Day 11 @ Seoul – Winter Illumination at Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggyecheon Stream

Our initial plan in the itinerary was to explore Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggyecheon Stream, then finish the day at Dongdaemun. We were fairly tired though at this point, with each of us already having clocked around 18,000 steps. We also remembered that there were winter illumination at these the square and stream area. So we opted to drop Dongdaemun for another day, get a quick early dinner then wait for the evening for the winter lights to get turned on. There was a lively Christmas market at Gwanghwamun Square too, and the Gwanghwamun Gate at the end of the square was also having a light projection show. The general area was teeming with crowds, even for a Tuesday evening: but it did make for a truly festive Christmas-y atmosphere about.

Pictures, including several that was taken in the late afternoon before the lights came on.

Cheonggyecheon Stream at mid-afternoon and starting to show the colors of a late afternoon.

Season 2 just around the corner!

Light projection show at Gwanghwamun Gate. There was quite a huge crowd watching the show from both right in front of the gate and also from across the road, so there was a fair bit of crowd control.
Seoul Lantern Festival at the stream. There were hundreds of these Korean traditional paper “Hanji” lanterns brightly lit by LED lights.

That’s a wrap for our Day 11 activities today. We’d be joining a day tour group to visit the DMZ on Day 12 tomorrow. To be continued!

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