Surprise, everyone! We’ve got a special guest post today! 🥳
Our very own MC went on a long-awaited (and much envied) vacation to Korea just a couple of weeks ago, and is here to share her trip with us, so that we can see Korea through her eyes, a little bit. Whee~!
Big thanks to Elaine, for suggesting the idea, and to MC, for agreeing to write this post for us! We are all so blessed to have you both! 🥰
Please enjoy.
KFG ❤️
Korea through the eyes of a Fangirl
(preface: I shall refer to South Korea as Korea as it’s shorter. Please note that I did NOT step into North Korea!)
Hi! Or I should say Annyeonghaseyo? Lol.
Having never been to Korea before, I was curious – was the Korea of Kdramas similar to the real Korea? This isn’t going to be a typical “places to go and what to do” but more of my observations of the Motherland from a Fangirl’s eyes. Come along with me?
Disclaimer: While white trucks of doom seem to be barreling down towards our hapless leads in many thriller-type dramas, I was thankful that I stayed safe throughout this trip. No need for medical attention (although if you want to read a hilarious exchange on medical care in Kdramas, go to this page).
But I must say that a good 90% of cars on the road (especially in Jeju) were white. I have yet to find out why though, and would love to know if anyone knows!
Second disclaimer (yes, yes get on with it already!) – I didn’t take that many pictures so some of these are pictures from online. Sorry! Basically, the nice pics are from the internet. The crappy ones are by me. Oops.
Observation #1 – Maxim is really a big thing
Ah, those yellow packets. They’re in So. Many. Dramas…
Reader, I discovered that it is indeed true. Maxim IS everywhere in Korea. You see it in supermarkets, in eateries, in convenience stores….
Someone even wrote an article on why instant coffee mixes are so popular and you can read it here.
Observation #2 – I spotted a pojangmacha!
That red tent! I would recognize it anywhere. And I was pretty chuffed to see one or two along the streets of Seoul… (sadly I did not have time to stop and have some drinks and snacks. But I did see people truly having their soju and snacks!)
Observation #3 – The palaces are stunning
If you’re a historical drama fan you’d recognize all the palaces.
To be honest I always thought these dramas were filmed far off in some remote corner of Korea so colour me surprised when I realized the palaces were smack dab in the middle of downtown Seoul. You’d see a palace surrounded by traffic.
There are 5 major palaces and the one I went to, Gyeongbokgung Palace, is absolutely gorgeous. The pictures I took didn’t do it justice at all!
Also, for those who watch historical dramas, this long walkway made me think of countless scenes of monarchs walking down and thinking deep thoughts (i.e. The Red Sleeve).
Observation #4: Cheonggyecheon Stream appears in MANY dramas
Ah, I’ve always watched dramas and saw characters at a stream (what a place to film at!) so I looked out for this one. Yes, you’ve seen it too:
Yes this was just a short snapshot and there were so many other shows filmed here. It was nice to walk around it especially since the weather was great that day! Here’s my not-very-nice picture.
Observation #5: Crash Landing On You was obviously not filmed at the actual Demilitarized Zone…
…But the DMZ itself was very interesting to visit.
The saddest part was the memorial where a song was played in memory of families that had been divided for ages.
Plus I went into one of the underground tunnel where North Korea tried to tunnel their way towards Seoul – those tunnels sure were small and despite not being the tallest, I conked my head on the scaffolding within a couple of times (thankfully we all had to wear a helmet!)
Interestingly, the scenes where CLOY’s Yoon Se-ri paraglides (into North Korea) were filmed at Byeolmaro Observatory in Yeongwol (which is a hilltop planetarium) and the scene of them meeting in North Korea was actualy filmed in Jeju.
Observation #6: Our favourite actors are everywhere…
I mean, on advertisements. What do you think I meant? Lol! Here’s a few:
Fun fact: Jung Hae In was the one of the first persons to “welcome” me as his gorgeous face smiled down on me from billboards in the Gimpo airport, lol. Too bad it wasn’t the man himself!
Of course I saw other ads – Song Joong Ki for some soju, NewJeans selling Levi’s jeans (lol), IU for New Balance, etc etc etc. After a while there were just too many to take pictures of!
(sadly I did not meet any actor or actress or idol on the street…)
Observation #7: Netflix goes ALL OUT in advertising
I saw Woob’s face plastered all over bus stops, trailers played at subway stations, etc … in fact, Black Knight was the only show I saw promoted on such a widespread basis during my trip.
