PM Lee's Korean holiday photos will make you so jealous

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is back from his two-week break, and judging from his photos, he had a fun and delicious trip in South Korea with his family.

The 63-year-old first visited bustling Seoul and had dinner at popular night spot, Itaewon. This area is popular with foreigners and has many international brands mixed with local offerings.

He also visited Garosu-gil, another popular shopping street in the capital. Garosu-gil means tree-lined street in Korean and has many trendy cafes and hip fashion shops.

One of the attractions along this street that caught Mr Lee's eye is the unmissable six-storey Line shop. The exterior of the building is brightly decorated with popular characters from the instant messaging app like Cony, Brown, James and Moon.

Other than Seoul's touristy spots, PM Lee and family also headed to Gyeongju, about 40 minutes away from the capital by train.

Known as 'the museum without walls', Lonely Planet described Gyeongju as a place holding more tombs, temples, rock carvings, pagodas, Buddhist statuary and palace ruins than any other place in South Korea. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

TripAdvisor reviewers ranked Bulguksa Temple, Anapji Pond, Cheonmachong Tomb and Cheomseongdae Observatory as some of the top places to visit in Gyeongju.

Mr Lee's photos of the town also took a more meditative turn when he was here.

He posted waterfalls, sprawling lands and nature featuring winter foliage. His wife, Ms Ho Ching, also shared some tender moments shared between the couple on her Facebook page.

Mr Lee also took on one of South Korea's national parks - the 1,708m Mount Seorak in the Taebaek mountain range in the East.

In a Facebook post, he noted that the peak offered spectacular views over the mountainous terrain.

Another highlight and most photo-worthy part of the trip was undoubtedly the food.

Mr and Mrs Lee's excitement over the local cuisine was evident as they took snaps of their meals such as authentic Korean BBQ, bamboo crabs, freshly-earthed ginseng, fried snacks and even quirky items at the supermarkets.

He also encountered some silkworm pupae at a street food cart, but opted for some familiar roasted chestnuts instead during one of his outings.

wjeanne@sph.com.sg