Bukchon? Meh.

Today was pretty gorgeous out, so I figured that cold weather be damned, I was going to go out and take some photos. I decided to go to Bukchon Hanok Village, next to Gyeongbok Palace. To be honest, I didn't find it that interesting. The neighborhood reminded me of the more run-down parts of Banyawol (the area on the outskirts of Daegu where I used to live: see here, here, and here for pictures) - only instead of going to seed or being replaced by brand new high-rises, the traditional Korean homes (hanok) have been spruced up, and the area, while still mainly residential, has become somewhat of a tourist trap. The place is home to tons of guest houses located inside hanok, as well as a large variety of places where one can make and/or buy traditional Korean crafts. There were also a lot of art galleries and museums. I have to say that I give Seoul props for encouraging the sprucing up of the more traditional neighborhoods, instead of letting them crumble and decay until they're replaced by high-rises, but I really just wasn't all that into Bukchon. Not being into craft-making or art, not being in need of a guest house, and having seen plenty of hanok (lived in and not) before, there wasn't much about Bukchon that was all that appealing to me. I think that were I new to Korea I probably would've enjoyed it more. As it was, it was a lot of stuff I'd seen before combined with things I just didn't find all that interesting. Still, it was a nice day to be outside, and I got a few decent photos.

I heard barking and turned around - a relative of Mochi was atop this wall!

You could see Seoul Namsan Tower from certain spots.

National Folk Museum of Korea @ Gyeongbok Palace as seen from Bukchon
Daewoo Matiz police car!! (And you know I love me some Matiz...)
There's a new (and huge) art museum under construction at the nexus of Bukchon and Gyeongbok, called the UUL National Art Museum. It has an... interesting faux-graffiti advertising on the walls surrounding the construction site. More info here.

At the intersection between Bukchon and Gyeongbok Palace (which I blogged about here if you're wondering why it doesn't feature in this post).