Korea was long divided into three kingdoms, Baekje, Silla and, Goguryeo. Seoul was in Baekje, Goguryeo was what is now North Korea and part of Manchuria.
There are five royal palaces in Seoul. These are from the Joseon Dynasty which lasted about five hundred years, until the end of the Nineteenth Century. Much else remains from the Joseon Dynasty, such as city gates and some remains of the surrounding wall. The Joseon Dynasty was preceded by the Goryeo Dynasty, which lasted for about the same amount of time, and takes us back to the beginnings of the city.
The Joseon Dynasty was known for being very Confucian. Confucius was Chinese, but was revered in Korea even more than in China. Buddhists and Christians were persecuted but today the world's largest church, by attendance, is in Seoul. The Joseon Dynasty were contemporaries of the Tokugawa Shogunate, that we saw in our visits to Japan. In particular, South Korea is now the world's center of the Presbyterian denomination.
Gyeongbokgung is usually considered as the most important of the five imperial palaces in Seoul, from the Joseon Dynasty.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
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The Blue House, where the South Korean president lives, is near the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Remember that we saw another of Seoul's palaces in the visit on this blog, "Imperial Palaces".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_House#/media/File:Korea-Seoul-Blue_House_(Cheongwadae)_Reception_Center_0688%269-07_cropped.jpg
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Another important site of the Joseon Dynasty is the Hwaseong Fortress, to the south of Seoul.
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The Joseon Dynasty is also remembered for their royal tombs, with a mound as the grave site. Such tombs are found across the country. Here is one example, in Seoul's Samneung Park, and the surrounding area.
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Now that we have seen some of Seoul's long history, let's have a look at the modern city from the top of the North Seoul Tower.
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This is the Lotte World Tower, beginning in the mall.
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The following scenes begin outside Myeongdong Cathedral, the Catholic cathedral in the central city. It can be seen in the satellite imagery that many tall buildings in Seoul have heliports on the roof.
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These scenes are around the Times Square Mall.
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This is the Coex Mall, and the surrounding area. The Bonguensa, a very old Buddhist temple, is located nearby, showing how Seoul is the old and the new next door to one another.
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This is in the northernmost part of Seoul.
Here is a residential and business area to the southwest of the city.
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