Close to my hotel: Hongik University main gate. (The University is also called "Hongdae".)

Flea market in a park, near Hongdae.

The Han river, near my hotel, has a nice hiking trail.

Hello!

Suwon is a fortified city, about 30 miles South of Seoul

Suwon's fortified gate.

Some of the ramparts.

The city has grown and swallowed up much of the fortifications

My friend to me to Songnisan National Park. It has a beautiful Buddhist temple (as most parks do) and miles of lovely hiking.

Enterprising local farmers at the entrance of the park.

The Buddha is gilt with gold but you might be dissapointed to learn that he's made of concrete… Sorry.

Hiking trail begins... Unfortunately, we ran out of time.

On the return from Songnisan, this tree has a unique story. I now know of two trees who have been given the rank of minister.

Back in Seoul, the lock museum.

This is where the foreigners tend to hang out. Itaewon used to be full of American GIs. It has a lot of good restaurants and interesting shops. Clothing and antiques.

Yeouido is an island in the Han river, the center of Seoul. There are many government and corporate buildings here.

Hibiscus… National flower of Korea.

Near my hotel. How could I resist?

The trench is actually the entrance to the student services, cafeteria, library and so on. The gardens are the roof.

Just up the hill from the Womens' University is the beginning of another large park. Bongwosa is a Buddhist temple.

Lotus blossoms. Buddha is often depicted seated on a lotus flower.

Actually, this is a "royal residence" where the king actually lived. Its not extravagant.

I received a free tour from this very kind lady. It was fun. Everytime I made a comment she liked she'd laugh and hit me. That's the "ajuma" personality.