seoul

Sharing a few snippets from my trip to Korea! I went to Seoul at the end of September. Although I didn't go to the #KBW main venue, I still had a really fulfilling time~

I don't travel abroad very often, so this was my first time in Korea too. But when I found out a while ago that I was going to Korea, my mind was still kind of blank.

My impression of Korea was basically K-pop, Samsung, kimchi, a strong esports scene, and intense crypto trading. But I don't play games or follow celebrities these days, so aside from the Side Event, there wasn't really anywhere in particular I wanted to go.

Still, I stayed for quite a while this time. Unfortunately, a few of those days fell during Korea's Chuseok holiday, so it was nice that the streets weren't crowded, but aside from the main shopping districts, a lot of shops were closed. Luckily, it only rained for one day; the rest were sunny, slightly dry days with autumn just around the corner~

On my first visit to Seoul, there were a few things I had to get used to, but the first half of the trip was pretty chill. For example, I didn't have to think too hard about where to go for a meal, because Korea's Chuseok holiday had already picked the restaurants for us (there weren't many open). Sometimes I'd wake up, look up a few places, and head out if they seemed nice.

I can't quite remember everywhere I went. The names I do remember are Hongdae, Myeongdong, Apgujeong, Bukchon Hanok Village, Itaewon, Deoksugung Palace, Jongno 3-ga, Gwangjang Market, Heunginjimun Gate, Lotte World, a café by the Han River, and Dongdaemun Design Plaza. I even visited some places twice. There must be lots of other places I should've checked out but didn't, right?

Of course, I also got to try local Korean BBQ, spicy braised chicken soup, pork soup with rice, ginseng chicken soup, beef tartare, Korean fish cakes, tteokbokki, Kyochon fried chicken, makgeolli, Korean instant noodles, banana milk, and a bunch of snacks. Aside from live octopus, I wonder what else I should've tried but didn't?

There were lots of little funny moments throughout the trip, but I'll leave those out for now~ Thanks to everyone I met on this trip.

Special thanks to my good friend for all the support from start to finish, sharing so many shopping routes, classic food recommendations, and shopping tips XD They always managed to find the perfect photo spots and patiently taught me lots of Korean. I could write more about all the ways they helped, but I'll probably still remember these: “Annyeonghaseyo, igeo hana juseyo, gamsahamnida!” (Hello, one of these, please, thank you!)