Gangnam, Seoul's modern center

Let me introduce you the Seoul's modern center

Gangnam 강남 is the place to be in Seoul! The best shopping malls, clubs, restaurants and cafés are located in this huge area, south-eastern from the historic center of Seoul. There's a lot of subway lines crossing this area, so you can't really miss it. I've been walking all around the place and made a lot of photos of the awesome buildings along the way. I wrote a lot of posts about the places in Gangnam, here's an overview of them.

Click on the links below the photos and read about a certain part of Gangnam that interests you.

This is Gangnam:


The megalomaniac Tower Palace in Dogok>> read my post


The long Gangnamdaero from south to north>> read my post


The glassy Samsung Town buildings>> read my post


The colossal Kyobo Gangnam Tower>> read my post


The trendy district Apgujeong>> read my post


The famous Teheranno road is here, too>> read my post


The landmark Trade Tower is in Gangnam>> read my post

And at last, another modern masterpiece: Hyundai I'Park Building. Also in Gangnam.

This is about it. No more Seoul posts. Only a post about Hyori's new album is coming up. Other than that, you are now well informed and if you need some more detailed info on Seoul, check my main Seoul page that links to all my Seoul posts.

How do you like Gangnam and the modern Seoul?

[My Seoul][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Jongno Tower, Seoul

Seoul's modern architecture at its best

Jongno Tower in its full glory. Stop staring at the girls!

The top floor is amazing. There's a restaurant there with a great view.

Jongno Tower from bottom up. It's one of Seoul's landmark buildings.

The area at the main entrance looks huge. The Jongno Tower is wide and it's 132m tall (source). On the other side of the street is another famous historic sight named Bosingak, the bell tower. The whole area is very pleasant to walk. If you have time, go and have a look around.

[Skyscrapers][My Seoul][Jongno Tower at night][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Levi's

Intro:
Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO) is a privately held clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, (Kingdom of Bavaria) to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. Although the company began producing denim overalls in the 1870s, modern jeans were not produced until the 1920s. The company briefly experimented (in the 1970s) with employee ownership and a public stock listing, but remains owned and controlled by descendants and relatives of Levi Strauss' four nephews.
Here:
You can get nice shirs and jeans of levi's...With the kool
models and kool hair cuts...
The best of Levi's is here..You have never seen before..




Levi's LEJ Long Sleeve Shirt Levis Product With Roots Rock
Hand T-Shirt

Levis Product With Roots Rock Levi's LEJ Collaboration T-Shirt
Hand T-Shirt

Levis Peace Flag T-Shirt Levis Peace Flag T-Shirt


Levi's LEJ Seasonal Logo T-Shirt Levi's LEJ Seasonal Logo T-Shirt

Levi's Sawtooth Checked Shirt Levi's Sawtooth Checked Shirt

Levi's Work Shirt Levi's Work Shirt


Levi's Work Shirt Levi's Sawtooth Checked Shirt


Levi's LEJ T-Shirt Levi's Rib Henley T-Shirt

Levi's Rib Henley T-Shirt

Namsan and N Seoul Tower

Seoul's city mountain and its landmark tower

Let me introduce you another awesome spot in the amazing South Korean city of Seoul. It's called Namsan mountain [남산 lit. "Southern Mountain"]. Namsan sounds similar like Chinese 南山 (Nanshan), because it originates from the same root. The name comes from its location, which needs to be put in the historic context. Namsan is now somewhere in the middle of Seoul, but in the old times, it was south from the historic city of Seoul. Namsan's name used to be Mongmyeok [목멱산 lt. "Wood-seeking Mountain"] or 木覓山 in Chinese (source).

Today people don't only go on top of Namsan because of the amazing nature and breath-taking view of Seoul below, they also want to see Seoul's landmark building - the N Seoul Tower [엔 서울타워]. It was completed in 1980 (we're same age!) and the strucure is nearly 237m tall, but if we include the mountain, it tops up at nearly 480m (source), standing out as Seoul's number one landmark building. Let me show you some of my photos of Namsan:

I took the train to Dongguk University station (Orange Line 3) and then took a bus (see small pic on the left) at a station. The bus was also orange color. I used my SMRT card and the ride cost less than 1000Won one way (0.60€)! There's also a Namsan cable car that can bring you up to the top, but I was advised by the hostel owner Danny not to take it, it's too expensive. I researched and a round trip costs 7500Won (5€), which is nearly 4 times more expensive (the price as in April 2010). If you want to save, better take the bus.

The road up to Namsan is winding, but not long. I reached on top in 10-15min.

A convenience store with souvenirs and beverages.

The N Seoul Tower seen from just below the peak of Namsan mountain.

The top area of Namsan mountain with groups of people everywhere.

N Seoul Tower on te left and the lattice transmission tower on the right.

Many pupils with teachers visit Namsan. While passing by, they were greeting me.

A nice pavilion on the northern side of the area.

The N Seoul Tower in it's full glory. Below is the observation deck.

See more of my photos of the N Seoul Tower>>

Namsan love padlocks: Couples put various locks on the rail (or fence) of the observation deck and profess their love for each other or write wovs on small notes. Then they throw the key over the rail and hope that the promises they gave to each other, will last forever. I wonder how many regret doing this, hehehe. Anyway, the idea is not original, love padlocks can be found in Tokyo and also in Taiwan, in Fengyuan (豐原).

Namsan love padlocks close-up.

Can you see how many there is? The whole fence is full of them. Koreans are romantic!

So am I, haha. I didn't have a padlock, but I did commemorate the special moment.

If you happen to go to Namsan, please check, if my message is still readable :-P

Here's the spot, where you can find it. I think it won't last long, I used a simple pen.

The N Seoul Tower from below.

See my huge N Seoul Tower photo here>>

The lattice transmission (or communication) tower nearby.

See more photos of the lattice transmission tower here>>

The view on south-western Seoul. Can you spot the thin and tall Building 63?

View from the other side, the north-eastern Seoul.

Beautiful, isn't it? I love this city.

I soon headed downward, took a bus and continued my amazing Seoul-tour.

Next time I want to see Seoul at night! (Photo taken from http://www.nseoultower.net)

How do you like Namsan and my photos?
HanCook restaurant: Seoul Yongsan-gu Yongsan-dong 2-ga San 1-3 N Seoul Tower F1
[My N SEOUL TOWER post][Huge N Seoul Tower photo][Transmission Tower]

[Main SEOUL page][Namsan Info Brochure][All pics by MKL, 2010]