The Star: June 08, 2017

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi
Thursday June 8 2017 27
Travel
Sample the shops and cuisine of Seoul
• By Mike Yardley
WHEN I mentioned to
my Korean hairdresser in
Christchurch that I was heading
to Seoul, his response was hardly
reaffirming. “Why would you
want to go there?”
Sure, Seoul doesn’t enjoy the
reputational hype of Tokyo,
Shanghai or Bangkok, but as a
quick stopover or side-trip, the
city struck me as immensely
engaging.
Arriving into Seoul by fast train
from Incheon Airport, one of
the first imposing landmarks to
stop me in my tracks was Namdaemun,
the city’s South Gate,
resplendently restored after being
bombed during the Korean War.
The gate forms part of Seoul’s
old city walls, of which 70 per
cent are remarkably intact. Over
600 years old, the 18km circuit
wraps around the city core and
threads together the four guardian
mountains that keep watch
over Seoul. The city continues
rebuilding the missing chunks but
if you’re up for a power-walk, in
every sense, head to the Bukaksan
section.
The highest of the four peaks at
342m, it stands guard over Korea’s
seat of power and the summit
viewpoint overlooks the Blue
House, Korea’s splendid presidential
palace.
There’s a variety of royal palaces
clustered around the central city
including Gyeongbokgung,
Seoul’s premier palace which
has performed a Phoenix-like
resurrection, from the cinders
of destruction. It was from here
that the Joseon Dynasty ruled
the roost for 600 years, before the
Japanese muscled in.
A highly theatrical changing
of the guard is performed daily,
purely as a patriotic fist-pump,
around the entrance gate of
Gwanghwamun. The blaze of
colourfully-costumed regalia is
loved by the locals as much as
the selfie-stick toting tourists.
Gyeongbokgung translates as the
Palace of Shining Happiness, a
colossal compound of astounding
CEREMONY: A highly theatrical changing of the guard is performed daily at the entrance gate of Gwanghwamun. Right – The city’s
South Gate, restored after it was damaged during the Korean War.
BINGE-WORTHY: Street eats in the Seoul markets.
architecture, ornamental gardens
and vivid history.
It previously contained 800
buildings and 200 gates. The Joseon
kings had several thousand
servants at their disposal within
the royal household, including
500 ladies-in-waiting and 400
eunuchs.
Trying to get your head around
the sheer extravagance of this imperial
relic is best decoded with a
good guide.
I explored the palace as part of
a city tour with VIP Travel, who
run a great-value and illuminating
guided sightseeing service.
www.vviptravel.com
Perfectly perched in the heart of
Seoul’s cultural district, Courtyard
by Marriott Seoul Namdaemun
delivers a distinct experience,
with the carnival colour of
Namdaemun Market, right across
the road.
Just one year old, this engaging
property still has new-hotel-smell,
and elegantly furnished with all
the creature comforts you’d expect
from an ultra-contemporary
hotel. Wi-fi is free and lightningfast,
guestrooms are spacious and
the city views are electrifying.
You’ll enjoy 24-hour access to
the generously equipped fitness
centre, outstanding concierge services,
impeccable hospitality and
all-day dining at Momo Café.
If you want to push the boat
out, upgrade to executive lounge
access, where you can enjoy an
indulgent and exclusive space
loaded with privileges, headlined
by complimentary Happy Hour
drinks and meal-worthy bites,
showcasing a wide palette of
Asian culinary delights. courtyard.marriott.com
The streets of Seoul are packed
with culinary delights and a onestop-shop
for bargain buys and
great bites is the Namdaemun
Market, a frenetic night-and-day
emporium that sprawls for blocks
and is Korea’s biggest market.
Whether its clothing, accessories
or handicrafts, each section
comprises hundreds of stalls,
spilling across pedestrianised
streets.
The sensory overload is most
graphically illustrated by the profusion
of food stalls, sizzling with
binge-worthy things on sticks and
in bowls, which will soon challenge
your stomach space.
Best bites include odeng, fishcake
skewers seasoned in springonion
soup; tteokbokki, spicy rice
cakes that are revved up with redpepper
paste; and dakkochi, the
ubiquitous barbequed chicken on
skewers in a sticky, tangy sauce.
They are nearly as pervasive
as kimchi, Korea’s great staple of
salted, seasoned and fermented
vegetables.
Don’t leave town without trying
Korean doughnuts, hotteok, spicy
pancakes stuffed with sunflower
seeds, peanuts, red beans and
honey. Namdaemun Market is
centrally located in Myeongdong,
which is Seoul’s shopaholic
mecca. All of the global fashion
heavyweights are here, alongside
chic Asian faves and the templelike
department stores.
Pop into Mitsukoshi, the Harrods
of Seoul, and the city’s oldest
department store with an opulent
food hall in the basement. My
local guide told me that 20 pr cent
of Seoul’s women have facial surgery.
They binge on cosmetic perfectionism
and you’ll see a surfeit
of specimens in Mitsukoshi.
FAST FACTS
•I booked my side-trip
to Seoul from Japan
through the leading
global airfare comparison
platform, Cheapflights.
Apparently, the popularity
of Cheapflights has now
reached the level where its
website and app booking
traffic fills a 747 every five
minutes! It’s brilliantly simple
to use, highly intuitive and
super smart, loading up
all available flights and
fares, for your preferred
time, date and destination.
Save yourself the hassle
of searching multiple sites
to hunt down the best
available flights and fares.
Let Cheapflights do the
legwork for you – in a flash.
www.cheapflights.co.nz
Spend $10 at
a participating
airport outlet
during June
for your chance
to win.*
*For more details, go to
eatshopwinatrip.co.nz