Korea Travelogue (Part I)

okay, so I was in Korea for approximately 150+ days as I took on an overseas exchange programme in Yonsei University, and here are some of my recommendations and reviews!! I’ll be starting with Seoul, where I spent most of my time.

SEOUL

Ehwa Women’s University (이대역, line 2)

This place is good for cheap shopping and affordable cafes/eateries. If you want to buy cheap 10,000 won bags or 1,000 won socks, this place has the most variety and shops to choose from. The clothes are trendy, tailored to suit teenagers/university students and are mostly around 10,000 ~ 20,000 won.

*Noms*:

• 아마스빈 (Amasbin) - bubble tea!

• 그리다꿈 (Café with a star sign logo) - interesting drink menu, love their ades especially!

• Paik's Coffee - super affordable drinks that come in huge cups!

• 쥬시 (Juicy) - cheap and delicious fruit smoothies!

• Alchon - awesome fish roe rice in a hotpot!

• Issac Toast - interesting rendition of normal toasts!

• 봉구스밥버거 (Rice burger) - a whole meal in the form of a burger, plus it’s affordable and convenient!

*Others*

• Hair - I recommend 데몬헤어 (demon hair) which is popular among      university students.  The service and quality is not bad, and it is much more affordable than other big salons in seoul (Juno Hair etc).

Hongik University (홍대역 line 2)

This is my favourite place in Seoul because it has a very young vibe, and is the perfect youth hangout location. It is similar to Ehwa in a way, except that it is more hip and happening. A lot of busking performances happen here on a daily basis, where young souls let themselves free!

*Noms*

•  엔젤리너스 (Angel-in-us) - my favourite Korean franchised cafe due to it’s spacious and comfortable interior, and relatively affordable drinks!

• 오설록 (Osulloc) - green tea cafe, with desserts and drinks all made with green tea!

• 설빙 (Sulbing) - favourite bingsoo cafe in Korea, hands down. Huge stores, decent menu, delicious bingsoos!

• There's a place called “Pizza Mall” above “Butter” and they offer pizza buffets! It is quite affordable and cool to try at least once!

• 츄로101 (Churro 101) - awesome churros!

• Cheese & Ribs!

*Others*

• Be sure to check out all the street stalls, which sell affordable and fashionable clothes, accessories, phone covers etc.

• There also numerous bigger brands located here, such as H&M, Forever 21, etc.

• At exit 1,  there is a shop called "Butter" which has really cool and affordable stationery, knick knacks and much more. This store is a must to check out for me!

• Stylenanda’s flagship store is located in one of the alleys here! Am a total fan of their makeup and nail polishes. 

Sinchon (신촌역 line 2)

This is the place I stayed at while I was in Seoul, and it is not really a popular spot since it is like a student hang out area, due to the close proximity to local universities (Yonsei University, Sogang University etc) However, if you're in Hongdae/Edae, it's nice to drop by here, as it is merely a short walk away!

*Noms*

• 맛있는 순두부 (Delicious Tofu) - awesome soondoobu jigae place with unlimited refill of seaweed, side dishes, rice, and eggs! Affordable as well, and even better when eaten during winter!

• 카레부리 (Japanese Curry Restaurant) - affordable and nice japanese food, and I recommend trying their katsu-dons!

• Kyochon - hands down my favourite chicken store in Korea! (try all their flavours, but my favourite must be their honey flavoured chicken!)

• 본족 - if you’re looking for bibimbap or porridge!

• 하늘본닭 (Dakgalbi) - beats yoogane any day, super affordable and delicious dakgalbi!

• 마포만두 - Lovely mandoo shop that is more affordable and tasty than the well known bukchon mandoo!

• There are also numerous bbq buffets located here! (for example 착한돼지)

*Others*

• There’s a two storey “Artbox” here, which is a must to drop by for all your cutesy yet relatively affordable stationery, necessities, everything really!

Garosu-gil (신사역 line 3)

This is an uptown area, with numerous boutiques, cafes, and slightly expensive restaurants. However, the atmosphere here is super relaxing and quiet, not as touristy and a lovely place to simply window shop and hang out.

*Others*

1. There is a five story Forever 21 here (though they were renovating so I'm not sure if it's fully opened).

2. There is also a line store here!

Myeongdong (명동역 line 4)

This is like the obvious must go for all tourists and if you want to buy makeup, I suggest just coming to myeongdong and buying them all at once because the shops and different brands are all located in this area. Furthermore, I realised that the shops in myeongdong give more samples because it’s a touristy area I guess!

*Noms*

• 20cm ice cream! 

• 붕어빵 with ice cream!

• Egg Bread!

• Potato twirl on a stick!

*Others*

• There is a daiso here, which you can explore as well - they sell cheap necessities, etc at a range of 1,000 ~ 5,000 won.

• There is also a music shop located above Nature Republic, where you can get your Kpop albums etc!

• I love Korean cinemas, and if you have time for a movie, do pop by the cinema located above uniqlo.

Samcheong-dong (안국역 line 3)

From anguk station you can go to samcheong-dong, insadong and bukchon hanok village. This area portrays the traditional side of Korea, yet with a touch of modern elements, which makes this place very interesting to explore!