Netflix sure has a big advertising budget!
Observation #8: Wangsimini Station!!!
This one’s for the Hospital Playlist fans.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch this – start from 3:50 mark till 4:40.
I loved this scene so much that when I took the the subway, I was so excited to see Wangsimni station on the rail line. Ah… I didn’t exit there but I had a good chuckle over that station.
In closing
Now that I’m back from Korea, it’s also fun to see things in my Kdramas.
Case in point, Olive Young is a super popular beauty shop where you can get skincare, makeup, hair care, etc under one roof. It’s like a Sephora, if you know that brand.
When I came back, I was watching True To Love / Bo Rah Deborah! and had a very good laugh over a scene that was supposed to be touching.
Our leads were walking along the road having a casual conversation but my eyes were drawn to the sign at the back…
Yes, it’s Olive You! The producers probably didn’t have official clearance to feature the brand so they conveniently edited out the NG in the brand to create a brand new brand of their own. 😀
All in all, I’m really happy I went to Seoul and Jeju.
The food (oh all the food!), the weather, the scenery and shopping was wonderful.
Personally my most favourite part of the trip was Seongsan Ilchulbong (Seongsan Sunrise Peak); it was a steep climb but I was richly rewarded with gorgeous views – you can find out more about it here and check out my (really did not do the view justice) photos below:
Still, I know that if I miss Korea, I just need to head back into the wonderful world of Kdramas to get my Korea fix (or more likely, cause me to start planning for the next trip to Korea…)
And last but not least thank you, wonderful reader, for following me along and thank you once again to Fangirl for letting me share / relive my Korea experiences!
~MC
MC!! This looks like a super fun trip! Sorry I‘m so late to the party 😅 I am glad you had a great time. I would love to go one day, I think the palaces and nature/ countryside are the two things that appeal most to my touristy desires 😉
I haven’t read the other comments yet, so this may have been answered. White cars are statistically lower risk for accidents bc of visibility and hence have lower insurance rates(at least here, but maybe also Korea?). White probably also heats up much less than a more stylish black car so you waste less gas to cool it down? That‘s all to say maybe Koreans are very sensible when choosing their car color? 😂
Hello MC,
It seems like a very lovely trip filled with lots of K-Dramas memories. And apologies for writing in late. I did read it on the Suga-D concert day itself but couldn’t get myself to write in leisurely. As I mentioned to you in person, I was a bit apprehensive about what if I don’t like something in Korea while visiting and then I end up not watching their dramas. (Also I am scared that I might end up getting emotional and cry for all the good and bad reasons). But now that you have travelled there, enjoyed it and made good memories, I am more inclined to visit over the next 2 or 3 years. And I have made a note of all the places you have mentioned ✌️.
I really liked Seongsan sunrise peak and that would be my ideal go-to place. Thanks for the pics – very beautiful and breath-taking. I don’t remember watching them in the dramas or maybe I had missed this scenery. And thanks for mentioning Cheonggyecheon stream – this one is classic for sure (and ideally I would want to sit there and wish that Park Jae-won turns up – that’s one of my fave characters of JCW from the drama LSITC and if you have seen that drama you will know the scenes – and I hope it’s the same stream and not a different one though 🙃). The palaces definitely look gorgeous – reminds me of the ones that I visited in Beijing looong back and I am really curious to know how different they are from those in Mainland China. And yay the red tent – now this is classic again – and I would have loved to see your pic inside one of them 😊. And so are the bus stops – thanks for including them – I would have loved to taken a pic there as well for all those bus stop drama scenes memory.
How was the shopping scene and is it any different from that of Singapore – especially in terms of clothes design/sizes/colours etc. And I will come back to you as and when I decide to visit. Until then I will enjoy your pics 😇.
hi Princess Jasmine! I’m glad you feel that you can go. If it helps I would just think of it as a regular trip and not a K drama trip? So there’s less “pressure” I guess!
Hmmm shopping clothes wise I think they’ve got lots of nice stuff. From flea markets / more outlet types at Dongmyo and Dongdaemun to the high end stuff at Coex and Gangnam area, you will be spoilt for choice. The cuts and the designs were nice – a bit nicer than Singapore, perhaps? The girls were all super fashionable and dressed very well so the fashion reflects the same culture! Sizing wise a bit on the smaller side though as many Korean girls are so tiny. But I did manage to get some stuff for myself. All in all it was fun and I hope you can go!
