In Seoul, we found that the South Koreans were very eager to share their heritage and their culture. There were numerous high-quality museums, and they were all well curated.
Seoul Education Museum (서울교육박물관)
The Seoul Education Museum (서울교육박물관) is dedicated to the history of education throughout Korean history. You can see how education evolved in Korea, especially in modern era. There were classroom models of the 70's and 80's. There were electronic copies of student textbooks from early 40s all the way to the 90s. Although we did not study in Korea, we found the displays and collections very interesting. We showed some pictures of the classrooms and the textbooks to our Korean friends in Canada and they were amazed.
When we were there, there was also a special exhibit about female activists in the Korean Independence movement. I was most impressed by Kim Ran-sa who was the first Korean female who studied abroad. There was also a lady who smuggled the letter of independence into Korea on Feb 1919 (March 1, 1919 was the Independence Day). I later learnt that there were a lot of arguments and discussions regarding gender discrimination in South Korea. This display was a good step forward to recognize female's contributions to the society.
National Folk Museum of Korea (국립민속박물관)
The National Folk Museum of Korea (국립민속박물관) was located right inside the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It displayed historical artifacts that were used daily by Koreans. We learnt about the Korean agricultural lifestyles and their customs.
One particular exhibit that impressed me the most was about the life of a Korean from their birth, to their adulthood, to their marriage, to their 60th birthday (a major event), and to their death. It was fascinating to follow it through as if you were really there to witness it.
Obviously, it won't be a Korean folk museum if it doesn't touch on Korean foods. Koreans eat different foods based on different seasons. The museum had tons of information about the traditional Korean food culture. I wished I could capture all of the information there because the depth of its food culture was simply amazing.
Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을)
The Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) was apopular tourist attraction in Seoul. Located at the top of a hill, the hanok village preserved some traditional architectures and buildings from the Joseon Dynasty.
Most of these buildings were residential buildings, i.e. locals are still living in there. Tourists should behave themselves and be quiet at all times. Many tourists also rented Korean traditional clothes (Hanbok) in a nearby stores and took pictures with these buildings. If you were not into photography, you could pass through this village in about an hour.
Insa-dong (인사동)
The Insa-dong (인사동) area was known for its vast array of restaurants and shops. It was not too far from the Gyeongbokgung Palace. You could find lots of street foods, many clothes stores, and souvenir shops. Talking about apparel, we found that Seoul was a fantastic place to shop for clothes. Not only did it suit us (Asian size), the style was modest and modern. We wished we could do more shopping if only we had more luggage space.