Seoul's Smog

Here in Seoul today, I took a tour of the city.  Since it has been destroyed by a few invasions over the centuries, and then again during the Korean War, basically all of the palace sites in the city have been rebuilt in recent years.  Still lovely to look at, but I hate to admit that it takes a little shine off of it when they tell you it's 10 years old.

Anyway, a fairly thick layer of smog hung over the city today.  I haven't dealt with a lot of smog in my life, so it's hard to compare, but this is probably the worst I've ever seen.  3 different locals assured me that it was "Chinese dust" wafting over from Beijing and its environs.  Such a shame.  By the end of the day, I was feeling it a little bit in my lungs.  And maybe I'm imagining things, but when I got back to my hotel, my face just felt dirty.  Having to deal with more of this smog is all the reason I need to skip Beijing on this trip.

Here's a picture of central Seoul taken around noon.  At one point, I saw a very red sun trying to peek out amidst the dust.  The sun was so dull, one could look directly at it without any discomfort.