DBSK/TVXQ - TISTORY Special Live in Seoul Concert

I've been wanting to go to a concert ever since I knew I was coming to Korea, and I was able to fulfill this dream with going to the TVXQ concert. To commemorate their 10th anniversary, they held a two-day special live in Seoul Olympic Hall. The one we went to was the one on the second day, which also coincide with the day they were filming the concert. We got there almost 3 hours earlier, in case of a big crowd, hoping to be able to buy some souvenirs and because I hate waiting in lines. But by the time we got there, most of the things were already gone and whatever's left were all really expensive. I ended up only getting a light stick since I'm not too crazy about getting something. 

Seeing all the fans gathered together before the show really excited me. Although I'm not a big fan of TVXQ (I only knew some of their songs), it still made me really anticipate what's to come. 

We were not allowed to take pictures or film for the whole concert but there were a part where we were allowed to take our cameras out. That was when the whole concert hall started to go crazy (not that people weren't crazy before). The whole time every single person were screaming and yelling especially when Changmin took off his shirt, it was so hard not to go crazy even if you can't sing along with the songs or chant along with the fanchants. Even if we didn't know what they were talking about during the talking time, we still had lots of fun and laughed along with everyone else. 

The fan club prepared an event to celebrate TVXQ's 10th (almost 11th) anniversary. We were all given a banner and we were to hold it up during their encore stage. 

"Congratulations on 4000days <3"

"Thank you for coming to us"

Link: Somebody to Love

Although the concert was a little bit out of my budget, I do not regret spending that money. It was so much fun I don't think I've ever screamed so much within such a short period of time. One thing I would complain about was that their music was a little too loud especially for dance songs which would over power their mics so I couldn't clearly hear their voices enough. But I still enjoyed it very very much. I really hope I get to have a chance to go to another concert. 

Seodaemun Prison History Hall

 If you were to ask a random person on the street what words they link to when they think of Korea they would probably say: Psy, kpop, LG or Samsung. Indeed, South Korea is now enjoying one of its most glorifying periods, but there was a time where its people had a hard time speaking their true thoughts and being their true selves. And that is the Japanese colonization period.

Seodamun Prison History Hall preserved and displays the struggles of the country to achieve independence and democracy. Inside the halls, there were dolls that imitated what the independence activists and pro-democracy activities had to go through under the Japanese rule. 

A gloomy day - just the perfect weather for such a heavy topic.

Originally designed to accommodate 500 people, there was a point where 3500 inmates where held captive in the prison with no heat.

This was where the Japanese used to get the dead bodies out of the walled prison. 

A room where the officials would watch the hanging of an individual as if it was a play or something.

Watchtower - just in case anyone decides to escape.

A man's lonely road to independence.

Just kidding, this random guy just so happened to be in my shot of the Independence Gate.

The content of the whole museum was so heart heavy and painful to see even if they were only dolls reenacting the scenes. Imagine the pain of the people who had to go through all these tortures and sufferings! There were a lot of places that we weren't allowed to take pictures, though adequate English explanation were given. An interesting thing that I found is the way they totally excluded the fact that Koreans used this prison as well after gaining independence. I'm not sure if they practiced the same amount of torture inside the buildings but it just seemed they are a tiny bit biased on this point. Overall, the museum was very interesting to go through, though it could be uneasy for some people.

Gyeonghuigong + Seoul Museum of History

One thing that I really enjoy in Korea is that the tickets for a lot of sightseeing places and museums are either really cheap or completely free. It really encourages people to go and have an understanding of how their country came along. I really admire the fact that Koreans are really good at doing that. 

Gyeonghuigong is also part of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the Joseon Dynasty. This palace was actually completely destroyed by the Japanese in order to make way for a school. Reconstruction for the palace began in the 1990s but the government was only able to reconstruct about 1/3 of the size of what it used to be.

Even though admissions are free, it's still a lot quieter and emptier than all the other palaces of the "Five Grand Palaces". But because of that, we stayed for a long time and enjoyed the surrounding serenity.

This is the restored version of the main hall. The original one was sold to a temple of a Japanese and stands today in Dongguk University. 

The tiles of the roof had phoenixes and dragons imprinted on them. Impressive. 

Our next designation was the Seoul Museum of History which is footsteps away from Gyeonghuigong. Opened in 2002, it showcases the history and culture of Seoul from the Joseon Dynasty to the present day. Although history was interesting in itself, the free admission was also a major factor why we went. The museum had many artifacts, models, pictures, and activities that brings you through a time machine. 

The colonization period was so heavy for them they had to put bars around them.

The 1988 Summer Olympics torch!!

What an apartment and a unit used to look like. 

Seoul nowadays. 

Going back in time.

The museum was really informative and educational. Definitely a must go if you're interested in history. There are also sufficient English explanations on the side to let you have an idea of what's going on.