South Korea

by Brianin Seoul, South Koreaon Posted on

Jump Ahead:
Day 1 | Arrival
Day 2 | Namsan, Seoul Tower, Myeong-dong, Namdaemun, Seoul Station
Day 3 | Deoksugung Palace, City Hall, Cheonggyecheon, Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Insa-dong
Day 4 | Gangnam, Starfield Coex Mall, Cheongdam-dong, Apgujeong-dong, Hangang Park, Sinsa-dong
Day 5 | Heunginjimun, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul City Wall Museum, Dongdaemun Market, Gwangjang Market, Bangsan Market, Jungbu Dried Seafood Market, Lotte Mall, Myeong-dong
Final Day 6 | Departure

This new year vacation period we finally decided to take a trip outside of Japan, despite the higher cost of travelling at this time.  Since flights are mostly double or triple their usual prices, we didn’t go too far.  Between Taiwan and South Korea, we decided on staying in  Seoul for our short trip… just taking in the sights and trying to eat as much as possible.  This was my second trip to South Korea and Marie’s first.  We flew into Gimpo Airport and stayed near Seoul Station… sticking mostly to touristy spots in Seoul and traveled primarily by foot and metro.  Overall, it was a great trip and we’re already wanting to go back, especially to keep on eating!

Side note: I generally find that Korean words (especially food words) never really translate well into English so my spelling of things may not be consistent with how others spell it

Day 1

We had a late flight from Haneda to Gimpo so our first night was really just getting from the airport to the hotel and settling in.  The flight was short, only about 2-1/2 hours… just long enough to watch Ad Astra before we landed around 2230.  

The bags took a little while to come out on the turnstile, even for such a small airport. 
Exchange rates here aren't the best... market rate was at 1156 KRW/USD
After exiting the baggage claim area, the way to the metro station is down the escalator/stairs there

We found out about these Wow Exchange machines online… they had a better exchange rate than the airport banks and seemed trustworthy enough… you’ll pass them on the way to the metro lines. Exchange rate here was 1150 KRW/USD vs. the 1109 at the airport banks.  There was a limit to daily exchanges but it was more than enough for us and it handled both JPY and USD well enough… only strange thing was it didn’t accept $20 bills (which is what I had most of). Can read a little more about them here:
https://www.koreatravel-expert.com/gimpo-exchange/

It was a bit of a walk from the arrival hall to the actual metro station gates but we were able to find the right one and buy our single journey tickets from the machines there. 
http://www.seoulmetro.co.kr/en/index.do?device=PC

Super cheap! The ride from the airport to Seoul station was only 2050 KRW per person (less than $2)! Plus, you get 500 KRW back when you return the card!
Works like most other metros, just tap the IC card to the sensor at the gates
Easy, one metro line to Seoul Station
So far so good!
Less than 30 minutes to Seoul Station on Arex
Simple and effective I guess... English in most places made it easy to get around
At first I thought someone left that behind but it's always there...
Let's go! The metro lines run pretty deep

We had some issue exiting the last gate at Seoul station (we had to go through two for some reason) and had to use the help button to be let out… the attendant on the other side of the speaker box could speak good English and saw us through a camera somewhere. Seems we weren’t the only one with this problem either judging by the people behind us. Speaking of which, there are CCTV cameras everywhere in this city!

Just after we exited the gates we found the single journey card deposit refund machines so we decided to get our 500 KRW back... we'd be getting our own rechargeable cards the next day
Finally made it to our hotel. The underground passage from the station to the hotel was closed since it was almost midnight when we arrived so we had to brave the cold outside for about a block. To our surprise it was also snowing a little bit.
Lobby and cafe is on the 19th floor.
Checked-in online before we left Japan so we just had to pick up our key. Easy peasy and finally got to settle in!

Day 2

Our second day we planned on tackling the areas closest to our hotel by walking around.  We had breakfast at a coffee shop next to our hotel before heading out towards Namsan Park and Seoul Tower.  After that we’d walk to Myeong-dong market, Namdaemun market, and then back through Seoul Station to finish the day.   

In researching for this trip, I read Naver maps was better than Google maps, which was definitely true (at least for English support).  Reviews and listings on Google maps in Seoul are pretty poor/lacking whereas Naver maps had much more information.  I found that this is only true if you download the Naver maps app which has English support.  I still haven’t found out how to change the display settings for the PC version of Naver or Google maps so it’s still a bit difficult there, even with Google auto-translate in Chrome.  Oddly enough, Google Maps does show more info in satellite view than in the default view.  During the trip, I only used Naver maps on my phone to navigate around.  

