I went to Deoksugung (덕수궁) today. It is a castle which dates back to the 16th century. In addition to seeing numerous foriegners (a rarity in my own neighborhood) I saw hettae, the changing of the guard ceremony, and some awesome buildings. There were a ton of dudes in traditional garb. It was a nice change of pace from the normal city life in Seoul.
Also today I bought (and cooked) chicken and rice. I thought I purchased two chicken breasts, but in reality there were four of them, so tomorrow I’ll be eating chicken again. I’ve been reading some tourist books, looking for things to do. I think tomorrow I’ll go to Itaewon after I go into work. Well, my laundry is finished, so I’m outta here. Later!
Hattae (해태) is a mythical creature in Korea. I took this picture at 덕수궁 (Mom, it’s the one in your book with the picture of the guy in an awesome hat). For some reason I have more knowledge of this thing than people who live here. It is often placed around palaces since they are allegedly made of water and therefore protect the palaces from fires.
