When I travel with family or friends, I am not so fuzzy about the itinerary. I just have very few things that I want to do, to see and to eat, and then I leave the rest with them, I’ll just tag along with them and do whatever they have planned for the trip. There are times when I just wanted to chill and be on my own so I sometimes choose to skip the day’s itinerary and have some hygge moments by myself. But for the Seoul trip which was quite short, I joined my BFFs wherever they went because I wanted to spend time with them as much as I can. For this post, I will share my “musts” for this trip which my BFFs happily supported which I am very grateful for. 🙂

✔️ The first one was to stay at the Hotel Cappuccino which I already shared in the previous post.

✔️ Another must for me is to eat jjajangmyeon. 😋 During our short 5-day trip, I was able to eat this yummy meal twice. 😉 🥢

Jajangmyeon (자장면) or jjajangmyeon (짜장면) is a Korean-style Chinese noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (black bean paste), diced pork, and vegetables. A variant of the dish uses seafood.

Wikipedia

✔️ Another must for me was to visit convenience stores where you would find interesting, yummy food, drinks, and other stuff. I ate Samgak-gimbap (triangular shaped gimbap) and boiled egg which I discovered in my previous trips in Seoul and Busan. They are my favorite, very affordable snacks from convenience stores in Korea. 🙂

  ✔️ Another must for a milk-tea lover is of course to go milk-tea hopping, there are countless milk-tea joints in Seoul but I only had one drink because I had sore throat in the middle of the trip, which was very unfortunate… In my next visit, hopefully soon, I should enjoy more milk-teas..

The following musts are not only for me but for my BFFs, too:

✔️ Tour around Bukchon Hanok Village

Surrounded by Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine, Bukchon Hanok Village is home to hundreds of traditional houses, called hanok, that date back to the Joseon Dynasty. The name Bukchon, which literally translates to “northern village,” came about as the neighborhood lies north of two significant Seoul landmarks, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jongno. Today, many of these hanoks operate as cultural centers, guesthouses, restaurants and tea houses, providing visitors with an opportunity to experience, learn and immerse themselves in traditional Korean culture. As Bukchon Hanok Village is an actual neighborhood with people’s homes, visitors are advised to be respectful at all times while looking around.

VisitKorea.com

In the middle of our tour, we got tired from walking so we took a break, we got curious about this traditional tea house, Cha-teul:

Literally translated from the Korean as “tea-drinking garden,” Cha-teul is a hanok resting on a hilltop that has everything you might want for a tea-café in Samcheong-dong. Quiet classical music plays as you step inside without your shoes on and teas are served with detailed instructions on traditional sets. Looking outside the hanok, there’s an unparalleled view of the small houses that make up the neighborhood and looking within the hanok, there’s a well-kept garden full of flowers and small lights. While beautiful all times of the day, there’s a particular hour right before the sun sets that fills the entire hanok with a touch of gold. The most difficult choice is not what to drink, but which view to rest your eyes.

By Hahna Yoon, Timeout.com

✔️ Another must is a tour at Petite France, a little taste of France in South Korea. 😍

The blue wall above is called The Wall of Love (French: Le mur des je t’aime, lit. the I Love You Wall), it was patterned after a love-themed wall in the Jehan Rictus garden square in Montmartre, Paris, France. I was pointing out to “Mahal kita” which means I love you in my local language. 😍

In my next post, I will share a couple more of musts on this trip. Hope you had a lovely time “travelling” with me through this post.

Take care, everyone! 😘😘