When my friend, Colleen moved to Korea to teach English and then offered me an invitation to visit, I immediately jumped on the opportunity for my first trip to Asia. Colleen lived in Chuncheon, which is about an hour busride from Seoul, but we spent a sleepless, but fabulous weekend in South Korea's bustling capital, Seoul. The city is larger than New York City (with all its boroughs combined) and has the full magnitude of the Manhattan high. The food and the culture of eating was my favorite part about South Korea. Korean restaurants back in the States do a great injustice to the reality of the tastiness, cheapness, and large quantities given at Korean meals.
Overall, I really enjoyed Seoul: it's lively, the people are nice, the city is ultra-modern and high-tech with traditional, ancient palaces and homes situated amongst the city buildings. The food, however, is what makes Seoul and Korea a top-notch destination.
I was happy to find that Korea in general is pretty cheap. Unlike it's more visited neighbor, Japan, Korea seems like a 24/7 bargain. I ate large, but extremely tasty meals, for less than $5. At all Korean restaurants, one will order a meal and get about 10 FREE side dishes to accompany it. And my favorite part of Korean food is that it is ALL spicy! Yum yum yum.
Gates of Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung Palace
GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE: the largest of the palaces in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung takes you back to a time of emperors and ancient Korean tradition. Other palaces to visit are Deoksugung and ChangDeokGoong. We didn't get to the two others, but a palace visit is a must.
Namsan Park
NAMSAN PARK: a mountain located in the center of the city, Namsan has spectacular views from the top. Go closer to dark and you can catch the sunset. In the park is Seoul Tower, which you can pay to go up.
Views of Seoul at night from Seoul Tower
Insadong-gil
INSADONG: one of the main streets in Seoul to view food stands, artists, and shops, Insadong is a foodie and shopper's haven. There are a lot of art galleries, teahouses and restaurants as well.
Jogyesa Buddhist Temple
JOGYESA BUDDHIST TEMPLE: there a lot of Buddhist temples throughout Seoul. We went to Jogyesa, which is considered the center of Zen Buddhism in Korea. We happened to go a few days before Buddha's birthday and were able to see women maing hundreds of lanterns for the celebration.
A home in Bukchon Hanok Village
BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE: a preserved traditional Korean village, Bukchon showcases the mixture of old and modern. Set against a hill, you can wind yourself through the alleyways, viewing the ancient homes that are still used. At the top of the hill, you look down at the village, a symbol of the old times, with the urban sprawl and massive downtown Seoul in the background.
Teahouse on Insadong
TEAHOUSES: make sure to stop in a traditional Korean tea house. They're a good way to experience a thousand year old tradition. At one teahouse, a father asked if he could take a picture of me with his three year old daughter. It was the blonde hair. She couldn't get enough of my blonde hair.
NIGHTLIFE: New York may hold the title, "The City that Never Sleeps," but Seoul rightly earns a similar title. The city is a constant blair of lights, partying, and streets filled with people at all hours of the night. Go get drinks out at Gangnam District (made famous by the song) and head to a Noraebang (karaoke club) where you and your friends can rent a room and karaoke the rest of the night - drinks and food to order.
CHEONGGYECHEON: a modern recretional space in the middle of the city, Cheonggyecheon offers some tranquillity to the hustle and bustle.
MYEONG-DONG: considered Seoul's main shopping and tourism districts, Myeong-Dong was listed as the ninth most expensive shopping street in the world. It's fun to stroll down it, but watch out for the crowds of people.
NIGHTLIFE: New York may hold the title, "The City that Never Sleeps," but Seoul rightly earns a similar title. The city is a constant blair of lights, partying, and streets filled with people at all hours of the night. Go get drinks out at Gangnam District (made famous by the song) and head to a Noraebang (karaoke club) where you and your friends can rent a room and karaoke the rest of the night - drinks and food to order.
CHEONGGYECHEON: a modern recretional space in the middle of the city, Cheonggyecheon offers some tranquillity to the hustle and bustle.
MYEONG-DONG: considered Seoul's main shopping and tourism districts, Myeong-Dong was listed as the ninth most expensive shopping street in the world. It's fun to stroll down it, but watch out for the crowds of people.
Some Korean dishes to try:
Korean street food is a varied selection of your unique treats like centipede, octopus leg, and cow intestine, to the fried-food junkie's paradise. I would be doing an injustice to Korean street food if I left off the french-fry encrusted hot dog, a delicacy that would be most suitable on Jessica Amason and Richard Blakeley's website thisiswhyyourefat.com. Passing on some of these fascinating, but I'm sure ever so divine foods, we gorged ourselves with galbi, bibimbap, gimbap, tteokbokki, and kimchi.
Galbi is the Korean barbecue and at restaurants you get to play cook. A grill with charcoal is placed at your table with raw meat, rice cakes, and vegetables. The occasional flame that spurts up from the dripping fat just adds to the excitement.
Bibimbap is mixed rice best served in a heated stone-pot. You mix up the rice with vegetables and occasionally meat. Hot pepper paste is added for a spicy hot flavor. When served the stone-bowl, I like to wait a couple of minutes to allow the rice to get crunchy on the bottom.
Gimbap is sushi. But don't tell the Koreans that. They hate sushi, but love gimbap. The difference? One's Korean the other's Japanese. And the Koreans do not like the Japanese. Unlike in Japan, however, it's not uncommon for gimbap to be filled with breaded pork cutlets.
Tteokbokki are tube shaped rice cakes. You can find it cooked with galbi or on it's own in a spicy chili paste. I find tteokbokki the best after it has come off the galbi grill and it's crunchy on the outside but still soft on the inside.
Kimchi is a spicy mix of fermented vegetables and is served as a side dish. At every restaurant you will get free servings of kimchi. This is one of the best parts about eating out in Korea.
Dinner for the night: tteok-bokki
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| WHAT THE TRAVEL EXPERTS ARE RECOMMENDING: Eat: Seokparang for an authentic Korean meal. Stay: at a traditional guest house in Bukchon Hanok Village Do: go to Dondaemun Market to see the locals |