Now that I have some free time before midterms, I finally got around to fixing up my photos from my latest trip to Seoul two weeks ago! (Expect another Seoul travel series!) The main agenda for this trip was actually to attend the United International Architects' Conference in COEX Gangnam but we arrived a day early so we could properly settle in before the conference.
We luckily got early check-in to our AirBnB at Seoul Station so it was such a relief to not have to temporarily store our luggage in subway lockers. This time around, I decided to live in Seoul Station since we wanted a more central location. Our conferences were happening in the Samseong-dong area near Gangnam which is at the southeast corner of the city, but we still wanted to be near majority of the sights and attractions so we decided to try living at Seoul Station. I honestly highly recommend staying here - especially if the main thing on your agenda is to go sightseeing. However, if you're the type to visit clubs a lot, it might be better to stay near the club you want to go to since the subways close by midnight.
After getting settled in, we decided to check out the area outside our apartment. Right across was a gigantic Lotte Mart and Lotte Outlet! So convenient! We went and bought some necessities but we never did get around to checking out the outlets.
There are also surprisingly a ton of fried chicken joints near our place. This was around lunchtime so we were trying to settle on a place in the area.
Coffee shop culture in Seoul is unparalleled, to be honest.
Seoul Station! So gigantic and packed with everything a traveler or commuter could ever need. Lots of nice places to get snacks and there's also a money changer here with the best rates if you want to exchange U.S. Dollars to Korean Won!
We finally settled on this restaurant which is just probably a minute walk away from Seoul Station. Just cross the street in front of you after taking Exit 4 and take the first left you see. Go straight from there and you should be able to see this restaurant!
We ordered Ox Tripe Budae Chigae and it was heavenly! Budae Chigae is a spicy and tasty Korean stew with instant noodles, spam, sausages, and some veggies. And it was made even better by adding Ox Tripe which made it so rich and so meaty. I still crave it to this day!
We then ordered some Samgyupsal since one of my friends was still hungry. Haha!
It was roasted with cloves of garlic and slices of oyster mushrooms! So good! I highly advise dipping Samgyupsal in the special salt-and-oil sauce which emphasizes the good quality of the meat! :)
We went back to rest in the apartment for a bit and then proceeded to Myeongdong so I could give my friends a quick tour.
Right outside Exit 5 is the iconic Myeongdong Shopping Street we always see on the internet. Always surreal no matter how many times I see it. There was also a guy busking and doing dance covers of famous BTS songs!
I brought my friend Lica to the only K-Pop Store I knew which is located upstairs the large Nature Republic Store you see once you take Exit 5. I originally thought that albums were the cheapest here since Myeongdong was known to be a tax-free area but I was apparently very wrong. Haha! Sadly, when I found out that prices here are quite inflated, I already bought Mamamoo's Purple album. No regrets though!
If you're looking for well-priced K-Pop albums in Seoul, the best place is to actually go around the Myeongdong Subway. Before taking Exit 5, there's actually a small underground mall that sells food, clothes, and of course, K-Pop albums and they're seriously a lot cheaper than the one on the photo above!
However, you can still visit this particular store if you want to see signed copies of the albums of some of your favorite groups!
VIXX and Monsta X! :)
If you're looking to do a crazy street food buffet, I highly suggest doing it in Myeongdong. I think everything can be found here. You can just wander around and there'll be something different for you to try. In the photo above, they're selling these giant mussels piled on with cheese and then fired with a blowtorch. It costs 10,000 won a piece though - which is crazy so we moved on. Haha!
There are also more traditional choices such as meat wrapped in soy meat or fish meat and tteokbokki and all the stuff you've probably seen on a Korean TV show. However, the more unusual choices I can remember off the top of my head would be: Roasted Lobster, Fresh Pomegranate Juice in a Blood Bag, Grilled Cheese with Tteokbokki and Cream, Roasted Chicken, Fried Chicken in a Sweet Sauce, and Egg Bread (Hotteok).
We proceeded walking around and already starting to hoard face masks. Haha! Personally, I think Myeongdong is the best place to shop for skincare products in particular, as almost every brand you can think of is already here! You can also find Aland, and a gigantic Olive Young store and Daiso. Both of which sport multiple floors and an incredible selection. For clothes though, the choices here are so nice but quite pricey - even the ones sold on the sidewalk! If you want to dress like a local, I recommend shopping in Hongdae and Ewha Women's University - which I'll be discussing further later in the travel series! The clothes on the sidewalk are already quite affordable but you can find even better prices for the same thing at the spots I've just mentioned.
We capped off our first night in Seoul with some chicken & beer (Chimaek in Seoul!). Since we were in Myeongdong though, the food was, as expected, overpriced. I don't really encourage having legit meals in Myeongdong since restaurants here charge a lot more and I haven't had food here that's noteworthy; while some have a strict one-person-one-order rule, while some do both! I usually drop by Myeongdong after lunch or after dinner and then proceed somewhere else for the next meal or just go home. You save a lot of money this way!
On the left is a sweet and spicy flavor while the right is covered in cheese powder. It was alright, but really nothing compared to the chicken I've had in my previous trip as well as the ones I'm about to have in my upcoming travel posts!
Stay tuned!
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