Seoul Nostalgic Now

The lack of blogging these past two weeks signifies that I am home now. There's still thoughts to be processed and reflections to be made, but I don't know why I didn't blog earlier. Immediately coming home I did have a few responsibilities to prepare for, but lately, life seems to be a bore now that my travel plans have completed.

Before I go further, there are a few tips I've been wanting to share that will help you to save money and possibly even make life easier while staying in Seoul/Korea.


1.Global Tax Free

 At certain stores you will notice the orange circle stickers/signs with "GLOBAL TAX FREE" in white uppercase font. This means if you purchase 30000 W (~$30 US) or more in one purchase, you are eligible to receive tax back when leaving any major airport in Seoul. For the longest time, I thought Korea didn't have tax as prices are always in whole numbers, but that's because they factor it in and it's actually 9%. However, you don't get the full amount back, its a general amount they give depending how much you spent. For example, for 30000W spent you get 2500 W back, for 50000W or more, you receive 3300W back and so on and so forth.

You MUST NEED:
-a receipt for you to fill out (request at point of purchase) + instructions on what to do at the airport (factor in a little bit more time at the airport in case there's a lineup)
-may need to show your purchases at the airport so pack them in an easy to reach place

This tax free perk is usually at department stores (Hyundai/Lotte) and makeup stores, but I found out during my last free days in Seoul that even Homeplus, the Korean equivalent of a giant supermarket like the Canadian Superstore offers this too! So if you are on somewhat of a long visit and plan to buy groceries/snacks or what not, this is a great way to save spending more at one time. Unlike us, we would make multiple trips to Homeplus for the littlest things and realized we would've been able to receive tax back if we had bought more at once.

**If you choose to get your tax back right away (which you can at Lotte and at certain locations in Seoul), they take your credit card number as a 'safety deposit' in case you don't leave the country, so make sure to present your receipt at the airport to prove you are leaving so they CANCEL this amount on your credit card... or else you end up getting charged more than you were eligible to receive.


2.Subway Transfers

 Having spent an extended time in Seoul twice now, I've come to have a love hate relationship with walking. I enjoy it above ground, but I despise it when it has to do with subway transfers. I use to get off the exact station my directions would tell me to go to (ex. Anguk exit 6 to go to Insadong), but I realize if you are coming from a line that may take a few transfers to get to that destination, make it easier on yourself to get OFF at a station nearby/on a different line and just walk. Usually the walk isn't very long and you be surprise at how small Seoul is despite the multitude of subway stops there are.

For me and my friends, it felt like a pain to transfer from the green to the light blue line to get to 'Myeongdong' so we always got off at Eulgiro-3-ga (green) line and just walked. Myeongdong is also a large enough place that it covers more space than the dot on the subway map, so you just start from a different point (which is also beneficial to avoid masses of tourists) plus it was much more convenient for us. AND, if you do ever get lost (which you probably will), see it as a discovery to places and sights you would never have notice before if you were underground.


3. No Inflation

I suppose this is a tip if you are planning to return to Korea down the road as I realize all the costs I remembered from twos ago were the same. I love that! Not only is there no tipping culture at Korean restaurants and cafes, prices stay fairly the same. Even the subway charge was the same for my T-money card as well.

Having traveled Southeast Asia prior to, I now know Korea prices are higher, but still very affordable for such a fast pace and advance technology thriving nation.


That is all for now, I will add to this as I think of more!

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Dr. Fish Cafe in Myeongdong

Places in Seoul come and go as quick as the weather changes and sometimes it sucks when you fall in love with a place and am not able to find it again. Coming back this time, there were some memory etched eateries, shops and places I wanted to revisit, yet they have either closed, moved with no new location listed, or just MIA for no reason at all. It's only been two years, but I feel the pace of things in Korea, and for that matter, Asia, is so much quicker than that of North America.

