Seoul – Day 5

Day 5 – Yeouido & Myeongdong

Pic from Yeouido

A bit on Yeouido …… a large island on the southern side of the Han River and Seoul’s main business and financial district.  Some notable instituitions & buildings ….. National Assembly Building, 63 Building (Korea Life Insurance), Korea Stock Exchange, KBS, MBC & Yoido Full Gospel Church. 
Subway line 5, Yeouido Stn or Yeouinaru Stn

We were debating whether to visit the COEX or 63 Building (Yeouido), both located south of the Han River.  Finally decided on the 63 Building as we could also take a look at KBS and MBC.  The 63 Building which houses Korea Life Insurance is made up of 63 floors, of which 60 are above ground and 3 basement floors.   The 60th floor is where the SkyArt Museum and observation deck is located and from where one can get a lovely bird’s-eye view of Seoul and the surrounding areas. 
More info: 63 Building

Lunch first at one of the nearby eateries next to our hotel before we set off.  Typical of their set meals, we had a  number of side dishes and their must-have kimchi.  Being a light eater, I would usually be unable to finish my portion and not being kimchi crazy, I’d pass it to the others. 

 
  
                              Beef hotpot, vegetables, kimchi, squid strips & spicy radish

After alighting at the Yeouinaru Station, we made our way on foot to look for the 63 Building.   Checking our maps and from the road signage, MBC was just a short distance from where we were so we headed down the road, hoping we were going the right way.  Finally found it and snapped some pics from its entrance.  Of course it would be great if one of their actors happened to be there but we knew it was unlikely that we’d meet them at the entrance. 

 

We could see the 63 Building in the distance but it was too far to walk and we decided to try taking a bus.  Unfortunately we did not have any info or printout of their bus routes so tried checking it out from the info panel at the nearest bus stop.  After making some enquiries from someone there, we managed to get on the right bus.  We were not aware until much later, that there was a free shuttle bus which we could have taken from either Yeouido or Yeouinaru Station.

  
                       Sea World on Level 1 (15,000 won).  King of Herring, max size 8-10 metres

 
                     Level 1 entrance to lift for Sky Art Museum on Observation deck (12,000 won)

                              
                                           Taken from the Observation deck on 63 Building

Next destination for dinner and shopping …… Myeongdong ( 명동 ), Subway Line 4 Myeongdong Stn.
For more info:   Myeongdong

  
                                   Myeongdong street shopping.  Roadside fortune teller.

 
Delicious Samgyetang, whole chicken stuffed with glutinous rice in ginseng broth (13,000 won).