Seoul

King Sejong is a great hero of Korea. My particular interest is that his scholars created the simplified Korean alphabet (rather than use the Chinese one) so that ordinary people could become literate. It made my learning of Korean, hundreds of years later, possible.

Underneath this statue on Gwanghwamun Square is an exhibition about his life and also of another great Korean hero, General Yi Sun-Sin.

"The language of our people is different from Chinese and hence cannot be expressed properly in Chinese characters. That is why there are many uneducated people who cannot express themselves even if they have things to say. Taking pity on them, I have made twenty-eight letters, hoping that all our people can learn them easily and use them comfortably every day."

this marks King Sejong's birthplace in the  Sejong Village area of Seoul

General Yi Sun-Sin's statue, Gwanghwamun Square.

contrasts of Seoul

typical Seoul features: old buildings, new buildings, giant screens, mountains in the distance

another view of that large screen, which overlooks Gwanghwamun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace

changing of the guard at Gwanghwamun Gate

I was fascinated that Alice in Wonderland is so well-known in Seoul. This shop is in the Sejong Village part of Seoul.

this poster is across the pavement from the shop

this shop, with an Alice in Wonderland display in the window, is in Insa-Dong, Seoul, but I wanted to keep the Alice things together

view from the hotel which had a garden on the roof, lighted tree by the Jogyesa Temple below, top of the green lighted Namsan Tower in the centre distance behind buildings