REMINISCING MY TRIP TO SEOUL (PART 1)

- March 04, 2018

Annyeonghasayeo. Any one of you a big fan of KOREAN Drama, Movie and Music? Well I am since my university life. I would either download the kdrama/ kmovie or watch it online. I still remember that I used to watch kdrama with my housemates back in university during dinner or free time since all of us have the same interest. Even we used to listen to kpop music while cooking and sometime dancing to it.

My Korean addict continues up until now and I have always dream that one day I will travel to South Korea. Finally back in May 2016, I got the chance to travel to South Korea with my dad, my younger brother, my cousins, my nephews and my niece. A trip that supposed to be with my bff turns to be a family trip due to some reason.I was so excited and so happy.

Since this is my first DIY trip to Korea and I am supposed to lead, hence I prepared the itinerary few months before I go. I did a lot of readings and research from the related website and blogs, thanks to mr. google. I also did gather some valuable information from my other siblings and friends who have been to South Korea before. I really find rome2rio.com website is very helpful and useful because it will give you the estimated travelling distance and time as well as mode of transportation available for you to travel between the two places.

Below is the highlight of my trip. For the detailed cost breakdown and itinerary, you can find in my previous blog entry.

1. Nungmaru Guesthouse (39-5, Namsandong 2Ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea)

Located bween Myeongdong Station and Namsan Cable Car. 3 minute walk from the shopping district of Myeongdong and the Myeongdong Subway Station (Line 4). 5 minute walk from N Seoul Tower and a 10-minute walk from shopping and dining options at Namdaemun Market. It is about 1 km from Namsan Hanok Village and 2 km from Seoul Train Station.

2. Namsan Tower (020516)

Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower, is a communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul, South Korea. It marks the highest point in Seoul. We ride a cable car up to the mountains (the famous cable car scene where Gu Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di got locked out..hehe :)) We can see the entire city in 360 degrees view from the Observatory Deck. Despite it was drizzling but we do enjoy the lovely breeze.

3. Dongdaemun Market (030516)

Ever since its opening in 1905, Dongdaemun Market has been one of the major markets in Korea. Specializing in wholesale clothing, the market has grown large, having more than 20 shopping malls. A full range of fashion items that cover head to toe, are found in Dongdaemun Market at inexpensive prices. Just name it and you shall find it! No wonder the market is always crowded with retailers, foreigners, customers and tourists.

Seoul Heunginjimun Gate

Doota is a fashion mall full of trendy fashion items. There are 540 stores throughout the 8-story building including designer shops, select shops, luxury brand stores, cafes, and restaurants. Doota provides unique, high quality products at reasonable prices under the motto of ‘Fast & First’ and offers a one-stop shopping experience.

Korean Oppa who can speak Bahasa Melayu . He said he used to stay in Indonesia and learn the language while he was there. You can buy good quality souvenirs (especially t-shirt) at reasonable price from his shop located at 5F of Doota. All of us bought the running man t-shirt as well as Descendant of the Sun t-shirt (exactly the same like this oppa wears)

4. Seoul City Hall (030516)

After four years and five months of construction, Seoul City Hall was reborn in October 2012. The new Seoul City Hall is an eco-friendly building with a unique exterior, the design of which is based on the eaves of traditional Korean houses. The total floor area of the city hall buildings is 90,743m², including the old city hall building, which is now the Seoul Metropolitan Library. Government offices account for 62 percent of the area, and public spaces for citizens make up 38 percent. The building is highly efficient, as it is built with a double skin façade system. About 28.3 percent of the energy used in the building comes from eco-friendly energy sources, including photovoltaic, solar thermal and geothermal.

The Green Wall is the most popular attraction at the Seoul City Hall building. Spanning an area of 1516m2, the size of a soccer field, this vertical garden climbs up the inner wall, all the way from the first to the seventh floor. It was named in the Guinness World Records as the largest vertical garden in the world.

Over 70,000 plants of 14 different species were planted in the garden over an eight-month period. They help to eliminate contaminants and fine dust and regulate the temperature and humidity. When visitors take the elevator or escalator from the Haneul Plaza on the ninth floor down to the first floor, where the double skin façade can be clearly seen, it feels like being inside a space ship.

5. Nami Island (040516)

Nami Island is a small ‘doraemon pocket lookalike’ island situated 63km from Seoul in the middle of the Han River. This small charming Island is famous for the ‘Winter Sonata’ film locations back in 2002. Nami Island declared its cultural independence on March 1, 2006. Like other independent republics, Naminara Republic has its own national flag, anthem, passport, postage stamps, telephone cards, written characters, papers, and currency. Passport is not required to get to the island but admission fee applies.

p/s: we opt for round trip ferry instead of zip-wire..