This year I decided to ease myself into the Korea trip gently: an evening plus a half-day in Seoul before heading off to visit friends elsewhere on the peninsula. I didn’t know how much energy I’d have when I landed, but had made tentative arrangements to meet up with London-based artist Bongsu Park, possibly with … [Read More]
Place: Jongno-gu
Selected publications
- Hyun Kyung Lee: ‘Difficult Heritage’ in Nation Building: South Korea and Post-Conflict Japanese Colonial Occupation Architecture, Palgrave 2019
- Joan Busquets: Deconstruction/Construction: The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project in Seoul, Harvard University Press 2011
- Lee Chin-a: Daehangno: Theater District in Seoul, Hollym 2011
2017 travel diary 10: A lazy weekend in Seoul
Insadong, Seoul, 6 May 2018. There is never a shortage of things to do in Seoul. For the final weekend of my 2017 Korea trip I had not scheduled anything other than a couple of dinner engagements. I could easily have done nothing apart from hanging out in my new favourite coffee shop. Their fresh salads … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 6: a little night music at the Gyeongbokgung
Seoul, Wednesday 3 May 2017, 7pm. The beginning of May is a busy time in Seoul’s royal palaces. The UNESCO listed ceremony, the Jongmyo rituals in honour of the Royal Ancestors, always takes place the first Sunday in May. Children’s Day also falls around that time, and this year, Buddha’s Birthday and in the days … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 4: National Folk Museum, Kim Soonam’s shaman portraits and the journey to Chungnam
Jongno, Seoul, Monday 16 May 2016, 9am A visit to the National Folk Museum The good thing about having a local companion sense-check your travel plans is that they can point out weaknesses that only a local is likely to know about. So when Chris saw that I was planning a day trip from Seoul … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 3: Seoul’s Fortress Walls, and genre painting at the DDP
Jongno, Seoul, Sunday 15 May 2016. The time lag has caught up with me. My intention this morning had been to go along to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza to visit the exhibition of Joseon dynasty genre paintings from the Kansong museum before joining the RASKB for a walk along the eastern sections of Seoul’s fortress … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 2: Buddha’s Birthday
Jongno, Seoul, 14 May 2016, 9am. Coffee with the Drawing Hand My first appointment of the day is at 9:30am with Kim Jieun, aka The Drawing Hand: I am due to pick up the original of her 2015 Christmas Card design for LKL – and also I am due to pay her the balance of … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 1: Arrival
Canary Wharf, London, 12 May 2016. In previous years I had always felt stressed in the run up to my departure for my annual Korea trip. Had I packed everything? Would I get everything done before I left? This time I was straining at the leash. I couldn’t wait. I had planned most of my trip … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 11: a visit to Studio MWP
Daehakro, Seoul, Monday 8 June. This year’s trip to Korea had been full of pleasant surprises: people I had not expected to meet, things I had not been expecting to see. But the most pleasant surprise of all had been an invitation to visit Studio Meditation with a Pencil, creators of my favourite Korean animated … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 10: Namhansanseong and the Gangnam Tombs
Myeongdong, Seoul, Sunday 7 June The Mountain Fortress I am scheduled to meet a friend at 9:30 at Sanseong Station on Line 8. From there we take the bus (number 9) via a circuitous route through a residential area and up the steep hill to the main car park of one of Korea’s latest UNESCO … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 9: Yeongsanjae and Seodaemun
Myeongdong, Seoul, Saturday 6 June Bongwonsa temple and the Yeongsanjae rituals Today is the second UNESCO-listed item of intangible cultural heritage of my brief stay. I am tagging along with a small group of American summer students who are getting course credits by having a whale of a time in Seoul. How this works from an … [Read More]
2015 Travel Diary day 2: The Drawing hand | Seooreung | Tea Museum | Makgeolli at Kim Sakkat
Myeongdong, Seoul, 30 May. Two hours sleep on the plane, and only another two on my first night in Seoul, means that I’m groggy on Saturday morning. A quick session in the hotel gym doesn’t do much to remedy that. Coffee with The Drawing Hand My brain is gently kick-started by a coffee in the hotel lobby, … [Read More]
2014 Travel Diary day 10: two art museums and a reality show
In which we have our customary day visiting the contemporary art museums. Eulji-ro, Seoul, Sunday 15 June, 9am. For the first time in recent memory I haven’t scheduled in a trip to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Gwacheon this visit. And that’s because, since the last visit, the big construction project on … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #35: Renewing old friendships
Insadong, Seoul, Sunday 15 September, 3pm. I have only just arrived back at the hotel from the Sajik Daeje when the phone rings. It’s time to meet the curator and gallerist I had arranged to meet the previous day. I set off on foot to the Lotte Hotel, where I catch up with her activities. … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #34: The Gods of Land and Grain
Deoksugung, Jung-gu, Seoul, Sunday 15 September, 10:45am. By the time I reach the Deoksu Palace at 10:45am I’m already perspiring. I was wearing sunblock, but should have been wearing a sunhat and some shorts. It was going to be a hot day. This morning’s activity is a guided walk following the Sajik Daeje procession from … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #33: An evening in Daehakro
Buamdong, Seoul, Saturday 14 September, 6pm. Seoul Museum in Buamdong (not to be confused with the Seoul Museum of Art in Jeongdong, or indeed the Seoul Museum of History next to the Gyeonghuigung) is conveniently situated on the main road which takes traffic from northern to Seoul to the Gwanghwamun area. Emerging from the museum, … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #32: The Seokpajeong — a haven of peace in Buamdong
Seoul Museum, Buamdong, Seoul, Saturday 14 September, 5pm. There are two main reasons to visit Seoul Museum apart from any temporary exhibition that might be taking place: the important collection of 20th Century Korean art which seems to be on permanent display, and the Seokpajeong, the Joseon dynasty villa once occupied by the Daewongun. The … [Read More]