Hello everybody!
So here I am continuing Part II of my Korea Summer Camp,
which was about 1 year ago LOL, such determination. Better late than never right right ;)
Read Part I HERE but it was a real simple blog post, elaborating more on ChunCheon area.
For humans who need some clue on travelling around Seoul, Korea; this is the right one! ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ
As I said before, the whole Summer Camp was such an amazing experience; we were totally immersed in the Korean culture ♡ & I truly truly love it ! Fortunately, we are allowed to extend our trip to travel around on our own :D So we managed to head to a few places of interests, I wish we had more time to explore more though!
#1 GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE (경복궁)
This is probably a must to go for everyone who visits Korea since it's one of the main attractions in Seoul!
We also took a short walk to the famous King Sejong statue in front of the palace across the road.
Anyway, typical youngsters like us don't really fancy these classic historical buildings, especially when it's under the scorching hot sun! So we found a shady area & did a little photo shoot instead. HAHA Girls being girls.
So called 'photo shoot' session. More to be revealed next time! Don't wanna flood them all here :x
Us trying hard to find some random stuffs to take picture with ahaha.
Group photo with the awesome bunch in our Summer Camp!
#OOTD with GyeongBokGung
It's still a beautiful place after all ♥
#2 HONG DAE (홍대)
I am skipping to HongDae first because I personally love HongDae area the most the most the most! ♥ ♥ ♥
It is located nearby Hongik University and there is a fair balance of clothings, accessories, shoes,
cosmetics, bags, cafes, food & etc. Perfect place for us to shop for almost everything,
most importantly, AT A REASONABLE PRICE ( ˘ ³˘)/
Not forgetting to mention its indie street performances that make everything extra happening and lively!
Okay I miss HongDae T.T The place has so much to offer & I regret for not staying there longer. I'm definitely going back in my next visit !
Plus plus plus, you can hop on to the next area called Edae, nearby Ehwa University.
I heard there is a lot to explore in Edae as well, similar to HongDae in a way ;D
Picture from Cuteinkorea.com HongDae has all the fashionable, swag, young styles that I love!
Random pretty things heh.
The popular Hello Kitty Cafe @ Hong Dae. Not a fan of Hello Kitty but it's a nice place to chill after a long walk.
Picture from Google. Stylenanda Flagship Store was just two streets away from my accommodation but I did not pay my visit due to time limitation, *bangs wall* BRING ME BACK NOW T.T T.T
ACCOMMODATION
I personally recommend travelers / visitors to book their stay at HongDae, like what we did!
We stayed at 88 Hostel Seoul, more to a small size, budget accommodation but it's super worth it.
The location is superb because most of the restaurants / cafes/ stalls open till late night!
All within 5 - 10 minutes walking distance.
Best of all, the subway station is also nearby so most places can be reached easily, including Incheon Airport!
The staff was so kind that she helped us to carry our overly heavy luggage to the station :')
*restores faith in humanity*
#3 INSA-DONG (인사동)
Before I head to InsaDong, I was told that this area is well known for its traditional and cultural stuffs.
To my surprise, it was not as boring as I thought! Well, not even close to what I imagined HAHA.
Similarly, there are plenty of good restaurants around & pretty stalls which sell trendy bags & stuffs.
I would say it's a good place to get your souvenirs because they're slightly cheaper!
The heart of Insadong - Ssamziegil, 쌈지길, also known as the spiral mall *see picture above* is pretty interesting as well. I was so amazed by the architecture; it's so cool that there isn't any stairs at all! Just a rectangular slope! Now who says this is 'traditional' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Managed to take pretty pictures with Hanbok (韩服) like this at the top floor of spiral mall yay. LOVE THEM SO MUCH HEHE. Because of the flawless faces ♥.♥
Randomly entered a restaurant there & the food don't disappoint! Nice to try some classic Korean dishes :D
So all in all, I have a good impression towards Insa-Dong, don't mind going there again to find out more about this hidden gem, especially those artsy side valleys! ツ
#4 MYEONG-DONG (명동)
Well, I believe most of us have already heard of Myeong Dong shopping district in Korea.
This place is literally filled with lots and lots of large scale cosmetic shops; you name it, they have it!
