Seoul, Long Time No See

SEOUL | DAY 00

-ARRIVED-

After a layover in Tokyo, I arrived at Incheon Int’l airport around 9PM. This is probably my 100th time here at this airport because, going back and forth from Thailand to America, I have to layover either in Japan or in Korea. Korean airlines generally offer better prices, so I got to layover in Korea very often in the past 4-5 years. Regardless of being on the Korean soil many times, this is actually my third time only to travel in Korea, and it’s my first time coming here alone.

I stopped by Korea on the way back to Thailand, so I carried a lot of stuff with me. I first went to Level 3F near check-ins A to store my big luggage there. It costed about 35,000W for five days which is not too bad. I couldn’t decide what clothes to wear in Korea, so I ended up bringing carry-on and medium size luggage with me to Seoul.

I stopped by at a convenient store inside the airport to get a T-money just to make my life easier and it costs a little less. T-money is a prepaid and refillable card that can be used on public transportation including taxi. Some convenient stores also except T-moneys as well. If you forget to get one from the airport, you can always get one at most of the convenient stores in Seoul. You can get the T-money refunded at a convenient store with a 500W service deducted when the balance is less than 20,000W. To reduce the hassle, just add only what you will use. For more information about T-money: click

Afterward, I went down to Level B1 to the transportation center, it might be a little bit confusing, but it’s not too hard to find. Just look for an AREX logo and follow the sign. I took the AREX all stations and took off at Hongdae Station.

I honestly regretted bringing too much luggage with me because the Airbnb apartment I got was not as close to the metro station as I thought. It would have been fine walking with a carry-on, but it was kind of embarrassing dragging big luggage through a park where there was a lot of people sitting there chit-chatting and drinking beer. I chose to walk through the park because the footpath was well-paved, but I still had to merge back a normal brick walkway in order to get to my apartment.

I got there pretty late and encountered some drunk people which I was told to not stare or look at them or I might get into trouble. At least the address number goes in one direction. The number increases as it gets farther from the Hongdae Station toward the south. The place looked uber sketchy at night, but the inside looked as if I entered a different building.

I took the day after in the morning, so it doesn’t look as sketchy. But yeah, the inside is pretty nice. The only thing was that there was no AC in the single room I was staying in. Only the double bedroom had one. I didn’t expect Korea to be this hot, but I’m glad the host dropped me a fan on the next day, so I didn’t end up dying because of the heat.

I went out to get something to drink – the famous banana flavored milk (바나나맛우유) from a convenient store nearby. There was a lot of convenient stores in the area. You would find one every block. The last time I had this was probably when I was in Korea 6 years ago, and they now have light version. I don’t normally eat or drink something sweet, but this was an exception.

SEOUL | DAY 01

-HONGDAE IN THE MORNING-

I woke up really early in the morning. At first, I was going to go run, but I got too lazy. I heard that Korean people are not used to people running outside unless it’s super early in the morning. “Only foreigners run outside”, my friend said.

It was around 8am that I went outside. Only the café nearby called “Jeje” was open and saved my morning with its coffee. I just can’t start my day without a cup of coffee.

If you are a coffee-holic like me, there are some must-learn Korean phrases in order to order a cup of coffee. I suggest you to at learn how to read Korean, it will be very useful when you're there.

Ordering a cup of coffee in Korean is pretty simple:

Cashier: 안녕하세요~ @#$%^&* //Hello

You: 핫/아이스* [drink] 주세요. //Can I have Hot/Iced [drink] please?

You: Take out이에요. //I'll have it to-go please. (This will be good enough)

*For the word "hot (핫)", many online Korean lessons suggest using 뜨거운 which is a more proper way of speaking Korean, but using 핫 is pretty common among teenagers as well.

Then all you need to do after is to look at the display, pay and wait for your coffee. Yay~ now, you're set to go!

-GYEONGUI LINE PARK-

As I walked along the Gyeongui Line Park (경의선숲길공원) toward the South, there was the rail track as part of the park, so I assumed the pace used to be a rail road.

After I did some research, apparently, the place used to be rail road and a slum, but the government renovated the place and transformed it into a nice public space like this. This railway used to go as far as Pyeongyang, North Korea. I really like how nice the place is. In the morning, people came here for a walk. The area is relatively quiet comparing to the night time.

Gyeongui Line Park (경의선숲길공원)

Gyeongui Line Park (경의선숲길공원)

Gyeongui Line Park (경의선숲길공원)

At night, a lot of college students, especially from Hongik University, came here with a mat to lay down, chill and drink -- yes, drink, publicly without getting into trouble. I saw other college students from Yeonse University coming here as well.

-YEON HEE DONG-

I walked across the park toward Yeon Hee-dong. I could kind of see that this neighborhood used to be a slum before. The houses seemed like they were squeezed to fit the tiny space, but the walkways were now nicely paved though.

While I was walking down the alley, I could smell someone making ramyeon. I was going to get some nice breakfast, but that ramyeon made me feel so hungry, so I went into GS25, a popular convenient store in Korea, and got Cham Chi Kimbap (Tuna Kimbap). It was pretty good. I don’t know if it’s because I was hungry or not

I got some eyes staring at me while taking this kimbap picture, but no shame -- ’m a foreigner and, more importantly, a foodie.

After I was done with my food, I walked through a tunnel that went through a small hill and kept walking until I saw the main street. And now, it’s time to go to Edae.