Still a little tired from arriving late so we decided on breakfast next to the hotel... three coffee shops but only two with food, one being Starbucks and the other being this place, Coffee @ Works.... sooo many coffee shops in Seoul, just like in the dramas hehe
I tried a bit of avocado toast for the very first time in my life... this one was actually pretty good.
Walked through Baekbeom Plaza on the way to the Seoul Tower cable car
You can see portions of the city wall here
Looking at Seoul Tower
Most of this section has obviously been rebuilt with more modern methods
A lot of these memorials were honoring anti-Japanese leaders which I guess is still going strong in some regards...
Looking at the cable car station from the park area... oddly enough, one of the park signs along the main road translated in English to something like Humiliation park or something like that because it was designed by the Japanese at the time of the occupation... I can kind of see why the anti-Japanese sentiment still exists maybe more strongly here, there are so many reminders everywhere
Made it to the cable car station... we'd be doing a lot of walking throughout the trip so why strain ourselves walking up the hill unnecessarily hehe
Small coffee shop and waiting area inside... departure is on the third floor
Just exiting the top cable car station
Tons of love locks all over the place
Old signal towers
This trip had many reminders from my first trip to Korea with my parents back in 2012... I don't often get to revisit foreign cities again so that feeling of being back and remembering past times is still nice
You can purchase tower tickets here but the entrance is downstairs
Some cafes and gift shops at the base of the tower, free to wander around here
In the base of the tower heading towards the elevators there are more shops and another cafe
They sell tower tickets with popcorn combos too which is really genious I thought because who doesn't smell all that buttery popcorn and immediately say, "I want some!"... you just can't escape the smell when you're up on the observatory deck. I say all this but we didn't bother getting popcorn.
Whereas Japan has so many Line character stores, Korea has all its Kakao character store (they also have Line here but not as many of course)
Weird walkways leading to the elevator to go up to the observatory level
Just a random room with lights before the elevators
Braving the heights
Pretty good view for the last day of the year
Air quality wasn't the best though...
Looking back towards Baekbeom Plaza
Kind of fun postcard center up here... I decided to make one. You buy the card and then pay for the stamp at the register, then decorate it however you like and put it in the post box next to the table
Who's the lucky recipient???
Hope it makes it!
To exit the observatory, you take the stairs to one level below where you board the down elevator. There's a couple more shops on this level too.
Catching the cable car back down from the base of the tower
Near the cable car building is this diagonal elevator... pretty sure this was my first time seeing/riding one?
The diagonal elevator just takes you down to the main street
It was still cold outside, this being the coldest day of our trip (the high was -5 deg C), so we ducked into some underground malls on our way to Myeong-dong area
Much like any other older underground mall... lot of older, random shops with all sorts of things being sold
Made it to Myeong-dong shopping street area
Had a very similar feel to Shibuya or even Harajuku... lot of newer, more trendy themes, shopping, and food stands
Yikes... nattogum??? Come on.....
The main street running East/West had many food stands but also felt the most crowded
So many different foods
At first it was really too cold for us to stand around eating anything outside so we passed at first but then the temptation was just too great and I just had to try the bacon wrap with kimchi
The one wrap was 10000 KRW... some stand advertise the price upfront but this one I had to ask which always seems fishy to me but this was the only stand with the bacon wrap
YUM... sour kimchi too! Devoured it in the cold really fast...
Fingers were numb by the time we finished eating this but my stomach was happy
More shops and stands all along the street
Couldn't really tell all the similar restaurants apart from each other so we just picked one to eat at... mainly wanted the tteokbokki but ended up getting sooo much food
Boom! Actually, we ate all of it haha, it's a very thin layer so it wasn't as much as it seems though we were still overstuffed after...
Plus, these giant fried man doo!
Walking off the food, heading back towards Myeong-dong station
Thought we'd take a peak (and warm up) in this pretty fancy mall on the way to Namdaemun market area
This place was even more fancy (and expensive) than most stores in Yokohama SOGO... many organic items sold in bulk too
Couple blocks away was the Namdaemun market area
Very different from Myeong-dong and way less crowded
Not as many things I would be necessarily but it at least had an older, more down-to-earth, local feel to it
Still some good food options here too
This was like stew alley... many of the shop ladies were trying to usher us into their restaurants as we looked at all the steaming pots of kimchi stew simmering outside. Vendors can be a little more pushy/aggresive in Korea, especially restaurants... they all definitely looked tasty though
We settled for this little honey/cinnamon snack instead lol
On one end of the market is this Sungnyemun Gate
Then continuing our walk back towards Seoul Station since we didn't really spend much time wandering around when we arrived the night before
Looking South towards our hotel
Looking towards Seoul Station
Reminded us of Tokyo station actually... if I remember correctly, this was the old Seoul Station, now converted into a sort of cultural center
It was already closed when we walked by so we didn't get to look inside
The main part of Seoul Station
I guess you could say Seoul station is actually two separate stations, with the railroad trains above aground and metro below ground
Pretty big station but definitely not as many shops/food vendors like in Japan's major stations... really just more of a hub for transportation and not really shopping. Was surprised to see the outlet shopping area which wasn't so bad if you do want to do some shopping here
Heading back underground and to our hotel after a long day of walking
Little snack from the CU convenience store next to the hotel hehe
Not bad for fast food kimbap haha.. and it's even pre-cut... after I finished the kimbap and beer I pretty much just fell asleep so neither of use stayed up until midnight for the New Year (again) lol

