“The warm sunlight, the aromatic flowers, the wind and you ”
- Flower, Wind & You, HuiHyun (DIA), Chungha, Somi, Yoojung (IOI)
After a very loooong walk, we’re finally here! I always see this place on dramas. So we included this on out itinerary.
This place is so refreshing that you would like to rest here and enjoy the afternoon.
You can dip your feet on the water, or ride a bike, or just rest under the shade of trees. I noticed that Koreans like this kind of bonding with their family.
I was hoping to see cherry blossom trees that time, but sadly, it’s almost withered.
Still, we enjoyed our trip here in Yeouido.
I will share our another destination on my next blog post!
How to get here:
Yeouido Hangang Park
Yeouinaru Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 2 or 3.
or
from Yeouido Hangang Park, walk straight until you see the river.
“Oh this beautiful color
I keep getting drawn by it without me knowing
Put it into that pretty sky”
- Colors, IZ*ONE
As continuation of our Yeouido trip, we noticed a nearby building at the park. It’s none other than - KBS! The popular TV station for Dream High, Descendants of the Sun, Endless Love and more!
I saw Annyeong Oppa’s tweet that says that KBS On does not have entrance fee and it’s on Yeouido. Little did we know that it’s just around the park so we did not explored much on the park and went here imediately.
There are lots of photo op outside!
There’s more but we did not took much photos because we were so excited to went inside. Also, you can see outside the radio booth so yes, you can watch them especially if there are popular guests inside the radio booth.
They even waved at us. But we did not know them. HAHA!
And now we’re inside the exhibition hall!
Hello, Captain Yoo. Can I just take this home?
You will see lots of korean drama photos here and you’ll see that they really are one of the Top 3 TV Stations in South Korea. If you are a fan of Korean Dramas, this is a place to go!
How to get here:
Yeouido Station
Walk until you see the park. When you see the map of Yeouido Park
Turn right and walk until you see the KBS Building.
Other option:
National Assembly Station (Seoul Subway Line 9), Exit 4.
Tur right and cross the street.
Walk straight for approx. 245m.
Turn right and walk straight for approx. 300m.
“Have you ever seen anything?
Beautiful color, beautiful color, beautiful color
Have you ever seen this color?
Beautiful color, beautiful”
- Colors, IZ*ONE
For our day 2, we went to Yeouido! First, because, I want to see Cherry Blossoms, and the other one is because we haven’t visited this place yet.
We were welcomed by this giant fish when we stepped out of the station.
It was a long walk to reach the Park but it’s fun to look at the surroundings. Just like this building. I immediately took a photo of it after noticing what’s written on it.
But anyway, we reached the park so we took the chance to take lots of photos.
There are lots of things to do at Yeouido and I’ll share about the other places we went to on my next post.
How to get here:
Ride a subway going to Yeouido Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 3.
Walk 5 minutes towards the National Assembly building.
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“ Follow the dazzling light and draw out your day
You better know
There is a world that is waiting for you ”
- You Better Know, Red Velvet
They said that if you want to try indoor theme park, you should try visiting Lotte World. And so we did! We added this on our 2018 Itinerary after visiting Everland last May 2017.
We booked this Lotte World 1 Day Pass on Klook.
It is an indoor park but it also have attractions and rides outside. But first, we headed to the indoor park. After showing our tickets we got from Klook, we were welcomed by this view.
This is the first ride we tried. It’s called Drunken Basket.
Since we were too dizzy after riding Drunken Basket, the next thing we try is the Balloon Ride. This ride will give you a bird’s eye view of the indoor park.
We also tried other rides but were nopt able to take lots of photos. They are:
The Adventures of Sinbad
photo from Lotte World official website
Flume Ride
photo from Lotte World official website
Pharaoh’s Fury
photo from Lotte World official website
World Monorail
photo from Lotte World official website
After eating our lunch at Lotteria, we went outside since I really want to have a picture in front of the magic castle.
Here, you can see their latest attraction, Lotte World Tower Seoul Sky .
