Seoul, Korea

Whenever someone asks me about Seoul, I am brought back to this one particular scene; 6 adults squeezed together in a really small table, the square table has somehow shaped us to a circle, edges blurred, knees touching, where none of us were Korean, a series of “odd-looking” foods were slowly introduced to the table, the giggling of the Thai girls at the sight of the moving, living octopus were infectious.

Now let me start off with this really bold statement, Seoul is the best foreign city I’ve ever been in. I love everything Seoul has to offer. The amazing people, the rich preserved culture in a huge city, the shopping, the travelling convenience are just a few reasons why I love this place so much. Everytime someone asks me about where’s the best city I’ve ever been in – I would answer Seoul, hands down.

This trip was immediately right after Hong Kong. Like I said in my previous post, thanks to the miscommunication between me and Suay (because of Rain), 

We flew to Incheon, Seoul a few days after 9 days in Hong Kong. If you thought I would be tired to travel after a whole 9 days in HK, boy were you wrong. I was all jet set and ready to go excited for all kinds of possibilities in Seoul.

A. Kim’s Myungdong Hostel (http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Kim-s-Myungdong-Hostel/Seoul/47516/directions)

Address:

100-62 Sam-ho Villa Ga-dong, Hoehyeon-dong,Jungu, Seoul, South Korea 

B. Hoehyeon-dong, Train Station

I highly recommend this place to youngsters with backpacks, strictly not those with massive wheeled bags. Reason being, the uphill to this place can be excruciating. Especially after you’ve walked 11 hours non stop for a day – when you’re walking up hill you probably won’t be laughing anymore. 

Our bunkbeds :) 

Other than that – everyone should choose to stay at this place, because Mr. Kim is awesome beyond words! He is VERY helpful, friendly, humble and very sweet. He helped us on the whereabouts of Seoul in detail and also invited all of the residents that week for a dinner party over the weekend. It turned out to be the best I’ve been in a really really long time. 

With really good company from our new Korean friends (they were so friendly, all of us literally made friends over tables), excellent food and most importantly all things grace that is Soju, the dinner party was a kick-ass.  

 I remembered this moment throughout the trip the most because the whole room was filled with laughters and love. Koreans clearly are very hospitable; they’re very accommodating with anything too, but most importantly Koreans know how to PARTY. 





Most of us left the restaurant drunk. Happy drunk I’d say. Others woke up with bruises on their hand, after imitating ‘Superman’ and jumped forward to the road. Swee and I however – continued the night away. 

Nightclubs

There is only one place, one word to describe the nightlife in Seoul, and that is Hongdae. Ask a by passer, the aunty hawker, the taxi driver, Hongdae is where ALL the youngsters are; the kids and the foreigners. Hongdae is a central point, a meeting section for all the most happening kids in town, and it is a cardinal sin to not check Hongdae out if you’re in Seoul because you’re in for a treat. Polished, shaved, tanned and dressed to the nine, South Korean kids are almost all gorgeous. It’s almost impossible to find youngsters that are all gibb. Everyone’s well groomed!

When we reached Korea, I told Swee Wei that Hong Kong was really fun but we mostly partied with foreigners (angmohs and all). So I told her, that to really know the nightlife in Seoul, we must party with the locals themselves! The first club we went was filled with angmohs, about an hour danscing there we decided to find a more localized club.

And we did. The people there in that club (wish I remembered to let you guys know what it’s called) was friggin’ awesome. It was packed, everyone was dancing, the bar was full to the brim and music was excellent. We ended up dancing with all sorts of people, and ... yes we concluded that Koreans really can party their hats off. They’re so AWESOME. 

Food


Everyone knows Kimchi. Yes it is Korea’s national dish but Korea has other wide varieties, get to know ‘em and be surprised. Bibimbap is MY FAVOURITE! It has a mix of everything, especially veggies of all kind; it serves like a complete meal. Other than that, Korean BBQs are quite a hit too of course. 

 My American friends and I insisted on heading to one of the famous restaurant which serves Chicken Ginseng Soup – after almost half an hour getting lost looking for the place, we finally found it and it was really good. The chicken’s filling is the rice! And with that entire ginseng in the soup, it’s like you could almost actually feel healthy after finishing it. Credits to, Richard. 

The odd part about this particular Korean BBQ that we had was (as we swore), they served raw leaves, including raw Wasabi leaves! :/ So that was quite a surprise when we had it in our mouth.

People

And by far Seoul’s best asset to me. Known for being one of the most hardworking people in the world, they are quite surprisingly very, very hospitable, accommodating and friendly, South Koreans can really make you feel welcomed. 

Wherever you are, whatever you do – shopping or dining, South Koreans are famous for their hospitable personality. We’re greeted with smiles and humble conversations throughout the five days we were in Seoul. There was once for instance, around 3am or so at Hongdae quite a few guys came up to us and started chatting about Seoul and stuff. They’re a funny bunch as well. One mention of Soju, will bring you back to life. All kinds of life I may add ;P

 

Attractions

Some call Seoul a well-preserved city. With all the four major palaces preserved guarded as tourist attractions there in Seoul (you can even catch them in changing of guards!), one could not agree more. Imagine having massive palaces in the city! Not the ones where you’d have to go up a hill, or drive up or so to get to the palace, the kind that the train stations stops directly at kinda palace. Commercialized? Quite so, but they’re still in flawless condition so it’s still really nice.

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You know how some Korean dresses, blouses and shoes are really famous on blogshops internationally? Yeah, you can get the items in a cheaper price I guess here at Namdaemun and Myeongdong.   Among other places that we went were Cheongyeong Stream, Seoul World Cup Stadium, Palaces, Myeongdong and Namdaemun Markets. 

Namdaemun Market 

Enthusiast Kids at the Seoul World Cup Stadium 

Cheonggyecheon Stream

Massive market with all kinds of things sold, chances are you girls will go crazy over them. My favourite would most definitely be Insadong, such an artsy fartsy place. Sells all kinds of paintings, souvenirs among other things. If you like to collect things, you’ll probably really love it here.

Insadong

All in all, I really really fell in love with Seoul. I can’t imagine how the place looks like during Spring. The place will be covered with beautiful pink trees, uh – it will be so gorgeous. Everyone should go and visit Korea. A French friend of mine said that it’s like the Italian of Asia, gorgeous kids, cool hangout spots – South Korea is such an interesting country.

Love, 

Jacqueline Rowena @ Jacqkie.