Korean Pottery and Ceramics
by Ewingjr98
Korea has been producing pottery for just a short time... about 10,000 years! The most famous Korean pottery, called celadon, dates from the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392). Celadon is known for its greenish-blue glaze. In later years, Korean Pottery was so sought after by the Japanese, that Japanese kidnapped whole villages to take to Japan to make the famous Korean ceramics.
Today, you can easily find Korean pottery of all kinds, and you don't have to kidnap a single Korean person to get it! Throughout Seoul, but especially in Insadong, look for Korean tea-sets, vases, kimchi pots, and other items. If you just can't get enough pottery, take a side trip to the Icheon Ceramic Village, located 50 km south of Seoul.
NAMDAEMON GATE
by kiwigal_1
This was once Seoul's main city gate. Originally it was built in the 14th century but the gate now standing was reconstructed in the 1960's after the Korean War.
Take the subway to Seoul Station on line 1 or line 4 and walk. There is a great market nearby.
Hangeul -- The Written Language of Koreans
by Ewingjr98
If you will only be here for a few days, don't even try... but if you have a year, that should be plenty of time to learn to read Hangeul characters if you are interested. Hangul was invented by King Sojong in the 15th Century as a way to simplify Chinese writing so all people could become literate. It certainly did simplify things! Instead of thousands of Chinese symbols Hangeul consists of only 24 characters, each with a distinct sound, just like letters in Western languages. When put together to create a syllable, the characters form a box, rather than a string of character as in English. A group of syllabic boxes is put together to form a word. Words are separated by an extra space between syllabic boxes.
The alphabet for the Korean written language is called Hangeul while the Korean spoken language is called Korean or Hangungmal.
Korean Silk Paper Money Wallets
by machomikemd
bought them as gifts to female friends. it cost about 5,000 won each if your buying 5 or more and 7,000 won if youre buying one. (no haggling means 7,000 won for 5 or more and 10,000 won for a single piece). Available in any market.
Korea Stamp World
by DSwede
While this tip might not be for everyone, some people may enjoy a brief stop at the Korea Stamp World. This is a free museum / exhibit hall in the basement of Seoul Central Post Office.
The displays show Korean postal history, complete the stamps, courier uniforms and other anecdotal information.
For stamp collectors, they do offer a wide selection of individual stamps, sheets, and books. Particularly for the hard to find stamps that are not available in the general Post Offices, this may be the only location to find them.
Located in the basement of the Seoul Central Post Office. Opposite the Bank of Korea Museum, on the north-east side of Namdaemun Market. Open weekdays 9am ~ 6pm. Cost is free.
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JumpingNorman as a Korean in tradional garb, haha
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Fireworks in Seoul
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