Asia Update #2 - I have a Home

I found an apartment and am in the process of signing the lease. 2 bedroom, 2 bath, and supposed to be some 800 square feet, but I'm not totally clear on the size. Koreans measure their space in units called pyung, with one pyung equal to a little less than 4 square yards. To make it more confusing, they measure the gross space (including your share of communal space - stairways, hallways, garage, etc.). Makes it hard to figure out exactly how large the place is. But, no matter what the square footage is, the place is plenty large for me.

The apartment is in the area which they call Central Seoul. It is the old downtown, and contains things like City Hall, lots of museums, and most of the historical palaces (such as Kyungbok Palace, which I talked about last time - turns out there are 5 palaces within walking distance of my apartment). A lot of embassies are also in the area, including the Czech and Saudia Arabian embassies being on the same street I am. The US embassy is also close by - though it is ugly and looks more like a prison than anything else, with all the guards and barbed wire and such (I'll have to get a picture of it).

Here's a virtual tour of the place…

This is a picture of the living room. Don't worry, the furniture will be changing. These pictures were taken before I moved in. The apartment is coming furnished, but not with the furniture shown (at the time I am writing this, I don't know what furniture will be used).

Turning around, here is the kitchen. 

Not shown are the two bedrooms - just empty spaces at the time I took these photos.

This is a shot of the building from outside. I'm in the building in the center. It is a 4 story building, and I am on the second floor. There is a small yard with a marble table out back. And some unfinished space on the roof. It really could use a table and chairs - be a neat place to hang out and enjoy the view. Speaking of which…

This is a view generally northward. The Kyungbok palace I talked about in my last report is hidden by the buildings here, but within an easy walk.

This is a view southward. The tower on the hill in the center is the Seoul Tower, which shows up in many postcards and photos of Seoul. The tower would probably be considered the center point of Seoul, as it shows up in just about the middle of most maps of Seoul (such as http://english.seoul.go.kr/residents/transport/trans_01map.html). The financial district (and my office) is on the other side of the hill.

This was the surprise find from the roof - the Kyunghee Palace. The building I will live in is named Kyung Hee Palace, and it turns out it was named this because the actual palace is about 100 meters away. I have explored the palace also - it is still being restored, so isn't quite as spectacular as the Kyungbok Palace, but it was nice to be able to walk around it without any crowds around.