Yesterday Peter and I hiked along the northern stretch of the Seoul city wall, that runs up a small mountain called Bukaksan, behind (north of) the Korean presidential palace, called 청와대 (blue-roofed house). The wall is militarized – i.e. it basically forms part of the defensive perimeter for the high security areas around the presidential palace and offices even today, and thus runs through what is effectively a military base. Consequently, to hike the wall we are required show our IDs and there are soldiers and CCTVs everywhere, and some things are not permitted to be photographed.
Anyway, it was interesting.
Here are some pictures.
The wall.
Some people blithely picnicking next to a “do not enter” sign.
A tree with bullet holes in it from a 1960’s era commando raid that the North Koreans launched against the presidential palace (and one of the reasons the mountain behind the palace is still so fortified today).
Jared at the peak of Bukaksan.
One of many gates in the wall… this one, however, appears to be an at least slightly older restoration than the others, which are not weathered at all and hence have a sort of disneyesque feel to them.
A statue of a weird chicken-creature in a plaza near the Blue House.
The Blue House (Presidential Palace).
Old Seoul, foreground, New Seoul, background.
Lunch – the most I’ve attempted to eat in a long time.
[daily log: walking, 5.5 km]