South Korea Day 7: Second Date in Seoul

While in Jeju, I noticed someone I dated was there too. I FB PM her for a second date in Seoul. I admit that I was a JERK after our first and she actually agreed on a lunch date the day after my birthday. Woohoo!!!

Since the date was in the afternoon, I went about to Namsangol Hanok village 2 stops away. It's an area where traditional buildings from the Joseon era were relocated to. Also in the village is a time capsule to commemorate the 600th year after Joseon dynasty. The village is filled with traditional activities which some were similar to those of Southeast Asia.


Along the way, I had a wardrobe malfunction with my jacket and had to rectify the situation. It wasn't major but I had to take pride of my attire so I headed straight to Myeongdong to find Daiso in search of solutions.

Once rectified, I was right on time for the date and/or earlier than her. I was expected to find a diner as I read Hangul. She had problem searching some cuisine as majority of the stores had Hangul menu. A jerk still, she didn't get to have her tteokbokki (while writing this, I googled and noticed that tteokbokki is a street food that I saw all the while - the spicy street food I dare not try) but I had my raw baby octopus instead. I was amazed that she was daring to try it too. Any hope of a future with her, that's personal.

We continued walking around Myeongdong and she was amazed of the alleys that I brought her too. As she knew I was on a tight schedule, we parted ways and I headed to City Hall where I continued my Seoul MV hunt, searching for Sejong Square, Daeksugung Palace and Cheonggyecheon stream.

I was at Daeksugung entrance but chose to visit the next day instead. I was on another time constrain as I have a theater to attend at 1600. I headed towards Sejong Square instead. There wasn't much there except for Sejong statue, water fountain and a fantastic view towards Gwangbukgong palace. A few snaps and I continued on along Cheonggyecheon stream.

The stream was refurbished to suit the metropolitan life. It can be considered a walking route to many parts of the city as well as my theater venue, Seoul Cinema. The streams starts by a man-made waterfall and flows towards the Han river. It is quite serene walking along the stream. No wonder there were a lot of people sitting at the ledges and benches chatting, reading or just chilling with friends.

I got out at the intersection where the Seoul Cinema is located. I've made reservation back in Singapore for Jump! A Martial Art Theater which featured in Singapore before. I had recently went on many theater and would just like to add another in Seoul since Jump! is a non-verbal play (I'm going to struggle if it's a Korean play). Tickets were at SGD50 and it lasted for 90mins. It is a comedic show where you'll be entertain way before the show officially starts. The acrobatic moves where awesome but it had a simple plot. I shouldn't expect much for a non-verbal show.

After the show, I wanted to collect my films from the Lomography store but it was still early. Checking on current location, I was actually very near to Insadong - another of my Seoul MV hunt. I had dinner around the corner and made my way to Insadong.

Insadong is another shopping district but selling mostly traditional items such as hanbok and such but I was looking for a specific building feature in the MV. That building is Ssamziegil where the "mall" circulate from ground to three storey up. Majority of the shops are local fashion designers. I did thought of getting some traditional gifts but the items are quite pricy. So I left the place empty handed and in time to collect my films.

Hongik University at night is totally different when I was there the day before. It's livelier and crowded. It was hard getting from point A to B and majority of the diners were packed to the brim.

Once I collected my films, I continued walking along Hongik streets. At one point I noticed a lot of people gathering around a camera crew. From what I can make out from the conversation, there was a K-Pop artiste in the restaurant but I didn't caught the name. I waited like an eager fan but gave up as I do not know who it was. Hey! Shindong's in a concert the very moment so I don't really care who was dining there.

I had to head back to the hostel as I have an early morning tour the next day. So far, Seoul is vibrant in terms of life (except the elders - have not met one that is not crude) and attractions. I noticed that there's a lot of places that I need to cover the next day to get the satisfaction. Till then, I had to head back to rest for the trip to North Korea...

Second Date In Seoul