From my room in the Grand Hyatt Seoul, located on the slopes of Namsan Mountain, it seemed the entire city was at my feet. I was only half right. My room faced south. To the north, on the other side of the mountain, there was more of the Korean capital that I couldn’t see.

I was grateful I’d arranged for a guided tour. The complexity of this Asian city can be overwhelming, especially when the signage is in another alphabet.

Everyone’s first stop is the royal compound. Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1395, the fourth year of the reign of King Taejo. Although destroyed during Japanese occupation in the 16th century and again in the 20th, reconstruction began in 1990. Much of the traditional Korean architecture has been rebuilt, and guards in archaic uniforms provide many photo ops for visitors.

In the front courtyard, there are three granite walkways. The slightly elevated one in the middle was reserved for the king, while his courtiers used the side paths. The buildings themselves are elaborately painted with motifs typical of the period.

Most poignant, perhaps are the walled gardens of the queen, who, once she married the king, was not allowed to leave the palace grounds.

The grandly modern Korean National Museum has the country’s cultural heritage from prehistoric times to the present on display. I spent much of my time in the galleries explaining the distinctive Korean alphabet called Hangeul that was devised in 1444 by a group of scholars under orders from the king. Korean, part of the Ural-Altaic Language group, is written in syllabic units made up of two, three or four letters. The alphabet itself is composed of 10 vowels and 14 consonants.(more)