Today we checked out the culture in Seoul. We went to the Seodaemun Prison, where we learned a lot about the Japanese occupation and some of the hardships during that time, especially for revolutionaries.

Outside the prison was the Independence Park.

We went to the Deoksu-gung palace, which also houses the National Museum of Art. Well, the palace and the park were about the usual thing you’d expect (also telling a little story about one of the kings enjoying coffee here… a bit doubtful next to a modern cafe, but never mind), while the museum on the other hand had some video installations of modern artists interpreting some of the history of the palace and it inhabitants.

Close to the palace was the Seoul Museum of Art, which was quite interesting. Some video installations as well, but also fun stuff like social art where it displays current tweets from the area, a fly colony with it’s own twitter account, some kind of flight simulator, which one could control via eye tracking, a table drenched with honey and a video of a German performance artist, who wrapped himself in tape and leech…. don’t ask.

We also payed a visit to the tech mart, in hope to find some nice and cheap gadgets… well, that wasn’t worth the trip. But what was worth it, was our main meal today (around 5pm). Vietnamese Pho. Still no Korean food, but we’re getting closer… geographically speaking.