Okay, we have come to the last installment of my Korean autumn trip. I am actually feeling nostalgic and I want to go back there again, this time visiting more places that I have not been to.
There's a saying that goes, when you're in Rome, eat like the Romans do! And we can substitute that with any place and group of people, wherever we may be. In our case, when we were in Korea, we ate like the Koreans did!
We ate their food, we sampled their delicacies, we tried their street food, and my, they have a lot to choose from.
Like I shared in my first article about Korea, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Seoul Euljiro, which is located just a few minutes away from Myeongdong. And if you've been to Korea at all, Myeongdong is the place to shop- for virtually anything! From K-pop memorabilia, to beauty products, to street food, clothes, and anything else under the sun.
So let's take a look at all that Myeongdong has to offer. But before that, here are some more pictures I wasn't able to include in the previous articles.
This is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. A segment of the drama Legend of the Blue Sea was shot here, starring Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun. The DDP, as it is more commonly known as, has a meaning of dream, design, and play. The plaza holds various exhibitions, fashion shows, conferences, and other domestic and international events.
Ever wished our streets look as traffic free as this? :-) I know it is wishing for the moon, but we can still wish, can't we? It was a Sunday morning when we went to Yeouido so there was not much traffic yet, plus, it was drizzling, so maybe people were feeling cold and wanted to stay home. Not for us!
And now, as promised, let's go to the food haven, the shopper's paradise, that is Myeongdong. But before that, let me show you Myeongdong Cathedral.
Okay, please don't get mad at me. I did not take a lot of pictures in Myeongdong. Perhaps because I took loads of pictures before on my first trip, I did not take so much this time.
These are the only two pictures that I took but it nowhere shows the craziness and the busy-ness of the streets with all the food stalls.
She was wishing that this knight would come to life and sweep her off her feet, ha ha!
Hold your horses, though. I did take pictures of the various street foods on display. And during our stay, there was not a day that we were ever hungry. What with the buffet breakfast at the hotel, and the abundant choices on the streets, you will never be hungry when you're in Korea.
One of my favorites. Sausage wrapped in bacon. If I remember correctly, it costs 3,000 or 2,000 KRW per stick. If you don't want to eat anything else besides this, you can buy 2 or 3 sticks and you're all set for a satisfying meal.
If you've watched Weighlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, these are the fishcake sticks she binged on when she was mad at Jung Joon Hyung, after they have visited his ex-girlfriend at the hospital and he was not paying attention to Bok Joo. These taste delicious especially on a cold autumn night.
The Koreans are indeed very creative with their street food- imagine coming up with this idea. Who knew potatoes could be as inviting as this? :-)
As you can see, it's not just sausages or fish cake they put on a stick. They do it literally on almost everything! In this picture we also see rice rolls or kimbap as they call it, and if you can't wait to sit in a restaurant, or you just want to go curl up in your hotel room, you can just buy a few pieces of these and go eat in the comfort of your hotel room and watch TV and relax.
Not all things are on a stick though. There are dried sea food, and fruits. There is an area where grapefuit juice is sold, and you see them squeeze it, so it's very fresh. I am not a fan of grapefruit, though. Their strawberries are huge!!! Although I was only able to get a part of it in this picture.
Here we see the blood sausage or soondae in Korean(the brown ones). I have seen it in dramas several times but I have yet to try it. This is actually made by steaming cow's or pig's intestines and stuffed with glutinous rice and other ingredients. And yes, I think it has blood, which gives it the brown color, and hence, my hesitance in trying it.
I wouldn't go near these, especially when they are being cooked. They stink! Ugh! My apologies to those who love it though, ha ha.
These are sausages, should I say wrapped, or rolled in fish cake? On the side it is fish cake with perilla leaves.
I am not sure what this is called but as we were walking along the area of Cheonggyecheon, we came across some stalls that were selling street food as well. This looked good so we tried it- and it did not disappoint! It was only 1,500 KRW per piece, so it was worth it. After they cook it, they kind of roll it into a paper cup so one could eat it while walking, even if it's hot.
More of the same. As with the autumn leaves, these also look amazing, as they have so many kinds, plus they look so inviting. Well, not all of them.
Another favorite of the Koreans, at least as I see it in dramas, are the roasted chestnuts. And these indeed taste great. I have tried these in HongKong, and even from a distance, you smell them being roasted. Yum!
So the ones in the circle tray are ones that are already roasted and peeled. It tastes kind of sweet, and it's soft when you chew it. It has a texture like sweet potatoes albeit a bit nuttier, and the sweetness is also like that.
These are ginkgo nuts. In Hong Kong they sometimes add this to congee, and to certain types of soup. It can also be added to certain types of desserts, but it can also be eaten as it is. It doesn't have a significant taste though.
I don't particularly like this food. All I know about abalone's taste is that I tasted macadamia nuts from Australia coated with abalone flavor and I gagged when I tried it, so I'm not going to say any more than that. Ha ha.
Not every thing looked appetizing though. They also have the exotic foods like this. I think it is the same to what we call salagubang here in the Philippines. I just took a picture of it, nothing more.
