National Palace Museum of Korea (국립고궁박물관)
The National Palace Museum of Korea (국립고궁박물관) focuses on the Korean royal families and the royal customs. There are many historic relics of the palace from different era. A huge painting depicting the ceremony of a royal wedding is one of the highlights. You can also see some rare photos of the last royal family. Of all the displays, we found the royal records (Uigwe) most fascinating. The royal records painstakingly recorded every single royal ritual and ceremony and had very high historical values. Most displays had English translations and we had no problem understanding them.
Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁)
The Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) was the largest of the five palaces in Korea. It was once destroyed but was restored later during the reign of King Gojong. Having seen the Forbidden Palace in China, the Korean palace was a lot more modest and smaller in scale. There were details on the buildings that were fun to spot. You can also see the unique Korean underfloor heating system (Ondol) inside the palace. As a tourist attraction, the palace was not too busy and was good for kids to run around.
Photography of the back?
We noticed that in South Korea, many people liked to have pictures of their back taken. We were puzzled by it initially. A Korean couple later explained to us that this style of photography captured the feeling better than the usual ones. Maybe you can try that next time you visit South Korea too.
Donuimun Museum Village
We stumbled upon this museum village as we were going to Kyochon Fried Chicken. It was an old village now reborn as a group of exhibit halls and experience centers. The exhibit halls were about life of the Seoulites from the 1960s to the 1980s. We caught a movie showing in the filming industry exhibit hall. It was a nice break from the busy street. There were English speaking staffs in the Information Center.