South Korea was really awesome, and I had wanted to go there for a very long time. It was just as fun as I had hoped it would be, and it is one of my favorite places that we have gone yet!??
Our itinerary:
Seoul – 5 days
Jeju (and Udo)- 4 days
Seoul – 3 days
Seoul: I really loved Seoul and, it was my favorite city in East Asia. The metro is very clean and convenient, and the air is fresh and cool. The shopping is great, and so is the food. You are reading a blogpost from a serious kimchi lover! I like it SUPER spicy!??????? The first time that we were in Seoul we stayed in a Hanok hotel. It was so cool and it gave me a sense of what it’s like to live in a Hanok. In case you were wondering what a Hanok is, it is a traditional Korean house, and it has rice paper sliding screens, intricate roof tiles, and amazing courtyards. I definitely want to stay in one again. Seoul is an amazing city, and I would like to live there some day. If you enjoy tourism, then the palaces are definitely for you. If you like to shop, then the streets of meyongdong are a must.
Here is a review of the neighborhoods we visited:
It is full of hanoks, and hanboks(the traditional dress, if you haven’t seen one, it’s more or less like a kimono). This is basically the “traditional” neighborhood. There is a big part that is only Hanok, and it is beautiful in the snow and in cherry blossom season. You have to take your shoes off before going into a hanok, and you have to sleep on a futon. Don’t be put off though. The futons are very soft and thick, and the floors are often soft too. Sometimes they have tatami mats, which I believe are made of rush. They are cushy. The hanok guest houses and hotels are a bit pricey, but definitely make for a great experience. The only problem is that you can hear right through the rice paper sliding screens, so that can be a bit problematic. Hanbok rental is quite popular, and some of them will even braid your hair. I personally did not do it, but it looked very fun. There is a part of this neighborhood that has lots of nice little boutique shops and food carts there are also very good Korean barbecue restaurant in the area. Jeju black pig is my favorite. There are one or two palaces in this neighborhood.
Meyongdong: It is an amazing place. When you are at the beginning of the big street, if you just look up you will see hundreds of signs hanging off of buildings. Many of the buildings are a cosmetic store on the first floor(because Korean people are obsessed with makeup and skincare), and the rest of the floors are most likely high rise apartments, or a department store with AWESOME clothes. There are lots of very good small restaurants on the smaller streets that come off of the big street. If you don’t know what Korean food is, then you might know some of these dishes: kimchi, bibimbap, Korean noodles, steamed dumplings, etc. There is a funny fact about kimchi! It smells so strong that if you put it in your refrigerator, it will smell like kimchi forever, so in some Korean houses, they have another small refrigerator, just for the kimchi! Something weird that you will see in meyongdong is the same stores over and over again.
Hongdae: This neighborhood is a college area. Kind of bad food, ridiculously trendy shopping, a lot of bars. We tried to go shopping there, but all of the clothing was one size, and they wouldn’t let us try on tops or dresses. After that, it was lunch time, and we went to a grilled octopus restaurant. We ordered a small and they gave us a large, so we had lots of food, that we ended up not liking.
Dapsimni: This is the antique shopping neighborhood. Lots of traditional Korean furniture and art. Giant stone Buddhas, paintings, sliding screens and partition screens with paintings on them, masks, hand mirrors, combs, jewelry boxes, trunks with mother of pearl, and more! We bought a mask. This area has so many good things. It is a little expensive, but definitely worth it. It was a little run down though.
The DMZ: This stands for demilitarized zone. It is the border between North Korea and South Korea. You have to wear nice clothes because there are North Korean people taking pictures of you, and if you are wearing ripped jeans for example, they will take a picture of you and use it in propoganda news saying that South Koreans can’t even afford new pants, discouraging people from leaving. There is a river that runs right through the border, and South Korea has a little bit of land on the north side. The actual border is a little bit north of the river, and right next to the border on the North Korean side, there is a fake concrete city that is supposed to get South Koreans to come to the north. It actually just looks haunted and spooky.(good luck with that, N.K.) Seoul is way prettier. Anyways, on South Korea’s piece of land north of the river they have a REAL town with ACTUAL people. I think that it is much more tempting even though it is just rice patties and tiny Hanok style huts. There is a rule there though, that you cannot go out after dark. And south of the river, there is a theme park.
Udo: No, I do not mean udon. This is a small island off of Jeju island, that is famous for it’s peanuts and abalone. We thought it was a bit quiet, other than the swarms of Chinese tourists coming in the morning. We stayed in a small guesthouse, where Sophia and I slept on traditional Korean beds(which I prefer), and mom and dad slept on a western bed because of their backs. We ate at a popular seafood hot pot restaurant. I kept an abalone shell to remember it. For dessert we ate peanut ice cream, which is very common in Jeju and Udo. The next day we drove around the island. There are some very yummy pastry shops in Udo. We checked out some mustard seed fields, and took the ferry to Jeju.
Jeju: This is a nice little island that is a bit overrated, but it has good hiking, restaurants, and ocean views. We stayed in hostel. Nothing seemed to be to special about the place, although there was a small film festival in a nearby town. It had a naval base that was unwanted by the people. When we walked into the town, there were signs that said that you shouldn’t come if you were wearing military clothing. They were very much against war. We hiked the Ollie trail, and there were mostly just quaint little villages and the occasional hiker.
My General Opinion: I liked South Korea a lot, mostly Seoul. I think I could live in Seoul some day, but the islands were a bit disappointing. Seoul has a nice feeling to it. A happy and fresh feeling. I love Seoul.
Thank you for reading my blog!
– Raisa Brauner?