Today marks the first complete day of the trip. After a 4am arrival in Incheon International Airport, we loaded onto the touring company’s bus for an hour and a half drive to our hotel in Seoul. Before I continue, I have to rave about the bus ride. It was honestly one of my favorite moments today. As awful as a 1 1/2 hour bus ride right after 25 hours of airport shenanigans sounds, the views were uncontested. Arriving so early meant that we were able to watch the entire sunrise over the course of the bus ride, and I have never seen a sunrise that beautiful. Attached to this article are some (admittedly poor) pictures of the view we had as the sun appeared in the horizon as a red-hot inferno, soaking the landscape in the same hues.
After arriving at the hotel and resting for a spell, we all started out again for the Gyeongbokgung Palace, seeing firsthand how South Korea both embraces modernity and acknowledges its historical roots. That said, it’s almost jarring how in the middle of such a future-forward city like Seoul there is this historical palace, perfectly preserved from the final Korean dynasty, the Joseon Dynasty. Throughout Seoul, you’ll see sprawling monitors and self-driving cars all around, but if you turn your eyes the right way, you’ll see a pattern traced in the pavement, paying tribute to a waterway that helped the entire city survive its early years or a palace directly from the 14th century, flooded with individuals in Hanbok (traditional Korean garb). It’s such an interesting dichotomy that highlights the uniqueness of South Korea in comparison to other modern superpowers. While many other cultures either attempt to erase their past or simply treat it as a footnote, Korea both acknowledges and venerates that past as they move forward.
Speaking of Seoul’s future-forward technology, today I rode in an automated vehicle for the first time as I navigated the city through the subways. The Seoul Subway is powered by Automatic Train Operation (ATO) systems, only having a ‘conductor’ for the sake of emergency scenarios and oversight. If it weren’t for an overheard question to our tour guide, I wouldn’t have even known. Everything was so seamless, it never even crossed my mind that the city actively fielding automated cars would already have an automated subway system.
That said, I’m excited to see what else I’ll see and experience in Korea. Tomorrow is another day, and I’m ready to take on any challenge it might send my way!