Thus, I really felt a need to make a post about the infamous "Dr.Fish" Cafe in Seoul as it felt like my friends and I took a while before we finally discovered its location after going out of our way to hunt it down specifically. I love reading travel blogs and insights bloggers have to share as I'm one myself, but the only downfall is that blogs are not in real-time, as in it isn't written the day the reader reads it and wants to do or go to what is suggested. Thus, I must put a disclaimer that as of June 2014 this cafe is existing (moved from Gangnam,where it use to be located two years ago). 
Inside of "Dr.Fish" cafe (4th Flr)
So I never got to go to this cafe to get my dead skin on my feet eaten two years ago, but ironically I was able to get it done a few times during my SEA trip. However, my friends had never tried it before so we really wanted to go knowing how diverse and abundant the cafe culture here in Seoul is. Even though we had very precise directions from one blog about its hidden location in Gangnam, we traveled all the way there to only find out it was gone. Thankfully on another day, my Korean friend used Naver (the Korean equivalent to Google) to hunt down its present location and fingers cross, it still exists, but in Myeongdong now.

Directions

In terms of directions, I think the best I can give is to exit out of Eulgiro Ipgu station (green line) exit 5 where you will be coming out of the back end of Myeongdong. Then either ask for directions from people on the street or  figure out how to get directions to go to Hotel Sky Park Central via maps (I'm sure giving this as a landmark will be much more permanent then eateries and shops that close and open so often) which is about a 5-6 minute walk away. From the entrance of the hotel, look across the street and there should be a building with the a green tree symbol on one of the floors (the space/design looks very natural and rustic like). On the main floor where the entrance of the building is, there is a sign with these words "나무그늘" which literally translates to "the shade of a tree" cafe and it resides from the 4th to the 6th floor. Take the elevator up to the fourth floor and voila, you have arrived! The cost is only 3000W for 20 minutes, but you have to also purchase at least one drink on the menu in order to get this service done (4000-7000W). It's not bad at all for a cafe like this and as there was a promotion going on, we even got a free toast with the purchase of two drinks (honey bread mmmm!). 
Find this hotel entrance (the fish cafe is in a building across the street!)
Sign on the main street of the building-walk or take the elevator to the 4th floor
You make your purchase on the 4th flr than proceed to the 5th flr for the Dr. fish experience
The procedure
All in all it was worth the experience and the cafe is very comfortable while the fish tank is sanitized and highly hygienic. Even if you didn't want to try the fish experience, this is a great cafe to just relax and chill at.

If there are any questions, please comment below as I know how frustrating it can be not being able to find something! 

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Seoul-full of Activities

I remember mentioning and being in awe of how active this city is with the abundance of public workout machines, healthy middle age people and outdoor activities you can do here. Early mornings, the Hangang River and park areas are already busy with bikers, intense walkers and morning people leisurely strolling around. At my current accommodations, I am fortunate to be about a 15-20 minute to the nearest Hangang hotspot. In spite of all the walking I find myself doing in this country, inclusive of touring attractions, subway transfers (which some can be ridiculously long and complex), and walking up and down hills, I still find joy when I do go cycling, walking and people watching (couples alert!) along the river, and even hiking for seven hours (you can read more about it below!).


Mount. Seoraksan

Entrance of Seoraksan National Park
My two friends and I headed to Seoraksan earlier this week and it reminded me so much of Canada. Seoraksan is located in Sokcho City, which is about a 2.5-3 hours bus from Seoul and since the hike is about 5 hours one way (our goal was the highest peak, Daecheongbong), that meant we had to leave Seoul at 6:30am in the morning to catch the earliest express bus into Sokcho, and from there it's another short local transit to get to Seoraksan National Park. You can find more details here and via other blogs, but it's definitely worth a day, if not an overnight trip. We didn't make it to the top due to timing as we had plan to head back to Seoul the same day, but the surreal view of eroded rocks and mounts, refreshing fresh scent of air, and natural elements combined was worth 3/4 of the way that we did reached.

Tip: make sure to bring lots of sustainable snacks/food as there aren't any food stalls or eateries you can purchase from as you hike up and also go to the washroom when you do sight one as they will be hard to come by when  you do need to go!


