At least that’s what RM says in his song «Seoul», cause I could never say that I hate Seoul or anything negative about it. Well maybe one small thing, but more to that in the end…
Going to Seoul, I knew I was going to like it. The Kpop (or more likely BTS) craze has reached Greece sometime ago and Indonesia even before that, Parasite and the Train to Busan where mainstream successes and generally everyone seemed to get more more excited about South Korea. I was a bit hesitant in my excitement though, too much expectation usually leads to disappointment. Seoul, however did not. Even the cold I was scared for, turned out to be a very welcome change to the scorching heat of the trips of the recent past. Although I was honestly wearing all my clothes and anticipating my limbs to froze solid and to be in need of an amputation (that’s what the internet had prepared me for).
Going to Seoul I knew my first targets were material ones. I went to Myeongdong, which was near to where I was living (great place to stay by the way) in search of heat packs, banana milk and the line friends store. I found all of them, the banana milk was disappointing, although I ended up drinking at least two every day, just because Jungkook liked it (cause I am that king of person), but the heat packs are the best invention in the history of inventions and I don’t know why it is not more widespread. After the small shopping spree and the realization that Myeongdong is awesome (at least for someone who loves seeing colorful shops and cutesy things) I starting walking to my next destinations.
Walking through the city was a brilliant experience. Seoul is a proper metropolitan with all the tall buildings and unique architecture a person can ask for. I went a few days after New Year’s Eve so the glimmer of Christmas was still on the streets. After hitting up a few more Seven Elevens for food and milk, I went to Seoul Plaza and Jogyesa Temple, a mix of modern and traditional sprinkled with the grey of the city and baked in 0 degrees Celsius, just the way I like it. Then I want to the Kimchi Museum in which I could actually taste different kimchi. I tried all they had to offer, even though you might be suppose to taste just one. The museum is close to Insadong street, which has some many cute and unique shops. Especially in the Mal where the Ddong Cafe is, you can find the most beautiful shops, they even sell hand-made glasses in the most peculiar shapes and sizes. After that I went to the National Palace Museum of Korea, which was free to enter, but not particularly interesting and then the Bukchon Hanok Village, which was also free but meh.
Next day I visited the N Seoul Tower. The initial plan was to walk up there, but my inability to wake up early, led me to take the cable-car. A good experience overall, the area was full of people enjoying their Saturday morning and full of heart-locks, enjoying the fact that the relationships they are suppose to lock together almost never succeed. After a couple of walks, I visited the Dongdaemum Design Plaza, a truly impressive site of engineering. I walked back to a colorful Myeongdong and went to sleep, after consuming more banana milk. Next day was Gangnam style day, as I crossed the river to discover the neighborhood of Gangnam. I went to the «I Seoul You» sign, which was empty due to the cold, to the Lotte tower, which was beautiful due to architecture, to the K-pop street, which was great due to BTS, to the Starfield Library, which was cozy due to the books and generally around the block. That was my last day in Seoul, the next day I had my last banana milk and boarded a plane to a land where the sun shines first (at least that’s what they say).
My trip to Seoul might seem a little lacking and that’s because I didn’t mention a big part of it, my hunt for cute cafes. Seoul has so many unique cafes and I had to visit most of them, so a lot of my time and money was spend there. I started from the Ddong Cafe or Poop cafe if you would like, which was as it is implied, poop themed. I thoroughly enjoyed drinking out of a toilet shaped mug. Then I visited cafe Bora, which served sweet potato soft ice cream. The ice cream was weird, as a sweet potato ice cream should be, but the atmosphere was cozy. The next day the 2D cafe, called 223-14, followed. I slipped into the pages of a book, enjoying a great red velvet cheesecake. Zapangi and its amazing sweets were next, I entered there through a vending machine. Finally I visited Bistopping cafe, where you can pick the toppings for your ice-cream, so naturally I made one with dinosaurs and sea shells. All these cafes were very pricey and don’t expect to spend much less than 10$ in each one, but they were all unique experiences worth having. After all that’s what money are good for.
The only bad thing I could say about Seoul is that solo traveling might be a little more difficult. No, you will not face any harassment and the city is very safe, but eating out alone can be a hassle. I was never denied entry from anywhere, but I could see that not all cafe owners were happy that I occupied a table on my own. Besides that Seoul is an amazing place with great shops, great food, great architecture great great great… I could not only see myself going back but even living there. However it is a place for city dwellers, if you are a child of the forest you might want to consider incorporating suburbs and other areas into your travel plans. And when you are there, drink some more banana milk for me.
The Indonesian Chronicles 