Unboxing: Seoul 2023 Travel Haul

So, over the course of 5 days in Seoul, I bought at least a year's worth of skincare:

Epictetos Beomcheol Heo (허범철) Soothing Serum and Soothing Skin
Epictetos Beomcheol Heo (허범철) High Density Soothing Cream and Soothing Suncream SPF50 PA++++
Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Skin, Balancing Lotion, and Balancing Cream
Innisfree "Green Holidays" Special Edition Black Tea Youth Enhancing Ampoule and Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Serum
Innisfree Apple Seed Cleansing Cream, Apple Seed Lip & Eye Makeup Remover, and Perfect 9 Intensive Eye Cream
Innisfree Squeeze Energy Masks in Hydrating Green Tea
Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Watery Toner, Watery Essence, and Combination Watery Cream
Nature Republic Jeju Sparkling Foam Cleanser, Essential Lip Balm in Grapefruit and Peppermint, and Good Skin Ampoule in Madecassoside (Soothing) and Noni (Healthy Skin)
COSRX Propolis Synergy Toner and Propolis Light Ampoule, and Scinic Enjoy Super Mild Sun Essence Special Set
Rom&nd Bare Water Cushion in 05 Sanad
Korean cartoon socks
J-Hope — Jack in the Box LP (Vinyl)

Korean skincare is literally half the price of what it is in Canada, so I had to stock up. (Plus, a lot of stores were having 30 - 50% off sales, too. It would've been foolish to resist.) I also got some cute Korean socks at 3 for ₩5,000 from a random vendor in Namdaemun Market, a black sweatshirt, a black cropped jacket, and best of all, J-Hope's Jack in the Box on vinyl! It was sold out on Weverse Shop in about 5 seconds, and I somehow found one lone copy available at retail price at the A-KPOP pop-up store in Insadong so I didn't have to pay the most ridiculous shipping fees.

On another note, can you believe I didn't buy any BT21 stuff in Korea?! (To be fair, it's because I bought all the stuff I wanted online in January and February, so there wasn't anything new that I thought was worth lugging back. But still.)

Epictetos Pop-Up Store

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)

281 Eulji-ro

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-2153-0000

Innisfree

164-1 Donggyo-dong

Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-322-1817

Nature Republic 

27 Myeongdong-gil

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-3789-5636

Olive Young

53 Myeongdong-gil

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-736-5290

Namdaemun Market

21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-02-753-2805

A-KPOP Pop-Up Store

Annyeong Insadong

49 Insadong-gil

Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-6954-2910

Seoul 2023 Travel Log: Random Photos

A final dump of random photos from our journey through Seoul that didn't quite fit in any other post:

Morning view of Seoul from our hotel room in Myeongdong
A random sculpture near IFC Mall
Inside Namdaemun Market
On the way to Namdaemun Market
Statue of King Sejong the Great
Insadong-gil
A Line Friends pavilion on Insadong-gil
Starfield Library
Starfield Library
Starfield Library

And with that, we're off to Tokyo!

Hotel PJ Myeongdong

71 Mareunnae-ro, Inhyeon-dong 2(i)-ga

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-2280-7000

IFC Mall Seoul

10 Gukjegeumyung-ro

Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-6137-5000

Namdaemun Market

21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-753-2805

Statue of King Sejong

Gwanghwamun Plaza

172 Sejong-daero, Sejongno

Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

PLAY Line Friends Insadong

49 Insadong-gil

Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-6954-2940

Starfield Library

Starfield COEX Mall

513 스타필드 코엑스몰 B1, Yeongdong-daero

Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-6002-3031

Seoul 2023 Travel Log: Day 5 — Jjamppong, Jajangmyeon, and Tangsuyuk at Hong Kong Banjeom 0410

We decided that our last meal in Seoul had to be Korean-Chinese cuisine. Since we were near the DDP (yes, again; we wanted to do some shopping at the Hyundai Department Store Duty Free before we left Seoul), we just went to the closest Korean-Chinese restaurant we could find, which just happened to be another of Baek Jongwon's restaurants, Hong Kong Banjeom 0410.

Spicy jjamppong
Jajangmyeon
Tangsuyuk

This particular branch only offers the main classics, so we just ordered everything (we actually each got a bowl of jjamppong because were feeling particularly ambitious). It's fast food-style, so you order at a ticket kiosk and then pick it up from the front counter when your number comes up and sit wherever you like. As it is, though, I think that's the proper way to eat Korean-Chinese food — just simple, casual, and quick. Less than $15 CAD per person, and we were full to the brim and couldn't even finish all of it. The jjamppong was the star, in my opinion, but everything is worth a try. That having been said — and maybe it's the Chinese in me — I prefer gulouyuk to tangsuyuk...

