Italian Trench Coats in Seoul...

While I was visiting museums, Ashlynn was working. This was her first of five shoots for Cowell Fashion, an online clothing store.

All of the Cowell shoots featured products by Italian brand A.Testoni. 

Strangely enough, although it is primarily a shoe company, Ashlynn never did a shoot focusing on their shoes. 

You’d never know from this photo, but our adorable golfer hasn’t played miniature golf in years.

The second shoot featured trousers, but those photos aren’t as interesting as the trench coats.

More Bukchon...

After the museums, I wandered back towards the Bukhon neighborhood. Along the way, I saw this cool statue.

I was excited to find a restaurant offering bibimbap, one of favorite Korean meals. Unlike in the past, this one was vegetarian instead of beef and the egg was fried instead of raw. It was yummy!

My last stop was the Seoul Education Museum, which was sweet and small.

National Folk Museum of Korea...

Across the street was a sweet open-air folk museum with this goofy statue out front.

Although they look like they might work there, this couple was merely taking photos out front.

This rock statue is the type found on Jeju Island of gods offering fertility and protection against demons.

This pagoda was lovely, but was unluckily closed to the public.

This street depicted stores from the late 19th century up until the 1980s.

This house was built in 1848 and was occupied by the same family until the early 1980s. 

On my way out, I found some more dressed up folks.

Contemporary Art Museum...

While Ashlynn was busy working one day, I ventured over to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. There was only a very small permanent collection. The main exhibit was The Essential Duchamp. It included everyday items as art such as a urinal; he may have been a very admired French artist, but I wasn’t impressed.  

Also using everyday items as art, I was thoroughly impressed with the Blooming Matrix exhibition by Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa.

This exhibit featured 146 pagodas made of a huge variety of mostly consumable materials collected globally. 

Little did I know when I was photographing this cool exhibit, that Ashlynn would be shooting there two weeks later. Wait till you see the results!

Feast of Flower was made out of used kitchenware. 

Young Flower featured gold and silver plastic crowns being pulled up towards the ceiling, built as a memorial to the more than 300 students who were killed in a South Korean ferry disaster in 2014. 

My favorite part of the exhibition was the 30-foot tall Dandelion, built of over 7,000 used metal and plastic pots, plates, cups and bowls donated by residents of several Korean cities as part of a group project. 

Street Art and Other Sightings...

Once I wandered beyond the historic village, I found some interesting street art...

....a mirror for a selfie...

...and this funny motto for a churros place.

I also saw some more dressed up ladies...

...a Mr. Potato Head...

...and this lovely mural.

While there were a bunch of bikes here, there didn’t seem to be a lot of cyclists probably due to the lack of cycling infrastructure.

A Lovely Historic Village...

I loved the old style of architecture and couldn’t resist taking a lot of photos.

The only Buddha I saw during my visit that wasn’t in a museum.

Those in hanboks weren’t limited to Koreans, as many foreigners also got into the act.

I imagine that repairing these roofs is now a lost art.

Due to the large number of tourists, these alleys are only open to the public until 5 p.m.

Some of the homes had notes reminding passersby to be quiet.

Check out this lone gargoyle.