The competition is super intense that you can see salespersons / promoters shouting out loud on the streets, urging people to enter their shops. *scary lol*
However, I conclude that MyeongDong was just okay for me because I'm not so much of a cosmetic person. I don't fancy cosmetics so at times I get bored because it's TOO MUCH HAHA. Still, it's pretty nice to stroll around & get free gifts / free masks. Lol cheapskate people like us bleh!
Some demo the sales girl did to us at some random cosmetic shops. Doreen looks so happy haha!
Nonetheless, there are heaps of interesting stuffs, cute mascots, nice snacks, pretty clothes in MyeongDong too! Just need a little more time to dig them out ahaha since the district is hugeeee :D
So, remember to allow more time if you want to shop at MyeongDong!
#5 DONGDAEMUN (동대문)
On the other hand, everyone of us thought that it would be awesome to shop at DDM because it's superbly famous. Yes there are many major malls but to be honest, it was quite... disappointing D: D:
We specifically dislike the mall called Migliore that feels like Sungei Wang, but worse!
Most of the staffs were freaking rude (not all but 90%). When you ask for a price and decide not to buy,
they will be like WHAT. WHY. YOU ASKED FOR IT YOU HAVE TO BUY I DON'T CARE LOL.
But afraid not, we only meet people like this here in this particular mall, phew.
Other than that most Koreans we encountered are pretty polite and nice heh!
Pictures from blog.korea.net | The major malls in DongDaeMun.
As you can see, there are plenty of them & some with 8 - 10 floors some more ohmygod. Walk until die. Although I did not have a splendid experience here, I guess it's still okay to do some window shopping at DDM. Hopefully things get better !
We had no time to explore Good Morning City Mall & Hello APM Mall, also because mood spoiled haha! Anyway, Doota! was pretty nice, more to a high-end, clean & edgy shopping mall.
Maxtyle was pretty new at that time so nothing much.
Just no Migliore, NEVER.
#6 EVERLAND (에버랜드)
Everland is not in Seoul technically. But it's still accessible.
Though we went through many troubles to find the bus there ahaha.
We contemplated for quite some time whether to opt for Lotte World or Everland,
asked most of our Korean friends about it & most of them answered Everland!
Deep inside I was dying to go to Caribbean Bay T.T
Next time, next time. *reassures self*
As I said before, I was like an useless coward before my skydiving experience. I don't enjoy all those thrill rides at all & honestly it's so torturing. When I feel super scared and my friends are there like
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SO FUN. *flips table* (╯°□°）╯︵
I still am a coward, FYI, but made an improvement as compared to those times in Korea.
T-Express, the best known wooden roller coaster in Everland.
According to them, it's a must to try but I did not fml.
Obviously these two had a hard time understanding my fear, they invited me to those rides countless times
& I just had to say NO. But I do feel sorry HAHAHA.
Still, thanks for tolerating me all along ♥
Other than the fear, I had a lovely time at Everland (⌒▽⌒)v
There are plenty of stuffs to look look see see, and it made us feel like kids again :'D
Too bad we didn't have the time to stay till night for the fireworks.
On the left : Our
#OOTD at Everland
On the right: Everything, from top to bottom, bought in Korea! All at a super reasonable price :D
GETTING AROUND
Their public transportation system is really extensive so getting around Korea is not a problem at all I would say.
Remember to get your
T-Money card from convenient stores before taking public transports!
On top of that, the
Subway Korea app helped us a lot throughout the journey as well :D
As you can see above, we bought the card holder thingy, because most of our Korean friends put it on all the time. And I super super love it, been using it even in Australia!
Okay irrelevant info, thank you.
All in all, Korea has been nothing but awesome :)
Special thanks to Kangwon National University & Swinburne University that gave us this wonderful opportunity.
I really love the fact that we could literally live, eat and sleep there like Koreans, and at the same time have the flexibility to be like travelers to roam around anyhow we want too. Perfection.
Ahhhh all these experiences make me miss Korea so so so so much (^Д^)/
I promise, I will be back in a few years time!
Meanwhile, thanks for reading and stay tuned for Part 3 :D
