admiral Yi Sun-shin was a naval commander in the 1500's

He is famous for victories over Japan in the Imjin War during the Joseon Dynasty

King Sejong

Underneath the statue is a museum dedicated to telling the story of King Sejong

It was a nice escape from the heat

And we learned something!

King Sejong created the Korean phonetic alphabet in the 1400's

Dictionary of Proper Korean Pronunciations

I think it makes sense

At least this made sense to me

Heading towards the Gyeongbokgung Palace

Looking back towards the two statues

I thought these guys were statues but the are real people in costumes!

We got to witness the changing of the guards right outside Gwanghwamun Gate

Interesting juxtaposition (for you Sascha!)

Heungnyemun Gate

Statue in front of the Heungnyemun Gate

Love the doors

Walking towards Geunjeongmun Gate; no, it's not hot at all and Paul is not sweating

In front of Geunjeongjeon Hall

Throne inside Geunjeongjeong Hall

Chicken

Sheep

And I don't know what this is but I thought it'd be a cool picture

Side view of Geunjeongjeon Hall

I really like this tree and Paul's pose in front of Sujeongjeon Hall

Gyeonghohru Pavillion

Paul trying to hide from me

More doors

Empty corridor

In the process of being restored

Here's a restored version of Jaseondang Hall

Love this shot with the mountain in the background looking towards Sajeongjeon Hall

Hemispheric Sundial (Angbuilgu) invented in 1434 

Another door

Paul is reading up about the Amisan 

Another pretty door

We also couldn't pass up visiting Gangnam.

We did not find Psy here

Paul refused to pose on this stage

Walking around Gangnam

Looking for a place to eat

After watching Paul's new favorite sci-fi movie, Snowpiercer, we headed back to our hotel

The next day, we headed to the airport for country #15, China!

It's always fun to wear our packs for at least an hour

We took the airport express train which was a lot cheaper than a taxi (8,000 Korean Won/about $7 per person) and it was pretty quick. We heard a taxi cost about 60,000 Korean Won/about $53!

Paul gave his seal of approval upon arriving at the airport

We couldn't wait to explore the world's best airport!