Juniwise and I decided to cancel our plan to Nami island, because we were too tired from walking and shopping around Insa-dong. So we finally decided to venture around Hongdae area instead. It was really fun, and Hongdae is definitely my favorite area in South Korea now!

So... First stop is Coffee Prince Cafe which was used as the filming location of the famous drama 'The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince' (my all time favorite Korean Drama; Gong Yoo!!!). If you're on slow internet connection, please be ultra patient, this post contains a lot of photos.

I love the way the cafe turns out to be exactly the way it is in the drama. But, I was disappointed to find out that those flowers on the wall are actually papers glued onto the wall. I really thought Go Eun Chan drew it on the wall. /sigh

After sitting around in the Coffee Prince Cafe, we went shopping around Hongdae. Moving from one store to another. Without realizing the sun finally set. We then found the famous Hello Kitty Cafe. But we decided to eat dinner and then eat dessert in the cafe. So, next stop is, Yeolbong restaurant. This is the chicken restaurant owned by one of Hallyu star - Se7en. And yes, I did came here with the hope that I would bump into one of BIGBANG member.

So, anyway, we did not meet Se7en neither any of BIGBANG member. BUT! Yeolbong chicken tastes really good! I would like to recommend this restaurant to anyone planning to visit Seoul; please come and try the delicious cuisine for yourself. It was more delicious because it was the most edible food I had in Korea. I don't eat spicy food and most of Korean food is spicy, so to find Yeolbong chicken amongst all the other Korean spicy food is delighting. Afterwards we went shopping a little more, and then we visited the Hello Kitty Cafe! First impression... PINK is everywhere!

It's definitely a Hello Kitty Cafe, 'cause there's basically Hello Kitty in every corner of this cafe. The latte art on the drinks we ordered was Hello Kitty shape, and even the mirror in the bathroom is Hello Kitty shaped. OH! Almost forgot... the toilet seats are also decorated with Hello Kitty ornaments! It's cute, but definitely not a place I would go every week. There are a lot of other cafes to visit in Hongdae anyway...

After 'hi-jacking' the free wifi in the cafe and checking up on twitter and saying hi to our family members, we then decided to go back to our hostel and rest. Great day around Hongdae, part two is coming! For we spent the next day around Hongdae also. Don't get bored yet!

Inches of Hongdae

October 23, 2011

Bukchon Hanok Village is area of hundreds of Korean traditional houses called 'hanok'. Bukchon means, 'northern village', practically because the neighborhoods of the village covers lies to the north of the 2 significant of Seoul landmarks (Cheonggyecheon and Jongno). Nowadays, many hanoks are being used as guesthouses, restaurants / tea houses. It gives opportunity for tourists (like myself) to learn or experience in Korean traditional culture.

You don't need to pay anything to go around the village, but the tour guide is not always available, so I guess you need to make reservation first maybe. But, since I'm not a big fan of tour groups and guides, Juniwise and I ventured around by ourselves and we managed to be just fine.

One thing I found very interesting is, the photo spot the tourism board provides for tourists. So, they put marks on the streets, indicating that it is the best spot for tourists to stand and take a photo. And how do you find the photos spots? Grab a map in the Bukchon Hanok Village tourist information center and you'll see the directions in the map. I managed to take photos in 4 out of the 8 photo spots.

To visit Bukchon Hanok Village, take subway Line 3 go to Anguk Station exit on EXIT #2. Once you've got out from the subway station, walk straight a little bit, then turn left. From there, walk for about 10 minutes and you'll find the information center on the left side. (Please note that I'm writing this all according to my memory) The tourist information center is also a Hanok building, and you can just go in, there's no really no one greeting or welcoming you (at least when I arrived there wasn't any) Grab a map and you're ready to go around the village!

Bukchon

October 20, 2011

Heyri Village is located in Paju, according to CNN GO, it is "South Korea's melting pot of creativity". So as a graphic design student, I thought this was the place Juniwise and I needed to go to. And indeed, Paju was a beautiful city. The kind of city that I like; quiet and 'spacy'. Definitely different from Hongdae area where we stayed. Heyri is definitely a feast for the eyes. There's "Old Korea" little museum, Book Store, Hangeul Store, Korea's film studio, Photo Studio and many more stores. Also filled with decorated cafes (one of the cafe was used as filming location for the famous 'Boys over Flowers' drama), buildings with interesting architectural design with great details on decorations and definitely a whole lot of cute crafts to buy in stores.

Although most of the cafes, museums and galleries were not open. But Juniwise and I liked the place a lot. Everywhere your head turns and your eyes look to, there's something interesting to be found. If anyone would like to visit Heyri Village, take the subway line 2 and go to Hapjeong Station exit on EXIT #2. Then take bus no #2200, then it was probably a 45 minutes ride and get off at the Heyri Stop, the station is exactly right in front of it.

Heyri Village

October 19, 2011

Deoksugung Palace is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the kings of Joseon Dynasty. Because it was destroyed heavily during the colonial period, currently only one third of the palace that remains. They hold a 'Changing of the Royal Guard Ceremony' everyday except Monday at 11 AM, 2 PM and 3.30 PM, and it's really interesting to watch. We were lucky to be able to catch the ceremony on time. Inside the palace, there is "National Museum of Art". But it was under construction when I visited, so I didn't get a chance to enter it.

If anyone gets a chance to visit Korea, you should visit each palaces (unfortunately I only visited this palace). This palace is really close to the subway exit (City Hall Subway Station. Exit #2 (Subway line 1) or Exit #12), very easy to reach - should be easy to find for other tourists.

Deoksugung Palace

October 18, 2011 Deoksugung Palace, 5-1 Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Juniwise and I finally arrived in Korea! It's our first day, we decided to 'stock' our autumn fashion pieces, so we headed over to Ewha. Known as women's university, Ewha is also one of the recommended area for shopping. It was located close to the place we're staying - Hongdae. But, it was definitely wrong idea to shop on the first day of arrival. (I blame that girl in that store for calling me cutie and making me shopped too much!) But, hey... I mean like.. oh well, right? A girl gotta do what she got to do.

But just as a heads up for future traveler (especially the ladies), you might wanna re-consider shopping here. Head over to Myeongdong or Dongdaemun first, because they might have same item with cheaper price. Items here in Ewha is preee-ty pricey.