Back in Seoul Again
I was so incredibly lucky to go back to Korea in May to visit friends and attend my friend’s wedding. Fortunately, Joe (my brother) had some spare time and he decided to come along. I think I gave him the perfect guided tour to get to know a little about Korea and all the wonderful sights and food that it has to offer.
Our trip started on May 10 when we flew to Seattle to spend the night before heading to the airport again the next morning. Joe realized he had left his camera on the airplane so we spent over an hour trying to recover it. He was disappointed that they couldn’t find it right away, so we headed to out after filing the appropriate paperwork. We met up with our other siblings and had an amazing dinner at Little Duck. The restaurant is quite small but has a delicious array of dishes to choose from.
Joe and I had different flights from Seattle but somehow arrived almost at the same time in Incheon. My flight was so boring but passed by without a problem. After about an hour on the metro, we arrived at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) and checked into our hotel. Joe discovered he lost his whole toiletry bag on the plane. Was he destined to lose everything this trip? We hopped on a bus and traveled over to Gwangjang Market 광장시장 for some food. The lights, crowds of people, and noises were a sensory overload for Joe, who was so overwhelmed by everything. I was so glad to be back and we settled down at one of the stalls and ordered some banquet noodles (잔치국수) and fishcake. After, we bought a hotteok for dessert and then went back and crashed at our hotel. A great first night, over.
One thing I noticed after being back, was all the interesting smells in the subways, on the streets, etc. I don’t remember smelling those scents and it was strange for me to go through that. Towards the end of the trip, my nose finally got used to them and I didn’t notice them any longer. It was just an interesting thing I noticed when I was there.
Day 2 (May 13) started off with a cafe. We visited Cafe Hanyakbang 커피한약방. The decor is stunning with the inlaid mother-of-pearl. I ordered a 5 grain latte that was so refreshing in the hot weather. Joe ordered a maple latte that he said was delicious.
On the way to the cafe we had passed by a restaurant, so after we finished at the cafe, we walked into the restaurant for some lunch. The restaurant we ate at is a popular chain called Kim Ga Ne 김가네. The food is delicious and the prices are very affordable. Joe would like to add that he loved the self-serve kimchi bar.
Afterwards, I had to make a quick stop at Filmlog 필름로그 where I purchased a black and white instant camera. I was surprised to see that they redid the interior of the store.
We continued our day in Sinsa-dong; the southeastern part of Seoul. I briefly stopped in Tamburins 탬버린즈 to look at their products. If you have the chance, you should go check out their stores. It is most likely my favorite soap, hand sanitizer, lotion, etc. brand. We were starting to feel a little tired so we headed over to another cafe. The cafe (Tongue Planet 텅플래닛) is actually located inside one of the Ader Error (a clothing store) locations. The store has a really cool futuristic concept and the cafe is also exceptional. We ordered a rose ade and a passionfruit ade. My first time trying a rose ade and it didn’t disappoint.
My friend, Brixton, is still living in Seoul, so we decided to meet up for a few hours. We visited Artbox (a stationery and lifestyle store), ate a meal at a restaurant that I have forgotten the name of, and Brixton taught Joe the basics of reading Korean. Of course, we walked around and then took some group photos at one of the many photobooth rooms available on the street. It was such a wholesome and heartwarming reunion to finally see a friend that I hadn’t seen in a year.
It was the day of reuniting with friends, since I met up with Nazeerah right after finishing up the reunion with Brixton. It was fortuitous that she had just returned to Korea the week before I came, so we were able to see each other during this trip. We ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Wanmi Jokbal 완미족발. It is a pig feet restaurant (it tastes way better than it sounds) that serves the pig feet with various side dishes that you can wrap the meat with.
To end the night, we returned to a spot that Nazeerah and I had been to previously. Tellers 9.5 텔러스9.5 is a cafe/bar that overlooks the Han River, and has stunning views of the Seoul landscape at night. I do have to say though that the prices did increase since the last time that I was there, and it seemed very pricey.
The next morning, I woke up and dressed up nicely to attend my friend’s wedding. It was being held in Songpa-gu, which is quite far from DDP. I was really curious to see the differences between American weddings and Korean weddings. I had to prepare a money envelope (typically 100,000₩ is customary) that I handed to the person sitting at a table. They gave me a meal ticket in return. I said a brief hello to the bride in her reception area where she was getting ready. People could take photos with her if they wanted to. Since I had only met her once, I just congratulated her and then moved into the wedding hall.
The wedding hall was beautifully decorated. There weren’t any seats available by the time we went in, so we stood against the wall. This was totally fine since the wedding ceremony was only about half an hour in total. They played a cute video that contained lots of photos of the couple and then mothers of the bride and groom proceeded down the aisle. The fathers were already sitting down. The bride and groom entered and then said their vows to each other. A baby in a toy car made his way down the aisle to deliver the rings. It was hilarious because they were playing really hyped music while the child looked so upset and confused. The best friend of the groom sang a song and then the whole thing was over.