Thanks for the sharing your experiences MC – it sounded like a great trip. Everytime I’ve been to Seoul, there is some protest going on – they are organized very well though. Were people wearing masks outside much? How about inside. They were still required inside this past March, still many people wearing them outside. Did you try karaoke? Soju bombs / somaek? I’ll be heading back in July so any interesting Seoul restaurants / places would be great to try.
Oh David how awesome that you get to go back again! There was a bit of protests from afar but I didn’t get close enough to figure out what they were protesting about. Masks-wise, the mandate has mostly been lifted. Half the people wear and half don’t. You can choose to wear it if you wish, understand it’s only mandatory in healthcare settings.
Unfortunately I didn’t have time to try karaoke but I saw noraebangs in Hongdae! Nor did we have alcohol as one of our party doesn’t drink. But I saw many people lining up to go clubbing on a Friday night! (I was old and went back to sleep, lol).
Places to go, a friend recommended watching this video of the latest hip spots: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrF-c3exDuT/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and also recommended this cafe (but it’s a bit of a distance – https://middleclass.sg/travel/forest-outings-ilsan/). Hope you can report back and share all of the wonderful places and things you do in July!
lol – thanks MC. Yea, and for the record, I am such a light weight in drinking, luckily no one notices. I am in awe (not sure that is the right word) of how much people drink there. But I will try it regardless. But things do get a little crazy a few drinks in (I’m still only a few sips in). The karaoke actually gets better – think Our Blues karaoke scene. I will try to get a couple of friends to go. Ha – not sure people are interested – to me the more interesting things are just walking around – talking to the taxi drivers, people whenever I can. Thanks again!
What a fun post! It brought back many fond memories of my own first ever trip to Korea, back in…. 2009. Wow, that was further back than I realised. Doesn’t time just fly. 🙂
Many of your observations were the same as mine, though Netflix Korea of course wasn’t a thing yet then. I too strolled around the Gyeongbokgung Palace (yes, the palaces are goregous) and visited the DZM (interesting palce). Cheonggyecheon Stream was one of my favorite places to be on a hot day. We didn’t go to Jeju but instead spent a few days in Gyeongju, which was a bit of an adventure as neither me nor my friend hardly knew any Korean at that point. Oh yes, our fave actors were <i>everywhere</i>… even then, and plenty of idols on those bilboards as well. As for them pojangmachas – yup, I’ve had a late night snack and soju in one. 😀 I’ve also tried out convenience store ramen for an “authentic experience”, ha.
I loved the food and that was actually what I missed the most when I got back home. Eating out was much cheaper in Korea and there were eateries in just about every corner. There are several Korean restaurants here now but back in the day we had just one.
So good to see you again Timescout! Wow that was a long ago trip! But how wonderfully similar our experiences were! I wish I could have gone to the pojangmacha sadly. And the convenience store ramen! I was so tempted but I didn’t get it. But I did get their corn chips and that was so very yummy.
I felt the food was so homely and comforting. I’m thankful that there’s alot of Korean food options where I am but the good ones are pricey and the cheaper affordable ones aren’t very good. Unfortunately. If you like tons of food in every corner you should hop over to our country tho. It’s a food haven!
MC, what a lovely post. I have been to Korea, but it was before the pandemic, so before my real immersion into K-dramaland, so my experience was certainly different from yours, which was, I take it, much more enjoyable (not that I had any problem in my visits, it’s just that I couldn’t really relate to anything as strongly as a true fangirl!). Like, I have been to Gyeongbok Palace, with the traffic around it and all, but although it is a marvelous place I didn’t feel the fangirl connection to it (plus, I had been to the Forbidden City before, and GP did not amaze me as much by comparison). By the way, your remark about the traffic reminded me of this bts video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxdZyQOQyT4
So, thank your for the fangirl insight to a trip to Korea: like, who but a fan like us would pay attention to instant coffee? Oh, did you see the red ginseng shots too?
Finally, on white cars: I don’t know if its because Koreans are introverts, as the article posted by phl1rxd suggests, but white cars are a) easier to maintain (I mean the colour white, also dirt doesn’t show as much), b) most visible, so safer, c) cooler, which is important in warmer places (like, both our family cars are white…) so I think Koreans are smart to choose white!
Oh I forgot, speaking of a tour involving filming locations, I would so much like to visit that place with the creek and the cave where the resurrection plants in Kingdom grow, where the pretty boys in Hwarang bathe, where Nokdu teaches his girl his best gisaeng dance moves, and so on, I am sure you must all have seen it like a thousand times!
