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Zeru Wanders
Exploring South Korea: Day 1 First Timer in SoKor
Saturday, May 06, 2017
The Land of the Morning Calm, South Korea is a haven for Korean pop culture enthusiasts and cosmetics hoarders. Travelling on this foreign land to meet your ‘oppa’ and ‘noona’ or just taste their spicy yet delicious and healthy dishes is truly a dream come true. Last September 2016, I was lucky enough to explore Seoul (although my husband was denied of visa) and tour around the city.
Let me share with you my travel adventure
as a first-timer in South Korea.
Day 1
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| View from the plane using my crappy and old smart phone |
Our flight to Incheon was at 7 in the
morning via Air Asia. My husband, who got denied of a South Korean visa, accompanied
me to the airport to meet with my former leader.
As I was a first-timer, the immigration
officer was a bit strict during the interrogation. He only calmed down when I
showed him my company identification card.
After a 4-hour flight, we are finally in
South Korea. My boss, who travels frequently in this country, seems like a
local and confidently walks around Incheon International airport like she knows every corner
of the place. On the contrary, I look like a kid excited to receive a box full
of candies and chocolates. I was giddy and ecstatic ^_^
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| Hallyu goal #1: Visit South Korea!!!! |
It is a known fact that Incheon
International Airport is considered as one of the best in the world. And yes. I
couldn’t agree more. I’m really amazed with the structure and how big the
airport is.
My manager, who acted as my personal tour
guide, chose the limousine bus over riding the subway. Riding the subway is
cheaper but she doesn’t want to tire ourselves from transferring on one station
to another. It was a good choice though. The ride was comfortable and I got to
see the beauty of Incheon.
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| While waiting for our limousine bus. |
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| Banana Milk is love. And this was my lunch. |
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| Saw these girls in Hanbok and rubber shoes as we head to our guesthouse. |
We got K-Guesthouse in Insadong as our guesthouse. We chose this hostel as the landmarks are within the vicinity.
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| K-Guesthouse's tiny reception area |
As we have booked the hotel in a rush, we only got the shared room. We shared the room with a Japanese fashion design student and an ahjumma. It’s a bit small but it is better than none. After the hostel caretaker showed us our room, we just left our luggage and headed to our first itinerary – Ehwa Women’s University.
We got to stroll a bit in Insadong on our way to the subway station. I've finally got to taste authentic street delicacies I've only seen in films and dramas.
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| Finally! Some legit Korean streetfood!!! Tteokbokki and gimbap filled our tummy. |
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| Gyeran ppang or muffin bread topped with egg. |
EHWA WOMENS UNIVERSITY
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| Tourists taking photo of this mural at Ehwa University |
If you are looking for a place where you can buy cheaper
clothes and footwear, visit Ehwa.
We first strolled around the shopping alleys before
visiting the university. Indeed, the items are more affordable than the other
shops in Myeongdong and other subway underground markets. I was really tempted
to buy but since I only bought a small amount of money, I tried not to spend too
much (I ended up buying cosmetic products though).
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| Can anybody explain to me what this statue symbolizes? Kamsahamnida! |
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| Sailor moon, Pokemon, My Neighbor Totoro, Doraemon, Minions, some Disney character socks and many more |
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| Just like in a Korean drama or film. |
I was in awe upon entering the university. The campus
is picturesque.
Ehwa Womens University is a private women’s university
in Seoul and considered as one of the best known schools in the country.
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| Yeoja wae? |
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| Picturesque! |
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| Not sure if this is a cathedral or just a university building. I don't even bothered asking because I still can't believe I'm finally in Korea. |
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| Amazing architecture! |
We came from a long walk so we stayed for a bit at
their university canteen and bought iced coffee. By the way, I think they offer
the cheapest coffee around the city.
YG ENTERTAINMENT OFFICE
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| Hearts all over |
I’m in Korea, so why miss visiting the agency that
brought Big Bang and disbanded girl group 2NE1 to stardom?! Hell no! Just so
you know, my Kpop addiction started after hearing their songs. And the rest was
history. They are the main reason why I’m dying to visit South Korea.