The whole wedding seems like just a photo opportunity. There were photographers the whole time telling the bride and groom where to look. At the end, the family members on both sides took photos and then all the friends took photos with the couple. We did photos with our phone lights on pointing at the couple while they kissed, the best friend catching the bouquet while we all look on with surprise, and many other scenarios. I hope to see the photos when they come out because I think they will look amazing.
We went upstairs where the reception was being held. You were required to hand in your meal ticket to enter. The wedding buffet was amazing. It was so extravagant. There was Korea, Western, and Chinese food. They also had a whole dessert section and an alcohol fridge. I ate really well that day. You didn’t have to wait for everyone to get to the buffet, you were allowed to just start eating. Also, you can leave after you are done. Overall, the whole wedding is over quite quickly compared to that in the U.S.
My other friend, Brian, was also attending the wedding. We decided to hang out some more after the wedding was over. Let me tell you, I made a poor choice in shoes and didn’t bring another pair to change into. So, by the time we made it to Lotte World Tower, I was barely able to walk. Thankfully, we went into an ABC Mart (multi-brand shoe store) and I bought some sandals. We wandered around the stores and even stopped for a drink at Arc N Book.
We were a little hungry so we took the metro over to the DDP area and found a chicken restaurant. The chicken was super crispy and tender. It definitely fulfilled that fried chicken craving that I had been having.
The rest of the evening was spent exploring DDP. I have only ever been around the outside and once inside for an art exhibition. They had some huge pink bear that was everywhere. One area was a huge resting lounge with pink bear beanie chairs, a huge pink bear photo zone, and a cute shop that sold a bunch of local artist products and pink bear merchandise. Brian was with us for a while, but had to leave after a little while, so Joe and I spent the rest of the time exploring more of the building.
The next day, May 15, was filled to the brim with activities. We started the day off at the Express Bus Terminal. There are so many restaurants, cafes, and stores in this area since it is connected to a Shinsegae Mall. Above the bus terminal is a huge flower market 고속터미널 꽃도매상가. We luckily caught it before it closed for the day. It runs in. the early hours of the morning until about 11 AM. There were fake flowers, live flowers, fake food, and vases for the flowers. The air smelled so fragrant from all the fresh flowers.
Inside the mall is one of my favorite restaurants, Muwol Table 무월식탁. We decided to go there since the meals arrive quickly and are relatively cheap. We ordered the shrimp meal and the bossam meal. I love how the food feels so fresh and light and the side dishes really compliment the main part of the meal.
After lunch, we took the metro to COEX Mall 코엑스몰, where I took Joe to see Starfield Library 별마당도서관. I feel like it’s one of the top tourist destinations in Seoul, so I decided it would be good for him to see. Personally, I think it is too overcrowded but it is impressive.
About a block away is the beautiful Bongeunsa Temple 봉은사. It was feeling very, very humid at this point, but we pushed along. May is the month of Buddha’s birthday, so there are lanterns everywhere around the city. The temple was no exception and was decorated liberally with colorful lanterns. We went at a time when the monks were praying, so hearing them chanting was very peaceful.
We were really dying in the heat, so we rushed over to the huge Aqua Garden 아쿠아가든 to cool off. This cafe was beyond impressive. There were so many different tanks filled with fish and other marine life. There were so many possible places to sit, that it was difficult to choose. They also have a little store where you can purchase a terrarium or some fish/turtles. The drinks were not too bad, either. People that go here seem to pay more of the environment than the actual drinks/food.
Since we were in the vicinity, we paid to go up to the top of Lotte World Tower 롯데월드타워 서울스카이 to see the view of Seoul from there. It was quite smoggy that day, so it was a little tough to see Namsan Tower. I wanted to go up during sunset, but we decided to do it earlier since the day was so smoggy.
Olympic Park 올림픽공원 is quite close to Lotte World Tower, so we briefly checked out the huge Olympic archway and all the flags from around the world. There were some cute kids taking a skating class nearby and one little boy kept showing off since he saw us watching.
We were quite hungry at this point, so we took the subway over to Ikseondong 익선동 to a Korean BBQ restaurant that I’ve been to before. We were fortunate enough to have the rooftop area all to ourselves again. The food was delicious as always and we enjoyed it with some cold beer. Ikseondong was getting busy with the night crowd. There are lots of restaurants and cafes in this area, so it gets quite noisy at night.
To end the night, we traveled over to Banpo Hangang Park 반포한강공원 to see the water light show. They play music and match the water and lights to it. There were tons of people there just enjoying the night vibes, and then there were the people exercising along the river. It was a nice mix of everyone.