 World Cup Stadium Park & surroundings

This is a new found favourite area to reflect, people watch, and just sit and adore Seoul at. It was a day on my own where I decided to walk to the World Cup Stadium in Seoul where sport matches and concerts are usually held at (the 2002 FIFA World Cup was held here and there's also an small museum about it as well). I found out later on that it was actually a day before Dream Concert (K-pop obviously) was being held, so it was nice to have some white noise in the background while I was enjoying myself at the World Cup Park across the street, which is made up of a few parks here. This park is super family friendly, has a manmade pond area, fishes to spot, great destinations for walks and picnics, a leash-free dog area (I was so happy dog watching!), AND an overpass that leads to the Hangang River into Nanji Park. It was amazing and beautiful to just soak everything up and even have a spontaneous conversation on a bench with a grandma that sat beside me! I will definitely be returning here for some peace and surprises.
Overpass into Nanji Park
Coex Aquarium


Though this wasn't all too outdoor-sy, it did consist of things from the wild that intrigued me. I must say I never thought of recommending an aquarium in a mall as it sounds like it was made for the very reason of tourists or young children, and secondly because I would've never known about this place if it wasn't for word of mouth mentioning that it was worth a visit, which I can finally agree on now. "Co-Ex"actually stands for COvention centers and EXhibition halls as this area in Gangnam is a growing area for businesses and and international showcases so it only made sense this complex is being populated with more hotels, shops, and restaurants of course. Though, this aquarium is actually quite impressive with over 40000 species and stretches from the main level where you enter to further below. Initially I thought it just consist of little fishes in various tanks, but it does get more exciting the more you explore it. My friend and I were lucky to have received a 30% discount off admission as they had this social media promotion going on via Kakao Story, so be sure to check out the website when you plan to go to to see what kind of discounts they may have!
A mailbox turned fishtank

My favorite! Such an adorable manitee

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Visiting like Home


Coming back to Seoul this time has been quite the different journey. No longer am I a student, no longer in the shoes of a cultural exchange, not studying abroad and dominantly here for travel purposes leave me nostalgic and doing things that remind me of only then. As I am here for an extended holiday, one thing for sure hasn't changed, and that is how comfortable I feel living here and how at home I find myself. Seoul is truly my second home.

The next leg of my duration in seoul was situated in Wolgok near Korea University where an unni (term for older "sister" in Korea) I met almost five years ago in Edmonton lives now and kindly welcomed my friend and I to stay with her and her younger brother. This was another reason I felt so at ease and was reminded of how much I want my own place, my own apartment to call home. These past two weeks consisted of a lot of resting, meeting up with friends, rekindling fond memories, and even exploring some places I've never heard of or got the chance to go two years ago. My Canadian friend with me has also brought out my outdoorsy and adventurous side at its best spontaneity as well- getting me off my butt and doing activities I haven't in Seoul before. Yes, despite living in Seoul for 4.5 months last time, there's still so much I have yet to accomplish- that's just how much there is to do in Korea!

To Do & See 
The dogs coming after us because we had dog treats in our hands!
Bau House Cafe: Always had the intentions of going to one, but never ended up doing so last time, this dog cafe satisfied my love for dogs big (like giants! but oh so cute) and small and filled the void I have in missing my own back home. Admission is free but you are inform to buy at least one drink during your stay (which is quite pricey at $6-$8, but you can stay as long as you want and given the cafe culture in Korea, prices weren't too far off). You can also purchase dog treats to feed the dogs, but beware to be swarmed my dog hungry puppy eyes and drool-ly woofs  all around you.