These are some of their outdoor rides and most of them are extreme rides. We didn’t tried them tho haha!
How to get here:
Ride a subway going to Jamsil Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, 8), Exit 4.
- Lotte World is directly connected to the station.
“This dazzling season that blooms early flowers
Like a watercolor, you spread inside of me.”
- You, who?, Somi X Eric Nam
It’s almost a year since we went to South Korea and this feels surreal to me. When we came back to Philippines last year, I really felt unsatisfied with the trip. It’s like 5 days is not enough. So July last year, we booked a flight to Incheon for April 2018. (And I’m also chasing the Cherry Blossom trees!)
Fast forward, we are supposed to go to Changdeokgung but since we can’t find a nearby hanbok rental there, we went to Gyeongbokgung instead.
Finally, a hanbok!
Hanbok Rental Fee: KRW 10,000 for 3 hours
Location: Near Seoul Selection bookstop, Gyeongbokgung
We just took our time to take lots of photos and enjoying the 3 hours of wearing a hanbok.
We will definitely visit you, Changdeokgung ♥
Soon.
NOTE: No entrance fee when you are wearing a hanbok.
“Take me to new world anywhere, wherever it is”
- Travel, Bolbbalgan4
It feels just like yesterday since we’ve been to Seoul and we want to go back. There are still some places we have not been to. Let me share to you the places I want to visit again and places I have not been to.
Haven’t been to:
Changdeokgung Palace
(photo from Korean Tourism Organization)
The reason we want to visit this place is because of the garden and I want to see other palace besides Deoksugung and Gyeongbokgung.
Lotte World
(photo from Koreatour.com)
I personally think that Cherry Blossoms around the Lake Seokchon of Lotte World is very beautiful around Spring time. Also, I want to take a picture at the castle!
Dongdaemnun Design Plaza
(photo from VisitSeoul)
I always see Dongdaemun Design Plaza as a part of must visit places in Seoul but we were not able to come here last 2017.
Garden of Morning Calm
(photo from Korea Tourism Organization)
Since we already visited Petite France, this place is our next go to along with Nami Island tour.
Yeouido
(photo from VisitSeoul)
Cherry Blossoms everywhere! But I think this is for a limited time only.
Want to visit again:
Myeongdong
The foods, korean beautty products, shopping street, the crowd. It’s the very place I always want to visit. If I will look for a place to stay in Seoul, I’d still choose Myeongdong.
Nami Island
The very relaxing ambiance of Nami Island makes me want ti visit this place again!
N Seoul Tower
The view, love locks and the tower itself. This is a place you must always include on your itinerary.
Ewha
For korean fashion at a cheap price, this is a go to place! There are lots of pretty and seasonal clothes here and is easy to locate.
TIPS:
For Kpop fans, this is a place for you!
Myeongdong Underground
(photo from K-drama Addiction Therapy )
There are lots of albums and merchs here. You can visit different stalls to choose which one sells cheaper.
10 + 1 socks in Myeongdong
They normally sell socks for 1,000 won each pair but if you will buy 10, you’ll get 1 free. I’m sure you can’t just pick one!
There are lots of 1+1 items
1+1 or 10+10 or 5+5, they sure got lots of that!
You can see lots of Subway Ads with your favorite idol/actor in it.
For foreign travellers, you can book anything on Klook!
“You only passed through in my dreams
But now you’re in front of me"
- Hello, Hyorin
Because the guesthouse we booked is at Myeongdong, every night, we are at Myeongdong’s shopping area. This is the place I’ll miss the most in South Korea.
Myeongdong is quiet in the morning. Because we always went out early (around 7 or 8 am), most of the shops are still closed.
But as soon as the clock hits 10:00 in the morning, shops begin to open their doors for customers.
This one particular store caught my attention. It’s a Park Bo Gum everywhere store! PARK.BO.GUM! Hahaha! I really grabbed the chance of having a free face mask with his face on the packaging. And yes, shops at Myeongdong (especially the beauty stores) offers free face mask. