Chimaek picnic at Banpo Hangang Park (Day 7)

An icon of Seoul, the Han River stretches for 494 kilometres from Taebaek Mountains to the Yellow Sea. It serves as a water source for over 12 million Koreans. Numerous parks dot the embankments of the Han River including popular recreational spaces at Yeouido (famous for cherry blossoms and also the 63 Building, the tallest building in Seoul), Jamsil, and Ttukseom which offer ferry cruise services on Hangang River.

The park that we visited was the Banpo Hangang Park. The wide and spacious park was a great place to see and enjoy nature as well as to take part in sports and recreational activities. You can see many people strolling or jogging along the trail paths, in-line skaters, and cyclists. A summer tradition was also to have a picnic and hang out with your friends at the park and that’s exactly what we wanted to do too!

Rent one of these cute buoy-shaped boats and eat food there! So fun!

Cute overload at LINE Friends Store & Café, Sinsa-dong (Day 7)

Brown. Cony. Moon. James. Sally.

Do these names mean anything to you? If it does, you must be a LINE user!

LINE is a hugely popular messaging service app that has taken the world by storm due to its adorably expressive stickers sets featuring the characters I mentioned above. 1 billion stickers sent by worldwide users on a daily basis can’t be wrong!

It’s really no surprise that the popularity of these characters led to the production of sought-after merchandise and now there are 3 LINE flagship stores alone in Seoul – each with a unique theme!

We visited the 3-storey flagship at Garosugil in Sinsa-dong and as massive fans of LINE, we were in absolute LINE heaven! Everything is so darn cute!!!! A gigantic 3-metre tall Brown greets you when you enter the door and after that, well, it’s just cute overload everywhere.

Hallyu Star Hunt – a walking tour of Apgujeong Rodeo (Day 7)

One of the aims of our recent trip to Korea was tour the various locations where our favourite shows were filmed as well as to visit the big 4 entertainment companies in the small hope of meeting someone famous.

So off we went to Apgujeong in search of our favourite Kpop stars!

The Apgujeong/Cheongdamdong area is home to the country’s leading entertainment and talent agencies. It is also otherwise best known for being the playground for the rich and famous in Seoul. Flagship stores of major luxury and fashion houses line the street and this is the place for celebs and socialites to visit their high-end/private beauty and hair salons. There are also plenty of chic, trendy cafes, bars and restaurants everywhere.

If you have ever dreamt of running into a Kpop star, this area is going to be your best bet. Look! We found 2PM at G+Star Zone, a Hallyu star-themed photo zone at Apgujeong Rodeo Station.

Rose Festival at Seoul Grand Park (Day 7)

Spring time is the season for flower festivals in Korea. Even if you’ve missed your chance to see the cherry blossoms and azaleas, late Spring still offers other fabulous varieties of flowers to be seen.

And that’s the reason we came to the Seoul Grand Park on an early morning in May – for its annual Rose Festival.

 

 

Sulbing (설빙) Korean Dessert Café (Day 6)

By now the bingsu (shaved ice) craze has completely taken over the Singapore dessert scene, with new stores opening up every other week, but did you know that it first originated in Korea?

 It’s a very popular snack to have in the summertime and of course, when we visited Seoul in the middle of the heatwave season last year, the top thing we wanted to try was bingsu.

Bingsu is much like a super souped up version of our local ice-kachang. Atop a bed of finely shaved ice, different combinations of toppings can be added such as nuts, seeds, seasonal fruits such as mango or strawberries, chewy rice cake, ice cream, red bean etc. Condensed milk is then generously drizzled on top for added flavouring.

Gyeonggi English Village (Day 6)

It’s quite surreal finding a full-blown model of an English village right smack in the Korean countryside. 

City Hall

Oh wow. Didn't expect to see a replica Stonehenge in Korea!

Map of Gyeonggi English Village

From cobblestoned streets to cozy stone cottages to English landscape gardens and even a replica of the Stonehenge monument, the developers of Gyeonggi English Village spared no effort in creating a living environment that looked like it popped out of a Jane Austen novel.  I half expected people to come dancing out of the houses in their Victorian corsets, bonnets and, top hats!! Haha!

Heyri Art Valley (Day 6)

Heyri Art Valley (헤이리 문화예술마을)  is a lovely and picturesque arts enclave located in Paju province in Gyeonggi-do. It’s mind-boggling to know that this place is just a mere 6km away from the North Korean border!