Seoul Forest: a station I didn't know existed (on the newest yellow subway line) and a place where you can picnic, hangout and even rent bicycles at. If you get out of exit 3 and immediately U-turn in the reverse direction of the exit, you will get to a pedestrian crosswalk where across the street you can rent bikes for 3$/hr or a tandem for $6/hr (you need to bring your passport), From here to the Hangang River is quite a distance to find your way around but you can get free maps for your perusal at the entrance of the Seoul Forest information booth and I promise you it will be worth it! The hangang river that runs through Seoul was one place I wish I got to spend more time at two years ago so it was awesome to be able to see so much more this time by bike!

Bugaksan Mountain & Seoul Fortress Wall- at the most northern peak of Seoul where you can supposedly sight North korea, this trek is highly secure besides the fact that it is near the Blue House aka where the government lives. Security and police officers are sighted once you get off the subway, but surprisingly there isn't much on the trek- I assume that they don't want to scare away all the tourists hiking? Anyhow, I thought I be fit enough to do this trek as it was paved with stairs but for some reason I kept huffing and puffing with a tomato red face like no tomorrow. My friend was perfectly fine so I think it was just my lack of fitness that hindered me, but I'm glad I pushed myself as you do get a refreshing, tranquil, and different view of Seoul from the top. Plus it's free, just that you have to register your name before starting and you must return to the office by 5pm.
After much huffing and puffing...
I made it!
To Eat & Explore

Gwangjang Market- another unni introduced us to this place which is apparently the largest outdoor market in Seoul. There's actually a lot of intersecting markets in this area as well (get off at Jongro-5-ga subway station) including Bangsan Market where u can find lots of baking supplies and wholesale goods. Gwangjang has a lineup of clothing stalls (mainly adjumma style), random supplies, household items and even a vintage shopping area that's quite hidden on the upper inner level of one building (if u spot a map of Gwangjang Market in this area it will tell you it's exact location as it can get confusing to locate (make sure to bargain as prices are jacked up)). Though the best and most popular thing to do here is to eat! People literally come here to eat through the market and I was informed that the most popular dishes are the mung/green bean pancake, handmade ddeok (rice cake) selection and sundae (intestine sausage that is super thick here-only for the brave hearted). We tried the first two and I have to say the lineup to get to the pancake was quite worth it. The texture was grainier as it had mashed up green beans in it, but the flavour and freshness of it was delicious. I'm not a fan of the doughy type of ddeok so for me that was mediocre.
A local favorite: "bindaetteok" (mung bean pancake)
Jeonju- one of the buzzing hotspots of Korea famously known for the origin of bibimbap. However I was recommended not to eat it here as it's popularity resulted in overpriced menus and with the abundance of traditional snacks and unique localities found in the Hanok Village, you probably would want to save your stomach for all that your eye hungers for. Jeonju is actually about a three hour bus ride from Seoul, but fortunately my name got drawn to get two fee tickets thanks to jeonju's tourism initiative to promote its name to foreigners (enter here). I never win anything and I was up against like three times the amount of people the bus could allot for so I was thankful to God for his providence and blessing. Jeonju is definitely worth a day trip (a day trip is usually enough unless you want to experience staying at the traditional Korea homes (Hanok) for a night)!
One of many traditional snacks made and sold here-so authentic & tasty!


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DMZ

A few weeks ago I went on a DMZ (Demilitarized Military Zone) with a company affiliated with the US embassy, USO.There are actually many companies that bring you to tour the DMZ, so you really have to browse different company websites and find one that suits you. Some tours may be cheaper, but doesn't include lunch, some are half day, others are full day, etc. After experiencing this tour, I can say its worth going on a DMZ tour as you get a new understanding of Korea's history and receive insight regarding North Korea as well. Here is the link to the company I went with.

Before I went on this tour, I had little to no knowledge about where or what the itinerary places were.  Camp Bonifitas, the Third Infilitration Tunnel, Dora Observatory and the JSA (Joint Security Area) sounded foreign to me as I didn't have an indepth knowledge of Korea's history. Having said that though, you don't need to know anything to go on a DMZ tour, and it may even be better if you go knowing little as you will be enriched so much afterwards.

