Bukchon Hanok Village...

After the aquarium, Ashlynn and I once again split off as she had castings. Most of Seoul is very modern, so I was excited to discover this village, preserved to show an urban environment during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897).

Several shops rented hanboks, traditional Korean semi-formal or formal dresses.

This group of boys and girls was especially fun to watch. 

This area was supposedly once the residential quarter of high-ranking government officials and nobility.

It is home to hundreds of traditional houses called hanok, some of which are still homes while others are cultural centers, inns or teahouses. Bukchon translates to northern village. 

It was very cool to catch a glimpse of historic Seoul.

Rays, Jellyfish and Otters...

In the huge main ocean tank, there was a large number of giant rays.

In one of the smaller areas, there was a cool display of jellyfish.

We also enjoyed watching the penguins...

...and the sea otters.

Ocean Tunnel...

The 280-foot (85-meter) long Ocean Tunnel was truly incredible, offering remarkably close views of a large variety of creatures.

The highlight of the visit for Ashlynn was when she bonded with the beluga whale.

It was nice that there was a conveniently placed mirror for a selfie.

Lotte World Aquarium...

We were soon back in the basement of Lotte World Tower, this time to visit the Lotte World Aquarium. Ashlynn was a bit nervous that it wouldn’t be up to her high standards, but she loved it. Its 55,000 creatures consisted of 650 species.

The tanks were clean and interesting, such as the piranhas with this skeleton...

...and MIRO, a Marine Intelligence Robot, swimming amongst biological fish.

In addition to cute frogs...

...there were lots of cute school groups.

Ashlynn was excited to feed these fish...

...while this little boy was clearly ecstatic to feed the koi.

One again proving that she’s just a big kid.

Seoul Subways...

During my previous five trips to Seoul, I never rode the subway because there was no station in Itaewon. This time, I rode it daily. It was affordable, efficient and clean. It was a bit disconcerting, however, to notice gas masks in each station in numbers far less than the number of passengers passing through.

Between her height and blond hair, Ashlynn always stood out.

Despite the crowds during the day, it was usually easy to find a seat at night.

Occasionally someone would try selling something, such as this fellow promoting some kind of LED light which at least one man bought during my journey.

Long black puffy coats were frequently spotted during the cold winter, sometimes with words along the back. 

We spotted this Dutch sign at one of the stations.

Let’s Sing...

Later that night we went out for karaoke with some of the models. Ashlynn really got into it. It was a very cheap and fun form of entertainment.

It was very considerate of the guys to refrain from smoking inside our private karaoke room on account of me.

Unfortunately, it meant that they kept going outside to smoke, breaking up the group.

Things took a turn for the worst when of the boys apparently pushed a Korean guy who got too close to one of the girls.

They came back into the room and said we should all scatter in case the police were called.

It was like a scene from a bad movie--we all started running to get away from the scene even though only one person was actually involved.

Luckily no one was hurt or arrested and we could all laugh about it later. The next time they wanted to go to karaoke but smoke inside, so I passed.

Seoul at Night...

Our timing was perfect to see the sunset.

It was so cool to see night fall over the city from such an amazing vantage point.

We splurged with a signature cocktail and snack from the 123F Lounge at 1,640 feet (500 meters). The prices might have been premium, but it was completely worth it.

After enjoying the view from every possible angle, we finally boarded the Sky Shuttle on the 121st floor for the journey back down to the basement.

The journey in the world’s tallest and fastest double-decker elevator features monitors on the ceiling and walls to give a virtual tour of Seoul while whisking down to the basement in just one minute.