Korea Trip (Part IV); Seoul- {Day 8: Gyeongbokgung Palace x Bukchon Hanok Village x Insadong} & {Day 9: Stylenanda Hongik University x Express Bus Terminal x Hongdae Clubs} & {Day 10: Ewha Women University x Namdemun}

Sorry I am rly taking rather longgg to upload my korea posts because I'm so busy with school and other shits but since I have some assignments to do this weekend but I am totally not in the mood to do it, I shall blog abt koreaaaa part four! One more month to Japan can't wait, but exams first haiz :(.

Recapping your memories:

Korea Trip (Part III); Seoul Guide (2014)

Korea Trip (Part II); Guide to Jeju (2014)

Korea Trip (Part I); Guide to Jeju (2014)

Day 8

(Milkcow > Gyeongbokgung Palace > Tosokchon (lunch) > Bukchon Hanok Village > Insadong > Myeongdong)

started day 8 with a cuppa ice cream like I usually do! (they have outlets all over seoul and at the hongdae which I was staying near) hahaha, first legit milky soft serve in korea and I was so in love! Milk cow definitely trashes other brands, so technically I tried it even before their first outlet opened in SG! hehe 

got their best seller Milky Cube which includes their honey comb piece which was yummy :)

Made our way to one of the heritage sites of Seoul

Gyeongbukgung Palace

Admission Fee:

Adults (ages 19-64) 3,000 won / Youths (ages 7-18) 1,500 won

Getting here:

Gyeongbokgung Station (Subway Line 3), exit 5.

didnt exactly went in cause we were too hungry and there seemed to be a parade indoors so we just snapped a few photos outdoors and headed to a must-go-to for ginseng chicky famous place in Seoul!

Tosokchon Samgye-tang (토속촌 삼계탕, 土俗村参鸡汤)

Address:

 서울 종로구 자하문로5길 5 (체부동).

5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu,

Seoul, South Korea.

Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road.
Tosokchon is located 10m ahead on the left.

Daily: 10 am - 10 pm

kinda easy to spot the shop due to the long queue, super touristy restaurant but don't be shocked by the amount of ppl, service is quite fast as there are a huge amount of rooms indoors so we get seated FAST

their menu~

lol spot another singaporean guy who twisted to my photo hahaha

complimentary ginseng wine, has very beneficial health benefits but not my kinda thing early in the morning LOL

I think you need to pay more for these litter powder like ginseng thingy to pour in da soupy chicken u are gna have

Basically Samgyetang (chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and other yummy ingredients boiled in thick ginseng broth) - this was their black chicken stew with ginseng

chicken stew with ginseng, honestly I think the normal chicken one was better, meat seems to be softer heh

very flavorful soupy dish, worth a try! 

seafood spring onion pancake which was served there as well! not bad~

some ootd w tessy outside tosokchon cos of the nice exteriors heh

usually people will visit gyeongbokgung then walk to bukchon hanok village, since they are around the same area and both scenic sites to visit in seoul thus we made our way there~

Samcheongdong & Bukchon Hanok Village

Getting Here: From Exit # 2 of Anguk Station (Subway Line # 3) walk straight for approx. 700 m or

 From Exit #5 of Gyeongbokgung Palace Station (Seoul Subway Line # 3), walk 10-15 min along the stone wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace to the starting point of Samcheongdong Walkway

Basically, Bukchon Hanok Village is the only place left in Seoul with residential traditional korean houses/hanoks still around and clustered tgt so it looks rly pretty to take ootd shots down its allies lol

lol signs plastering all around to ask tourists to be considerate haha

very hard to get a clear shot since everyone is trying to take a photo down this specific alley so I'm lucky i got one LOL

with tessa~

I must look like a fool wearing my banana bucket hat, banana skirt and drinking my fav banana milk in korea such that two korean dudes actually approached me for a picture LOL

sup sista

Made our way to Insa-dong located in the heart of seoul, which is a tourist attraction as well which represents korean traditional culture and crafts.

Another must visit place in Insadong is the Ssamziegil mall. It has an unique architectural design – each level is connected in the form of a spiral-like stairway. There are many interesting shops including handicraft stores, souvenir shops, art galleries, restaurants, and more. Managed to get a handmade ring here which was so pretty and good in quality!

Insadong/Ssamziegil

Getting Here:

Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 6.

Go 100m straight, then turn left.

OR

Jonggak Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 3.

Go straight 300m, and turn left at the 4-way Intersection.

