Day One: Exploring the City of Seoul, South Korea

Today was our first full day in Seoul, South Korea. I am somewhat familiar with metropolitan cities and how they are generally painted with various gray and brown tones from buildings to sidewalks. However, while exploring Seoul, I witnessed numerous trees planted on sidewalks. Lifted planters with vibrant flowers and plants were also located along the sidewalks.

Today, our group also visited the N Seoul Tower, which is a tower that sits on the Namsan Mountains. It is the highest point that offers a panoramic view of Seoul. From the N Seoul Tower, I could see numerous splotches of green through the city, showcasing the city's emphasis on environmental practices such as tree planting, planters, and green spaces that provide natural cooling and shade, water absorption, wind erosion, and the removal of carbon dioxide.

In addition to visiting the N Seoul Tower, our group also participated in a scavenger hunt in the Myeong-Dong area. Our goal was to locate a historical building preserved by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The building we were attempting to locate was the Myeong-Dong Theatre. This theatre opened in 1936 and has only undergone renovation within its interior after closing in 1975. Since its reopening in June of 2009, the theatre remains a vibrant Korean arts and culture center. Finding the Myeong-Dong Theatre during our scavenger hunt was quite difficult for our group. The hints provided for our group about the building's Seoul Future Heritage Certificate number as well as an older photo of the theatre. We had to begin asking for help from those more familiar with the area. In the end, we successfully identify the building with some outside help! It was so much fun exploring the Myeong-Dong area and learning more about parts of its history.