Seoul sights

So, I went to a 1-year-old’s birthday party today (it’s a big deal in Korea) that was held on the 33rd floor restaurant of Jongno Tower in the heart of Seoul. Needless to say, the birthday girl didn’t seem to care, but us adults were impressed.

I think it has been more than a decade since I spent any time at the top of Jongno Tower, and I was really amazed to see how little of the old city remains in the area. Even in the direction of Insa-dong, there really are just a few alleys left.

Anyhow, the Tower has some of my favorite views of Seoul. Here’s one looking east along Jongno.

A little while later, I was up another high-rise over by Hapjeong, and happened to catch this view of the sunset.

Have street vents always had these signs? Or did they just start going up after that accident a couple of weeks ago?

Here’s the site of a fire that was in the news a couple of weeks ago. I eat lunch in the alley behind this building fairly often — fortunately, none of the restaurants were damaged (and no one was hurt). But it is a bit disturbing how many fires strike this part of town. Walking along the Cheonggyecheon, you can see a lot of fire damage in the buildings in the area.