Hey Natalia! I have yet to go to Beijing (or China for that matter!) but i’m sure the Forbidden City is breathtaking. I loved that article and the post! It solved a mystery for me!
Red ginseng – I did see shops selling it but it’s targetted at tourists and was pricey so I didn’t buy!
Honestly, there are so many places I’ve yet to visit. Time to plan another trip? Lol!
Wow MC – that was a great read and I am so glad that you had fun. I often wonder if someone in Korea who speaks several languages has ever thought of starting a tour of famous KDrama locations. The business would need a very special name for sure. BTW – Korean Dramaland website (no longer active which is a BIG bummer 😥😥😥) kept track of all of these great places. I know if I went to Korea I would love to go on a tour like that!
I laughed out loud at your Truck of Doom reference and the mystery of the white cars. The Korean Herald addresses the white car color choice here. What a fascinating article MC!
I, like j3ffc, am also interested in the food so I paid attention to what you replied to him. I have been very curious about Bungeoppang so I wonder if you tasted that. Eggslut! MC – yikes what a name. 🙄🙄🙄 I had to research that as well which was quite interesting.
All of your photos are super – no worries. I laughed that you took a photo of Cheonggyecheon Stream because I just started re-watching ‘Live Up To Your Name’ and Kim Nam Gil spends some time in this stream. It has been in so many dramas. I am so glad you took photos. I am so glad that you took the time to share your wonderful journey with all of us! 😘😘😘
Hey phl1rxd, this has nothing to do with MC’s Korea trip, but I just wanted to tell you that I am currently watching The Untamed and I would SO MUCH appreciate having something like the character list you did for Nirvana!!! I realize that watching Nirvana in Fire without your list would have been so more challenging… So, ♥♥♥
Natalia – I am laughing over here as I have tried The Untamed 4 different ways – drama, novel, anime, shortened version. I could never get past episode 3, chapter 3, etc.
So unfortunately, I am not the person you need. Now, if I actually did watch this to completion I would be delighted to get you a character list.
I am so sorry Natalia! 😔
Ha ha, maybe this time, if you ever get back to watching it, I can make a character list for you (so many cultivation clans…)
So nice to see you! I’m sure there are tour companies specialising in sites. But I figure they don’t bring you around locations by the show but probably by the site and those in neighbouring locales. Which makes sense as I’ve mentioned in another comment that shows are filmed throughout the entire country. But I wish I could visit all the places My Mister was filmed at, for example.
Thanks for that article. It was insightful and fascinating! That whole conformity thing. Im in an Asian country but our cars are not so uniform. Interesting huh!
Oo yes Eggslut I believe is from Australia?? Name aside, their egg sandwiches were wonderful just a bit overpriced (but then you get super well made ones…)
Oh Bungeoppang! Actually it’s quite common where I’m from, coz we have Japanese confectioneries which also sell these. I always know them as the fish ice cream with red bean paste! I think because it’s common for us, I didn’t specially look out for it in Korea.
I’m amused that you are watching a show that features the stream! I won’t be able to miss it the next time I see it!
I’m so glad you had a lot of fun, MC, thank you for sharing!! South Korea is still on my bucket list, and your post and pics have only upped it on the list. I cracked up at the Wangsimni station, I do remember that
“The next stop is Wangsimni. The doors are on your right” Haha I love the HP gang so much…
Very glad you enjoyed this! Yes, I hope you get to go someday ♥️
OH MY, soooo good–thanks for sharing your trip! Loved how you included drama references.
I visited my daughter at an American Military post in 2015, but that was before I was into Kdramas. I would LOVE to return and visit as a kfangirl; top of my list is hanbok village and one of the historical villages used for filming (like the one for Jewel in the Palace) and Jeju Island. Someday…
Wow you visited a military post! I wonder where that was (I dare not ask since you can’t say!)
Since you love the historical dramas you’d love all the palaces and Jeju was absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t even post pics of all the waterfalls and the coast! So much to do in Korea that I couldn’t cover it all, I need to go back someday!
That was awesome thank you!
Yayy I’m glad you liked it! ♥️
MC! This is my kind of travelogue, sharing information and observations that are fun for your intended audience, i.e. kdrama enthusiasts! So enjoyed seeing Seoul through your kdrama-attuned eyes. Thanks for taking the time to write and post!
Did Seoul feel big to you? It seems like many dramas use a similar set of picturesque locations and iconic roadways/bridges/paths/waterfronts, and it gives me the impression that you can see Seoul all in a glance. Which I know is not correct, but stymies my sense of scale.
