In the Footsteps of Kings

For today's adventure, we planned to visit the Jongmyo Shrine and the Changgyeonggung Palace to experience a bit more of South Korean culture.

To avoid arriving totally hungry and low on energy, we indulged in a culinary delight on the way: Onigiri from the refrigerated section of a 7-Eleven (my first Onigiri since arriving here). Super nutritious and of course totally healthy – one can surely count the seaweed wrapper as a vegetable.

When we arrived at the Jongmyo Shrine, our plans of sightseeing were dashed, as guided tours are only available on weekdays, and we had arrived a bit too late for that. So we had to kill about 1.5 hours until the next tour.

We walked along the wall of the shrine towards Changgyeonggung Palace to see if the same rules applied there. However, since we weren't sure whether the tour of the shrine included the palace (there were combination tickets for several shrines and palaces), we decided against visiting the palace for the moment.

Instead, we made our way to a Hanok Village. Hanok refers to a traditional Korean architectural style, and there are small villages here that have been entirely built in this style.

On the way there, we finally “found” one that we could explore in detail – and it was absolutely worth it. The architecture felt like it was straight out of an Eastern film, and one immediately feels as if they belong there. The garden was particularly beautiful, even in winter. I can hardly imagine how impressive it must be here in spring when everything blooms.

I would definitely feel at home in such a house. And what completely surprised me: The houses in the Hanok style had a sort of underfloor heating! Below the floor, a chamber was created where a fire was lit (usually under the kitchen to utilize the heat directly for cooking). The warm air then flowed through clever channels and warmed the stone slabs beneath the wooden floor. Voila – underfloor heating!

With this new knowledge in mind, it was slowly time to return to the shrine, so we would be on time for the tour this time.

For just 1,000 Korean won, we found ourselves right in the middle of the action (although… actually we were just there). The tour of the Jongmyo Shrine lasted about an hour and provided a wealth of information about the shrine's construction and history. It was the central royal ancestral shrine where the royal ancestors were honored. I won’t go into further detail – that would exceed the limits (and I probably have already forgotten some details) – but one thing is very important: There are different paths for different persons in the shrine. One for the king, one for the crown prince, and one for the spirits of the former monarchs that runs in between. The living are not allowed to walk on the path of the ancestral spirits – but we were allowed to walk the king's path. I have always known that I must have royal blood, but now it’s official!

Overall, it was a very educational and beautiful experience. Additionally, it was pleasantly quiet since only a few guided groups were allowed in. However, we were not upset when we were done, as the cold had begun to creep into our bones.

The last stop of the day was Gangnam (yes, exactly – Gangnam Style!).

On the way there, we took a spontaneous detour through a street market, where there were mainly textiles, food (lots of fish), and street food stalls. I believe I have never seen so many dried foods in one place. However, we only indulged in a small, delicious snack: a pancake made from mung beans (or something), which warmed our limbs and fortified us for the continued journey.

Upon arriving in Gangnam, we had four destinations on our list:

Tim Hortons – for delicious donuts (after all those steps, we definitely deserved it)

Uniqlo – to buy some warmer clothes for the coffee nerd, in case there would be (or rather because there would definitely be) more cold days ahead

Ediya Coffee Lab – for the daily dose of Specialty Coffee (you must have been waiting for this moment…)

Hanmiok Korean BBQ – for dinner with acquaintances of the coffee nerd

The donuts were quickly found (and unfortunately devoured even quicker), and the search for warmer clothing was a complete success, while sitting in the café was a very welcome break after we had already been on our feet for nearly six hours at that point. The coffee itself was rather unremarkable this time – just a perfectly normal, good coffee. Almost strange that the nerd would order something like that.

The day concluded with Korean BBQ at Hanmiok: a pretty cool location, delicious food, and very pleasant company.