Of course it's not all street food that we ate while we were there. We ate proper food as well, and we had this near Bukchon, if I remember correctly. It was already night time and we were getting hungry and we found this dumpling restaurant. They were very cheap and very yummy. Mandu, as they are called in Korean, come in different varities, some are kimchi flavored, some stuffed with meat, and others just with vegetables.
As it was almost winter already, the days and nights are cold, so hot soups are always welcome. My friend tried this soup, it has rice cakes inside, and we ate it with the dumplings. If you don't order anything with soup, they give you a bowl of steaming broth to warm your body up which is very nice of them.
Whenever you go eat in a Korean restaurant, you are given various side dishes, and these are free. They call it 'service' in Korea. And when you finish them, they refill them as well, for free. So in this picture we see kimchi, beansprouts, eggplant, vegetable pancake, and lettuce leaves.
On our last night we went to one of the multiple restaurants in Myeongdong to have samgyeopsal. It was nice making a wrap out of the meat and the various side dishes dipped in the bean paste.
We had to wear an apron so that our clothes will not be splattered with the oil as the meat got cooked.
And how can we miss the ddeokbokki? It is also known as tteokbokki, this is made of stir fried rice cakes, and they add a spicy sauce, usually with fish cakes, spring onions, sometimes boiled eggs, and other things. It is also a very common sight in Korean dramas. Yum!
So whether you are wandering the streets or eating in restaurants, there's food aplenty in Korea, and all you have to do is try. There are a lot of street foods that I was not able to take pictures of, like the long ice cream, the fish shaped pastry that has a red bean paste filling inside, though we ate it.There's also the famous banana milk drink you find in convenience stores, which is very nice, so you'll just have to travel there to taste them for yourself. And the good thing is, Korean stores now abound in the country so we can try these even at home, but of course nothing beats the experience while you're there.
Now we're done, with food, I'll just show you some of the beautiful flowers we encountered. There's more variety in the spring, but there were still some flowers to be found almost winter time, and here are some of them. These don't look real, do they? They are. We saw this in Bukchon as we were walking around.
I believe this is a variety of kale. So plants of different colors are arranged in a way that looks eye catching. Nice.
Though it was almost winter, we still managed to see some colorful flowers, although not a lot.
This was at Seoul Forest, by the butterfly garden. These plants die out during autumn and winter, but come out with a bang in the spring and summer. We were quite fortunate to have seen them still.
I fell in love with this tree at the first palace that we went to. The vibrant colors draw the eyes, and until now I have it as the cover photo for my FB page. :-)
As for shopping, you can shop virtually anywhere! Underground malls are the norm, and when I say underground, I mean inside the subway. They are filled with shops, from clothing to food to anything else.
The skincare products stores are all scattered all over Myeongdong- Nature Republic, Skin Food, Etude House, and all other brands. Tip for shopping beauty products: don't buy everything in one go. If you are near the shop, keep going back, whether you buy just one product or a lot, you usually get a freebie which is normally a facemask. So why not buy in installments, that way you get more freebies as well? Ha ha! You heard it from me!
Regarding transportation, taking the subway is the most effective way of moving around. It is fast, convenient, and very affordable. There are buses of course, but since we were not familiar with the routes, the only bus we took was the Seoul City Bus tour. There are also taxis, although this time we did not take any.
To save you the hassle of queuing up each time, you may opt to buy the T-money card. You can buy this from any convenience store, and it is actually cheaper than the single use tickets you get. It also works in buses and some convenient stores as mode of payment. You can top it up in subway stations too.
In summary, it was a fun trip, and a memorable at that. One that I'll definitely repeat in the near future. And when I go back, I will most definitely explore more places and go even further if I can and God permits it.
Until then, anyeong! More adventures will follow, so stay tuned.
For more articles about travel, click here.
There's a saying that goes, when you're in Rome, eat like the Romans do! And we can substitute that with any place and group of people, wherever we may be. In our case, when we were in Korea, we ate like the Koreans did!
We ate their food, we sampled their delicacies, we tried their street food, and my, they have a lot to choose from.
Like I shared in my first article about Korea, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Seoul Euljiro, which is located just a few minutes away from Myeongdong. And if you've been to Korea at all, Myeongdong is the place to shop- for virtually anything! From K-pop memorabilia, to beauty products, to street food, clothes, and anything else under the sun.