Go straight 100m, and take the left road towards Insadong-gil Road.

super pretty!

finally reached the top with this love garden rooftop place where couples can paste their wishes, kinda like namsam tower concept.

hello hehe

look at all the floors sloping and connecting downwards!

back to my fav area of the trip again to finish up the night with more shopping at Myeongdong!

Lotte Young Plaza - one of the must-go-to malls in Myeongdong basically this mall caters to all the youth with many specific in brands, even stylenanda, its a must visit especially if you love k-pop with YG Family branded store as well as SM Town pop up store and moree!

Address: 

67, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

Getting There:

Subway Line 2 Euljiro 1(il)-ga Stn, connected via underground tunnel

Stupid tessa didn't want to eat street food so we had to walk many rounds and go up many floors to find a jap food restaurant to settle our dinner at. I forgot if it was at Shinsegae/lotte mall, but I doubt we will come back here to eat again!

food was okay, not that bad, just you can eat better jap food around, and its not that cheap even tho their sets are quite value-for-money~

I can't maintain myself when I see my dominjoo-shi LOL

yeah the sm town pop up store at lotte young plaza

Strawberry Dalchi yet again <3

lol and egg bread again! trying diff stalls, some egg bread are like more towards the sugary side, some towards salty hahaha depends on luck IMO :o maybe different street stalls prepare all of em differently!

okay and I rly love this 32 Parfait soft ice-cream store found in Myeongdong!

ordered like yogurt and mango flavor and its so good cause it actually tastes more like frozen yogaurt than the usual milky icecream

Day 9

(Lotteria (bfast) > Stylenanda > Express Bus Terminal > Budae JJigae (dinz) > Noise Basement (club) > Sulbing (supper))

was feeling a little crazy with my fashion sense that day cause we will be heading down to stylenanda's flagship store in hongdae, so I wanted to dress up for it. one of my fav makeup brands evaaa

settled out lunch/bfast at this fast food chain in korea, Lotteria

Stylenanda

Address:
23, Wausan-ro 29da-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Directions:
Take the subway to Hongik University Station, Exit 8. Turn right after you exit the station and walk for about 200m. You will see 6.9% Plaza on your left, turn right at a dead end, cross a small street and walk for another 60m. Walk straight and turn left when you see a 7-Eleven and walk for another 170m. Turn left onto Wausan-ro 29da-gil (4th junction) and walk for another 40m and you will see Stylenanda to your right.

our mandatory free photos from stylenanda photo booth ^^

my ootd outside stylenanda ;)

We then made our way to Express Bus Terminal, which is kinda like a hidden good find for tourist to go to for shopping, things are not overpriced there at all, you may even find things from ddm there doubly cheap as shop owners will usually think you are korean.

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)

Had army stew for dinner at one of their rdm outlets in Express bus terminal and I swear the boss of the shop was sooo interactive to us and great hospitality!

ok maybe i kinda like him cause he was asking if I was from any korean kpop girl group HAHAHAH lol confirm cos I was wearing a little crazy that day.

one of tessa's favorite meal, I realized she loves udon and any kind of army stew, actually quite easy to make uh haha just throw in any spam meat lets try this at home~

Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Mall

We took a cab there which is prettttyyyy far from our side since we had to cross a bridge and get stucked in a traffic jam since Express Bus Terminal is actually located near gangnam. So its recommended to just take the subway,

Getting there: 

Subway lines 3, 7, 9 get off at Express Bus Terminal.

You can follow signs for exit 8, and you will see "Gangnam Express Bus Station Clothing Market" listed at this exit, arrays of stalls selling clothes, shoes and purses will be lined up a longgggg way down so you better be prepared to spend an entire day here. 

Shops run from 10 am to 9 pm only! :(

Clubbing in Seoul

Itaewon 

The most popular area for foreigners to hang out. Many western-style bars and cheap clubs.

Hongdae 

Seoul’s biggest college town. Very lively every single day of the week and filled with youth vibes.

Clubs to check out: 

the one we went this trip: NB1, NB2

(One entrance fee covers both clubs, nearby each other, can hop. Rumored to be owned by Korea's YG Family, so you might even meet girl/guy boy bands and even members of YG here I read online! :O Mostly playing YG songs like 2ne1 and bigbang hahaha)

Other popular clubs in the area: Cocoon, Vera, M2 and Pawn8

Gangnam Station

Classier than the other two areas, but still popular with younger Koreans. You’ll see a lot less foreigners here. Gangnam club prices are alr steeper than Hongdae's.

Clubs to check out: 

the one I wanna go next trip 

(since gangnam can get quite a chore at night to travel to from the area I was staying at): 

Octagon (Its rated the 12th best club in the world and its a hot spot for korean celebrities, SHINee has DJ-ed there before and every weekend hopefully can bump into any idols in the VIP area!!)