Day 3

Happy New Year!  Day 3 was another long day with plenty of walking although we did get to use the metro system again.  Our first stop before breakfast was Deoksugung Palace and the general area around City Hall.  Then we luckily found some New Year’s tteokguk at a random Michelin restaurant near Cheonggyecheon… followed by a walk through Gwanghwamun area, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, and then Insa-dong shopping street.  New Year day is a holiday in Korea but we planned to visit places that would still be open and everything worked out well again.

Decided to try the rechargeable cards this time. The metro is so cheap, just 1250 KRW (a little over $1 USD) for the first 10km. For the whole trip, start to finish, we only maybe spent around 16000 KRW on the metro and that's including the airport trips
Special couples cards... these were just 4000 KRW each
People are, it seems, a little more rude in Korea... especially on trains. I only mean relative to Japan train etiquette, by which probably anywhere would be stressed to beat. Just that here, people are more in a rush to get onto the train before everyone has gotten off, literally pushing their way to a seat. Surprisingly enough, it seemed to be the older women who were most often guilty of this... aigoooo
They have lockers at the stations too but we never had to figure them out or use them... seems easy enough though with the English instructions
Getting out at City Hall Station
Deoksugung Palace Entrance
Only 1000 KRW to go inside
Still snowing a little bit
Deoksugung National Museum of Art on the far side of the grounds
Tours inside this building are limited and we didn't feel like waiting around
Just taking a nice leisurely walk around the old palace grounds enjoying the scenery
I like the wall patterns here and there
Bit of a cold entertaining hall
Small little gift and coffee shop back near the entrance
After Deoksugung Palace we crossed the big street over to the City Hall area
There were still Christmas decorations up everywhere and it looks like they were tearing down some party tents probably from the midnight parties
Nice size ice skating rink near the City Hall building
Some random food trucks near the ice rink
Still hadn't had breakfast yet so we stopped in for some coffee for now... Never heard of a Twosome Place before this trip but they seemed to be everywhere so we thought we'd give them a try
Nice and warm, inside and out
Just a random statue on the side of the road...
Noticed a place nearby on the map that said Mudeunggyo Food Culture Street so we thought we'd try our luck there for breakfast despite it being a holiday
At first, not many restaurants were open and I really wanted to find a restaurant that had tteokguk... it also didn't seem like a very touristy place either
After walking past some other pushy restaurant owners we stumbled across this little gem! Not sure what the Michelin Guide says about them but they sure do advertise it...
The best part of Korean food for me might be all the side dishes... especially when they keep the kimchi coming!
Got our tteokguk to start off the new year Korean style! My Mom would always make this (still the best) so I wanted to share this tradition with Marie...
Walking off our big breakfast, heading towards Cheonggyecheon stream area
Cheonggyecheon holiday decorations still up
Heading North again through Gwanghwamun Plaza towards Gyeongbokgung Palace
Lot of protestors in this area, even on New Years Day
Gyeongbokgung Palace Gwanghwamun Gate
They had just changed the guards as we were arriving
All the tourists try to see how close they can inch towards the guards to get a picture with them... must be so annoying for them
Gyeongbokgung Palace Heungnyemun Gate
Ticket office before going through Heungnyemun Gate
Just 3000 KRW per person for this huge palace
Just after you enter through Heungnyemun Gate, this sign is here. We didn't feel like waiting around for the next departure time but there were plenty of other tour groups you could just follow around if you wanted to
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Looking inside the main palace building
We didn't see any hanbok rental places inside the palace grounds but there were a few right next to it where people (especially the girls) would dress up just for photos... ***Insert long debate about cultural appreciation vs appropriation based on location etc etc etc ***
Sujeongjeon... we continued on through the rest of the palace grounds in a clockwise fashion