The village was first set up in 1995 as a place for artists to take refuge and create art in the countryside.  A number of Korean and international artists, writers, painters, actors, architects and musicians have all set up their artistic spaces, work rooms, museums, and galleries here. One can simply spend a full day here just wandering in and out of the galleries!

My Love From Another Star Exhibition at KINTEX (Day 6)

Now, who hasn’t watched the extraordinarily popular k-drama “My Love From Another Star”?

Starring Kim Soon Hyun in his breakthrough role as Do Min Joon, the alien who got stranded on Earth for thousands of years after his spaceship left without him, his on-screen romance with the superstar actress Jun Ji-hyun (Cheon Song Yi) left many die-hard romantics across the world swooning.

It is every fan’s dream to be able to sneak a peek into the homes of these beloved characters and that’s exactly what we did when we visited the “My Love From Another Star” exhibition at KINTEX! The exhibition was previously first staged at Dongdaemun Design Plaza before moving to KINTEX, a gigantic convention and exhibition center located in Ilsan, Goyang City, which is north of Seoul. [Do note that the “My Love From Another Star” Exhibition has since closed.]

Shopping, Eating & Exchanging Money in Seoul – Sungshin Women’s University and Myeongdong (Day 5)

It is said that any subway stop in Seoul that has the word ‘university’ in it would usually be a haven for shopping. I believe this is true!

After taking a short breather at our hotel, we ventured out to the shopping area near Sungshin Women’s University. Besides shopping, our other main purpose for coming here was to visit Capi Capi Loom Loom (카피카피룸룸 카페) Café aka Seoul’s only Rilakkuma themed café.

Unfortunately, we came all the way here only to realise that the café has CLOSED DOWN. *SOB SOB SOB* Super devastated!

Sigh.

To get over our bout of disappointment, we sought refuge in retail therapy.

This area surprisingly has great shopping! The ‘feel’ of the place is much like Hongdae or Edae. Many of the shops cater to the young and cash strapped, with trendy fashion at very affordable price points. We bought two very gorgeous long sleeved silk blouses for 20,000 won each. What a steal!

After our brief stop at Sungshin, we made our way to Myeongdong in the evening.

crowded streets of Myeongdong

Hotel Rian - Review of our Seoul Hotel stay

After four wonderful days in Busan, it's time to return back to Seoul! Our "home" for the next five nights is a small boutique hotel called Hotel Rian, located in the Jongno district.

We booked a Standard Twin room and typical of Korean room sizes, it was small-ish but manageable for two persons with huge pieces of luggage (size is about 23 sqm). Our rooms were exactly the same as the pictures on the hotel's website! Average price per night was $95.

Photo Credit: Hotel Rian website 

Photo Credit: Hotel Rian website

Nampo-dong, Busan (Day 4)

Nampo-dong is one of my favourite shopping areas in Busan – I like it even more than Seomyeon! While Seomyeon is much larger in scale, I find that its size makes it rather confusing to navigate the streets properly. On the other hand, Nampo-dong is much easier to walk around, with just a main street (Gwangbok Street), and some smaller lanes alongside.

Photo Credit: KTO

We had the bestest Budae jjigae or army stew in Nampo-dong at a shop called King Kong Budae (킹콩부대찌개). It is so cheap and good! Only 7,000 KRW per person!! There are over 90 outlets across Korea, and I think you can probably find it at most places. Just look out for its instantly recognizable mascot!

Photo Credit: King Kong Budae Facebook page

Gyochon Traditional Village, Gyeongju (Day 4)

Just like the Yangdong Folk village, the Gyeongju Gyochon Village is another traditional village of old hanok houses that offers visitors a glimpse into life during the Joseon period. One of the famous sites here is the Gyeongju Hyanggyo, a Confucian academy and shrine, where Korea’s first state-operated educational institute “Gukhak” was established in 682.

Yangdong Folk Village, Gyeongju (Day 4)

After two whole days of sightseeing in the urban city of Busan, we’re moving on to a day of culture with our immersive tour to Gyeongju. Gyeongju can be easily done as a day trip from Busan – by KTX, it is only less than 30 minutes away!

What attracted us to the city of Gyeongju was its reputation as a "museum without walls." Gyeongju has a rich and important history, having served as the capital of the Silla Dynasty (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. Till today, a large number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period remain in the city. These ancient relics are such an integral part of the landscape that the whole city has been designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site (known collectively as the "Gyeongju Historic Area"). 