Other popular clubs in the area: Ellui, The A, Eden and Mass

Apgujeong

Home to Seoul’s mega club scene, and the classiest and priciest region. If you’re stingy with money, don’t bother coming here!

didn't take much pictures cause there was only me and tessa + her bf was kinda worried blablabla so we kinda just felt the vibe for a short while and this korean guy was constantly trying to ask me to dance in bits and pieces of english which was quite funny LOL, but oh well, I rly wanna party legit-ly in Seoul the next time I am here!!!

Ended our night at

Sulbing (설빙) Korean Dessert Cafe

Sulbing is a famous Korean dessert cafe - have to go for bingsoos! Korean version of snow ice hahaha. It was originated in Busan &  has a lot of branches throughout Korea and yes, seoul too!!

bad quality photos with my i5s cause didn't bring my cameras to da club

christmasy lights~

Ordered their best seller - Injulmi Bingsu which comes with condensed milk which you drizzle on top to add sweetness to your dessert. Injulmi is also known as Korean Rice Cake coated in sweet bean powder. 

SUPER YUMMY!! too bad tessa didn't want to share another one of their best sellers with me, their Injulmi Honey Bread w layers of soft rice cake with honey and bean powder too :(

Day 10

(Stay with Kumpir (bfast) > Ewha Women University >  Namdemun > Pojangmacha (dinz))

settled for bfast at

Stay with Kumpir

Address: 

서울시 마포구 서교동 356-2 승문빌딩

How to get there: 

Line 2 Hongdae Station exit 5 walk straight ~50m and cross street of main intersection and turn left (Vips located on the corner). Then, walk straight ~50m and turn right onto side alley after seeing The Pub. Stay with Kumpir will be on your right.

Stay with Kumpir is a Turkish restaurant in Hongdae.

(Kumpir is a baked potato with various fillings, a very popular food in Turkey. lol I saw one of my fav couple from WGM - korean variety show - going to turkey and eating "kumpir" so i felt so cool eating it in seoul hehe they should let jaerim and soeun be the brand ambassadors of this stall I swear haha)

ordered beer and chips came with it

my usual fav mango lassi & tessa's drink which I forgot what its called

dad ordered their burger but usually people come here at Kumpir, to customize their potatos. You can choose the sauce and the toppings that you'd like to try with the baked potato. 

There are six basic Kumpir menus: Turkish Yogurt, BBQ, Terikyaki, Onion Sour Cream, Gorgonzola, and Sweet Potato.

I rly can't rmb what was each of our customized!!

but this is definitely chicken? LOL

and this was my salmon sweet potato with curry sauce shit I rmbed LOL

YUMMY

hongdae street bands basking in the sun 

Ewha Women University

NEXT, a place you must visit while in Seoul as well, the school campus is so chill and nice to look at and there are also shopping areas and streets around the universities!!

look at how nice my ootd turned out to be haha imagine I'm a student here! :O

the only street stall food I tried there, fuckingggg good. The honey gangjeong. Immediately brightened our mood, its like korean honey fried chicken with hashbrows and korean rice cake in a cup!! prolly one of the best street food I ate in korea. SO GOOD!

Namdaemun

Next up, for dinner, we actually went to Namdaemun area to eat at a Pojangmacha (roadside tent) like the ones you see in korean dramas! Namdaemun is a area good to buy wholesale accessories in the morning which I will talk about in the last part of my Seoul Guide.

but yeah, to the roadside food tents of Namdaemun, 

Getting there would be:

Hoehyeon Station (Line 4, Exit 5). Market to your right!

these colorful tents will be the one! but its up to luck to see which auntie's stall you choose to settle your dinner at cause I guess some ahjuma's food will be better? LOL

HUNGRY US

ordered soju to match the ambience lol, tastes just like vodka yucks

spring onion pancakes, 

haha the aunties damn smart cover the plates all in plastic bags, so if for example, a customer can't finish it, she just have to reverse the plastic bag for them to pack the remainders back. So much effort is saved on washing the plates even. 

seafood pancakes

yummy pork belly

beef or smth LOL

gimbap!!

and some seafod vermicelli haha lika oily but nice!

fresh and cheap oysters without even considering if we will get any stomache the next day eating at such a store.

odeng - fish cake soup which was yummy

I think we went back to stylenanda again after our dinner cause tessa wanted to buy more things, so we kinda have another set of barefaced photos from their photo booth so dull in comparison HAHA. 

loots till day 10, finally i'm left with the last part of my seoul adventures! back soon. xoxo