Seoul - Skincare, Fried Chicken, and the DMZ
Seoul was an absolute blast… After the uptick in popularity for k-pop, k-dramas, and delicious Korean food in the States, I’d been really looking forward to experiencing South Korea. And it lived up to the hype! I spent a beautiful four days in the capital city, and here are my highlights.
I stayed in a capsule hostel in the Jongno neighborhood, which was walking distance to many of the sites in Myeongdong and also quite close to a central subway stop. After (admittedly) taking the wrong train a time or two, I made it to my hostel around 8pm and headed to Myeongdong night market to grab some street food for dinner. Pro tip: arrive with some Korean won in cash, as finding an ATM that accepted US debit cards proved surprisingly tricky, and was not made easier by being hangry… However, the hassle was worth it as I got to enjoy a massive bucket of korean fried chicken (a top five favorite food!) and some yummy sugared fruits for dessert.
I spent my first full day wandering some shopping streets and enjoying Korean cafe culture, including at the Soha Salt Pond cafe and the London Bagel Museum. There was a massive wait at the latter, so I added myself to the waitlist and then headed further up the road on foot to explore the traditional Bukchon Hanok Village. This was a very cool neighborhood to walk through but was definitely teeming with tourists by mid-day, so I’d recommend visiting earlier if possible!
After my long-awaited bagel break (yum), I headed towards Gwanghwamun Square and the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I even got to see the changing of the guard ceremony, which was especially cool as they brought out a few dozen uniformed guards and included massive drums and trumpets during the procession. I spent a few hours wandering the gardens and the property, and was very impressed by the scale of the palace buildings and the beautiful design details.
This evening, I treated myself to a facial at Shilla Esthetic in Myeongdong and wowwwww - it was incredible. For less than $100, I had a 90-minute experience, including a scalp massage, body massage, and many-step facial. I was left with the most glowing skin ever… and this is an absolute must-do for anyone visiting Seoul!
On my second full day, I walked down to North Seoul Tower, exploring the neighborhoods as I went. I took the cable car up the mountain and paid to go up to the top of the tower. I really enjoyed this part and thought the viewing area was really well done - I even sent a few postcards back home to friends and family. After enjoying some spicy tteokbokki for lunch at an onsite restaurant, I leisurely walked the beautiful mountain roads back down towards town. After a bit of a rest, I went out to enjoy some more of Seoul’s famous nightlife - featuring more Korean fried chicken, good beer, a sunset sail, whisky bars, and late night street food stops.
One interesting thing I’d wanted to do in this neck of the woods was take the daytrip up to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on the border with North Korea. I booked a bus trip and took off early in the morning. It was really valuable to get a good bit of the history, and it was extremely powerful to see over to North Korea with my own eyes and watch some people there going about their day. We also were able to enter a several hundred foot long tunnel that had been dug beneath the DMZ, which was definitely an adventurous (and claustrophobic) experience. We also visited some nature sites on the way home, including mountain trails and swinging bridges.
My last morning in Seoul was spent conducting some more very important cafe-hopping research before heading to the airport. I can’t wait to come back and explore South Korea more someday!
