Korea is an interesting country and in many ways, she resembles cultures from both China and Japan. I am going to share with you the diary of my last trip to Seoul.
Day1:
After checking into our hotel in the Gangnam area, we went out for dinner and explored the area.
The Gangnam and Apgujeong areas in Seoul are excellent places to start if you want to have firsthand experience of the modernization of Korea. You will find many shops. Apgujeong(the equivalent of Ginza in Tokyo), where Korea's latest fashion trends always start first, can be described as the No. 1 fashion area. It's the place where famous foreign brands launch their first shop in Korea.
Nearby, you also have the COEX Mall. It is a entertainment facility in the heart of the city. With over 250 large commercial stores and over 100,000 visitors on weekdays, it is generally considered to be the best entertainment complex around. There are over 800 restaurants to dine in, and various places to shop, eat and play, such as night clubs, theaters, book stores, record stores, and a grand aquarium.
A place which worth a visit in COEX Mall are the Megabox Cineplex, Kimchi Museum, Food Court, and Bandi & Lunis Bookstore.
After a shabo-shabo dinner with Korean beef, we made our way back into the hotel for an early rest.
Day 2:
The weather was not great today. It started off with a heavy downpour which ruined our visit to Changdeokgung Palace. The palace served as residence and resting place for previous royals and it's famous for its beautiful garden.
The World Cultural Heritage Committee also designated Changdeokgung Palace as a World Cultural Heritage in December of 1997 in Napoli, Italy. The most beautiful time to see the garden is during the fall when the autumn foliage is at its fullest peak and the leaves start to fall.
When visiting the palace, you need to be accompanied by their tour guides, except for Thrusday when you can wander around freely. They have tours in various languages: Korean, Japanese, Chinese,English, I would highly recommend you check the time for the tours beforehand. We joined a tour which took about one and a half hours to walk around to all the major sites within the palace.
At the entrance, there is a souvenir shop. We stopped over to get a few things. A typical souvenir to get is the bookmark. They have various design and some even come with very fine embroidery, a definite proof of the excellent Korean craftsmanship.
After visiting the palace, we went to the
nearby Insadong. This area were the residences of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) officials, extended royal families, and the yangbanaristocratic class. Insadong has been home to dozens of art galleries and antique shops for ages , it is also the perfect place for traditional art and souvenirs. Insadong's narrow alleys branch out into all directions from one main street.
To explore the interesting places on these side alleys, it would be helpful to get a map of Insadong at one of three Tourism Information Centers that are located at the center and the two ends of the main street.
Most restaurants in Insadong are on alleys near Sudo Pharmacy- the "food street" for the area. Traditional restaurants in Insadong serve Korean dishes cooked without synthetic seasonings in remodeled traditional Korean houses. Some restaurant even serve good temple food along with a traditional performance. After a delicious Korean lunch with rice, we headed to Myeong-Dong using the subway.
The subway in Korea is very similar to the Japanese ones, with clear labels and maps in English and Korean- no concern of getting lost. The counterstaff are also quite helpful even though they only speak a few English words. They don't have day passes there so you need to keep buying single tickets and make sure you know which station you are going, as the ticket price depends on the travel distance.
Located in the heart of Seoul, Myeongdong is a representative shopping district in Korea, kind of like Shinjuku in Toyko. It also houses the headquarters of banks and securities brokers, and many western and traditional restaurants. Compared to Namdaemun and Dongdaemun Market which sell products at low prices, most shops in Myeongdong deal with mid-level price items. The main street in Myeongdong is lined with quality brand name shops, while mid-class brand name shops and no name brand shops are located in the side alleys. Moreover, large shopping malls like Migliore and department stores are present as well. All kinds of shops and restaurants are densely located on the main street with lanes which resemble the shape of a chess board, so it's advisable to divide Myeongdong into a few sections in your mind and explore each section separately.
It's an interesting place and a definite must-go for crazy shoppers. At night, when the weather is fine, you also see some people setting up temporary stores on the streets.
A very important reminder for shopping in Korea is to bring your own shopping bag. The government is trying to encourage people to use less plastic products. Under government policy, shops are allowed to charge for every plastic shopping bag requested.