Small gift and coffee shop (very tight spaces when even a little crowded)
In front of Gyeonghoeru Pavilion with (I think) Bugaksan mountain in the background
Water was a bit frosted over this day... made for a nice scene
Nice patterns again
I believe these little animals are called Japsang, cool guardian figures usually representing animals such as dragons, lions, phoenix, monkeys, etc.
At first we thought this was some sort of crow but I googled it and it's the Korean Magpie... many cities in Korea have adopted it as their official bird... we just thought it was nice looking
Gyeongbokgung Palace Parujeong Pavilion
Gyeongbokgung Palace Sinmumun Gate at the North Western corner of the grounds... you'll have to show your ticket stub to leave/re-enter the palace grounds if you want to go to this gate
Just on the other side of Sinmumun Gate is a view of the Blue House so many people go just to get a peek and then re-enter the palace grounds after... our tour group did the same thing on the last trip here
Walking along the Northern part of the palace grounds... Hyangwonjeong was closed for renovations or something so we didn't get to see that this time
Looking at the Gyeongbokgung Palace National Folk Museum of Korea (was also closed this day)
Another magpie searching for food
Leaving the palace grounds
After leaving, we headed towards Bukchon Hanok Village just East of the palace
Pretty fancy streets along the way, more boutique shops here... Naver Maps calls it Samcheongdong Culture Street
We did stumble across this nice little snack shop as we started walking up the hill to Bukchon Hanok Village
Perfect little snack shop
Fishcake, like Japanese oden but I think it Korea it's "odeng"
Hotteok, one of my favorite Korean street food snacks!
Making their own hotteok right there in the shop (nice pot btw)
The perfect warm snack for winter
These were kind of like big mochi donut balls
Almost to the main street, getting crowded
I overheard another tour guide saying this was the main street for taking photos
Closer to the top of the street
Sooo many obnoxious selfie takers
Just admiring the finer details
Poor persimmons
The little birds were so chubby in Korea though I guess they need to be in that cold weather
Can see Seoul Tower from the top of the hill too
Kind of a nice mix of old and new styles in these homes
There's a quite a few of these signs throughout the streets here, mainly because these are actual residences and people living here, but of course people will be people
Little shop for knitted goods
I just liked the little courtyard area more than the shop eheh
After Bukchon Hanok Village we walked down to Insadong Shopping Street
This seemed to be a very brand new mall so we took a peek
A lot of the store spaces were still empty so this mall was not quite full yet
Overlooking one of the shopping streets side alleys
Just a simple dinner at the new mall... was feeling like kimchi stew for dinner
I completely forgot this was a thing in Korea hehe, always tucked into the side of the table, pretty smart
Celebrating New Year day
Back on the shopping street
Not as many things that were interesting to us on this shopping street but it's one of those places you're supposed to see I guess
I remembered these pillars from the last trip to Korea
Continuing on back to Cheonggyecheon to see it with all the lights on
It's better in Japan I think
We went down the stairs to walk along the stream this time
Tons of lights at night... completely different feel from the daytime
Happy 2020!
People would try to throw coins into that middle circle area
Lot of misses
Much more colorful at night
Always street food tents... these were closer to the big Christmas tree
After walking through Cheonggyecheon again, we caught the train back to our hotel. These are just emergency supplies they keep in all the train stations... surprised I haven't seen this in Japan too
After another long day of walking, some simple desserts from the convenience store to call it a night

Day 4

Our fourth day was the farthest we ventured away from central Seoul, catching the train over to Gangnam area.  The day included stops at Starfield Coex Mall, Cheongdam-dong, Apgujeong-dong, Hangang Park, and Sinsa-dong.  I’ve never been to this area but have definitely heard of its reputation… overall, I was only expecting to just do some sightseeing and window shopping with little expectations.  The highlight of the day was probably the meals but it was also nice to gain some familiarity with the area given how little I actually knew prior to.

