Seoul, Korea

During Japan's national holiday Golden Week this year (end of April-early May), my friend and I visited the cities of Seoul and Busan in Korea.  Since this was during the time North Korea was threatening to attack South Korea and its allies, we were apprehensive about following through with our trip. However, after some reassurance from friends living in South Korea that people were carrying on with life as usual, we packed our bags and flew over to Korea. 

Myeongdong shopping districct in Seoul

After flying into Incheon International Airport, we took the commuter train to Seoul (~53 minutes). There were other transportation options that could've gotten us there quicker, but not by much anyhow (Express Line takes ~43 minutes). The transportation system is pretty straightforward and convenient. For more information: Korea Tourism Organization. Looking outside the train on the way to Seoul, we passed by many industrial plains and steaming mud flats (?). Not the most beautiful scenery, but the train was clean and the ride was pleasant.

It wasn't too difficult to navigate through Seoul, partly because it was similar to the trains in Japan, but also everything was announced in English and Chinese (mandarin) in addition to Korean. Our first stop was Myeongdong, one of the busiest and most popular shopping spots in Seoul. The streets were flooded with a sea of consumers, food vendors and other shopping stands. We passed by many popular cosmetic shops (ie. The Face Shop, The Skin Food, Etude, etc.) and clothing stores as we wandered the crowded streets. 

We planned our trip rather poorly, or rather, we didn't really plan things out this time around. So unfortunately, we went to Gyeongbok Palace in Northern Seoul on the one day it was closed--Tuesday. I wonder if the people in this picture were not aware of their day off too. (above: outside of Gyeongbokgung)

We also visited Dongdaemun Market, another popular shopping district. However, we didn't really know where to go, and the buildings we thought were shopping malls turned out to be something else. We wandered through the traditional markets and found ourselves going down some long streets like the one above, where all the stores only sold shoes. Myeongdong was probably a better shopping spot.

In the evening, we took a taxi to over to Ddukbokki Town. The whole area was mainly lined with restaurants that served ddukbokki (spicy Korean rice cake). Wish there was a town for every awesome food out there. 

Ddukbokki Town

Ddukbokki with ramen noodles, egg, mushrooms, and other veggies--spicy but delicious!

Since we weren't very interested in going up Seoul Tower, we only went up to its entrance, which required taking the ropeway up the mountain. We waited in line with other tourists (mainly couples it seemed) for our turn. The tower was lit up in pretty, changing colors. 

The area at the bottom of the Seoul Tower was pretty spacious and tranquil. The night view of the city lights was beautiful, and walking around we encountered a few areas with exercise equipment. Why and for whom? I do not know.

view from the top of the mountain (at the bottom of Seoul Tower)

near the entrance of Seoul Tower

exercise equipment facing the beautiful night view

walking down to take the ropeway down the mountains

On another day, we visited the Hongdae area, where Hongik University is located along with many popular clubs. The streets were lively with plenty of retail stores and young, college students. As a coffee lover, I was pleased to see that almost every other store was a small, independent cafe.

Inside a Siphon Cafe

It's hard to judge the clubbing scene by the one night we went club hopping, but the overall atmosphere was a lot more fun than Japan's clubbing scene, where people don't really dance. We went to three clubs: Papa Gorilla, Mama, and Big Baby. Paying the admission fee at only one club, we were able to go to all three clubs. They were not next to each other, but there were arrows on the floor to guide us to the other clubs. The drinks were crazy cheap. If I remember correctly, tequila shots were 2000 won (~$2) and we got a long island in a little bucket for maybe 10000 won (~10), which we shared. Mostly a young population (probably university students). Good music though, and at the time Psy's song Gentleman was still a hit. One strange thing we noticed: places that had a stage area with dancing poles were dominated by shameless young men.

Seoul would be a great place for people who love shopping, food, and the big city life. I will always remember the Korean people's bright neon shoes, the somewhat rude elderly women, the beautiful feminine male celebrities, and the amazing food.