*Noms*

• 먹쉬돈나 (Tteokboki stew) -  This place is super delicious, you order various servings of tteokboki, add on your side dishes, and it’s all cooked in a pot for you!

*Others*

• Samcheong-dong is also a relatively chill street like garosu-gil with small shops and boutiques.

• Do visit bukchon hanok village nearby too since it's a place filled with traditional houses, perfect for photo taking.

• Insadong is nearby as well, which has traditional eateries and a spiral outdoor building with has boutique stalls. The 뚱빵 there is famous for being good too! I tried the Hanbok here for 3,000 won for 20mins at the tourist information center!

Bupyeong / Express Bus Terminal (부평역 line 1, 인천선 / 고속터미널역 line 7,3,9)

These are two different places, but they are quite similar and I suggest just visiting either one! I would prefer express bus terminal though, as it is easier to navigate! These are two famous underground shopping malls which are insanely huge! They run through like 17 exits in the mrt station and these are the places to go for dirt cheap clothes and anything else really. You can literally spend a whole day shopping in these places! There are also numerous affordable eateries and cafes located there!

Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁역 line 3)

The palace is a good place to go for sightseeing (it's really pretty and beautiful) and is a must see!

*Others*

• Nearby there is also a  'Tongin Market' which is famous for it's 'Dosirak Café' and I recommend this hugely. How it goes about it firstly, you exchange money for old coins at the entrance of the market. You will be given a tray to put your food and you just enter the market, and check out for the signs at the shops participating in the dosirak café. From there you just buy things to add into your tray and when you are done, you go up to the dosirak café which is in the middle of the market at level 2 and eat your food! Awesome experience!

Konguk University (건대입구역 line 2,7)

There is one place here that is quite famous - the container mall! “Common ground” is located here, and I think it's a cool place to come and check out the boutique stalls and cafes, which are a bit pricey though? But nevertheless, there are many photo worthy spots here hehe!

COEX mall (삼성역 line 2)

A very big mall with loads of brands here! SM's shop is located here too. There's a big cinema, aquarium, and bookstore! Will be good for a chill day/rainy day just hanging out in a mall hehe. There's also a “Butter” here which is really one of my favourite stores in Korea! There's an “Auntie Anne's” here and one of my favourite things of the menu would be the cream cheese sticks! Must try!

Hangang/Yeouido Park (여의나루역 line 5)

Many parks are joint to the Hangang river, so you can go there from Yeouido park, which is what my friends and I did. Hangang is great to just chill as you walk along the river, ride a bike or have a picnic. Having a picnic with convenience store food is a highlight of your Hangang River experience! You can also catch the lights from Banpo bridge at night!

A lot of different festivals/events are held here throughout the year, so do remember to check what's happening during your trip! My friends' and I went to the annual fireworks festival during Autumn and it was truly a sight to behold.

Carribean Bay/Everland

I loved  Carribean bay because it was such a huge water park and something different from your typical theme park! The rides were fun even for someone like me who hates theme parks. Everland is more interesting compared to lotte world as the rides are more thrilling and its bigger, but lotte world is good if you want to try both indoor and outdoor rides and are not a really big fan of big roller coasters!

Gangnam (강남역 line 2)

There are a lot of food places here! It's not as posh and 'for the rich' as people think. It's a nice place to shop and eat like the famous university streets. There's a lot to see and eat here so I recommend dropping by for a day!

*Noms*

• Ippudo (Famous japanese ramen) - which is super delicious!

• Numerous 부대찌개 places, and it’s my favourite stew that feels like comfort food for me!

• Shake Shack!!!!! (worth the queue and slightly pricey menu)

Itaewon (이태원역 line 6)

Itaewon has a lot of interesting and unique food. The fusion restaurants and the cafes are to die for.

*Noms*

• Lady M is located here!

• A place I would recommend would be Passion 5 (which is closer to 한강진 station) and there are numerous pastries, breads and desserts to choose from. I suggest going there on an empty stomach because there is way too much food to choose from.

• Camping inspired restaurants!

Seoul Forest (뚝섬역 line 2)

Really nice and huge park, where you can cycle or walk, and is a great hang out place for big groups of friends! There are also deers there!

Hapjeong (합정역 line 2,6)

There’s a big mall called “Metropolis” and cafes and restaurants nearby! Would be good for cafe lovers. I also went to a dog cafe here, called “Bau House Dog Cafe”, which is a must go for all first timers! (P.s. YG’s building is located here too.)

The Garden of Morning Calm (아침고요수목원) 

This garden is where all the outskirts of Seoul attractions are at, such as Nami Island, Petite France etc, but all of them were underwhelming for me! This garden however is quite interesting, and since we went at night, the lights were even more outstanding and pretty.

Other Places

• Dongdaemun (I don't really like the shopping here, it has become more pricey, and the variety and styles aren't really impressive. However, you can check out the dongdaemun design plaza nearby! )

• Apgujeong (to be honest, there's nothing much here, and I would recommend garosugil or gangnam instead!)

• Chinatown at Incheon (nothing much except Chinese food and the mural villages were underwhelming. Unless you’re really craving Chinese food, this is not really a must go place for me, as you can find jjajangmyeon in other restaurants around Seoul that taste as good.)