My last trip to Seoul was in October 2011. My mom, brother Andy, my Aunt Vivian and myself boarded the plane straight up to Seoul for the tickets were purchased cheap during MATTA fair. The day when we arrived at Seoul was in the early morning and it was drizzling. So we took the airport bus to Anguk station where we are staying 4 nights at Bukchon Guest House. It's nestled quietly along the streets up to Chungang High School- it was the backdrop of Winter Sonata drama. We decided to search for the 8 famous Photo Spots in Buckhon Hanok Village after meeting my Korean friends, Jung Mi & Ki-Sun.
The photo spots were all over the place and we were to remain quiet when we walk around the villages. Bukchon used to be a village for the nobles (yangban) and till today the architecture of the houses remain intact and they are used for filming dramas such as Personal Taste (Sanggojae house). This area was also made famous from 1 Night 2 Days where Ho Dong, Seunggi, Sugeun, Jongmin and Jiwon were searching around for foreign friends to play games with them.
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| Bukchon Hanok Village |
The hanok house is usually in a L-shape and sometimes there is a big main air-well space where you can view the sky at night and in the morning. Bathrooms and living rooms are separated from the bedrooms. The doors are low and I tend to bump a few times while entering the bedroom and bathroom. Free breakfast is provided in this place. The owner is nice too!
Closeby was Changdeokgung Palace and we decided to visit it since it's around the corner. Entrance fee is around KRW2000 per person and it's peaceful and serene. It is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built during Joseon Dynasty and was home to 13 Korean kings over 270 years. Its unique co-existence with nature is the
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| Gyeongbukgung Palace behind Gwanghwamun Sq. |
reason the palace was inscribed to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1997. (sorry the photos taken in the palace was cloudy due to the weather) Our next day was to take the Seoul City Tour Hop On & Off bus (KRW10,000 per person). We waited at Gwanghwamun Square for the bus while we took some photos of King Sejong's status, Admiral Lee Soon Shin who is famous for its turtle icon clad ships that battle off the Japanese invaders and the fountains surrounding it. Beautiful! The weather was beautiful and we even walked around the
streets heading to Cheongwadae (Blue House) residence of the President of South Korea. The area is heavily guarded with armed police, security officers and body guards dressed in black. There is Mt.Bukhansan as a back-drop of the Blue House. Visitors can apply to visit the Blue House but it must be done online and at least a week or two before the official visit. To be honest, I couldn't be bothered after all you can view it from the front. It's unlikely you will mee the President personally... however it's free of charge if you wish to join this tour.
Inside Gyeongbukgung Palace (One of the grandest palace of all time) is the National Folk Museum and the landscape is beautiful. I managed to take this photo of Gyeonghoeru (Royal Banquet Hall) on a sunny day. Gyeonghoeru is represented on the 10,000 won Korean banknotes. If you watch Tree with Deep roots drama, you will notice King Sejong likes to meet his students and ministers meeting at this place. The National Folk Museum is interesting where it displays the national treasures, costumes of the royal families, equipment, fighting swords and ancestral rites of the olden days.
I was taken back by the autumn foliage in the grounds where the ginkgho nut trees were bright yellow and pretty however they have an odd smell once you go near it.
Insadong is a traditional shopping town near to Anguk and Bukchon Hanok Village. One can visit there by foot or subway. There are plenty to buy here but beware prices are a bit steep because it's a touristy area. So remember to bargain otherwise you can still get the traditional souvenirs, handmade fans, bookmarks, postcards and hanbok dolls in other markets.
Ssamziegil is a zig-zag complex in Insadong where it sells local handcrafts
and pretty interesting to visit. Youngsters love hanging out here and the white cotton candy sweets (
Kkultarae) is famous here. The sellers can be seen singing in rhyme with each other and visitors find it an amusing sight. The cane cone ice-cream can be bought here as well.
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| Can you spot anyone famous here? |
And then the shopping craze comes! Where else but Myeongdong area! Myeongdong is a paradise for shoppers when it comes to cosmetics, clothes, food and duty free items. The area is filled with shops, restaurants, food stalls, departmental stores and
most of all people can speak various languages if you can't communicate in Korean. There are tons of skincare & cosmetics shops, boutiques, UNI-QLO, Daiso, coffee houses and hallyu star items available. SPAO was a big boutique endorsed heavily by Super Junior and Girls Generation of SM Entertainment. I managed to buy a handbang, skincare items, a PANCOAT jumper and other knick knacks from this area. This place doesn't sleep...it has Migliore which is a tall building with tons of shops inside it. If you have spare $$, you can head ot Lotte Duty Free and Lotte Young Mart to spend as well.
The next day we took a day trip to Incheon where it is famous for its Chinatown and port. You can board the subway straight to Incheon and walk around the place. Chinatown has many Chinese food especially Jajangmyeon (Black bean noodles) and Jjambong (Spicy seafood noodles soup). We took the Incheon City Tour bus and they went round the port where we saw Korean cars were ready for export via the vessels. At night when we return back to Seoul, we managed to catch the annual Seoul Lantern Festival event held at Cheongyecheon Stream nearby Gwanghwamun Square.
The stream is now renovated and turned into a tourist area. Lanterns were lit up and they were so beautiful at night. One should try visiting Namsan Seoul Tower at night when the tower is lit up. During a clear night, you can see the whole Seoul city if you get on the top deck. For couples, you can buy the couple locks and sealed your love up there forever. Haha! I don't know if that's true...who knows it might be true since Do Min Joon & Cheon Song Yi did their couple locking there (
My Love from the Star drama) Good Luck!
