Travel to the Wonderland: South Korea Trip Day 2

Summary of places we visited on Day 2: Namdaemun Market, Samcheong-dong, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Gwangjang Market, Cheonggyecheon Stream, Dongdaemun

Day 2 of our trip started with a visit to Namdaemun Market for a glimpse of how a tradition Korean market looks like. We stopped at a roadside stall where locals are crowding to buy a fish cake stick, before heading to the bus stop near Namdaemun Gate to catch a bus to Samcheong-dong.

Direction on how to navigate around Namdaemun Market

Shops along Namdaemun Market

Fish Cake from a road store - yumzzz

Namdaemun Gate

Bus stop near Namdaemun Gate

We boarded Bus 11 and alighted 5 stops later near Samcheong Police Substation. From there, we walked to Café Breezin, the beautiful café where you could enjoy nice coffee and waffle at its rooftop while enjoying the view of Samcheong-dong. At it was still early and the Café is still not open for business, we took a walk along the quiet streets of Samcheong-dong, where pretty shops and houses line along the streets.

For Innisfree fans, there is an Innisfree café at Samcheong-dong. The typical store where you can buy the facial products is on the first floor, and the 2nd and 3rd floor is the café. There are some VR headsets in the café, and you could try wearing one. In the video, the ambassador of Innisfree (Lee Minho!!) will take your hand (gasp!) and bring you to Jeju Island, introducing you to the origin of Innisfree products.

Innisfree café

After exploring Samcheong-dong for a while, we headed back to Café Breezin for our breakfast. As it was freaking cold, we stayed indoor, but choose a window seat to enjoy our waffle and coffee.

We then made our way to One Day Hanbok to dress ourselves up in Hanbok (traditional Korean dress). One Day Hanbok is situated in between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village, making it an excellent choice if you want to visit both places while dressing up in Hanbok. It also has a wide selection of Hanbok and accessories, and the staffs are well verse in English and Chinese.

One Day Hanbok

2nd Floor, 4 Bukchonro5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Website: http://www.onedayhanbok.com/

Alternatively, you can also enjoy the experience of wearing Hanbok and taking pictures for free at Seoul Global Cultural Center in Myeongdong.

Seoul Global Cultural Center

M Plaza 5th Floor Myeongdong

Website: http://sgcc.wpengine.com/cultural-experiences/#!/hanbok

Don't be too worried of being very "outstanding" by roaming the streets wearing a Hanbok; many people are also doing the same thing! In fact, you get to enter Gyeongbokgung Palace for free if you are wearing a Hanbok. Gyeongbokgung Palace is the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, where kings stayed and government were being held. Gyeongbokgung Palace is also featured in famous Korean dramas such as Goblin, Moon Embracing the Sun etc.

Me as the imaginary princess of the Joseon dynasty pondering about life

We also paid a visit to The National Museum of Korea which is near the east gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, before going back to One Day Hanbok to return our Hanbok as we needed the warmth of our winter clothing.

We had our late lunch at Mukshidonna, and the piping hot tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) stew warmed our bodies with its tasty and rich soup base and delicious tteokbokki.

Mukshidonna

Samcheongdong Seoul Jungo-gu, Anguk-dong 17-18

Bukchon Hanok Village is our next stop, and we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring this traditional village which was the residential area of high ranking government officials and nobility of the Joseon dynasty and now converted into a traditional cultural center with shops, restaurants and art galleries.

As the dusk sets in, we headed to Gwangjang Market for dinner. From Bukchon Hanok Village, it is a short walk to Anguk Station (Line 3), where we took the subway to Jongno 5(o)-ga Station (Line 1), and exited from Exit 11, where you can then see the entrance to Gwangjang Market.

Gwangjang Market

88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno 1 (il).2(i).3(sam).4(sa), Jongno-gu

It's not an understatement that Gwangjang Market is a bustling market; on top of being a perfect dinner place where you could eat and mingle with the locals, a vast variety of stuffs were sold in Gwangjang Market which ranges from fabrics for making clothes to live sea food for cooking.

We sat down at 1 of the stores to enjoy kimbap (Korean sushi roll) and tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) before heading to another store for the famous bindaetteok (mung bean pancake). An expatriate who has stayed in Korean for more than 10 years chatted with us while we were enjoying the bindaetteok, and shared with us his thoughts about staying in Korea, and some must-go attractions in Seoul.

Ahjumma (aunty) chopping a live octopus into pieces

After dinner, we followed the signs in the market and headed to Cheonggyecheon Stream for a stroll to digest our dinner. We managed to walk to Dongdaemun, and spend sometime exploring the Doota Mall and hello apM before heading back to Myeongdong.