On our second day in Seoul we headed to the north side of  the city to explore the Bukchon Hanok Village. A designated historical neighborhood, the homes were built in the 1920s and are beautiful examples of traditional Korean style homes. As it was New Years eve, many of the museums tucked away in the narrow streets were closed, but we were still able to see lots of wonderful architecture. I found the doors especially lovely.

Don't we all want a turtle door lock?

After warming cups of traditional Korean tea, we wandered down to Insadong a busy tourist street. We had been there before, but it was still interesting to look at all the different stalls. I bought us a 2013 calendar and we filled out a tourist survey which netted us 6 pairs of free chopsticks!

I wish I had a reason to shop here.

After lunch at a tiny restaurant on a side street, we wandered a bit downtown next to the Cheonggyecheon stream. Wandering around Seoul reminds us how far Ulaanbaatar has to go before it is a nice place to live. Walking down by the stream, even surrounded by skyscrapers, was incredibly peaceful.

Our last adventure of the day was Namdaemun Market, the oldest and largest market in Korea. We wandered up and down streets where you could literally buy anything you wanted. Stores go up several stories on either side but most of the selling was through outdoor stalls. We mainly just looked, but I did buy some stickers and paper craft supplies for school. We found lots of PSY Gangnum Style socks for sale but just couldn’t think of anyone we knew that would want a pair.