So let's take a look at all that Myeongdong has to offer. But before that, here are some more pictures I wasn't able to include in the previous articles.
 |
| Dongdaemun Design Plaza |
 |
| Yeouido Street |
And now, as promised, let's go to the food haven, the shopper's paradise, that is Myeongdong. But before that, let me show you Myeongdong Cathedral.
 |
| Myeongdong Cathedral
Myeongdong Cathedral is a church is situated on a hill in Myeongdong, and it is the seat of the Archdiocese of Seoul. If you go to Myeongdong, the Cathedral will be at the top end of Myeongdong.
|
 |
| Myeongdong |
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| Myeongdong |
These are the only two pictures that I took but it nowhere shows the craziness and the busy-ness of the streets with all the food stalls.
 |
| her knight in shining armor |
 |
One of my favorites. Sausage wrapped in bacon. If I remember correctly, it costs 3,000 or 2,000 KRW per stick. If you don't want to eat anything else besides this, you can buy 2 or 3 sticks and you're all set for a satisfying meal.
 |
| fish cake sticks |
 |
| potato crisps on a stick |
The Koreans are indeed very creative with their street food- imagine coming up with this idea. Who knew potatoes could be as inviting as this? :-)
 |
| sticks galore |
As you can see, it's not just sausages or fish cake they put on a stick. They do it literally on almost everything! In this picture we also see rice rolls or kimbap as they call it, and if you can't wait to sit in a restaurant, or you just want to go curl up in your hotel room, you can just buy a few pieces of these and go eat in the comfort of your hotel room and watch TV and relax.
 |
| dried sea food |
Not all things are on a stick though. There are dried sea food, and fruits. There is an area where grapefuit juice is sold, and you see them squeeze it, so it's very fresh. I am not a fan of grapefruit, though. Their strawberries are huge!!! Although I was only able to get a part of it in this picture.
 |
| more of the sticks |
 |
| dried octupus and squid |
I wouldn't go near these, especially when they are being cooked. They stink! Ugh! My apologies to those who love it though, ha ha.
These are sausages, should I say wrapped, or rolled in fish cake? On the side it is fish cake with perilla leaves.
 |
| sticky rice cake |
More of the same. As with the autumn leaves, these also look amazing, as they have so many kinds, plus they look so inviting. Well, not all of them.
 |
| roasted chestnuts |
 |
| more chestnuts |
 |
| ginkgo nuts |
 |
| abalone on stick |
I don't particularly like this food. All I know about abalone's taste is that I tasted macadamia nuts from Australia coated with abalone flavor and I gagged when I tried it, so I'm not going to say any more than that. Ha ha.
 |
| pupa |
 |
| dumplings and side dishes |
 |
| rice cake in soup |
 |
| various side dishes |
Whenever you go eat in a Korean restaurant, you are given various side dishes, and these are free. They call it 'service' in Korea. And when you finish them, they refill them as well, for free. So in this picture we see kimchi, beansprouts, eggplant, vegetable pancake, and lettuce leaves.
 |
| samgyeopsal meal |
On our last night we went to one of the multiple restaurants in Myeongdong to have samgyeopsal. It was nice making a wrap out of the meat and the various side dishes dipped in the bean paste.
 |
| last dinner in Korea |
 |
| deokbokki |
So whether you are wandering the streets or eating in restaurants, there's food aplenty in Korea, and all you have to do is try. There are a lot of street foods that I was not able to take pictures of, like the long ice cream, the fish shaped pastry that has a red bean paste filling inside, though we ate it.There's also the famous banana milk drink you find in convenience stores, which is very nice, so you'll just have to travel there to taste them for yourself. And the good thing is, Korean stores now abound in the country so we can try these even at home, but of course nothing beats the experience while you're there.
Now we're done, with food, I'll just show you some of the beautiful flowers we encountered. There's more variety in the spring, but there were still some flowers to be found almost winter time, and here are some of them. These don't look real, do they? They are. We saw this in Bukchon as we were walking around.
I believe this is a variety of kale. So plants of different colors are arranged in a way that looks eye catching. Nice.
 |
| flowers at Namsangol hanok village |
This was at Seoul Forest, by the butterfly garden. These plants die out during autumn and winter, but come out with a bang in the spring and summer. We were quite fortunate to have seen them still.
I fell in love with this tree at the first palace that we went to. The vibrant colors draw the eyes, and until now I have it as the cover photo for my FB page. :-)
As for shopping, you can shop virtually anywhere! Underground malls are the norm, and when I say underground, I mean inside the subway. They are filled with shops, from clothing to food to anything else.
The skincare products stores are all scattered all over Myeongdong- Nature Republic, Skin Food, Etude House, and all other brands. Tip for shopping beauty products: don't buy everything in one go. If you are near the shop, keep going back, whether you buy just one product or a lot, you usually get a freebie which is normally a facemask. So why not buy in installments, that way you get more freebies as well? Ha ha! You heard it from me!
Regarding transportation, taking the subway is the most effective way of moving around. It is fast, convenient, and very affordable. There are buses of course, but since we were not familiar with the routes, the only bus we took was the Seoul City Bus tour. There are also taxis, although this time we did not take any.
To save you the hassle of queuing up each time, you may opt to buy the T-money card. You can buy this from any convenience store, and it is actually cheaper than the single use tickets you get. It also works in buses and some convenient stores as mode of payment. You can top it up in subway stations too.
In summary, it was a fun trip, and a memorable at that. One that I'll definitely repeat in the near future. And when I go back, I will most definitely explore more places and go even further if I can and God permits it.
Until then, anyeong! More adventures will follow, so stay tuned.
For more articles about travel, click here.
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