Korea June 2016 Part 4 | Myeongdong Samgyeopsal, Hongdae Free Market, & Seoul Forest

We had an early lunch in Myeongdong in Wangbijib. Finally, some samgyeopsal! It was surprising how the waitresses don't even bother speaking Hanggul anymore; once they saw people they just immediately spoke in Mandarin. This is because the vast majority of patrons at Myeongdong come from Mainland China and they buy stuff by truckload because they've got tons of money to burn. In anticipation of this, store staff everywhere in Myeongdong has at least one person who speaks fluent Mandarin to accommodate them. At Wangbijib, almost all of them spoke better Mandarin than me. However, I did manage to understand enough to order for us. Haha!

We ordered the pork and it comes with a ton of side dishes that can be refilled as many times as you want. All in all it was a pretty straightforward experience. I wouldn't say it was the most amazing samgyeopsal I've had, but it's definitely delicious. I've come to realize that a lot of Korean cuisine can easily be enjoyed everywhere else in the world since their food is quite simple and relies a lot on preserves and canned goods.

After lunch, we went shopping for gifts for the family and rushed back to Hongdae to catch the Free Market. This is the small area of Hongdae where artists gather to sell their art on the weekends.

Crazy crowd of tourists and locals. Despite the chaos, it was still a nice place to chill. It wasn't too crazy that you would get stressed out by the number of people. It's weird how so many people made so little noise at the Free Market.

I personally believe this is the best place to get souvenirs for your trip or even gifts for family and friends. What's better than a piece of art made by a local artist that you're sure is the only one in existence? However, because they are very special, they cost more than the average souvenir so keep that in mind.

You can also have your portrait done in many different styles. You can see samples of the artist's trademark on their stall and you can pick how you want to be portrayed by choosing the artist that best suits your tastes. There's usually a line though.

Adorable pouches and wallets! Sort of regretting not actively searching for a cool wallet for myself.

You can even have yourself painted as a baby.

There are also small stalls at the side selling random stuff.

And of course, food carts!

Aaaand you can enjoy your street food while listening to street performers.

For dinner, we decided to just wing it and roamed around the district behind our apartment. In this area, it quiets down a lot but there are evidently still a lot of restaurants to see.

We decided to eat at this place called Marestar. It's an Asian-Italian fusion restaurant. We found it so funny how you can enter the restaurant by coming in from their windows instead of the door.

My friends had the Beef Chop Steak which was pretty good.

While I had Octopus Pasta. It was a bit too salty, if I remember correctly.

On our last day, we went to the Seoul Forest which is this giant park in the middle of the city. It actually has its very own train station! Despite it being at the center of Seoul, it's not exactly easy to reach by subway. By this I mean, its central location makes it equidistant to everything if you had a car, but by subway, the way to get here is still ways away unless you live along the Yellow Line of the subway system.

Don't let the word: forest fool you, Seoul Forest is very much a well-maintained park. I would love to get lost here during late Autumn to early Winter. My legs would never get tired. Unfortunately during the warm season, there are very few people here.

The Fragrance Garden is a very small area within the park that has amazing flowers.

You can find a lot of random nooks with modern art like the one above.

Kid's parks are scattered all across the forest.

Finally saw a corgi!!! It's every bit as adorable as I thought! #PuppyFrustrations

A random aluminum book sculpture with Latin virtues.

Mother and child reenacted by Mariah (Left) and Keena (Right). Haha!

Subtle couple fashion. So cute! :D

Finally, we decided to take a break at this random office building with a cafe downstairs.

There was even a huge skate park. If only we had parks as comprehensive as this in Manila!

Aaaand I'm officially ending this travel series with a photo of more adorable dogs with their owners. Haha! My second visit last year was definitely a lot more chill than when I went with my family during the winter. For me, it truly is better to travel during a cool time. It was hard to be patient when it was so hot. Perhaps if I'd brought more summery clothes, I'd have been in less stress. Haha! This 2017, I'll definitely be back. Wait for me, Seoul! :)