Seoul, Kyoto, & Osaka Journal. June 10th, 2026

Seoul City Hall, Dongdaemun Fabric Market, Yongsan, and Han River Cruise

MAP

We went for a walk around Deoksugung Palace. It was a nice walk, but the palace was closed. The NAVER Maps app was really helpful in this area. In general, Google Maps doesn’t work as well as the native apps in Korea.

We were then headed for the Dongdaemun Fabric Market. We went underground to cross the street and saw the entrance to City Hall. There was something posted about an exhibit, so we went in. Part of it was a Seoul/Minecraft display. There were terminals where you could explore Seoul in Minecraft. You could also build little Seoul landmarks with mini Minecraft blocks. Next were Seoul characters & landmarks built w/ legos. There was a bookstore with books about the city. There was a really nice gift shop there, and they give you a free book about Seoul activities & festivals with purchase. 


Finally there was a whole area which was an archaeological excavation. Underneath the basement of City Hall, 500 years ago was a complex of buildings used to manufacture weapons such as arrows and cannons. 




It was easy to get to the Dongdaemun Fabric Market but finding the “Happy Quilt” shop was harder. There are multiple buildings with multiple stories. Each floor has many stalls. Even though they are numbered, it took us a while to find “Happy Quilt”. When we did get there, we found some cool Korean style patterns, especially a couple tiger and magpie designs. Unfortunately we accidentally left them in the display bin, so they didn’t get rung up and put in our bag. Comparing Dongdaemun Fabric Market to the Sewoon Electronics Market, I’d say the former is less chaotic, and even though some shops looked wholesale, there are many retail oriented shops.



Cut fabric at "Happy Quilt".

Our nephew was interested in Bandai products, so we went with him and his mom, dad, and sister to Yongsan where we found a multi-story shopping mall filled with figures, toys, and game related items. 

A Lego mural at Yongsan, featuring a tiger and a magpie! 

Back at the hotel, we got a jumbo taxi to take us to the E-Land cruise dock. Traffic was terrible and the bridge the driver wanted to use was closed for construction. We missed the cruise we had reservations for, but no problem, they just let us take the next boat which was a sunset cruise. The sunset cruises cost a little more, so we just had to pay the difference. 

At the dock we got some snacks from CU before our cruise. On the up-stream direction, there was narration in 3 languages. Lots of waving to passengers in other boats. Japanese school kids on a field trip clowning around with the crew. The fountains on the  Banpo bridge were fountaining, but it wasn't dark enough for the rainbow lights to be on. On the way back there was music from a guitar player. We watched the Sunset, and many sang along to Hey Jude. 

Banpo bridge with the fountain running.

New riverside luxury appartments going up.

The flag of South Korea.

Walking back to the station, we came across a bunch of brightly lit food stalls. We got potatoes with salt & nori and a kimchi pancake. The potatoes were crispy on the outside & so soft inside I think that they may have been made from mashed potatoes. It was almost 9:30 on a weekday  and there were still families hanging out on the riverside.

Skyline near Han River

Food stands along Han River.