Hong Kong Banjeom 0410

11, Jangchungdan-ro 13-gil

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-2269-5778

Seoul 2023 Travel Log: Day 5 — Apple Mango Cheesecake Bingsu at Sulbing

After spending the afternoon at Starfield COEX Mall, we were craving something sweet and decided to get some bingsu at Sulbing before leaving Gangnam:

Apple mango cheesecake bingsu
As I've only had bingsu a handful of times, this was easily the best one I've ever eaten. (And also, apple mango is a gloriously inspired flavour.) God, I wish we had better bingsu places back home. C'mon, Sulbing, you're a huge chain here in Korea. Why can't you open up shop in Toronto?

Sulbing

42 Teheran-ro 1-gil

Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-558-7708

Seoul 2023 Travel Log: Day 5 — Dolce Baguette, Vongole Aglio e Olio, and Avocado Shrimp Pizza at Mano di Chef

We were at Starfield COEX Mall and looking for some lunch when I randomly suggested trying Korean-style Italian food. (I say "Korean-style Italian food" because it is distinctly different from authentic Italian food.) So after doing a bit of research, we decided to go across the street to a restaurant called Mano di Chef that totally fit the bill:

Dolce baguette
Vongole aglio e olio
Avocado and shrimp pizza
The Dolce baguette is quite literally garlic bread with honey drizzled on top, and it is so simple but so freaking delicious. It's the same reason why I'm so obsessed with the honey garlic pizza at Ssangkye Jjimdak — Koreans have got this honey garlic combo down pat. For our mains, we decided to share two dishes. The first was the vongole aglio e olio, which is essentially the classic garlic and olive oil spaghetti dish with clams. Light, clean, and tasty — there's a reason it's the most popular pasta dish among Koreans. Actually, out of the three items we ordered, I would consider this one to be the most authentically Italian. Then came the shrimp and avocado pizza, which I wouldn't consider pizza at all, but more like a really nice, fresh flatbread — crisp romaine salad with mozzarella, thinly-sliced tomatoes, fresh cranberries, plump shrimp, firm avocado chunks, and a drizzle of sweet vinaigrette on the thinnest of charcoal crusts. Again, really light, clean ingredients — basically a fully-loaded salad on top of flatbread — so it tasted healthy, but like, in the best way possible.

Italians would have found this an abomination, but if you think of Korean-style Italian food as its own cuisine, our meal was actually quite fantastic.

Mano di Chef

129 Teheran-ro, Yeoksam-dong

Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-2-553-5311

Seoul 2023 Travel Log: Day 4 — Food Stall Hopping at Myeongdong Night Market

We spent the evening at Myeongdong Night Market and just gorged on street food for dinner:

So-tteok so-tteok
Gyeranppang
Gyeranppang
Fish-shaped sweet cream cheese-filled flaky pastry
Goguma
Goguma
Korean hot dogs
Cheese sausage corn dog with fried potatoes
Bungeoppang
Custard-filled bungeoppang
Okay, but for real, how much street food is too much street food?

Myeongdong Night Market

Chungmuro 2(i)-ga, 8-3-ga

Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Seoul 2023 Travel Log: Day 4 — An Afternoon at Gyeongbokgung Palace

We made our way over to Gyeongbokgung Palace just in time to see the Palace Royal Guard changing ceremony, and then spent the afternoon walking through the grounds:

Gwanghwamun Gate
Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony
Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony
Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony
Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony
Gwanghwamun
Heungnyemun
Heungnyemun Gate
Cherry blossoms in Heungnyemun
Inside Heungnyemun
Roof of Geunjeongmun Gate
Geunjeongmun Hall
Decoration inside Geunjeongmun Hall
Throne inside Geunjeongmun Hall
Roof of Geunjeongmun Hall
Gyeonghoeru Pavilion
Gyeonghoeru Pavilion
Gyeonghoeru Pavilion
Gazebo by Gyeonghoeru Pavilion
Cherry blossoms lining Gyeonghoeru Pavilion
Hyangwonjeong Pavilion
Cherry blossoms at the National Folk Museum of Korea
National Folk Museum of Korea
All I gotta say is, it's entirely worth the $3 to get in, especially to see the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, which is my favourite building of the entire palace. (You can see the night view of the pavilion in BTS' performance of "Mikrokosmos" for The Tonight Show. It's one of the most gorgeous structures I've ever seen.)

Gyeongbokgung Palace

161 Sajik-ro

Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82-02-3700-3900