Travel Series: South Korea
In the summertime mornings Seoul rouses around eleven. Its storefronts flutter open, people stream out into the streets, and the humidity begins to creep up. Like most metropolises, the day begins as intersections fill with lines of cars and crowds of people rushing off to their lives. But as a visitor, I’m afforded the leisure to stroll through the bustling city, from the main palace to Zaha Hadid’s design plaza. The former is vibrantly regal and saturated with history, whereas the latter is all minimalist modern curves, a geometric signature of the innovative architect.
The destinations themselves are remarkable, but the paths that surround and connect them are no less notable. Seoul’s streets split up into smaller routes that again splinter into alleyways multiplying in various directions, each with its own personality. Some are brimming with bright shop signs while others are sparsely dotted with greenery, but all weave in and out of the city, meeting and departing, to connect every corner of the capital.