A visit to Korea is not complete without a meal with the ginseng chicken broth and the Yeongyang Center is the perfect place to go if you are in Myeong Dong. Opened in 1960, Yeongyang Center is the oldest restaurant in Myeongdong, and has maintained the same simple menu for more than 40 years: tongdak (roasted chicken) and samgyetang (ginseng chicken broth). Restaurant info:
Open: 10:30 am ~ 10:30 pm daily Closed: Chinese New Year's holidays, Chuseok holidays Telephone: +82-2-776-2015 (Korean language) Menu: Tongdak W10,000, samgyetang W10,000 How to Get There: From Exit 6 of Myeongdong Station (Subway Line No. 4), walk about 50 meters along Myeongdong-daero to the first intersection (near Pascucci coffee shop). Turn left and walk about 50 meters. The restaurant is next to Levi's
Day 3: The weather was lovely today and we had an early start with the first stop at the Daejanggeum(The Jewel in the palace) Theme Park. Those of you who are familiar with the "Korean wave" should remember this Korean drama series who captured the hearts of many people in Asia. It is a story of a young girl who entered the palace to become a cooking apprentice. After various personal events and tragedies, she became the first female medical practitioner for the king. It is the first drama theme park to open in Korea. This attraction is located within the MBC Yangjoo Culture Valley, the main filming location of Daejanggeum. Filled with adventures, events and fun programs you can get an inside look at the sets or be immersed in the reproduced drama scenes. Explore the drama props, royal dishes and costumes created for the scenes.
Visitors may take pictures of themselves in royal attire or be a part of the exciting scenes. Among the activities are riding a palanquin, arrow tossing, archery and much more such as posing with the stills of Daejanggeum actors to take pictures.
Various tour operators in Soeul organize day or half-day tours to the park. However, personally, I think you only need half a day to explore the place-which is not huge indeed.
We got back to the area near to our hotel around mid-day and had lunch at Jackie's kitchen, a restaurant owned by the actor Jackie Chan in the Coex centre.
This was not my first trip to Korea. I actually went there on a pilgrimage tour about three year ago. Unfortunately, at that time, one of the holy site Jeoldusan(http://www.jeoldusan.or.kr/ ), was closed. Therefore, I decided to test my luck this time by going there again- which turned out to be worth it.
Unknown to many people, Korea is indeed a Catholic country. Comparing to the Philippines, Korea has the second largest population of catholics in Asia. I still remember from my previous trip that they have many training schools for priests and a lot of young people are willing to join and serve the church. A very dedicated and active nation of catholics. Unlike Europe, catholicism is growing in Korea.
Past names of Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine included Yongdubong (Dragon Head Peak) and Jamdubong (Silkworm Head Peak), but was renamed in 2000. Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine is the site of the Byeonin Persecution of 1866, where many Roman Catholics were brutally murdered.
This site was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Byeonin Persecution and to remember the spirit of martyrdom at Jeoldusan. The Martyrs' Museum and Martyrs' Memorial were built in 1967, and in 1972 Martyrs' Park was opened to the public. Pope John Paul Ⅱ visited in the site in 1984 and Mother Teresa visited in 1985.
Jeoldusan Martyrs' Museum, located at Martyrs' Mountain, opened in 1967. Until 2000, it was called Jeoldusan Martyrs' Memorial. A total of 3,000 Catholic relics including as 1,258 books, 186 ceramic pieces, 155 paintings and drawings, and 45 outdoor sculptures and statues are on display. Writings of Matteo Ricci, Italian missionary, have been translated into Korean and are considered some of the most import historical Catholic writings on display at Jeoldusan Martyrs' Museum. An image of the Virgin Mary, a figure of Dae-geon Kim (the first priest in Korea) and other statues are displayed on the grounds. This is definitely a must-go for catholics in Soeul. To complete the visit/pilgrimage, you can attend mass in the church next to the museum.
After a religious afternoon, we went back to Myeong Dong for more shopping and dinner. Apart from small boutiques and shopping malls, you will also find a few department stores in Myeong Dong. I would personally recommend Lotte department store and Shinsegae department store. Korea has really catched up with the Japanese. They have employed the way the Japanese manage department stores. When I walked into them, I nearly thought that I was in Japan!! Apart from clothes and accessories, the food area within the department store is also worth going. All the food(transitional Korean or overseas) are nicely displayed. In each department store, you should find an area within the food floor especially for tourists-ginseng, ginseng capsule, dried seafood, snacks, traditional sweets etc, usually less expensive than the ones you can get at the airport-if you feel you can't wait !!! As for myself, I would recommend the following:
Ginseng
Seaweed
Jujube tea
Dried squid snacks
Day 4:
In our last full day, we visited Jongmyo Royal Shrine in the morning. It is the worshiping place for the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. It was built when the first King of the Joseon Dynasty, Lee Sung-Gye(1335-1408) founded the Joseon Dynasty. Jongmyo Royal Shrine is registered as World Cultural Heritage because the tradition and customs such as the memorial services and traditional music are very well preserved.
