First stop in Seoul was my hotel. I had been wanting to try Lotteria and decided id do so this night so I could get something quick and just get some rest. That was before I discovered Myeongdong!
After dinner, I walked around my hotel area, Myeongdong, and found the Cathedral.
I also found Myeongdong Walking/Shopping Street and was enchanted! I stayed out much later than I anticipated exploring this area. It’s so bright and busy with so many shops and stalls I felt like I just couldn’t leave!
On Myeongdong Walking Street, I found my favorite food of the whole trip: this beef skewer with spicy sauce. The sauce was nutty and spicy and smooth and slightly crunchy. It was perfect. I also got a mayak corn to go along with the skewer.
I did drop the food immediately after taking the last picture. I caught it in my elbow against my chest and forearm, leaving a huge stain on my coat and its sleeve. Worth it.
Continuing to walk around Myeongdong, I found a cat cafe and decided to try it out, mostly to rub in my boyfriend, Alejandro’s, face. The cats were super cute and extremely chill. Some didn’t even wake up when you pet them!
My goal for the day was to head over to the museum campus and check out the National Museum of Korea. The landscape around it was beautiful.
Near the national Museum of Korea, I was seeing signs for the National Hangeul Museum. No one had told me about this though it’s exactly in my wheelhouse so I was wondering whether that might be part of the National Museum or whether it might mean something other than the writing system. But it didn’t! This was a museum dedicated to hangeul, the Korean writing system. I spent quite a lot of time here and wildly enjoyed it. I even got a little emotional at times. It was just so special and unexpected to me.
I figured there might be some information or exhibits about the unique linguistics and semiotics of hangeul, but there weren’t really. Instead it was more about national pride and history.
After the museum, I explored the nearish by area of Itaewon, known for its global community. I could see Seoul Tower from Itaewon, I thought surely it can’t be that far or difficult of a walk…
It turned into a legit hike up a mountain to get to N Seoul Tower. I thought there would be an incline, sure, but that it would be along paved roads. That was not the case! It was a dirt trail with leaves and pine needles on it. It was fairly difficult and made more so because I just wasn’t ready or expecting it. I remember thinking I had to be almost there and seeing a sign that was still 1km to go!
Once I got there, there were shops and restaurants and multiple levels to take in the views. I did go up in the elevator to the top of the tower. I didn’t like it as much as Busan X The Sky.
I took the bus down.
Walked by Sungnyemun Gate at night
I went back to Myeongdong Walking Street to try to find those amazing beef skewers. I didn’t find the same vendor so instead got bbq chicken and beef skewers from a different stall. It was good but out the same. I rounded out the meal with some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice and cheese balls.
The first thing I booked for my whole entire trip to South Korea was this make-your-own perfume workshop.
It was super fun and cool to be able to sample so many scents and be able to pick your favorite and balance them together.
Part of why I wanted to book a workshop was to meet people as I’d otherwise be traveling on my own. I booked this before the Gyeongju and Jeju tours and met great people on those and here was no exception. I met Sarah from Florida and we went on to become friends and hang out again later this week!
Sarah and I took advantage of AROMIND’s location in Bokchon village so close to Gyeongbokgung Palace to team up and explore together. We happened to be around just in time to watch the changing of the guard performance.
I stumbled on the tea house in a back alley in Insadong. It wasn’t on Naver or Google and the host barely spoke English. It’ll be my own secret. It was so cute and eclectically decorated. The dishwear was amazing and there was so much of it all over the walls.
I had been passing Cheonggyecheon as I ventured out from my hotel but this day I actually went down and walked along it. Much nicer along the banks than walking above!
For dinner, I had 섭겨ㅣ캉 - samgyetang. It wasn’t bad by any means but it was very bland especially compared to all the other food I had been eating.
(Location here is wrong name but very close to actual place which is not listed in the Google Maps integration)Lunch was duck tenderloin udon in Sinchon.
For dinner, I met up Sarah from the perfume class again and we went to Hongdae. We first went to a bar and club called Waikiki, where we learned just how inexpensive drinks are in South Korea.
We moved on to Battery 88 after walking around a bit. We got beef stir fry and chicken wings. We also had a few beers, plain soju, and some amazing pomegranate soju.
The vibe of the place was great. People were celebrating birthdays with champagne and sparklers. Soccer was on tv and people were into it.
After dinner, we decided to go out in Hongdae. Our first stop was Noise Basement, NB2. We got two free drinks and a mini lollipop with admission. We also got several rounds of free shots, unsure whether they were from the bartender or other patrons. Very appreciated either way!
We continued the night walking around and stopped at another club I don’t remember. We took the last train back to our accommodations but at that time it wasn’t running all the way to our stop so we had to cover the gaps with a taxi. By this point in the trip, I was feeling confident to cover anything that might come up! Handled without a problem!
Coex Mall in Gangnam
I was unimpressed with Starfield Library (it’s actually a bookstore?) but liked their tree and the random person I asked to take my picture understood the assignment.
Goose mural I Liked in Garosu-gil, Gangnam, an area otherwise too ritzy for me.
I did meet with Arianti here again though and we planned the rest of our night - my last night!!
We found my favorite skewer stall and I enjoyed those beef sticks again as my last snack in South Korea!
Arianti and I decided to once again take advantage of the fact that we had a dining companion to tackle k bbq. We got pork belly, marinated steak, and raw octopus that was still moving when it got to the table. We shared a bottle of grapefruit soju.
(Location here is wrong name but very close to actual place which is not listed in the Google Maps integration)We walked by and simply had to get our caricature done!
Cafe Mignon with cute little cakes
ICN > DTW > PHL 13 hours on the first leg. not as bad as the way here. I watched Dune and Elemental. This flight gave me the longest Thanksgiving ever. I left 9:35am from Seoul on November 23 and arrived 11:35am on November 23 in Philadelphia. Enough time for me to rock right up to Thanksgiving dinner!