One thing I do love about Seoul is Food! The food is cheap and good. You must visit the Food Alleys at Namdaemun Market, Gwangjang Market and Pojangmacha (road side stalls)- to eat like a local. A bowl of Bibimbap at Gwangjang Market is probably few thousand won, their addictive Gimbap for KRW2000, tteokboki, and Kalguksu Noodles for around KRW5000-6000 won per bowl. But prices might have rise over these years, still it's cheaper than
eating in big restaurants. Myeondong Gyoja is famous for its mandu and kalguksu noodles, Gogung restaurant is famous for its Jeonju bibimbap and Japchae noodles, Wang galbi is famous for its BBQ ribs, Korea House is famous for its Hanjeongsik (but it's expensive since it's a royal cuisine), Two-Two Chicken is famous for its fried chicken & salad, Yoogane is famous for its spicy stir fried chicken...etc neverending list!
If you are looking to purchase a ready-made hanbok, you can get them either at
Namdaemun Market or Gwangjang Market. The custom made hanboks are more expensive especially if you are looking to get a fusion style hanbok (example Goong drama where Yoon eun Hye was wearing) I bought mine at Gwangjang Market where the owner lady was very friendly and helpful. You will be asked if the hanbok is for yourself- what occasion and age. Since I am not married - the colour should be bright- such as red, pink or yellow. The hanbok consists of the jeogori (top), chima (the bottom skirt) and the petticoat below it. You will require a norigae (an accessory/pendants to tie with the chima's ribbon) If you have long hair, you will require a daengi (a red ribbon to tie your hair in pleats for single women), daetssi- a hair ornaments for young girls, cheopji or binyeo for married or official women in court.
streets heading to Cheongwadae (Blue House) residence of the President of South Korea. The area is heavily guarded with armed police, security officers and body guards dressed in black. There is Mt.Bukhansan as a back-drop of the Blue House. Visitors can apply to visit the Blue House but it must be done online and at least a week or two before the official visit. To be honest, I couldn't be bothered after all you can view it from the front. It's unlikely you will mee the President personally... however it's free of charge if you wish to join this tour.
I was taken back by the autumn foliage in the grounds where the ginkgho nut trees were bright yellow and pretty however they have an odd smell once you go near it. Insadong is a traditional shopping town near to Anguk and Bukchon Hanok Village. One can visit there by foot or subway. There are plenty to buy here but beware prices are a bit steep because it's a touristy area. So remember to bargain otherwise you can still get the traditional souvenirs, handmade fans, bookmarks, postcards and hanbok dolls in other markets. Ssamziegil is a zig-zag complex in Insadong where it sells local handcrafts
and pretty interesting to visit. Youngsters love hanging out here and the white cotton candy sweets (Kkultarae) is famous here. The sellers can be seen singing in rhyme with each other and visitors find it an amusing sight. The cane cone ice-cream can be bought here as well.
most of all people can speak various languages if you can't communicate in Korean. There are tons of skincare & cosmetics shops, boutiques, UNI-QLO, Daiso, coffee houses and hallyu star items available. SPAO was a big boutique endorsed heavily by Super Junior and Girls Generation of SM Entertainment. I managed to buy a handbang, skincare items, a PANCOAT jumper and other knick knacks from this area. This place doesn't sleep...it has Migliore which is a tall building with tons of shops inside it. If you have spare $$, you can head ot Lotte Duty Free and Lotte Young Mart to spend as well.
The next day we took a day trip to Incheon where it is famous for its Chinatown and port. You can board the subway straight to Incheon and walk around the place. Chinatown has many Chinese food especially Jajangmyeon (Black bean noodles) and Jjambong (Spicy seafood noodles soup). We took the Incheon City Tour bus and they went round the port where we saw Korean cars were ready for export via the vessels. At night when we return back to Seoul, we managed to catch the annual Seoul Lantern Festival event held at Cheongyecheon Stream nearby Gwanghwamun Square.
The stream is now renovated and turned into a tourist area. Lanterns were lit up and they were so beautiful at night. One should try visiting Namsan Seoul Tower at night when the tower is lit up. During a clear night, you can see the whole Seoul city if you get on the top deck. For couples, you can buy the couple locks and sealed your love up there forever. Haha! I don't know if that's true...who knows it might be true since Do Min Joon & Cheon Song Yi did their couple locking there (My Love from the Star drama) Good Luck!
One thing I do love about Seoul is Food! The food is cheap and good. You must visit the Food Alleys at Namdaemun Market, Gwangjang Market and Pojangmacha (road side stalls)- to eat like a local. A bowl of Bibimbap at Gwangjang Market is probably few thousand won, their addictive Gimbap for KRW2000, tteokboki, and Kalguksu Noodles for around KRW5000-6000 won per bowl. But prices might have rise over these years, still it's cheaper than 
eating in big restaurants. Myeondong Gyoja is famous for its mandu and kalguksu noodles, Gogung restaurant is famous for its Jeonju bibimbap and Japchae noodles, Wang galbi is famous for its BBQ ribs, Korea House is famous for its Hanjeongsik (but it's expensive since it's a royal cuisine), Two-Two Chicken is famous for its fried chicken & salad, Yoogane is famous for its spicy stir fried chicken...etc neverending list!
Namdaemun Market or Gwangjang Market. The custom made hanboks are more expensive especially if you are looking to get a fusion style hanbok (example Goong drama where Yoon eun Hye was wearing) I bought mine at Gwangjang Market where the owner lady was very friendly and helpful. You will be asked if the hanbok is for yourself- what occasion and age. Since I am not married - the colour should be bright- such as red, pink or yellow. The hanbok consists of the jeogori (top), chima (the bottom skirt) and the petticoat below it. You will require a norigae (an accessory/pendants to tie with the chima's ribbon) If you have long hair, you will require a daengi (a red ribbon to tie your hair in pleats for single women), daetssi- a hair ornaments for young girls, cheopji or binyeo for married or official women in court.
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