YG Entertainment Agency headquarter is located at 397-5
Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Considered as one of Korea’s major
entertainment companies, it’s the home of top performers and celebrities like BigBang,
Psy, WINNER, iKon, BLACKPINK, Epik High, Choi Ji Woo, Kang Dong-won, Nam Joo
Hyuk, Lee Seung Kyung and Lee Jong-suk.
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| Oppa! I'm coming!!! |
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| Where royalties are made |
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| If only I can be a little closer... |
It was almost night time when we arrived at the office.
There were few fans (or should I say stalkers? Hehehe waiting at the
convenience store in front o the building. Like them, we are hoping as well to
take a glimpse of some of the artists. So we waited for an hour. Unfortunately,
we did not saw any celebrities, expect for Jjangme (2ne1’s former manager) and
a tinted van which kept coming back and forth. Hmmmm…
HONGDAE AND HONGKIK
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| There 'non-spicy' menu is still too hot for me. But I still had two cups of fish cakes. |
Dinner time! After stalking our idols, we
headed to the hippest district in Seoul – Hongdae!
My former boss visits South Korea twice a
year. With that, I let her decide on where we will have our dinner. I was glad
that she suggested eating at Meat-ing (pardon for the rhyme kekeke). Oh by the
way, we did not have a proper lunch because the food during our flight was
‘so-so’. Hence, a buffeting at night is not a bad idea at all.
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| MEAT plus EATING equates to MEAT-ING ;P |
Meat-ing is a buffet stop that offers one
of our favorite Korean dishes, samgyupsal. For 13,000 won, you will be able to
dig in to different varieties of meat. As expected, we had a mouthful of beef
and grilled pork. The meat was superb! We were too full that we did not get the
chance to try the other street foods at Hongdae
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| The calm before the storm. |
After our dinner, we continue strolling
around the area. It was a Friday night. And for a home buddy slash
semi-introvert person like me, I was a bit shocked to see the swarm of Korean
youth at night in Metro Seoul. Majority of these night-lifers are college
students and yuppies. But some are in still their highschool years and even wearing
their school uniforms!
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| Night Life |
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| Thank GOD it's FRIDAY! |
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| Annyeong Big Boss and Beauty! Descendants of the Sun smartphone case. |
My boss then dragged me at Two-Some café, near Hongkik University. This café is owned by YG rapper and songwriter Teddy Park. Unfortunately, we had to leave the store (because Teddy was not around)
because the venue was too hot and we were sweating.
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| Hoping that teddy is just around the area... |
I’ve been seeing lots of amazing
performances from Korean street performers on the web. I was lucky that I was
able to watch one. Check out the short clip of one of the acts I took.
MY FIRST DAY IMPRESSIONS
- Almost all the ladies are identical. They all looked the same. And you can really spot those with natural beauty from the artificial ones. You know what I mean right?
- Cosmetics and garments are way cheaper in Korea (specially in Ehwa). I would have hoarded a lot if only I've allotted a higher budget for the trip.
- Indeed, you can really rely on street foods when you are hungry. It's more affordable than eating in a fast food or restaurant.
- Most of the Koreans gets intimidated if you are speaking in a foreign language. But there will be 2 out of 10 locals that will help you on the best way they can.
- Their subway system is still too complicated for me to understand. Thanks to my boss, I was able to go around Seoul with her navigation expertise.
- Insadong I think is the best place to look for hotel. If you plan to look for a place to stay in which is not as noisy and busy as Myeongdong and just near the landmarks, I'll recommend Insadong. Try to scour AirBnb or Booking.com for hotels/guesthouse that will suit your taste.
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| Why is everyone on their phone?! Oh! Anyeonghasseyo oppa :p |
It’s just the first day of our Korean adventure in Kimchi land but I’m already exhausted from all of the long walks we had. But I definitely had fun and enjoyed every moment of it.
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