Notes From 12 Hours in Seoul, South Korea

0 comments

Video (1:30) of my random Seoul clips

• I arrived at Incheon Airport at 4am on April 9th and took a $15 bus to the Grand Hyatt hotel in Seoul, where my college friend Tiffany met me at 6am. Tiffany was my roommate's college girlfriend.
• Her neighborhood is called Yongsan Itaewon and it is known as Seoul's foreigner district. Nearby is a large American military base and a small Korean base.
• Picture of Tiffany in her apartment.
• The first place we ate at was a fast food chain of Korean-style eating called Kim Bap Chong-u. I had beef noodle soup, along with the typical Korean side dishes. Those side dishes are kimchi, radish kimchi, seaweed, and chun (like a pancake!).

Kim Bap Chong-u ... Breakfast #1 - beef noodle soup

• Afterwards we stopped to share a cup of coffee (Americano). This coffee was more than my breakfast - approx US$3. Coffee is really popular with Koreans.
• We rode the subway next. Everyone seemed to be studying something! English vocabulary words, test preparation, law exams, work presentations, etc. Picture of people on the subway.
• I get the impression that Seoul is really classy. It is clean, the people are largely well-dressed, everything just seems really tight and well-run. For example, the airport buses were right on time - exactly to the minute - both times I rode. Clearing customs and checking back in took me all of 10 minutes.
• Speaking of how people dress... Girls there really like to doll it up. Like heels and skirts to work. And I saw a lot of guys in ties and slacks and nice shoes. Luxury brands are really big in Korea.
• We got out at Angunk Station, where the Jung Row markets are. Before we cruised the market I made a stop to get some meat, egg, and toast sandwich (US$2). It was DELICIOUS. We also had a red ginseng drink (photo), which was interesting.
• Finally we took a taxi to Hong-Dae. The taxis are really cheap - Tiffany said "everything is about a $5 taxi ride."
• Hong-Dae is an eclectic neighborhood in Seoul. It was SO COOL. I walked around for hours with Tiffany... we stopped into a very good ramen noodle shop (picture) and also hung out in a chill cafe (video below).

Video of Tiffany's favorite Seoul Coffee Shop

• That's it, then! I took a bus back to the airport to continue my journey to Bangkok.
• In summary, I think that Korean people love waffles, studying, coffee, anything foreign, high heels, dresses, and sandals :)
• If I had more friends in Korea, or if I had business and could make friends (such as through CouchSurfing), I would totally come back for a few days. There are a TON of restaurants and shops to explore... and the dollar is really strong in Korea right now.