An Afternoon with Dayo

Yesterday, we spent a great afternoon with Dayo, who is our friend Shola's youngest brother.  Dayo came to Seoul over two years ago to teach English and currently works for Samsung.  We started off by having lunch at a delicious Korean barbeque restaurant in the City Hall area of Seoul.  After lunch, we took a walk along Cheonggyecheon, which is a 5.84km long stream in the middle of the city.  There were lots of people relaxing and cooling their feet in the stream.  The walk along the stream led us to Gwanghwamun Square, where stands statues of the two most respected historical figures in Korea – King Sejong the Great and Admiral Yi Sun-sin.  After spending some time observing families and kids playing in the fountains at Gwanhwamun Square, we headed down to the underground exhibits to learn about the lives and achievements of of the King and the Admiral.    

Lunch with Dayo.

Lunch with Dayo.

Cheonggyecheon (Stream)







 
  
 



 
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Cheonggyecheon (Stream)

People walking underneath a bridge crossing Cheonggyecheon.







 
  
 



 
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People walking underneath a bridge crossing Cheonggyecheon.

People relaxing at Cheonggyecheon.   

People relaxing at Cheonggyecheon.

 

Yen and Dayo at Gwanghwamun Square

Yen and Dayo at Gwanghwamun Square

Kids playing in the fountains at Gwanghwamun Square.

Kids playing in the fountains at Gwanghwamun Square.

Another kid playing in the fountains at Gwanghwamun Square.

Another kid playing in the fountains at Gwanghwamun Square.

King Sejong the Great

King Sejong the Great

Entrance to underground exhibit

Entrance to underground exhibit

We learned to write our names in Korean at one of the learning stations in the exhibit.

We learned to write our names in Korean at one of the learning stations in the exhibit.

Yen and me at Gwanghwamun Square. Photo by Dayo.

Yen and me at Gwanghwamun Square. Photo by Dayo.

The War Memorial of Korea

It rained our second day in Seoul so we decided to War Memorial of Korea, which is the number 1 rated attraction in Seoul according to Tripadvisor.com.  It's an incredible museum with free admission, tours, free 4D shows, and exhibits of aircrafts and tanks.   We even received a personal tour from an English speaking tour guide named Tony.  Tony is serving as a guide at the museum as part of his mandatory military service that is required of all South Korean men.   We learned a lot about the Korean War, such as the major players, and the events leading to the division of North and South Korea, and the hope for reunification.

 

Yen even got a chance to fly in a fighter jet:

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