Arriving at Gangnam station
We first walked around the area just North East of Gangnam station... I just assumed that's what was meant by Gangnam area but as the day progressed I realized Gangnam (by reputation) is probably referring to the whole district because there really wasn't anything that special near the actual station.
Was actually just a lot of restaurants/bars/clubs... not the rich/fancy place I thought we'd find
We thought maybe if we followed where the crowd was going we'd see something more interesting.. .turns out the crowd was just a bunch of females heading toward this pop-up BTS shop.... meh...
The one good thing we did find was this mandoo shop where we stopped for breakfast
We saw them making the mandoo from the window outside and seeing as how it's their specialty I just had to try some
The fried mandoo... pretty good! Wrapped differently and a little thinner but still tasted like mandoo
Mandoo soup
Back along the main street before going underground to the metro again at Sinnonhyeon Station
From Sinnonhyeon Station we rode a short way to Bongeunsa Station where COEX mall is
The mall is mostly underground as the convention center, hotel, and other buildings take up the above spaces... the mall itself was kind of a let down as it didn't seem to be as big as they claim it to be and the amount of shops didn't seem like a whole lot
Stopped at the food court for a little pick-me-up
Probably the most interesting thing about the mall was the library (store?)... not sure what it was but it was nice
Stopped into Daiso just to take a peek... they actually had things made for Korea and probably one of the bigger ones I've seen outside of Japan
Just another snack hehe
Near the movie theaters
Seems everyone owns a parka in Korea (otherwise known as a bench coat in Japan). I also found out where everyone was getting their Discovery and National Geographic parkas from... they both had clothing stores in this mall (kind of disappointing)
Saw quite a few of these left around all over the place
After leaving the mall we started walking towards Cheongdam-dong and found one of these exercise parks
Having fun hehe
More bike shares
Walking up Samseong-ro through Cheongdam-dong area
We followed the same road as it started to curve into Apgujeong area... This is definitely where all the fancy shops started to appear and more of what I had in mind when I thought of Gangnam before this trip
You'll find all the big name stores along this main street
The main street started to get a little boring so we walked through some side streets... judging by the cars there were a lot of rich people living in this area
Poor cats water was all frozen
Back on the main road we came across the K-Star Road
The start was near the Apgujeong Rodeo station
Wasn't much to it... mostly just a line of these bears dedicated to different K-pop bands... I guess many of the producing companies have offices in this area..
Bit of an older mall near Apgujeong Rodeo station
Just thought it interesting to see this store here
Continuing on through more shopping streets in Apgujeong Rodeo (I assume like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, CA)
A lot more smaller shops and restaurants.. nothing really fancy on this street and sometimes it even felt like we weren't on any special street really
Mostly just window shopping... stopped into another Olive Young store but that was about it
Came across this little shop and couldn't resist the urge to go inside
All different kinds of rice cake desserts... I don't know the names of all the different varieties but this reminded me of always going to my Grandma's place and there'd always be some on the dining table... even the smell brings back so many memories. We ended up buying some to take back to the hotel for a snack later... they really don't have much taste to me (I always used to put so much sugar) but Marie hadn't had any before so it was a must try.
Once we walked through Apgujeong Rodeo and hit Sinsadong shopping street, we took a short detour up to the park on the river just to take a peek
Short tunnel to get to Hangang Park
Kind of random but didn't seem too good I guess
Was really cold along the river so we didn't stay long... this park stretches pretty far along the river though and it's always shown in Korean dramas so we thought we'd just go to say we've been at least to a small section of it
Looking across the Han River (Hangang) back towards Seoul Tower
Pretty serious exercise park here
Finishing off the day with Sinsadong Shopping Street
Again... at this point there was nothing new to us in terms of shopping streets so this was more or less just a walk through to enjoy the atmosphere... we were getting hungry so we tried to find some kind of meat restaurant along the street but didn't see that many here (maybe more on side streets?)
Still had some Christmas decorations up... I guess they leave them up longer here than in Japan hehe
Closer to Sinsa Station there were a lot more restaurants but nothing that really stood out... after a quick toilet break at the metro station (default place to find a public restroom for us on this trip), I did a quick search on Mango Plate app and found one that looked pretty good

The restaurant was called Kkubdang on the map (not sure on English spelling):
https://www.mangoplate.com/en/restaurants/9ZbDjGY8ohoJ

