of the world, and the nation seems to revel in the herb, claiming it can help lower blood pressure, boost the immune system and even act as an aphrodisiac.
More popular with the younger generation of Koreans and chic Japanese tourists is Tongdaemun market, with its excellent selection of the latest fashions.
A huge shopping mall is split into women’s, men’s and children’s floors, and prices are unbelievably cheap. A pair of jeans go for £5, while I paid £11 for a posh Louis Vuitton-style holdall.
In the evenings, there is a great buzz about the place, the streets are heaving. You may even be treated to an impromptu band entertaining the crowds – I caught a Korean punk outfit, complete with thrashing guitars and peroxide locks.
If you are after sports goods or CDs, a good place to head for is the Itaewon shopping district. Shops sell Celine Dion and Marilyn Mansun CDs and anything in between, for the bargain price of £7.50.
Itaewon also sells clothes – it is worth splashing out on a World Cup 2002 T-shirt for £2.50, so you are ready for the event two years early.
Shops in Itaewon offer clothes in larger sizes than Tongdaemun, as the district is just round the corner from a US military base – GIs have been stationed in the country since the 1950s Korean War.
To understand the current situation between North and South Korea, a visit to the nearby War Memorial is a must. In the outdoor section you get to wander round tanks and B-52 bombers and climb in and out of helicopters. There is even a submarine to peruse. Inside the museum you can compare the army uniforms of the north and south, and trace the conflict, battle by battle, along a well marked trail.
The city also has a more traditional side – it has a generous helping of temples and palaces. With just 24hrs to spend in Seoul, I singled out just one – the Changdokkung Palace with its secret garden, the Piwon, once open only to Korean royalty. Our tour guide told us tales of emperors and their concubines, of boys and girls raised separately from the age of seven years, while our group watched dragonflies flit in and out of the lily ponds and maple trees.
Somehow the palace’s high, stone walls managed to blot out the rumble of Seoul’s busy traffic beyond. And with the insistent, electric buzz of the cicadas, it felt like we were in the middle of the countryside, not a busy modern metropolis.
My favourite moment was stepping through the arch of longevity, so named because it is carved out of a single piece of stone.
For a further taste of old Korea, I found a traditional tea house in nearby Insadong. Its subdued lighting and old-style music made for a relaxing and almost meditative half-hour.
A wide range of tastes and flavours were available – persimmon tea, ginger tea, fermented rice punch and green tea, described by the menu as ‘an anti-cancer energiser that suppresses high blood-pressure, eliminates hangover and prevents plaque and mouth odour’.
I hope it was true to its promise as the bitter taste did not impress me much. For a city that has been gripped by the Asian economic crisis for the last two years, Seoul felt very much ‘business as usual.’
I saw expensive cars on the streets, two gigantic new bridges being built over the River Han, and dozens of Lego-style Korean apartment blocks being thrown up – if that is Seoul in recession, I would like to see the city in boom time.
TUCKED in between gleaming high-rise office blocks, Seoul’s markets are a good place to start to get a feel for the country and its traditions.
The Namdaemun market is the most colourful with piles of bright red chillis and mounds of garlic, barrows of water melons and sweet potatoes.
Next up, watches, jeans, teddy bears, luggage, and ginseng in every form you could ever want from teabag to tablet.
Korea is the ginseng capital of the world, and the nation seems to revel in the herb, claiming it can help lower blood pressure, boost the immune system and even act as an aphrodisiac.
More popular with the younger generation of Koreans and chic Japanese tourists is Tongdaemun market, with its excellent selection of the latest fashions.
A huge shopping mall is split into women’s, men’s and children’s floors, and prices are unbelievably cheap. A pair of jeans go for £5, while I paid £11 for a posh Louis Vuitton-style holdall.
In the evenings, there is a great buzz about the place, the streets are heaving. You may even be treated to an impromptu band entertaining the crowds – I caught a Korean punk outfit, complete with thrashing guitars and peroxide locks.
If you are after sports goods or CDs, a good place to head for is the Itaewon shopping district. Shops sell Celine Dion and Marilyn Mansun CDs and anything in between, for the bargain price of £7.50.
Itaewon also sells clothes – it is worth splashing out on a World Cup 2002 T-shirt for £2.50, so you are ready for the event two years early.
Shops in Itaewon offer clothes in larger sizes than Tongdaemun, as the district is just round the corner from a US military base – GIs have been stationed in the country since the 1950s Korean War.
To understand the current situation between North and South Korea, a visit to the nearby War Memorial is a must. In the outdoor section you get to wander round tanks and B-52 bombers and climb in and out of helicopters. There is even a submarine to peruse. Inside the museum you can compare the army uniforms of the north and south, and trace the conflict, battle by battle, along a well marked trail.
The city also has a more traditional side – it has a generous helping of temples and palaces. With just 24hrs to spend in Seoul, I singled out just one – the Changdokkung Palace with its secret garden, the Piwon, once open only to Korean royalty. Our tour guide told us tales of emperors and their concubines, of boys and girls raised separately from the age of seven years, while our group watched dragonflies flit in and out of the lily ponds and maple trees.
Somehow the palace’s high, stone walls managed to blot out the rumble of Seoul’s busy traffic beyond. And with the insistent, electric buzz of the cicadas, it felt like we were in the middle of the countryside, not a busy modern metropolis.
My favourite moment was stepping through the arch of longevity, so named because it is carved out of a single piece of stone.
For a further taste of old Korea, I found a traditional tea house in nearby Insadong. Its subdued lighting and old-style music made for a relaxing and almost meditative half-hour.
A wide range of tastes and flavours were available – persimmon tea, ginger tea, fermented rice punch and green tea, described by the menu as ‘an anti-cancer energiser that suppresses high blood-pressure, eliminates hangover and prevents plaque and mouth odour’.
I hope it was true to its promise as the bitter taste did not impress me much. For a city that has been gripped by the Asian economic crisis for the last two years, Seoul felt very much ‘business as usual.’
I saw expensive cars on the streets, two gigantic new bridges being built over the River Han, and dozens of Lego-style Korean apartment blocks being thrown up – if that is Seoul in recession, I would like to see the city in boom time.
Seoul price watch
n Sixteen postcards in hotel souvenir shop cost £2.55.
n A stamp for postcard 17p.
n Can of lemonade from street
kiosk in Seoul 36p.
n Express-train ticket from Seoul to
Kyongju (4hr journey) £14.28.
n Leather flying jacket bought in
Seoul’s Itaewon shopping district – £43.
n World Cup 2002 T-shirt in Seoul’s
Itaewon shopping district £2.55.
n Meal of iced noodles £1.53.
n A box of ginseng tea bags £3.60.
n A pair of ornamental carved wooden ducks £7.60.
Seoul price watch
n Sixteen postcards in hotel souvenir shop cost £2.55.
n A stamp for postcard 17p.
n Can of lemonade from street
kiosk in Seoul 36p.
n Express-train ticket from Seoul to
Kyongju (4hr journey) £14.28.
n Leather flying jacket bought in
Seoul’s Itaewon shopping district – £43.
n World Cup 2002 T-shirt in Seoul’s
Itaewon shopping district £2.55.
n Meal of iced noodles £1.53.
n A box of ginseng tea bags £3.60.
n A pair of ornamental carved wooden ducks £7.60.