In the air and from the Sea

In the freedom of a Saturday afternoon, Steve and I visited the “63 Building” today. The 63 building is a skyscraper on Yeouido Island in the center of Seoul. It is 817 ft tall-making it the 3rd tallest building in Korea and the 135 tallest building in the world. It is called the 63 building because that is how many stories it holds. It was building in 1985. The building has offices, banquet halls, and a convention center for daily functions. For tourists it offers an aquarium, an Imax theatre, shopping, a food court, and an observation deck.



When Steve and I got there, it was packed!! Although it is a tourist destination Steve and I were still the only foreigners…most tourists seemed to be Korean. As with all things in Seoul, there were a lot of people. We had to take a number, buy a ticket, and then wait in another line before going up. We decided to visit “SkyArt”, which is the world’s highest art gallery. After waiting in various lines, Steve and I were crammed into a glass elevator with 20 other Koreans. The view from the elevator was amazing! The ride up allows you to feel exactly how high you are actually going.




I’m still amazed at how big Seoul is! We got to the top and looked out of the picture windows with awe. Although it was hazy, we could see Seoul tower, various mountains that surround the city, the Han River, and a million buildings! The views were almost overwhelming-it made me feel like a needle in a haystack. I knew Seoul was a gigantic city, but until you see all of it under you-you can’t begin to fathom how grandiose it actually is! It was cool to point out areas that we were familiar with, watch the subways cross the river, and just look at the thousands of cars travelling below. We went all the way around the observation deck to check out Seoul from all angles. Furthermore, there was a “Thrill Deck” where you can stand on glass plates and look down-it is supposed to feel as if you are floating in midair.







The art at the top was also interesting. Most of the displays were oil on canvas paintings, but there were also a few sculptures, photographs, and such. A Japanese artist was being featured; shamefully I cannot remember his name.
Just before getting on the elevator to return to civilization at sea-level, there is a “wishing wall”. Visitors can purchase paper disks, write a wish on them, and then put them on rods that hang on the walls. Steve and I didn’t make a wish, but it was cool to see.





Once we hit rock bottom again, we decided to stop by the local fish market at Yeouido. This is definitely a spot for locals-I almost felt that we were more of a spectacle than the fish-a lot of the Koreans were staring or saying, “HELLO” to us. We browsed the enormous market and saw a wide range of sea creatures. There were eels, fish, octopus, shellfish, whole crabs, shrimp, sea cucumbers…just about anything you could imagine!! Some vendors sit quietly while others pursue the sale. You can choose your fish life and they kill it for you-or you can purchase those that have been frozen already. You can also watch the fish mongers chop up sashimi, make fillets, or take the head/fins off before bagging them for happy customers. We didn’t spend much time there, but it was fun to see.
Today was slightly rushed, but I was glad to savor just a bit more of Seoul. I saw the city I’m living in by air and I saw what comes from it’s seas. I’m hoping to visit both of these again-to see the night lights and to actually purchase some fresh seafood!