Samgwangsa Temple Buddha Birthday Lantern Festival (Day 3)

Every May, the Lotus Lantern Festival takes place at the Samgwangsa Temple to commemorate Buddha's birthday. It is a spectacular time to visit as the entire temple grounds will be lit up with lanterns and floats.

As we visited on a Saturday evening, the roads leading up to the temple were severely congested. The traffic police tried to stop cars from going anywhere near the temple entrance. We had to alight some distance away from the temple and our taxi driver was extremely apologetic that he couldn’t bring us all the way up to the entrance. No worries though, we managed to make our way up a steep hill on our own (after breaking out a bit of sweat).

A funny thing happened to us while we were walking up to the temple. We were stopped by an ahjumma near the parking lot. She was carrying several plastic bags and she fished out something and passed it to us – it was red bean buns! We were like “HUH, what’s going on” and tried to tell her “gwenchanayo” and shook our heads, but she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. She was insistent that we take the food! Haha! So weird! We didn’t know what was going on but thanked her for it anyway.

steps leading up to the temple were decorated with zodiac lanterns

Although we had already seen one Lotus Lantern festival at Haedong Yonggungsa the day before, the festival at Samgwangsa is on a whole new different level altogether. We were really, really fortunate to visit Busan during Buddha’s birthday because we get to see Samgwangsa Temple at its most beautiful.

Thousands of brightly lit lotus lanterns were strung across the temple grounds, together with many other creative lantern displays such as the twelve animals of the zodiac. Some of them can even move and breathe fire! WOW! Needless to say, this stunning display of lanterns attracted many devotees, curious tourists and hardcore photographers alike. It’s really impossible to take a lousy photograph here. The best time to visit would be in the evening, where you can see the sight in both its daytime and night-time glory.



 

When we left, we realised that the temple was distributing bread, bananas and drinks to devotees and many locals were seen leaving the temple with humongous bags of food. I guess this is where the ahjumma we met earlier got the red bean buns!

red bean buns that we ate for breakfast the next day

Clutching our precious anpan in our hands, we made our way downhill to catch a cab back to Seomyeon. We grabbed a late dinner and did a bit more shopping before returning back to our hotel. Another wonderful day in Busan. Saranghaeyo Busan!

dinner was seafood udon with loads of bonito flakes

How to get there: 

Take the subway to Seomyeon station and take a taxi (about 5,000 won) to the temple. Alternatively, you can take the mini bus No. 15 at the bus stop across from the Lotte Department store in Seomyeon. Get off at the entrance of Samgwangsa temple.

Visiting downtown Busan: Song Sang-hyeon Square and Seomyeon (Day 3)

The Song Sang-hyeon Square  (송상현 광장), a newly-open public square on Jungang-daero Avenue, Busanjin-gu.

The square is Busan’s answer to the other symbolic squares found in world class cities such as New York's Time Square, London's Trafalgar and Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Before our Busan trip, I read that there was a Lotus Lantern Festival to be held there but alas, I must have gotten the dates wrong, because when we went there, there was nothing there! I think the festival must have been held on the previous week. Darn.

enjoyable public space where kids can play in water

 Nonetheless, we explored the area a bit. It’s a nice little urban oasis in the middle of the city, complete with lush greenery and many neat rows of trees. There is also a large, well-manicured lawn where people can picnic and a stream where little kids can play. It’s quite a nice place to cool down and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This place comes alive especially during the weekends when there are flea markets and live performances from local bands.

Gamcheon Culture Village (Day 3)

After lunch, we hopped on a cab to Gamcheon Culture Village (감천문화마을), a quirky little arts enclave on the other side of town. Most of us know this place because it was featured prominently in a Running Man episode (Busan’s very own Jung Yonghwa from CNBLUE was the guest).

 

Taejongdae (Day 3)

Since we had a super-packed itinerary the day before, we decided to sleep in a little later the next day and take it easy on Day 3. We start the day at the city’s most iconic attraction, Taejongdae (태종대) which is famous for its rock beach and coastal trails with magnificent views of the sea. If the word “taejong” sounds familiar to you, it is because it is named after King Taejong of the Shilla Dynasty himself, who enjoyed coming here to shoot arrows here.

Getting here by public transport was a breeze. From the bus stop opposite Busan Station, we took Bus 88 to Taejongdae. You can even check for bus arrival times at the digital signboards at the bus stop for estimated timing of bus arrivals – pretty cool!

Route for Bus 88. Busan Station is the one before YMCA. Taejongdae is the last stop.

Top: The bus stop to board the Bus 88 to Taejongdae. Bottom: The shop behind the bus stop.