After the visit, we went back to Myeong Dong for lunch at the restaurant Gogung. It is renowned for its Jeonju bibimbap (steamed rice with assorted beef and vegetables ). The food was thus named because the city of Jeonju is famous for its tasty and nutritious bibimbap. Gogung opened in Jeonju in 1971, bringing another restaurant to Myeongdong in 1999. The Myeongdong chain provides genuine taste of Jeonju bibimbap, for it uses main ingredients, such as bean sprouts and red pepper paste, delivered directly from Jeonju. A bowl of Jeonju bibimbap contains various ingredients, including minced beef; slices of radish, pumpkin, and cucumber; steamed spinach, bellflower roots, bracken, and radish; jujubes, pine nuts, walnuts, gingko nuts, and chestnuts. What is more, you can enjoy seven side dishes such as kimchi pancakes and pickled squid.
Restaurant info:
Open: 11:00 am~ 10:00 pm daily Closed: Chinese New Year's holidays, Chuseok holidays Telephone: +82-2-776-3211 (Korean language) Menu: Jeonju bibimbap W10,000, dolsot bibimbap (bibimbap in a stone pot) W8,000, nakji bibimbap (bibimbap with tiny octopus) W8,000, gogung japchae (medley of Chinese noodles, vegetables, and sliced beef) W13,000 How to Get There: From Exit 10 of Myeongdong Station (Subway Line No. 4), walk to the right of Hotel Sejong until you reach a T-intersection. Turn left and walk about 60 meters. After lunch, we continued our shopping mission. This evening we aimed for a light dinner of noodles and dumpling Myeongdong Gyoja.
Opened in 1969, this restaurant serves one of the tastiest bowls of guksu (chopped-noodle soup) in Korea. Both the tender noodles and rich broth are prepared right in the restaurant. The chopped noodles are made of dough that "rests" for three hours before being cooked, and chicken bones are boiled for at least six hours in water to make the rich broth. A bowl of kalguksu is served with four pork-and-scallion mandu (dumplings) and topped with minced chicken. This restaurant's kimchi, served as a side dish, is so delicious that customers come to the restaurant just for a taste of it. Popular with foreigners as well as Koreans, Myeongdong Gyoja is known for its excellent service: personnel never forget to refill the kimchi and soup bowls on each table. There are two Myeongdong Gyoja restaurants (Main Branch and Branch No. 1) in Myeongdong, and whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.
Restaurant info:
Open: 10:30 am ~ 9:30 pm daily Closed: Chinese New Year's holidays, Chuseok holidays Telephone: [Main Branch] +82-2-776-5348 (Korean language), [Branch No. 1] +82-2-776- 3424 (Korean language) Menu: Kalguksu W5,500, bibim-guksu (noodles with assorted mixtures) W5,500, kong- guksu (noodles in bean soup) W5,500, mandu W5,500 How to Get There: [Main Branch] From Exit 8 of Myeongdong Station (Subway Line No. 4), proceed between La Bellavita (coffee shop) and Crown Bakery about 150 meters (you'll pass two intersections). [Branch No. 1] From the Main Branch, walk straight further about 90 meters. It is across from Missha (cosmetics shop).
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Advantages: Koreans are often very friendly, Prices can be reduced although very cheap, goods are of high quality generally, Seoul has a natural energy charged by Koreans aspirations for a perfect country, views breathtaking Disadvantages: Can be difficult to navigate Seoul, The "wet season" is a bad time to go (starts end july, mainly august), Few Koreans know good english,
chocomaro 05.05.2004 (05.05.2004)
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Review of Seoul (South Korea)
Advantages: Koreans are often very friendly, Prices can be reduced although very cheap, goods are of high quality generally, Seoul has a natural energy charged by Koreans aspirations for a perfect country, views breathtaking Disadvantages: Can be difficult to navigate Seoul, The "wet season" is a bad time to go (starts end july, mainly august), Few Koreans know good english,
chocomaro 05.05.2004 (05.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Seoul (South Korea)
Jun 28th, 2008
exceptional by (17%):
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