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City Girl Reads #2: Seoul’s Fascinating Past

29 April 2020 in BOOKS

Feature photo above by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash 

City Girl Reads #2 – Seoul’s Historic Walks in Sketches
by Janghee Lee (translated by David Carruth)

Genres: Travel literature, History 
Year: 2018

There’s no better time than now (with all the time spent at home) to catch up with our books right? :)

I chanced upon this book during one of my many just popping by the bookstore to window shop trips and when the library got a copy, I ran to the library branch near my office during lunch to grab it! I knew from the first chapter that I was going to love this book and I was right! I’ve added it to my list of favourite books. :) 

Note: This book was originally published in Korean, I read the translated English edition.

As you can tell from the title and the book cover, this book is filled with sketches of Seoul – all personal sketches done by the author himself. Every single page of the book has a sketch or more, ranging from large views of Seoul to the little design details in the arches of a historical palace building. To accompany his sketches, Lee’s book tells the stories of Seoul’s historical grand past, sharing stories that have been told, untold and some which may have been forgotten.

Lee has clearly dedicated a lot of time and passion in his sketches, his research and his exploration to discover these past stories and places of Seoul, which are not always talked about in contrast to the beautiful and trendy city it is today. I learned so much about South Korea’s past, about all that it’s been through, about how much things have been destroyed and rebuilt, about the people and their lives and their stories.

This is a long read, but not a dry history book at all. I admire Lee’s passion for his home and he’s a wonderful storyteller as well. If you’re interested in reading about the stories that existed before today’s Seoul came to be, I can’t recommend this book enough!

FYI: For Singapore friends, I borrowed this book from NLB, spotted it at Kinokuniya bookstore (Ngee Ann City) and know that it’s also available online at Book Depository.

King Taejo must have walked here, filled with anticipation about the city he had chosen to be the capital of the Joseon Dynasty. As he stood on the peak, he must have dreamed of the future. But I doubt in his wildest dreams he ever guessed that the dense woods covering the land below would be transformed into such a stunning forest of buildings.

Standing in this spot, I couldn’t help but imagine the future of Seoul myself. But the Seoul I imagine is not a flashy city bristling with skyscrapers. What I dream of is a peaceful and profound historically rich city that has been restored, at least within the city walls, to the way it was before.

Seoul’s Historic Walks in Sketches by Janghee Lee (trans. David Carruth)

Bookish Links
– Follow my bookstagram here!
– Add this book to Goodreads
– Book’s webpage on publisher’s website
(I couldn’t find a website belonging to the author.)

⭐ Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for day-to-day updates and my bookstagram for bookish posts! ⭐

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Previous City Girl Reads #1: Extrovert/Introvert
Next City Girl Reads #3: Pretty City London

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I’m a Hong Kong born, Singapore raised city girl. I have lived, studied and worked in both cities and am currently based in sunny Singapore. Welcome to my personal blog, where I share my city adventures. :)
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2020 felt so slow, but 2021 has me feeling like time is flying by. The year started and as I race along trying to keep up, it's April! Perhaps it's the spring themed everything going around, but I'm feeling hopeful for new beginnings again.🌸
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P.S. Here are some Christmas photos I've been happily compiling and will be up on citygirlcitystories.com as a photo diary of Christmas in Singapore soon (hopefully this weekend)!
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It's been a long tiring week, so I've been having a simple weekend: getting up for breakfasts, book shopping, picking up more books at the library, watching TV and cozy Youtube vlogs. :) 

I usually fill my weekends with a full schedule, but 2020 has taught me that quiet slower ones are just as good. 😌

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It's April and I'm finally resurfacing to post my It's April and I'm finally resurfacing to post my first IG update of 2021. 😆 The hiatus was unintentional (although I'm still active on my blog!😊) as life became incredibly busy, exciting and fast paced since Jan started! 

2020 felt so slow, but 2021 has me feeling like time is flying by. The year started and as I race along trying to keep up, it's April! Perhaps it's the spring themed everything going around, but I'm feeling hopeful for new beginnings again.🌸
This is it, goodbye 2020. What a whirlwind of a lo This is it, goodbye 2020. What a whirlwind of a long year.

Here's to 2021! 💫 To better and brighter days ahead! 🌈
Merry Christmas! ⭐ Wishing everyone a wonderful Merry Christmas! ⭐ Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas season filled with warmth and peace. 😌 

P.S. Here are some Christmas photos I've been happily compiling and will be up on citygirlcitystories.com as a photo diary of Christmas in Singapore soon (hopefully this weekend)!
💛 City meets nature. 💚 ... It's been a long 💛 City meets nature. 💚
...
It's been a long tiring week, so I've been having a simple weekend: getting up for breakfasts, book shopping, picking up more books at the library, watching TV and cozy Youtube vlogs. :) 

I usually fill my weekends with a full schedule, but 2020 has taught me that quiet slower ones are just as good. 😌
Relaxing and peaceful weekend vibes. 😌 🌳 Ph Relaxing and peaceful weekend vibes. 😌

🌳 Photos taken from a visit to NTU's gorgeous Yunnan Garden! 🌳
It's already November and I've missed posting abou It's already November and I've missed posting about the 6th blog anniversary of citygirlcitystories.com (which was in October)! 

Running this personal lifestyle blog has been such a passion project. ⭐ 6 years in, this blog has journeyed with me from Hong Kong to Singapore, from university to working life. I'm still the same city girl exploring her city though, and I still have plenty of things to share. 😊

I've talked more on the blog (link in bio) with photo memories from the past 6 years. Check it out! 🤗 
---
Cat snapshots here are from a recent catch up with a friend at @sgcatcafe, because I've been visiting and blogging about cat cafes since the first one I went to in Hong Kong in 2010!
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