Saying final goodbyes in Seoul
It’s already the finale to this Korea time. I can’t believe how the time has sped by. I returned to Seoul on May 26 and had a few more precious days to enjoy time with friends and hanging out in this big city.
Joe and I arrived back in Seoul from Gyeongju in the afternoon, so we just checked into our hotel in Sinchon and then made plans to meet up with my friend later in the evening.
My friend, Brixton, had been excitedly planning this night out for months since he heard that I was going to visit. It was exhilarating to spend a night enjoying the night life after so many years. The whole time we stayed in Itaewon and bar/club hopped. We started off the night with a drink at Hemian 헤미안. It is Brixton’s favorite cafe to be at. They transform into a bar in the evening.
We continued on to Grand Ole Opry, which is an American bar. The owner loves the U.S. so she decorated the bar with American money and plays a bunch of country music. It felt strange to be in Korea, but feel like I was at home.
pictured below is Hemian on the left and Grand Ole Opry on the right
We spent the rest of the night going to Soho (a bar that played a lot of Kpop girl group music), Jack’s Bar (a fun bar with great music and games), Nyapi (a club that had an indoor and a rooftop dance floors), and King (played Kpop girl group music and people could go up and perform the dances for each song). I was so wore out by the end of the night. I guess I have to accept that I’m getting older and I don’t find spending the whole night out as something fun. We eventually went to bed around 3 AM.
The next morning, Joe and I dragged ourselves out of bed and went to meet up with my friend, Brian in Hongdae. It was Brian’s first time going to Hongdae, so I ended up showing him around. We decided to eat some delicious dakkalbi at Yoogane. It was the perfect food to revive myself after that rough night out. Brian insisted that we share a bottle of soju, so Joe and I joined him in drinking it.
It began raining that morning, so everyone was carrying umbrellas and spending the day inside. Joe was bewildered by the obsession Koreans have with using umbrellas and almost taking out someone’s eye whilst shoving through the congested streets.
We found some cover at Colline, which is one of my all-time favorite cafes. They are always changing out the flowers depending on what season it is. At this time, they were displaying hydrangeas. The drinks as always were delicious here, and Joe was impressed by how they present the beverages.
We did a little shopping, and stopped in at one of my favorite shops in Hongdae, Space Moris 스페이스모리스. Joe actually purchased a summer shirt while there. Brian and I insisted that he try the egg bread 계란빵 while we were in this area, since it is so good. He agreed one hundred percent with us after he took a bite.
Brian and I wanted to go to a noraebang, but each one we checked was full and there were even waitlists, since it was raining and everyone was trying to stay out of the rain. Finally, we settled on getting some bingsu (shaved ice) at Sulbing. We ordered a injeolmi bingsu and a strawberry bingsu. A perfect dessert even though I was a little cold and wet.
We were still full from lunch, so we decided to go to a bar instead of getting dinner. Brian found one nearby called Jase 자세. The interior was unique and fun with random objects, cartoons being played on a projector, and some disney figurines. We ordered several drinks there and just relaxed and talked for the rest of the evening. I totally recommend this bar. Even though it was a little pricey, I loved the decor, music, and the drinks were well-made.
MAy 28 was dedicated solely to purchasing gifts for family and friends. It was still raining, and continued to pour buckets the whole day. We ate gamjatang at a nearby restaurant. Perfect for the damp weather. Near to our hotel was a stationery store called Hottracks Pick 홍익문고. I ended up buying quite a lot of stickers and stationery from this store. It had everything.
We took a bus over to Hongdae and went to The Day Bom 그날봄. I love this store, and of course ended up buying a few things there.
Then, we walked through Gyeongui Line Forest Trail Park 경의선 숲길공원. Rose season was happening, so there were tons of roses blooming along the fence line.
We walked across the street to the huge multi-level Daiso, where Joe fell in love with all the products. We ended up buying the majority of our gifts for the family here. Daiso just has everything you could possibly need. The rest of the day we spent going to A Twosome Place (to get a drink and rest our feet), A Land (a really cute t-shirt shop), and then returned to our accommodations. That night, we went around the block to Tong Tong Dwaeji 통통돼지 for some Korean BBQ. Before turning in for the night, we walked down the street and grabbed some bubble tea at Gongcha.
pictured below the view from our hotel on the left and Korean BBQ on the right
The following day I spent in Suwon with two of my friends. It was funny that we went to the same exact places that we had gone two years ago and we were all together again. We got lunch at QQ 쿠우쿠우, which is a huge buffet restaurant. There were so many different food choices. We definitely ate well.
A requirement with friends is taking some cute photos together, so we randomly picked a photobooth, chose our props, and then took some photos.
It was sweltering, but we took the time to go to Wolhwawon 월화원 to relax near the pond and enjoy the greenery. We even were approached by some cult members asking us to join their church. During Covid, their cult was the well-known one for disregarding safety precautions and spread the disease even more.
The rest of the day we sang our hearts out at a noraebang and grabbed some drinks at Diaaz. Their watermelon drinks were so refreshing, and much needed in the hot heat.
We parted ways with one of my friends, and then Nazeerah, Joe and I returned to Seoul and went out to dinner at Yangguk 양국 for some tasty barbecue.
It was our last full day in Seoul and Joe wanted to find some more traditional gifts to take home. So, I took him to Insadong. Before that though, we ate lunch in Hongdae at my favorite hot pot restaurant, Hot Pot Country 훠궈나라. It is a self-serve hot pot place where you can eat all you want. I was so pleased that Joe liked it so much. We ate so much food, and I’m drooling just thinking about it. After finishing, we stopped at Playground to purchase some T-shirts. I always love the music they play there, and they have such high quality shirts.
Before shopping some more, I took Joe to see Jogyesa Temple. It is probably my favorite temple in Seoul and it was all decked out with lanterns for Buddha’s birthday. There were also monks chanting, so the environment felt very calm.
The rest of the day was spent popping into all the stores along the main road in Insadong. We found some cute items at Dusoon 두순 in Ssamzigil 쌈지길. So many cat drawings in creative poses. There was also a very cool T-shirt shop called Timid Tales, where I bought several T-shirts for some family members. Overall, very exhausted but a successful shopping spree.
I went back to the hotel, and somehow managed to pack everything into my tiny suitcase. Joe and I went out for one last meal at Cheonghwawon 청화원, a restaurant around the corner from our hotel. They served some really good Chinese food. Their xiaolongbao were delicious and I was overwhelmed by how much food we got.
Not wanting to go back to our hotel quite yet, we got some drinks at Mega Coffee and wandered around the brightly lit streets. I am really going to miss just getting a drink and walking down a bustling street. I was feeling burned out from the constant traveling, yet I wasn’t ready to leave.
The next morning, we took the metro back to Incheon Airport where we ate one last meal and spent the time walking the whole airport. Gentle Monster (a popular sunglasses brand) had displayed a huge head that moved and blinked. People stopped and had to take photos, me included.
The flight back was boring and very lengthy, but made it back safely to Seattle. Joe had a layover in California, so he didn’t get back to Seattle until a few hours later than I did. Our hotel was close to the airport, so I took a bus over there and thankfully they had a restaurant inside the hotel. I was able to get some food and then passed out in the hotel for several hours. Apparently Joe was knocking on the door for quite a while and ended up calling me. I barely heard it, but got up and let him in, before sleeping for five more hours. That night, we went to a nearby restaurant for some Peruvian food.
And so, that concludes my trip to Korea this year. Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post!