Very glad no white truck of doom had your name on it! 😆
Leslie! Did you enjoy that poorly taken pic of Gong Yoo selling coffee? Lol.
Oh Seoul was definitely huge! Actually so was Jeju but I’m biased as I come from a small country where you can drive anywhere in max 1hr. In Jeju we had plenty of drives that took 1-1.5h to get from one place to another. Seoul likewise is also huge, we couldn’t finish the entire city! There was so much more I didn’t manage to see (ahem time for another trip? Lol!)
To be honest after researching a bit more on filming locations, I was surprised to realise some shows really film cross country. You’d have some part in Seoul, some in Jeju, some in Busan, some in other cities.. makes me think that the actors and entire film crew have to fly or travel a lot to get their show done (maybe that’s how they become such close friends, they really spend a lot of time together?)
@MC – Argh! I meant to mention my dream-come-true siting of Gong Yoo first thing! I was tickled to see Gong Yoo in situ, even if it is a photo of a photo. Thanks for coming through for another fangirl! 🤩
Thanks for the additional info on size of Seoul, Jeju, and multiple filming sites. Fun. Helpful.
Make that “sighting”. 😆
Leslie – clearly your love for Gong Yoo affected your typing. No judgement tho if it were me and Jung Kyung Ho I’d be too starstruck to even be coherent…
MC, what cool pictures! Thanks for sharing your experience. Was this a vacation-vacation or did you have some other reason to go to Korea? I was wondering about a couple of things. Any particularly memorable food during your trip? I would imagine that that could be challenging, especially if one doesn’t speak Korean (do you?). Also, sorta similarly, I wonder how different Jeju felt from Seoul. I get the impression from some general reading that Seoul is an international that is used to overseas visitors, but that Jeju may be more just for Koreans, for lack of a better phrase.
Thanks again for the cool stories and great pictures.
Hey j3ffc! It was a vacation, so thankfully we didn’t need to do any work 🙂
Memorable food… we actually had a couple of non Korean meals, for example trying out Mcdonald’s (local burger flavours), Shake Shack and Eggslut (both cheaper in Korea than my country! 🥲). But my memorable meals are lots of fried chicken hehe, I liked BHC particularly, as well as dakgalbi from Yoogane (link: https://www.theseoulguide.com/yoogane-myeongdong-branch/) And in case people think I only eat chicken, I had yummy sundubu jjigae, bimbimbap, as well as kimchi stew (how could you not eat kimchi stew, right). Plus breakfasts I had onigiris and gimbaps haha. But they weren’t as good as Woo Young Woo’s dad’s shop!
Yes we didn’t speak korean. One girl was slightly more able so she did the bulk of the ordering. But in Myeongdong’s shopping district, interestingly the staff in some shops could speak Mandarin Chinese, so that’s how I communicated with them. But they must’ve thought I was some rich Chinese person as they kept trying to push more skincare products on me!
Oo yes Seoul is super metropolitan. In some high end malls you see English and Chinese translations on top of Korean signage’s. Clearly it was targeting tourists! We managed, mostly coz the friend who speaks a little bit of Korean has been to Korea a couple o times and brought us around. Jeju is definitely for locals altho there are also many tourists – signage’s are purely in Korean and
there’s alot of Korean local visitors. But of course the markets have stalls catering to foreigners to buy their hallabong (an offshoot of an orange, native to Jeju) related snacks and trinkets!
Thanks, MC! Sounds like such a good time. I agree with and try to emulate your approach of eating “regular person” food on a trip like yours and no shame in checking out chains. (When I was in Japan years ago, I had a lot of great Japanese expense-accounted meals but I drew the line at breakfast, for which I had a donut and coffee from Mr. Donut, which cost like $6!) You Eggslut experience made me think of the egg drop sandwiches which are all over Hospital Playlist and look unnecessarily yummy.