Took a while for us to get seated as there was already a line when we got there and the smell of all the grilled meat was just making us more hungry... more than 30 minutes waiting but at least it had to be good? We hadn't had any meaty meals yet on our trip so we were determined to eat here already
The special Kokumi Rice, flavored with something but couldn't figure it out...maybe kelp?... actually one of the more popular things here based on reviews
All the free sides
This restaurant did seem to have a little bit of a Japanese twist to it, even in the menu descriptions
Doenjang-jjigae
YUM.... I don't mind eating less meat these days but I can't give it up completely... we got two orders of the pork neck and one order of the pork belly. The staff cooks and cuts it for you and we ate it so fast it didn't have a chance to burn
We just asked for the most popular soju they had and this was what the guy brought back... it was better than the green bottle stuff (at least to our taste) but we definitely didn't see any other tables with this bottle... hhmmmm, anyway was good
Pretty much a perfect meal... very satisfied

We were pretty much walking all day again so after dinner we just caught the metro back to our hotel… still had to stop for some dessert though so we went to some of the stores outside the hotel.  Here’s just some random snack food photos:

I didn't buy this since we didn't have a microwave in the room (and it would've ruined the good meal we just ate) but dang... if I lived here I'd probably always have this in my fridge... this was sold in a beauty shop of all places haha
Some of the classic ice creams
The different rice cakes we bought from the old lady's shop earlier in the day
These weren't what I expected... kind of junk, wouldn't buy again

Day 5

Our last full day in Seoul was spent exploring Heunginjimun Gate, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul City Wall Museum, Dongdaemun Market, Gwangjang Market, Bangsan Market, Jungbu Dried Seafood Market, Lotte Mall, and revisiting Myeong-dong.  Dongdaemun area in general consisted of many wholesale shops, many of which were for clothing and fabrics… it’s supposedly known to be a hub for designers and I also read somewhere that Dongdaemun was the original hub for fashion before any other places like Gangnam rose up in popularity.  Today, the markets seem kind of dated, somewhat struggling to survive, but you see pockets here and there (Design Plaza) where they’re still trying to push forward and carry on the traditions of this area.  

We caught the train from our hotel to Dongdaemun Station before getting breakfast. This is Heunginjimun Gate just outside of Dongdaemun Station
Marking where the original wall would've been
We started walking East from the station and then made our way South across the stream and on towards the Design Plaza
Since we didn't have breakfast yet, these looked really good and we ended up trying a few different ones...
I guess you don't need ice when it's so cold outside
Just a couple nice doggies waiting for their owner outside
Crossing the stream towards more of the wholesale market buildings
This area seemed a little more dated but still up and running at least
There wasn't really anything we wanted to shop for so we just kept on walking
Made it to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Small fashion market show room but didn't open till later in the afternoon... looked like the kind of place where you'd have a fancy cocktail party and fashion show eheh
At the History and Culture Park at the Design Plaza
We were hungry so we stopped at a bench to eat our pastries (watching the birds watching us)
I just knew it was hollow! Ended up just being like a tasty cracker
They had a couple rows of these designer display cubes/shops but none of them were open at the time
The design lab was free to enter so we went in to take a peek
Small gallery and cafe
Mostly for the kids
Fun chairs!
Some pretty nice shops in the back hallway
Upper floor leading to the cafe
Seemed like mostly students here... maybe the designers taking a break from work?
Couple more shops upstairs
Heading out back towards the main street, Jangchugdan-ro
One of the bigger malls in this area, Lotte Fitin
Across the street and then one street in running parallel with the main street was this little restaurant alley... surprisingly, Naver Maps called this area Mongolia Town (found out after the fact). Didn't see much to do with Mongolia here though...
On the same street we ended up getting brunch at one of the chain restaurants... just simple bibimbap. This one tasted pretty buttery which was different for me
After eating, we went back towards the main street and made our way back up towards Dongdaemun Market area.
Staying warm by the vents
No shortage of snack carts here
Can't remember what she was selling but that's one way to do it!
Crossing the stream again
Went underground to cross the big intersection and to warm up a little bit
Popped out on the other side to a different angle of Heunginjimun Gate
From there we were curious enough to wander up to Heunginjimun Park and Seoul City Wall Museum
Just a short uphill walk to the City Wall Museum
Main entrance is at the bottom floor
Entrance hall and information desk... good English support
Totally free to enter
I thought this was a great visual aid for how the city wall actually was before... I could always see sections of it (especially from the Seoul Tower observation deck) but couldn't really imagine it as a whole until seeing this
All displays had English as well
Little research library if you want to do more in depth searches
Lego recreation of Heunginjimun Gate
Interesting to see how the construction methods changed over time, and then going out to the actual wall to see it in person
Nice display explaining the Japsang again... until this point (albeit from farther away), I thought they were all of the same animal, just varying amounts of wear and tear... learning things anyway!
You can exit the museum from the top floor and it takes you out closer to the wall
A little more up the hill from the museum and you can crossover to the trail along the wall for a better view
We just followed the trail down and back towards Heunginjimun Gate