DMZ is basically the area that is "demilitarized" so that tourists and foreigners can get a taste of what happened during the Korea War, the areas affected, and a taste of North Korea. This tour gives you a new perspective to Korea, rather than just the city life and popular activities around town. I got to see North Korean "rock" soldiers (soldiers who stand on guard in their position until their shift is over without moving...ever). They gave off a "cold" vibe and had strict guidelines too, so I couldn't help but wonder what the conditions are like on the other side.

Anyhow, you really need to go on a DMZ tour to understand the full concept of everything, especially the Third Infiltration Tunnel as no photos were allowed to keep it a "Secret," but its interesting  and worth checking out,  but here are some photos to give you a glimpse of what you can see. 

map outlining DMZ area



entrance to Third Infiltration Tunnel




Rock soldiers standing on guard

had to be a certain distance away from him

piece of history at Infiltration Tunnel



If this station opens, you can travel from Korea to China to Russia to Europe!





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Non Stop

These past few days have been non stop. Not only am I juggling school work, I've been quite involved with Emmaus (Christian campus ministry) and as a result, I have been putting a lot of time into year end projects related to this ministry. On top of these things, I've been filling every empty space I have meeting up with friends, exploring new places, and planning ahead.

The last May weekend was a long weekend as it was buddha's birthday.  It was a very busy weekend, but one that was joyously (well) spent with my friends.

Friday May 25

Korea University (Yonsei's competition you could say), had their equivalent of Akaraka (you can read about it here), so my friend Jia (Jee-ah) and I went to check out the campus and compare their celebration to ours. Turns out, it was incomparable. Korea University's architecture is really pretty with a heavy European vibe going on, but the area was unfortunately boring. Campus itself may have been quieter than usual maybe because their celebration lasted all week whereas Yonsei's was only 3 days. All the food tents were taken down and it was oddly quiet for a school day (our theory was that everyone must've skipped or were too wiped out from the party scene the night before to go to school). Jia has a friend that attends this Uni so he gave us a tour and was nice enough to be our photographer that day.

After our Korea Uni exploration, Jia and I headed towards Sungshin Women's University not far off to browse their selection of cafes and boutiques. 

That night a bunch of us Emmaus students hung out after Friday Fire prayer meeting at New Philly. Some of us went for an amazing Korean bbq dinner and then headed to play pool afterwards. It was my first time playing pool in Korea at a pool club you could say and it was actually really fun despite my lack of skills.

Saturday May 26

I had joined the Company Tour club organized by Yonsei Global earlier this term. However, all the company tours planned were unsuccessful except for this one-CJ (Cheil Jedang). CJ is a lifestyle, food and entertainment company under Samsung, one of the three biggest businesses in Korea. It was a great day of touring their main office building in Dongdaemoon and getting to know more about their company. They were also recruiting exchange students for possible internships for the near future as they are a company that has expanded into other countries. I was really interested in their online shopping department, so I'm keeping in mind this option when I look into my practicuum component for next year. It was so enjoyable to be there, from getting freebies, a shoe box size full of CJ manufactured snacks, having a bulgogi cooking demo, to checking out what their company had to offer.

That night, as it was the birthday of two Emmaus students, a bunch of us met up at Cheongyechon, a man made stream near Gwangwhamun for a night of sightseeing and chilling. It was my first time coming here and it was so beautiful, especially because various lanterns were displayed for buddha's birthday. Usually there is a light show that goes on here at night (every 15minutes from 8-10pm I believe), but since the lantern display was held, it was showing that night.

Sunday May 27

 Day of Sabbath, church, and membership class at New Philly.

Monday May 28

This day was just fabulous despite starting it off by waiting close to an hour and a half to eat all you can eat sushi in Hongdae. The place was called Sushi in Sushi and it is quite a popular restaurant among the locals, hence the willingless of people to wait. They had a great selection of sushi, japanese cooked dishes, maki rolls, salad bar, fruits, and desserts. My sushi cravings were definitely satisfied.

