[Mustapha]

Above: Seoul. Gwanghwamun Square is flanked on both sides by a very broad street [Sejong Ro] of 5 lanes in each direction. This square is popular for political assembly. A few hundred yards past the parked bus is the American Embassy. And a few hundred yards beyond that is one of the very impressive restored royal palaces from the Joseon era. So this is very much THE business, cultural and diplomatic district of Seoul

Above: This is the famous Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through part of Seoul. It used to be covered over. It's now a very popular walking path and park.

Above: Cherry Blossoms in the Seoul National Cemetery. This is the national military cemetery of Korea.

Above: Women in 'Hanbok' (traditional dress) viewing Seoul from Bukchon, an old inner suburb of Seoul. Houses here go for a pretty penny. Their Hanbok can be rented from many vendors, although many own their own. It's considered a 'day out' for many women to dress in Hanbok and see and be seen.

Above: Outside a police station in the neighbourhood of Myeondong. Myeondong is a shopping district - think 'Bloor Yorkville'.

Above: Women in Hanbok on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung is one of several palaces on very expansive grounds in Seoul. The Korean kings certainly had it good.

On this very spot, where these ladies are walking, where I took this picture; there stood the Japanese General Government Building - an imposing structure in the vein of a State or National capital building. You can Goggle it. It was built by the occupying Japanese in 1926 to symbolically erase Korean culture. In it's turn it was razed in 1996 and these grounds returned to their original state.

Above: Yep. That's a Starbucks.

Above. Laneways too numerous to count thread their way throughout Seoul and are lined with restaurants and nightlife places and shops. A population of 10+millions within the city limits and 25+millions in the metro area means that there is plenty of trade for these businesses.

Above: Myeongdong shopping district. It occupies several large city blocks. On Saturday nights when the food carts come out it's like the CNE midway.

Above: Another laneway. That merchandise is outside and unsupervised. I'm guessing shoplifting isn't a thing here. Other shops all over Seoul had goods for sale similarly displayed.

Above: The Pacific off the city of Busan. Busan is 325km from Seoul. There is a high speed train. We took it and arrived in 2 and 3/4 hours with a few stops. In between the stops the train clipped along at 290km/hr. No sense of movement other that going really fast. Quiet too.

It's a quiet scene in this picture, but Busan is a city of 3.5million and is a major industrial and ship building centre. It's also the closest place in Korea to Japan (31 miles to the Japanese coast) and many (and there have been many) Japanese invasions came ashore here.

There is a movie called 'Train to Busan'. You can Goggle it.

Above: An old time style photographers studio in Busan. The reflected image of my wife can be seen head down in the door glass checking her watch.

Above: A bakery in Busan. And the wife again reflected in the glass to the left of the door. She's wearing a bright yellow jacket.

Above: A scene from the Busan fish market. Many and I mean many restaurants are nearby and their business is to cook whatever ocean foods you desire displayed in tanks or coolers outside their establishments.

Above: 'Imjingak' Village, 42km north of Seoul, is a popular area. It's 7km from the actual DMZ. It's also where most tour buses stop for a short break before entering the DMZ. If you are not visiting the DMZ or Joint Security Area, this is as far as one can journey before any Security Check points. There are various war memorial monuments around the park, the Freedom Bridge, an observation deck with Niagara Falls style coin operated binoculars and a decent restaurant and even an amusement park.

My picture was taken from the observation deck. On the left is the Freedom Bridge. A footbridge. It used to connect to the North via the railway bridge [described in the paragraph below] but now physically ends where a group of a dozen or so people are standing in front of what looks like sheets and placards. The 'sheets and placards' are Korean flags, messages inscribed on ribbons and cardboard and whatnot and personal mementos all hung or flung over the barrier that is the end of the bridge. And the end of that bridge is the farthest you can go.

A few of the people I saw here today Sunday April 15, seemed distressed. Perhaps thinking of family on the other side of the border...

In the right distance is a gray railing. That's the railway link - only one track, not two - between the two Koreas and is kept up in mechanical conditional but is not in use.

Some general thoughts on Korea: A visit is a altogether different experience than Saigon or Hong Kong, the only other Asian cities I have experience of. The subway is mind boggling extensive and just works.

Thanks for reading.