Soul Searched in Seoul
- Ishie
- Oct 6, 2018
- 5 min read
I’m quite sure that a lot of you went gaga over the KDrama fever; especially when Lovers in Paris was first aired in the Philippines. Then came Goong or The Princess Hours and the Korean adaptation of the famous Asianovela, Meteor Garden, Boys Over Flowers. Remember that scene where Gu Jun Pyo waited for Jan Di for their very first date? You guessed it! The Namsan Tower or NSeoul Tower. Now where am I going with this post, you might ask. Even after five years, I still couldn’t believe that I will be able to see that famous tower, let alone step foot on the solid grounds of South Korea. Read on to find out about my soul searching in Seoul.
Our school has this thought that it’s best to understand the culture and food of the place when experienced firsthand. So for one of our major classes, we had the option to go on a local hotel tour or travel to Korea. Of course I chose the latter. It was a chance for me to check one country off from my bucket list. Our class visited on March of 2013 and winter was at its end so imagine the cold breeze. It’s even colder than our dear Baguio to be exact. I only asked for a small amount as pocket money just to buy what we call “pasalubong” because the younger me was never the type to really shop. Upon our arrival at Incheon airport, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how beautiful it is. It’s VERY DIFFERENT THAN OUR DEAR OLD NAIA, tbh! VERY DIFFERENT! Their airport presented itself to the tourists already so from there, you’d be excited to see the whole city.
Moving on, our itinerary was already lined up since it is considered a school activity. Most of the places we are to visit and the activities that we are to do should be related to the course we were taking then. Don’t get me wrong! I loved the activities and the different places. We were able to make REAL Kimchi, eat authentic Korean food, see their historical sites, learn more about their culture, and I even got to wear a Hanbok – Korea’s National Attire! It was all worth it. Our tour guides, Ms. Jen and Mr. Park were very knowledgeable that the whole trip became interesting.
With Our Tour Guides
First stop when we arrived was this place where Kimchi is being produced so we were able to learn how to make kimchi and we got to try the Hanbok. Then we immediately visited the very famous **drumroll, please** Namsan Tower! Finally! I got to see that famous structure and see the lovelocks with my very own eyes! We went straight to a restaurant were we had our late lunch before heading to our hotel. We stayed the Grand Ambassador Hotel which was just a block away from the subway station and one of their shopping malls, Doota, as well as Dongguk University. Luckily, our professors would allow us to leave at night. We leave at night because it feels safe to roam around the city. Also, the city is livelier at night, with some shops being open as well as a lot of food carts selling street food. It’s the total experience!
Day 1: Arrival + Tour
After our breakfast the next day, we visited one of their theme parks, Lotte World. It was HUGE! It’s my first time to witness a roller coaster that’s connected from the outside to the inside of the theme park. I had the chance to ride the life threatening (REALLY!) Gyro Drop – where I saw most of South Korea, and took some photos with their Cinderella Castle. We spent most of our time at the theme park and the Lotte Duty Free, which was just beside the theme park, before leaving for one of my favorite place, Myeongdong. This place is for the shopaholic and since I wasn’t into fashion and beauty back then, I never really cared about shopping. I was just there to see the place, witness the different shops – that’s where I first saw a Tony Moly, The Face Shop, and Etude that are two stories high. They actually look like houses to be exact. After one exhausting adventure, we had lunch at one of the restaurants and went to a theater called CineCore Bibap where we watched a nonverbal show called “Delicious Musical: Bibap” which features chefs battling to cook the best bibimbap. After a fun yet informative despite nonverbal show, we went to a nearby food place where we had dinner before heading back to our hotel.
Day 2: Happy Little Kid
For our third day, we visited the Institute of Traditional Korean Food and had a learning session and Museum tour. For our cooking class, we learned how to make Tteokboki and Kimchi Pancake. We received a certificate as well as a Korean cookbook (written both in English and Hangul) for completing the program. Of course we ate what we made but we still had lunch at a nearby restaurant. -- I forgot the names of places so please forgive me for referring the food places to ‘a nearby restaurant’ hihihi – From there, we visited the Phoenix Monument located in front of the presidential palace, went to see Dongdaemun market and also checked out one of the famous streams in the city. By dusk, we headed for dinner.
Day 3: More Travel Photos
For our last day **cries internally**, we checked out from our hotel before going to the different historical sites such as Gyeongbokgun, Changdeokgung, and Deoksugung palace. From there, we had our last lunch then went to shopping for more pasalubong – now I’m craving for brownie-o’s from Korea because I decided to reminisce this trip – had a last stop for dinner before heading for Incheon airport.
Day 4: Last Day
I could say I was one very blessed little girl to be able to visit one of the most beautiful places in the world. Can’t wait to be back and see more wonders in this country.
If you noticed, I wore the same brown jacket and scarf the whole time, because as what I’ve previously mentioned, I wasn’t a fashion enthusiast then. I was focused on the tour we’re about to have. So obviously, on my next trip to Korea – which is S-O-O-N and I can’t wait to share it with you since it’s going to be a first world tour as The Lost Wanderers Ph dynamin duo, I will have my #ootd and #motd very much ready.
Do you have any suggestions on which places we should visit or food that we should try when we visit South Korea? Comment below or send us a message and we’ll have it listed on our “Lost Bucket Adventures”.
❤
Ishie
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