So much fun, MC. I am now going to go back to being officially jealous.
oh yes those egg sandwiches in Hospital Playlist – I want those too! “no shame in checking out chains” indeed. I’m certainly not a food snob and happily enjoyed all the various chains. Surprisingly, in Kdramas where you only see people order Americano or caramel macchiato (such polar opposites!) their Starbucks had all the usual orders and people were ordering them too. Plus the Starbucks merch in Jeju was so pretty, alas I decided to save some money and not buy it 😀
Aw, MC, thank you for sharing your trip! I’m squealing over just the photos!!! I’d love to visit those palaces. My husband went on a trip to China a few years back and went to the Forbidden City and did not even appreciate how squealy this is in terms of cdramas!! So I’m glad you totally made connections to all the shows we know and love. Ah, maybe one day…
PS This is Ele (I seem to have logged myself out and relogged in with my formal name – oops)
Ele! So very good to see you here 🙂 I know you would’ve loved the palaces!! They were absolutely stunning. Now that I’m on The Forbidden Marriage I’m like HEY I SEE YOU! Haha. Not that its the exact same palace but sagueks hit a little differently now. I hope you will get to go there (and to see the Forbidden City yourself!)
Hi Ele! Elinor has always been one of my favorite names — it is common in one of my closest childhood families — although I’ve never seen it spelled that way.
Incidentally I’ve a cousin named Eleanor! but Elinor makes me think of Jane Austen which is a fab thing in my books!
@merij1 @MC It was my grandma who loved the name and spelling so all thanks to her! I like that it’s spelled with an i but I hardly ever call myself Elinor as it reminds me of school (and teachers suddenly saying my name to answer a question or stop daydreaming) so I kind of have a mild panic whenever I hear it said aloud!
Thanks, Ele’s grandma!
That was great MC, thanks for sharing
Love that you appreciate it, jaco! I hope that you will go to Korea (or if you’ve already been, hope you get to go back!)
Thank you for sharing your Korean trip experience, MC. I thought your photos were great and I loved seeing all those familiar landmarks, as it were. I’m sure you will keep watching future kdramas with different eyes and being distracted by all those things your saw while there 😊
Oh Sean for sure! I wish I’d taken more pics (that was before the idea of doing this post even came about tho!) But it was certainly special to see all these places come to life 😀 Altho I think you’d appreciate it more, given the sheer number of shows you manage to watch!
I visited Seoul for 3 nights a couple of weeks ago, and I walked past that red tent each day! Were you staying at the same hotel, just to the right and round the corner?
Idols and actors really are in ads everywhere. The one we kept noticing was NewJeans selling new eyes (coloured contacts).
We visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, the night after IU was there! Sadly we weren’t fancy enough to get invited to Gucci’s fashion show. But it was very picturesque!
If anyone else is planning to visit Korea, note that it can be hard to find places for breakfast in the morning, most places don’t open until 10. But Isaac Toast is a good option. Also Seoul can be smelly, and there are so many smokers! So just be prepared!
Oooh Dannii that sounds great! No, I wasn’t staying there, I stayed at Dongmyo (next to Dongdaemun). Where was this again? I forgot … (it kind of got mixed up in my brain lol).
Oooo nice, Gyeongbokgung is gorgeous! Hahahah yes I saw all the celebs all decked out at the Gucci show. But it is picturesque indeed!
What did you enjoy best about your trip to Seoul?
Breakfasts wise my friends and I didn’t eat much. One girl had biscuits and coffee while another had red bean bread she’d buy the night before. For me…. I had onigiri or gimbap from 7-11 LOL. Channelling my Woo Yong Woo! (but not as nice as hers, I’d admit!)
OH YES THE SMOKE IS STRONG, FRIENDS. Everyone is smoking and there are cigarette butts everywhere. But the people are huge on recycling!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I dream of eating snacks at the pop-up bar and visiting Unju temple.
Oh that sounds like a wonderful plan! I hope you do get to go to Korea someday 😀
MC — What a fun sounding trip! Thank you for sharing! Really cool that the various palaces were so accessible, that would be awesome to be able to check those out..
Oh yes! I know of people who travelled to Korea just to visit Kdrama filming spots. I would, if I had more kdrama loving friends! 😀 But even if you don’t look out for anything Kdrama or Kpop, Seoul and Jeju were wonderful places to visit – the weather was great, you can shop til you drop, the gorgeous scenery (esp Jeju!) and ALL THE FOOD…
Jealous! Truly glad you had a fun trip.
Hehe PDL, I hope you can go someday! It helps that I live (relatively) nearby so the flight time wasn’t too horrendous.
It looks like a great trip and that you had a lot of fun. My daughter and I had a similar trip planned in 2020 that got canceled. I still want to go. I’m living a bit vicariously through you so thanks!!
Aww that pandemic really killed everyone’s travel plans! I too had all these big dreams of travelling that were scuppered. I hope you and your daughter get to go someday then you can tell us all about it!
What a fun read! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
Thanks SK! Have you been to Korea yourself?