Supposedly you can hike along the entire perimeter of the wall surround Seoul and the trail is supposed to be pretty well maintained… A quick google search says it’s about 18.6 km long… more info here:
https://seoulcitywall.seoul.go.kr/front/eng/sub04/sub0401.do

Good little park to sit and relax with a view (although a bit cold this day)
Looking back up on the other side of the wall
From these angles it's easier to imagine how the wall was originally connected through the gate and what it might've looked like without the huge intersection and roads that are now in it's place
After touring the wall, we took a short coffee break, deciding to try another chain we saw often at Ediya Coffee
Nothing really special... staff weren't that friendly either
Good break indoors... window seat with a view of the wall would've been nicer if they kept the glass clean ehehe
That's how they do it here I guess... oh and by the way, beware of motorbikes/mopeds on sidewalks too... they really don't follow any rules here, many times even just blowing through red lights or crosswalks (one of my greatest pet peeves)
After coffee we crossed over to Dongdaemun Market
Just a ton of different fabric goods stores
There are so many of these shops selling identical things... I wondered how anyone finds anything or chooses one vendor over another and also how much they have to sell to stay in business... must be heaven for cosplayers
From Dongdaemun market we kept walking West through the side street towards Gwangjang Market
Many fish shops along the way...
This one shop was pretty terrifying... Those were dog bones on the table there... This is one of those things I would never try to eat....
Crossing through a little shopping arcade
I guess not every city can have a City Mill or Home Depot
Soon after we were surprised to find ourselves in a bit of an outdoor shopping area... I never knew Montbell was so popular in Korea
Some big name companies here too... just seemed so random and unexpected
We finally ran into Gwangjang Market
I expected this to be a foodie market but I was still blown away by the number of stalls in here
The first row we found ourselves in seemed to be mostly about mung bean pancakes (Bindae-tteok) but also every other street food you could think of like blood sausage, gimbap, tteokbokki, live octopus, fried fish, etc.
I liked that it still had that real street food/street market atmosphere here despite it being an obvious tourist hotspot
A little bit of everything at most stalls
Trying some pancakes
It was also probably the most crowded place we visited during the whole trip.... even when we would try to stand on the side out of the way it seems like some old lady or man would just happen to need something in a box behind us or want to park their bicycle there.... I really think they were just faking to get rid of us
Playing for the cameras
Sooo many stalls to choose from, it's hard to know which is best but they all looked pretty darn good
The street on the left had more pancakes, the street on the right was more about mandoo
Without realizing it, we stumbled across one of the pancake shops featured in the Netflix documentary Street Foods... we actually watched the episode before the trip but I only remembered the hand cut noodle lady and I didn't catch which market it was supposed to be at... this was a nice surprise anyway.
When the food stalls end, Gwangjang market kind of opens up and the crowds seem to be less.... the main attraction was definitely the food stalls
Lot more fabric shops on the side streets
A few hanbok shops too... I imagine these would be more authentic than other places and probably can get custom made ones too
After reemerging at the food stall areas, we decided it was time to eat despite the crowds of people
This row seemed to be all about the mandoo
Then lo and behold! Another nice surprise.... we found the hand cut noodle lady's stand! At first we didn't think it was the same one... like maybe a sister location. For some reason it seemed like the Netflix shop was filmed in a more underground style market but after the trip we watched the show again and sure enough this was the actual one. They just filmed most of the show when the market was closed so everything was darker with less lights.
Menu was simple and easy to order
There were some seats that just opened up so we just said why not and decided to eat here... good view of them cutting the noodles
Mountain of kimchi mandoo right in our face...
Very clean, simple, and paired with the kimchi and mandoo it was ultimately satisfying...
Then, to our even greater surprise... about halfway through our meal I looked up from slurping a bunch of noodles when the lady from the show appeared! She was super nice, saying hello to everyone before she started working on the noodles right in front of us... even this picture wasn't planned... she simply noticed we were taking a picture and she turned to pose for it haha... what a nice lady and I hope she isn't sad anymore like the show suggested
Everything after Gwangjang Market was pretty much a bonus... we didn't want to stress much on our last night in the city so we just visited a couple nearby markets before heading back to Myeongdong to cap off our day.
Just across the stream from Gwangjang was Bangsan Market... Didn't expect much from here but saw it on the map so we decided to just walk through...
The main building on the left had all kinds of random goods
All sorts of things piled up in the halls and shops
