Seoul Part 3: Hongdae

So this will be the last instalment of my trip to seoul and I'll be moving on to more resent events, finally!

Our last full day in Seoul we visited a popular university neighbourhood. We had a couple reasons for going there. First, it's kind of trendy and targeted towards young people so it's fun to visit. Lots of cute stores, funky coffee shops and yummy restaurants. Second the You Are Here Cafe is in Hongdae. This is a cafe started by a Canadian couple who lives in Korea and makes funny youtube videos all about living there and a website called Talk to Me in Korean who try to help people learn Korean. The cafe was really large, but felt kinda empty. People did come and go as we were sitting there, but it wasn't especially busy. I really hoped to see one of the owners, but alas they were not there that day.

Before we hit up the You Are Here Cafe we went to a Sheep Cafe because it is the year of the sheep and all. The sheep were outside the cafe in their own little pen. They were really cute, but more interested in licking salt and eating than us. Still, it was really fun to visit with the sheep and take some pictures. We also got really yummy waffles for breakfast from the cafe too. It was really cute and the tea was good.

It also ended up raining that day which was disappointing, but we spent most of our time in cafes and restaurants anyway. I wanted to go to this one dumpling restaurant we knew about, but unfortunately when we tried to find it it was gone or possibly being renovated, we weren't sure. After this we tried to find a ramen restaurant Julianne wanted to show me. Eventually we found it with the help of google. It was amazing. It looked like an authentic Japanese ramen bar inside, complete with the small, narrow restaurant and counter. We both got pork ramen (I think, it was just the regular one) and we also got gyoza's which are a kind of japanese fried dumpling that I love. The gyoza's were far superior to any other gyoza I've ever ate. The filling was tender, flavourful and hot. The outside had a crispy rectangle attached to it which tasted delicious and just the right amount of crispiness on the dumplings. They more than made up for the failure of the dumplings from the previous night.

The ramen was equally amazing. The noodles were the perfect chewiness and the broth was salty and rich. Everything about that meal was awesome. I loved it and I will definitely return next time I'm in Seoul. Since it was raining again when we finished lunch or more like afternoon meal we headed back to the hostel. Also, we were both pretty stuffed and just ready for a rest.

The next day would be our return to Changwon, but since we had a lot of time before our train we decided to check out the War Memorial which was basically just a museum mostly about the Korean war. I found it really fascinating there was information from the people who were effected by the war, to the allies who helped to war heroes to the clothes, the role of women, famous war stories, weapons and planes, pretty much everything related to war was presented, especially the Korean war. It was a stark difference from our wimpy memorials with just a could of statues and plaques, it was also a stark reminder that North Korea is not that far away and for many older Koreans the Korean war was a reality.

After the memorial we attempted to find Itaewan, which is the foreigner district in Seoul, first we walked in the wrong direction for awhile then we finally checked a map and realized we needed to walk in the opposite direction. We finally made it there and spent a bit of time wandering around aimlessly which was mostly my fault because I just wanted to find some salt and vinegar chips, but hadn't really been able to find anywhere that sold them. Other than eating a really yummy gyro Itaewan was not that exciting to me. I did see a dumpling place I want to go back to, but nothing else really stood out, unless I'm really missing something from home that I can only get there I doubt I'll visit again. After that we got our stuff and caught the train home. It was relaxing and we remembered snacks and water this time. And when I got home it was time for a long, hot shower and lots of rest.

The highlights of the trip that really made an impact on me were definitely the touristy things that we did, the delicious ramen in Hongdae, the sheep, the palace and Seollal celebrations, Myeongdong, Namsan tower, the studio Ghibli exhibit  and the war memorial. In all it was really good trip and I definitely hope to go back to Seoul again before I leave Korea, perhaps in the fall at the end of my trip I'll make another visit, or when I have a long weekend.

Seollal in Seoul part 1

First, I want to comment that it has been six months since I came to Korea (in October!) Wow! Can you believe it? I can't. At the beginning it felt like I had eternity in Korea, the whole year stretching out before me and now it kinda feels like wtf I still want to do/see so many things! Where did all that time go I had 6 months ago?! Where is it? So yeah, I am stoked that I only have 6 months till I get to be at home on the wonderful island with my family and friends, but I'm also super sad that in 6 months I'll be leaving this awesome country and all the wonderful people I've met here, that will be really difficult.

Okay, so moving on to Seollal and Seoul! First, I guess you're wondering what Seollal is. It is Korean new year. It happens at the start of the Lunar calendar much like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese new years do. It is a time when Korean's go home to spend time with there families and eat yummy Korean foods. They also wear hanbok which is the traditional Korean clothing. They are really pretty looking. So for new years because everyone needs to travel home and it's an important holiday. The day before and the day after Seollal are also national holidays (at least I think that's why? Correct me if I'm wrong about this guys!) This year Seollal was on a Thursday which meant I got the Wednesday and the Friday off as well, which leads perfectly into the weekend giving me five days off! 

So, I did almost go to Japan for this holiday with some different friends, but I decide for the sake of the bank account that Seoul would be the better trip. I was very happy with my choice. I went with my Canadian friend Julianne. We booked a hostel near the Seoul station (so it would be easy to get around) and decided the KTX (railway) would be the fastest and most comfortable way to travel and to us North American's it is fast, I think it took around 3hrs, maybe just under? I wasn't sure. It was super easy to book too. You just go online and book everything for the train you want and then take the information in with your passport to the ticket office on the day of your departure and they give you the tickets. So easy! 

The train also had clean washrooms, comfortable seating, wifi (but only if you downloaded the app which I couldn't get on my phone for some reason) and snacks if you wanted to eat something. The only mistake I made the first day was forgetting to bring water so I was really thirsty by the time I got to Seoul. Seoul was pretty empty when we arrived because everyone was busy heading home for the holidays. The train station was crazy though, in both Changwon and Seoul station. So many people traveling that day. 

Our hostel was really cute and had kind of a school theme. I liked the hostel immediately, it had a really home-y, comfortable feeling and the staff was really helpful and friendly. In order to save money we got one room with a double bed which was perfect for us. The only thing I would've changed for next time was getting the bathroom attached to the room because the bathrooms in the hostel were down the hall and really really small so you had to either hang your clothes on the door and risk getting them wet or leave them outside and risk someone seeing you. And no, you couldn't walk down the hall in a towel because in Korea they just use hand towels, not the giant ones we're used to. 

The first day we were there we quickly dumped our stuff at the hostel and went in search of food. We decided to try a popular Japanese fast food chain called Lotteria it is owned by a huge company that has pretty much everything, it's huge in Asia. The burgers were tasty as fast food usually is and after we took a rest at the hostel and then went to meet Julianne's friend. We ended up eating again then going to Myeongdong which is a really popular shopping area. It is insanely crowded with stores, mostly clothing, beauty and shoes stores, but some other things thrown in for good measure. It is a shoppers dream. Also, when I say beauty stores I mean there was one every other store... it was actually insane. There were beauty stores for one brand (usually more than one in that area) then there were also beauty stores for multiple brands...but they were usually the same brands as the other beauty stores that were for brands... so you basically had the same beauty products everywhere. 

Plus every time you walked by the beauty store there was a girl trying to get you to come in. Lots of them had free samples, but you only got them if you went inside. I managed pretty good self control and only went in one (which happened to be having a 1+1 sale on my favourite hand cream!) After the craziness of Myeongdong we were exhausted so we went back to our hostel via subway and got some snacks then holed up with some television and food to prepare ourselves for Gyeongbokgung the royal palace in Seoul!