Afterwards we checked out the long awaited Trick Eye Museum on our list of to dos.  It was 13000 won to get in, but so worth it and so much fun! Its basically a museum filled with artistic and creative paintings that look realistic when you take a photo with it/as a part of it. It was like optical illusions come alive and it was so interesting how the artists could portray that to the eye.

Shopped Hongdae for a while after our trick eye adventure, but most of us weren't satisfied as we left empty handed, so we headed to our beloved Edae to find some good deals and indeed we did! Got a semi-formal dress for 10000won, how could I not?!

Weekend Success


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Sunny Days, Bright Nights

This past week has been piled with school work that has been hindering me from blogging about my past weekend. May has also been a month of visitors so far as I was able to see friends from back home who were traveling in Korea for a few weeks. It happened at a great time as midterms finished the last week of April, and the week after, my friends and friends' friends and family arrived in Seoul. I also got a  case of homesickness around that time so it was wonderful to be able to see familiar faces again.

So what did I do?

Last Saturday, I went to Sinsa-dong (신사동) with two of my Korean friends. I got to know them since the beginning of term through Mentor's Club, a club where Yonsei University assigns Korean students to 4-5 exchange students during the term  to help them adjust to living and being a student in Seoul. I tend to meet one of them for Korean help and practice all the time, but since we were all free that day we decided to go explore the Gangnam area as I haven't been there before other than to eat Se7en's chicken in the beginning of the term.

We hit up the popular Garosugil (가로수길) street known for higher end boutiques, franchise clothing stores, big and beautiful cafes, and a delicious assortment of restaurants. This street and area in general is known to be more expensive in pricing due to pool of richer people living here. It definitely felt different after being in Sinchon/Edae so often. Despite it being a Saturday, the crowds weren't too bad and it was such a lovely day to stroll up and down the streets and alleys (where all the fancy cafes/restaurants can be found). People dressed nicer overall and the buildings were designed to give more of a European vibe. For me, it reminded me of Edmonton's Whyte Avenue-Korean style.


For lunch, we really didn't know what to settle for. We ended going to a western restaurant called King Kong near the end of the street (turn right and head straight, it will be on your left) because people were seated outside to wait for a table. We thought.. it must be good if people are willing to wait, and joined them in the waiting. It was definitely worth the wait (which didn't take very long), and for 15000won (~$15 CAD) the steak we had was AMAZING. Savory. Flavorful. Delish. The seafood cream sauce pasta and Indonesian fried rice & chicken was to die for too 너무 맛잇어! Afterwards we walked off the calories and browsed the line up of boutiques ranging from clothes to accessories to costume headbands! Many things were beyond our student budget, but it was really fun to play and take photos. I actually really like this area and there was a mini market set up selling sunglasses, shoes, hats and jewelry.

That night, I went with friends in town to a parade near Jongno-3-ga station and the Insadong area in celebration of Buddha's birthday this coming Monday (no school, YAY!). The street was lined up with rows of plastic white lawn chairs for blocks and blocks and blocks it seemed like. Many adjummas and ajussis had already planted themselves into a seat and were ready for the parade to begin (so techy savvy.. pulled out their smart phones and even Ipads to snap photos when the parade started, and these are grannys and grandpas haha). There was so many people and so many crowds everywhere. The parade consisted of a cycle of mobs of volunteers in traditional Korean costumes following a themed lantern and some cultural performances as well, and this just kept repeating with different costumes and lantern(s) each time. I lost interest after a while so we headed to Insadong to grab dinner. We ended up eating at this restaurant near Sam-chon-gil (the 3 story mall without needing to use the stairs, can read about it here), I forgot the name but it seemed to be "designed" quite cramp and our little wooden cubicle barely tolerated our height. After our meal we walked around the area a bit and the aftermath of the parade was mobs of locals watching performances on a stage, a large amount of people drinking, and confetti falling from the sky.

Anyhow, my last visitor will be gone by tomorrow (Bye Grace!), and I only have a limited time left to get everything I want to do DONE. I can't believe I'm already 3/4 through the term =(






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