Seoul, South Korea
![The shower & toilet combo at the guest house I was staying at.](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-14-156x300.jpg)
I woke up this morning and took a shower utilizing the facilities provided by the hostel I was staying at: the shower stall and the toilet stall are one and the same, sharing all four walls and the tile floor – making it very likely to wet the toilet seat despite how carefully anyone tries to shower. This was a first.
![Geunjeongjeon (the main throne hall)](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-01-300x196.jpg)
![Inside the main throne hall](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-02-300x190.jpg)
![Angled view of the main throne hall.](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-03-300x167.jpg)
![Palatial ceiling decorations](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-04-199x300.jpg)
After getting cleaned up, I started off early today on foot with Gyeongbokgung Palace as my first stop. It was the largest palace built by the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). After dodging more than a few pedestrians preoccupied with their cell phones and mopeds on the sidewalks, I made it to the palace gate. The palace itself is rather expansive and I ended up walking around out in the sun more than I expected, though it was completely worth my time and it was beautifully laid out, following geomancy and feng shui.
![Gyeonghoeru (Royal Banquet Hall)](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-05-300x185.jpg)
![One of the many buildings found in Gyeongbokgung Palace](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-06-200x300.jpg)
![Food storage jars for the palace](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-07-300x154.jpg)
![Hyangwonjeong Pavilion](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-08-300x210.jpg)
![Traditional clothes on display in the Korean Folk Museum.](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-09-300x159.jpg)
![Scroll on display in the National Palace Museum of Korea](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-10-300x195.jpg)
Next to the palace is the National Palace Museum of Korea and the Korean Folk Museum, both of which contained many interesting exhibits and artifacts.
![Entrance to Deoksugung Palace with guards](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-13-193x300.jpg)
![Main throne hall at Deoksugong Palace](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-11-300x166.jpg)
![Structure on the palace grounds](http://www.wolffchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140521-12-300x196.jpg)
My next stop was Deoksugung Palace, another great palace built by the Joseon Dynasty. After visiting this palace, I wandered around the streets of Seoul until returning to the hostel to write this journal entry out – I am exhausted from walking all day (“my dogs are barking”). I finished up the night by having Naengmyeon (ice-cold noodle soup) and grilled pork belly wrapped in lettuce with kimchi and other banchan.