Seoul, South Korea 29.4.-8.5.2016 ♥

Earlier this month I spent 10 days in Seoul and this time I was there with my mum and sister. I have to admit this trip was my favorite if I don't think about last year's Dream Concert because that's of course the best thing I have experienced in Korea so far. I really enjoyed spending time with my mum and sister and seeing my Korean friend after almost 1 year. This time I got to experience some new places and neighborhoods, see also familiar places, go shopping and enjoy various K-Pop related things. Probably due to enjoying myself so much and experiencing new cool things, I started to wish I could live there someday. I almost chose Seoul as my exchange study destination but went with Bangkok after all. Because of this trip I started doubting my decision a bit and wishing I could study or do internship in Seoul too. But it's more suitable if I could get a real job and move there... While waiting for that day to come, I can still travel there again and my next trip is already next month! A bit over a week and I'll be in Seoul again but this time only for a weekend. That's better than nothing right? Especially because I get to go to a concert and probably see my friend again + maybe some more street dancing in Hongdae (soon you'll know what I mean). But let's get back to my latest trip in Seoul! I'll go through some neighborhoods that I visited on various occasions. With that you'll get a pretty good hang on what I did this time in Seoul. If you want to get more information about something, just leave a comment :) 

NOTE: We also visited Namdaemun and Dongdaemun (our hotel was located there) but I don't really have pictures from those areas. 

HONGDAE

I went there on the day I arrived and met my friend. It was my first time visiting that area and I just I fell in love with it right away. We spent the day/evening mostly by watching street dance performances which was no surprise. K-Pop, dance, Asian guys = 3 things I love so no matter how much my back and legs were hurting, I just wanted to keep watching. But no worries, we did do something else too. We went to eat dessert, shopping in ArtBox and lastly eat some more but this time various Korean pancakes (NOTE: not dessert pancakes!). It was a really great day and I wanted to go there again with my friend but later we didn't have time. Hopefully next month we'll visit there again and if we do, there better be performances on BTS's new song "Fire" :D 

LOVE LOVE LOVE these shaved ice desserts 

Our "pancake" dinner, most of them were really delicious!

My first time tasting Korean cider (peach flavored),
was suprisingly good and actually ended up
buying it later during the trip. 

BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE

CHANGDEOKGUNG PALACE

This was my first palace visit in Seoul and it was something I had planned I would do during the trip. I wanted visit another palace too but because of time and weather during the other days, I had to decide not to. Maybe some other time I go there too. 
Changdeokgung palace is one of the UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage sites and in my opinion definitely worth the visit. It's easily accessible by metro (Anguk Station, Line 3, Exit 3, walk about 5 mins) and the entrance fee is 3 000 won. There are also tours available if you feel that's needed. We just walked around which was quite tiring from time to time because it was really warm and sunny on that day. After seeing many temples in Thailand, it was nice to see this kind of place in Korea. I was also glad to see some girls wearing the Korean traditional clothes called Hanbok (if you wear them, the entrance fee is free). It looks so beautiful. So if you go there, remember to bring your camera! 

N-SEOUL TOWER:

I had already visited N-Seoul Tower but because it was my sister's first time in Seoul, I wanted to take her there. We tried to pick a day when it's sunny and the sky is as clear as possible. It was sunny and warm on that day but you still couldn't see very far from the tower. We still enjoyed our trip there and this time I could see the place in summer not in winter like last time. After we were done, we walked back to Myeong-dong and went shopping for some cosmetics which we did once more later during the trip. I found that Myeong-Dong is really good place to go buy cosmetics because they have many different brands there and many of them have more than 1 shop in the area. 

MYEONG-DONG:

EXO ♥ 

GANGNAM-GU:

On of the last days I managed to see my friend again. I had planned to go visit the COEX Artium where SM Entertainment has a shop and the new SUM Cafe. My friend agreed to come with and we had lots of fun there. 

COEX Artium:

Sum Cafe:

From the COEX Artium we walked to Hallyu K-Star Road where you can see these Gangnam Dols of various bands. We took lots of pictures and discussed about many things. We also managed to see one of the SM Entertainment buildings. This day was filled with various K-Pop related things which I really enjoyed. I also managed to fulfil some of my planned things for this trip. I was happy my friend came with me even though she's not as much into K-Pop as I am :) 

Hallyu K-Star Road:

Gangnam Dol

 Here's some of the foods we ate. There were a few dishes I made sure my sister got to try for example korean BBQ, korean fried chicken and Bibimbap. The korean fried chicken we ate was in Kyochon Chicken and I definitely recommend it. It was the best fried chicken I have eaten so far! I really want to eat there again, perhaps even during my next trip in Seoul next month. Me and my mum have enjoyed eating barbecued fish on our previous trips so we went to eat that also a couple of times. We also celebrated my mum's birthday and we couldn't do that without buying a cake from Paris Baguette (of course!). Last time in Seoul I ate some really spicy foods which wasn't so pleasant but this time I managed to avoid them and ate only really delicious dishes. I don't mind eating spicy food but in Korea they use some kind of spice that's REALLY spicy and you can only get the burning feeling out of your mouth after SEVERAL hours. That's quite brutal but don't worry if you're not into spicy food, you can still find several delicious foods in Korea. 

I only have pictures of the cosmetics I bought because everything else went to Finland already with my mum. But I didn't really buy anything else than a few clothes, make up, K-Pop accessories and albums. I also bought some food and snacks. I have been really satisfied with the make ups and face washing products. Therefore I will buy more of them next month when I go to Seoul again. I just love Korean cosmetics: they are cheaper than products in Finland and the quality and effect are much better. If you ever go to Seoul and even if you don't really use make up etc, make sure you buy at least something for example body lotion. I'm sure you won't regret it. 

So there you have it, the main points from my trip to Seoul. I can't wait for June and my next trip there. It's going to be a short one but a memorable one for sure. See you soon Seoul!

xoxo, Elina