It was interesting to think about how different shopping styles are between here and Japan... on one hand you can see this style sort of being phased out (especially with the rise of online shopping) and yet you can't find shops like these anymore (or it'd be really difficult) in Japan if you really wanted to. I'm sure people have done all kinds of studies about the social economics at play in world markets but I didn't go that far...
This wasn't planned but it was so close we decided to just see what it was about... Marie wanted to buy some roasted seaweed which we were sure to find here
This market was a decent size but we didn't see any tourists here at all... I suppose when you shop here it's with the intent to go home and cook so it's not so convenient for tourists overall
Must be the happiest cat in the world
Supporting local businesses hehe
Must've been a million of these throughout the market area
Is that the last face they made before coming out of the water?
A very quiet market
Thought it funny that we didn't see any Toto toilets here... instead there were mostly these, even in our hotel
As the sun was going down, we caught the train from Euljiro-4 Station back to Euljiro-1 Station
From the station we went directly to the Lotte Hotel shopping mall...
Ended up buying some last minute snacks and teas from the grocery store here
Seeing the underground shopping definitely brought back some memories from my previous trip here seeing as how we stayed at this Lotte hotel that time...
I would say it's comparable to SOGO Yokohama... just a little smaller maybe
Leaving the Lotte Mall towards Myeongdong Shopping Street
We're back! Extra crowded at night
Marie found this nice tea shop online before we made the trip so it was one of the stores we wanted to find... luckily there was one nearby
All different kinds, specializing in teas from Jeju Island
Free tasting bar! We might've tried a few more than once hehe (but we did end up buying things)
Tea bag lights
Half store, half dessert cafe (we'd be back later for dessert)
Still had some cash left so it was time to try some street food!
Finally tried the fishcake...
One spicy, the other not so much
It wasn't bad but don't need to try again... Japan's are better of course hehe
This one was close to the fishcake stand so I tried the mochi/sausage stick... a bit expensive here
Ended up with a cold one.... Pretty disappointing
Probably the best of the streets food snacks, we got another hotteok but this one they stuffed with all kinds of extra nuts and seeds (almonds, sunflower, pumpkin, etc)
For street food, I think Gwangjang market takes the top prize on this trip
Wanted to try some of the sweet rice drink... I swear restaurants used to always give this out after meals but we never got any on this trip and it was actually hard to find for me.... I don't know why I thought it'd be more of a common thing. I know it can be hard to make which could be why people don't give it out anymore and that's kind of sad...
Even this little cup was 3000 KRW and it wasn't that good
To cap off our night, we went back to O'Sulloc Tea House for a slice of green tea cheesecake and a bubble drink a la mode, all made with specialty Korean tea... all delicious!
Next to O'Sullocs was a gimbap shop so we decided to pick some up for our breakfast the next morning
A station just for making gimbap hehe, even custom boxes too which I found amusing
I can't think of any other food that would require a box with these exact specifications haha
One bulgogi and one spicy pork (had to try some when we got back to the hotel while they were still warm)
I really wanted to follow one of these people to see where all the vendors were getting their food from lol... some place would deliver the food trays to all the street food stalls and then pick them back up after
Capping off our last night in Seoul before heading back to our hotel for the night... it was a day full of many surprises

Final Day 6

Our flight out of Gimpo was early (0900) so we made sure to check out of the hotel before 0600, catching the metro from Seoul Station to Gimpo… We didn’t have anything else planned for this day other then getting back home in one piece

The underground passageway from the hotel to the metro station was still closed at this time in the morning...
That forced us outside again in the cold hehe
From the metro station to the airport departure hall is quite the walk
No problems going through the gates this time...
Back at Gimpo Airport
Check-in hall
They tell you to wait until you see your bag go through the gateway on the TV
The departure gates are one more floor above the check-in counters
Seemingly long line but it went pretty fast
Departure gate area with some duty free shops
The tax refund machines seemed pretty straightforward to use... Marie was able to get a refund easily
Everything was pretty overpriced in the airport shops... we didn't do any additional shopping other then a couple of small coffees (which were also a rip off)
Homeward bound!
Capping off our great food trip with....... this!

Safe to say, this was a great short trip and it even exceeded Marie’s expectations… we both wanted to eat more than our stomachs would allow and are already willing to go back just to eat more again.  I’m surprised it took this long for me to revisit being it’s only a couple hours away from Tokyo but in any case it was great to be back and celebrate the other half of my own cultural heritage!

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