Sunset at Gyeongbokgung

After walking around Hongdae (see my Lunch at Hongdae post for the first part of this post), Ken & I decided to go to Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) cos none of us have ever been there during sunset. It was an impulsive decision, really, so we didn't really pay attention to the time when we made our way to the palace. By the time we arrived at the ticketing counter, we already missed the last time for entry. Bummer. But the sunset was pretty, so we decided to just hang around for a bit, do a little shooting and people-watching around the palace's gate. 

There was quite a lot of foot traffic around the area. The people exiting the palace combined with the evening rush hour crowd made the area very interesting to observe. The tourists who stayed in one spot for a good 15 minutes retaking selfies after selfies to get that perfect shot, the locals who leisurely taking their afternoon walk with their friends, family, and loved ones around the palace's ground enjoying the sunset, and the office workers in suits walking in a rush without even glancing at the the palace, kept me entertained as we stayed and lingered there for almost an hour. One thing for sure though, everybody's slowly (and some, rushingly) making their way away from the palace. And soon after that, we decided to joined the crowd and called it a day.

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Graduation Day

Last summer, some of my friends from Yonsei Korean Language School finished their 6-levels language program and I got the chance to attend their graduation day. It was truly a bittersweet moment. I've became good friends with some of these people and I know how hard they studied and worked for to get to this point. I was truly happy for them for completing the whole program and made it this far. On the other hand, it was kinda of sad because I know we probably won't be able to see each other that often anymore. A good number of people are going back to their home countries after this graduation to go on with their next chapter of life and, to be honest, I don't know when I will be able to see some of them again in the future. Even so, I'm grateful for the experiences and good memories that we've shared together during the short time that we have in school. Some I got to be friends with and some, I'm even lucky enough to call my good friends. 

It's apparently a tradition at Yonsei KLI to wear Hanbok for graduation day, so almost everybody wore Hanboks at the ceremony. I went for a little fun impromptu photoshoot with a couple of my friends to commemorate their last day at school. Sharing with you some of my favorite shots from that afternoon. Hope everybody have a great weekend ahead! :)

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Here are some behind the scenes shots. My friends are one silly bunch :P

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Seoul Day 1: Gwanghwamun Square & Gyeongbokgung Palace

After stuffing ourselves with the nice cold patbingsu, we headed towards the Gwanghwamun Square (광화문광장) and Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) and pretty much spent a good portion of our afternoon there. First stop is Gwanghwamun Square. There seemed to be some sort of festival or flea market when we were there. There were people selling stuff on small tents around the square. There were also some kind of music performances happening. The mood were very festive all around.

Saw this cute little girl posing for her dad:

After watching the performance for a while, we continue walking and found ourselves in front of the Gyeongbokgung Palace front gate. It’s very majestic. The colors, the architecture, the guards, the size of the palace. Speaking of size, we didn’t realize how big the place is. Well, we kinda know that it’s big, but didn’t realize how BIG the place REALLY is. We were there around noon, and I have to say with the sun and the rising temperature, walking around the palace drained our energy quite a bit. But since the palace is so fascinatingly beautiful AND big, I think it’s safe to say that the five of us have an experience that we won’t forget :)

After we passed through the entrance gate, this is the view we’re greeted with: