Seoul Trip Day 5- Fortress Wall Tour, last minute shopping, bossam

Fortress Wall Tour

The second walking tour which I signed up for was the Naksan Seonggwalk (Fortress Walk) Tour. I was fortunate to have the same guide who brought me around the Hanok village.






The fortress wall area is a really nice place to hang out. The next time I come here, I'll bring coke and food to chill out. :) The night view should be really nice here.

Last minute shopping

As this was my last day in Seoul (cry), I spent the rest of the day doing last minute shopping at Dongdaemun, Myeongdong and Edae.

Grabbed some street food to recharge after that mini hike up the fortress wall

Many stores in Edae were selling these New Balance lookalike shoes. It's the most in footwear in Korea now. Ditch your heels and grab some comfy sneakers!

I went back to the Kpop stores in Myeongdong to grab CDs for friends.
CDs in Korea are SO much cheaper than those in Singapore and Japan.

Bossam dinner in Edae

I met a korean friend and he brought me to a restaurant which serves Bossam. Bossam is a dish in which steamed pork is wrapped in leaf vegetables. You can also add raw onion, garlic or kimchi. The meal came with so much banchan (side dishes).

Bossam

Yummy steamed pork

banchan

And more banchan..

I totally overspent. I had such a hard time squeezing all my shopping loot into the luggage. I was a little guilty for going out of control with my spending. But I really enjoyed my trip!! I was a little worried that I might be bored during the trip. But it turned out pretty okay!!

I can't wait for my next trip to Seoul! There are still so many things I want to do in Seoul!

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Seoul Trip Day 4- YG, Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheongdong

YG Entertainment

I woke up real early to go to YG Entertainment. To get there, take the subway to Hapjeong Station and go out from Exit 8. Once you're out, you'll see the SK gas station. Walk past the gas station.

Walk past the first gas station.

Continue walking straight passing some small stalls.

You will reach the second gas station. Walk past it.

You will pass this restaurant along the way.

Shortly after you pass the restaurant, you'll come to this junction. You should see the YG building from here. Make a right turn in.

YG Entertainment building

I wasn't planning to camp there to wait. So I just snapped a picture and moved on.

Bukchon Hanok Village Tour

If you visit the visitseoul website, there are various free walking tours which you can sign up for. The first walking tour which I signed up for was the Bukchon Hanok Village Tour. It has many traditional korean hanok houses and a few korean dramas such as Personal Preferences were filmed there.

I was the only one in the tour so I had a personal guide all to myself. My guide was a friendly and very active old man. It was a pretty good tour and I highly recommend people to sign up for the tours. It's much more interesting to have someone explain stuff to you.

I like how they integrate modernity into the traditional houses.

We passed by this school which was the filming location of a famous korean drama. There were many Japanese tourists taking pictures outside the school.

Samcheongdong

After I thanked my guide and treated him to a cup of coffee, I went to Samcheongdong which was also in the same area. Samcheongdong is a very quaint area with many small boutiques and cafes. Samcheongdong is a nice and cosy area and the wall drawings adds character to the area.











Beans Bins, Samcheongdong

Many Taiwanese guidebook highly recommend the Beans Bins Cafe for their waffles. I dropped by the cafe and ordered a Fruits Waffles. The waffles was huge and topped with fruits. The main disadvantage about traveling alone is that it's difficult to try a wide variety of food. I was so full from eating the waffles that I couldn't try any other desserts.


Next: Seoul Trip Day 5 - Fortress Wall Walking Tour and last minute shopping Follow @germanium9

Seoul Trip Day 3- Butter Fingers Pancakes, SM, Myeongdong and Kpop

Butter Fingers Pancakes, Apjujeong

The girl whom I met outside SBS was extremely friendly and kind. She invited me to join her family for breakfast at Butter Fingers Pancakes. According to her, it was one of G-Dragon's favorite breakfast hangouts.

Butter Fingers Pancakes is an American breakfast place located in Apjujeong, near the Galleria. It's quite a walk from the station. So you can work your appetite when you get there!





SM Entertainment

After brunch, we headed towards SM Entertainment which was around that area. We didn't do much, just snapped a picture and moved on. Gangnam is a little different from Myeongdong and Edae. You see designer label and upmarket stores every where.


KPOP Goods in Myeongdong

After Gangnam, we headed back towards Myeongdong. I wanted to check out some Kpop goods stores in Myeongdong Station. There is an underground mall in Myeongdong Station. Around Exit 5 and 6 of Myeongdong Station underground mall, there are about three stores selling Kpop goods and CDs. The CDs are much cheaper than those sold in official music stores! Many of the products aren't original fan goods. But they do have some original concert goods in limited quantity.






TOP and FUBU

We left the underground mall and went towards the main shopping area in Myeongdong. Myeongdong is a wonderful place to shop. It's not the cheapest place to shop. You can probably get the same article for a lower price in Edae or Hongdae. But many of the sellers in Myeongdong can speak English, Chinese or Japanese. It's much easier to communicate. And of course, you can find find many international brands like Forever 21, H&M and New Balance.

FUBU Store (Endorsed by TOP)

The recent Running Man which Big Bang participated in was filmed in the FUBU's main office (?). Hence they had a catalog of pictures of the the program.

SPAO and SM Goods
SPAO is a clothing label which collaborates closely with SM Entertainment. There are huge posters of SM artistes both outside and inside the building. There is also a store inside this building selling SM fan goods. There's even a purikura (sticker photo) machine for you to take photos with your favorite SM artiste.

Fan goods

Myeongdong Dumplings
You can easily find eateries in Myeongdong. Most of them offer menus in other languages. Myeongdong dumplings was a place recommended by many Taiwanese and Japanese guidebooks. The food was cheap and good. :)

I was really exhausted from all the walking and window shopping. After dinner, I went back to my hostel for short rest and then went to Dongdaemun for some late night shopping! I didn't take much pictures in Dongdaemun because I was too busy shopping!!

Next: Day 4 - YG Entertainment, Hanok Village Tour

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