Another exciting day in the beautiful country of South Korea!
Yum yum breakfast!
Off to Seoul today! The Seoul subway station has a European theme going on. We met up with my mom’s cousin’s family who were to show us around the city for the next two days.
First stop, Insa Dong! The cool thing about Insa Dong is that there are a lot of foreigners from all over the world who come here – Well, Seoul in general. Insa Dong is a street market with a traditional cultural feel.
Look! Foreigners working an ice cream stand at Insa Dong! The workers not only scooped the ice cream but also put on a small performance as well.
Vanilla, melon, chocolate, and green tea layered ice cream. Yum!
This is a wall covered in love tags. Couples write their feelings for Each other on the little tags and hang them up as a sign of their affection towards each other.
We ate lunch at a buffet called Bibigo Gaejeul Bapsang. The wait time usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour since a lot of people like this place, so what we did was reserve our spot and then go out to explore the street markets some more. This place has everything from Korean meats, vegetables, rice, soups, snacks, desserts, and more!
After lunch, we went to Namsan Tower, or N Seoul Tower. To get to the base of the tower, you can walk up the mountain for about 30 to 40 minutes or do what we did, which was take a cable car. It was my first time riding a cable car. I imagined it would be like a ski chair lift but it was much smoother. The ride was very short.
At the base, there was a group of traveling performers showcasing the traditional Korean fighting skills.
The ride up to the top observation area by elevator took only 25 seconds!
Who wouldn’t want candy in a tower?
You can buy postcards for ₩2200. If sending to Korea, stamp is included in the price; if sending to a foreign country, additional stamp can be purchased for ₩400.
Refreshing café inside the tower.
Mist for people to cool off. Kids really loved it!
One thing the Namsan Tower is known for is its love locks. Similar to the love tags at Insa Dong, couples write on the lock and hang it to profess their endless love for each other. Then, the throw away the key to symbolize that nothing can separate them.
Myeong Dong! This is a busy shopping district in Seoul. What better way to enjoy the summer monsoon rain than eating grilled chicken? Street food is so delicious. This grilled chicken stand has a lot of different choices of sauces to brush on. I chose the chili sauce.
One store called Nature Republic had a wall covered in plants. I thought they were fake but turns out they were actual plants growing on the walls!
Lastly, we went to a museum showcasing the great works of Admiral Yi Sunshin and King Sejong. Yi Sunshin was the hope for the Korean people as he defeated the huge Japanese navy with only 12 ships. King Sejong created the Korean alphabet so that even the lower class could learn to write.
Inside the museum was a floor for restaurants. We went to a Chinese restaurant, but it wasn’t your average Panda Express. It was an eight course meal starting with a salad and ending with an icy strawberry dessert. The salad was so yummy as the black sesame seed dressing, canned peach slice, and caramelized walnuts really complemented the entire dish.
Yum!
