This is not my first time to Korea. In fact, this is my third time – but only my second for leisure. So this trip, I was less concerned about being a culture vulture and seeing everything I want to see. ‘Cuz, let’s face it, I’m gonna be back.
My first trip to Seoul was back in 2013 or 2014. Sights and experiences then included Changdeokgung, my first jjimjilbang (Dragon Hill spa FTW), walking along the Han river, shopping in Dongdaemun & Hongdae area. The most memorable was by far the jjimjilbang. There is nothing quite like having to strip yourself stark naked and go walk around the public bathhouse area meant for females, see women of all shapes and sizes just chilling in the pools and finding out that little toddler boys are somehow allowed in there too……
ANYWAY. This trip I got to see Korea through oppa’s eyes. We feasted sooo much and kept a very relaxed itinerary because we were both shattered after a hectic work season.
Day 1: Walk around Insadong & Bukchon
Our very first stop was actually lunch. We were bewildered with choices in Insadong (but turns out it was in fact, Ikseondong) when KC saw an ahjusshi waving his friends over to a restaurant. We decided to follow and it led us to this hole-in-the-wall place serving kalguksu (seafood noodle soup but technically only shellfish inside). For 20,000 won for 2 bowls AND 6 dumplings, portion size was generous. Unless you’re a super big eater, I recommend you to share your noodles. KC and I are both big eaters and we were stuffed. But it was perfect for me because it had like zero oil and was very warming. I finished the whole bowl, soup and all. Come early around 11.00am or 11.30am if you don’t want to queue on a Saturday. We loved it so much that we came back a week later at 12.00pm and ended up queueing for 15-20 minutes. We also noticed that the second time, shellfish portions seemed slightly less than before.
Address: Donui-dong Jongno-gu Seoul (서울특별시 종로구 돈화문로11다길 5)
For more info: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FOD/FO_EN_6_4_4.jsp?cid=398492
We then took the train over to Bukchon to walk all our food off. I love the vibe at Bukchon because it’s so well-maintained. But I do feel bad for residents of the neighbourhood. I also noticed many more people wearing hanbok (including locals) compared to my last visit and taking TONS of pictures.
Damage to the wallet:
- Lunch in Michelin Bib Gourmand place – 2x kalguksu & 1x mandu : 20,000KRW
- Bukchon traditional museum entrance tickets : 3,000 KRW each
- Dinner in Insadong – doenjangjjigae & bulgogi : 18,000KRW
Day 2: Itaewon, National Museum, Gwangjang Market
Like I said, very chilled. We only hit Itaewon around lunchtime and took our own sweet time taking pictures and browsing. There were some pricey but interesting vintage shops there. It’s know to be an expat/Western area so all kinds of bars and restaurants that cater to that crowd.
We hit Gwangjang Market for dinner. I tried suundae for the first time and really liked it. KC’s pro tip for any markets: the corner stores are usually pretty good because they have to pay a higher rental fee. So, they have to draw more customers to cover their costs and to do that, well, they gotta be good. What I didn’t like about the market is that I felt the food choices were quite repetitive (–but that could be because I went at night!) and some looked REALLY oily. However, we did come across a more healthy stall and had some amazing barley rice bibimbap (boribap) and struck up a fun conversation with an old couple who were Korean-Chinese too.
Damage to the wallet:
- Lunch in Itaewon – soba & mandu noodles : 12,000KRW
- Dinner at Gwangjang – suundae & odeng : 11,000KRW; boribap & jjajangmyun : 10,000KRW
Day 3: Korea Tourism Organization, Hongdae, Yonsei, Finding Mr Destiny
This was a wonderful day because this was the day my kdrama dreams, like, came true. KC’s research led us to Korea Tourism Organization’s K-Style Hub which is a 5-storey building that had A LOT to see and experience. We spend a whole morning in there and by that I mean we spend 2-3 hours at least. We took pictures with Hallyu celebs via AR technology and got discounted tickets for a local musical (Finding Mr Destiny) that evening at half-price. Then we explored the other floors that displayed the key ingredients to Korean cuisine and how they changed seasonally. I love food and I was fascinated by how Korean food was fermented and stored. After all that staring at food though, I got really hungry. KC was like hey do you know there’s a cafeteria upstairs and we just made our way there and omg the food was served in a pretty fancy way as a complete set but the price was standard like the outside ajumma hangouts. It was mouth-watering – also the pictures of food earlier had already stoked my appetite.
We were set to go after we visited the top floor to just tick it off our list and I realized they let us try on hanbok for freeeee and take pictures with the set. Being the bargain hunter that I am, I pleaded with KC who was so over the place by then but he couldn’t say no to me. So he went for the scholarly hanbok look and I just went for the noblewoman one. As we were leaving for the SECOND time, I spotted a little sign saying that we could claim these 10,000KRW promotional shopping vouchers by flashing our passports at the information booth. So we went back, got ’em vouchers and went our merry way!
Our next stop was Ewha University and Yonsei University area. When we got there, um, I believe I got sidetracked by skincare shops and spent a goooood amount of time window shopping for the most part. Eventually we moved on to Yonsei University where KC had been an exchange student eons ago and I heard more about his student life and adventures there. The campus was big – bigger than I expected, but also really nice to be there because it was featured in the kdrama Reply 1994 we had been watching together over Netflix Party. It was like yay I’m walking around a legit kdrama set. We kept walking around Hongdae and settled for an early dinner of BBQ tripe (KC) and kimchijjigae (me). We also ordered some rice balls with seaweed and roe but the shocker was when they just served the ingredients and we were expected to do the mixing and rolling ourselves. Haha, KC’s face was priceless!
After that we went back to wash up and get changed because we wanted to look/feel good for our theatre jaunt. I was like quite impressed at how Seoul seems to have a fairly lively theatre scene. I mean, we were there on a Monday night and they were actually having shows every night. I wonder how sustainable it was and if the actors/actresses could make a living doing what they do. The show was thoroughly enjoyable and the plotline was classic rom-com with the two leads male and female obviously having a happy ending together. But the side character/narrator guy stole the show because a) he was playing multiple roles and b) he was just hilarious as a comic. Did I mention that the entire show was just 3 actors with backing tracks? And the lights and sound team were great. The fact that I can still remember and sing fragments of the theme song means the songs were quite memorable. I highly recommend giving one of their local theatre productions a shot if you’re in town and have a night to spare. Go to the KTO and get a 50% off rush ticket!
Damage to the wallet:
- Musical tickets : 22,500KRW each
- Lunch at K-style hub – 2x set meals : 18,000KRW
- Dinner in Hongdae – tripe BBQ, kimchijjigae & rice balls : 24,000KRW
That concludes part 1.
PSA: I backdated this post to November because this trip actually took place in October 2019. But keep in mind that all these took place during autumn season 🙂
learn and live 