Welcome to my Seoul Photo Album!

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I should begin by saying I had the pleasure to travel with my amazing boyfriend, Kellen, who gifted me a plane ticket to Seoul, South Korea for my birthday!

We flew out of Vancouver B.C. because the ticket prices from Canada were extremely cheaper than flying out of Portland.

We arrived at the evening and was very very jet lagged - both Kellen and I knew we had to force ourselves to stay up in order to enjoy our trip fully!

~ Finding Namsan Tower ~

Next day, we woke up at 4am!! We knew nothing was open so we decided to get up and explore very early in the day.

One of most memorable experience during my trip was hiking to the top of Namsan park where we watched the sun rise.

It was a beautiful morning and a very great first impression for us visiting the city of Seoul.

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This picture on the right shows the beautiful city at one of the view points along the trail.

Both Kellen and I were fascinated and very excited to explore the city. But, we are not even at the top of the mountain yet!

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You can see Namsan Tower peeking above the naked trees.

You can also see snow on the ground. It was below freezing and luckily steps were not icy.

I was extremely tired and you can see me slacking in the photo! I'm really glad we made it to the top and did not give up.

~ Bukchon Hanok Village ~

One of the greatest obvious things of Seoul is the different culture and amazing history.

We visited one of the most historic towns of Seoul, Bukchon Hanok Village, where these houses dated back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392)!!!

It was Incredible to witness the contrast between modern Seoul and historic Seoul.

~ Traditional Hanbok ~

We saw the perfect chance to dress up and put ourselves in the shoes of traditional korean outfits (literally).

Traditional hanboks was established during the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 BCE- 668 CE), and the design features have remained relatively unchanged to this day.

~ Gangnam ~

Our next stop was Gangnam - and without the use of metrostation we would not be able to go there from Myeongdong.

The picture on the right shows myself exiting the metrostation near Gangnam. Obviously, very happy to explore a lively neighborhood.

There were many bars, shopping malls, and 24-hour cafes! Gangnam was absolutely beautiful during night.

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We are meeting friends in a meerkat cafe! The video shows a 4 month-old, long-nosed raccoon being super friendly and jumping all over Kellen and I.

It was very exciting being the only ones in the cafe and playing with all of the animals. We saw animals like kangaroos, meerkats, savannah cats, and snow foxes!

~ Exploring ~

This picture is of Gangnam, but since we got a hang of the metro, we can explore everywhere in Seoul!

Seoul never ceases to amaze me every day I woke up during my trip. Where shall we go next? We took it upon ourselves to explore without an itinerary.

Even though it is risky, Kellen and I found hidden treasures of Seoul. Local shops, and local restaurants were hidden in neighborhoods and not touristy areas.

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This alley way shows the realest part of Korea! Even though the city has an amazing city skyline, Korea is filled with a bunch of small alleyways that can take you to a secret pathway onto the next adventure!

Exploring alleyways was very spontaneous but you can find yourself small local restaurants and that was like nothing you could ever get.

~ 음식 ~

You don't have to ask me twice about the food in South Korea. Everything we ate was absolutely delicious!

The picture shows me with a bowl of Bibim guksu (spicy noodles) at Myeondong Kyoja. We found out later that we went to one of the famous restuarants in Korea!

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On the cheaper end, Kellen and I found that one of our favorite meals were cheap ma & pa dine-in shops in small alleyways.

Even though dishes like gimbap and instant ramyun can be found anywhere, even in the U.S., we still treasure and love trying to live like a South Korean local.

On the other hand, the gimbap was out of this world and felt like I got a real authentic taste of it. The food also came quick and the restaurant don't see tourists very often, so we were served with so much gratitude.

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On to more food!! Another thing we love to do was to go to convienence stores and get meals there. It is normalize to eat your meals at the store and even provide you with heating appliances!

We went to convienence stores often because we kept waking up at 4am and nothing else was open!

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One of the most memorable days was going shopping and stumbling outside to find ourselves in the middle of a food festival!

Here, I am holding a bowl of tteokbokki. Tteok-bokki is a korean comfort dish that is usually spicy. It has rice cakes, fish cakes, veggies, and sometimes crunchy fried dumplings! Yum!!

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Last, but absolutely not least - Chimaek!!!
Chimaek means fried chicken and beer, which is a culture that South koreans have developed over the years, and was our all-time favorite meal

The photo shows how marvelous South koreans cook and serve their fried chicken and it does not come close to any other fried chicken I've ever had.

If we ever go back to South Korea, I'll be looking forward to their fried chicken.

~ Goodbye Seoul ~

Oh how bittersweet it is looking at the very last photo I took of Seoul.

I miss this city so much and want to go back very badly. There was so much to see and to try and to live, and I wish I had the time to do so the little 15 days we spent there.

Until then, Annyeonghi gyeseyo (goodbye)!!!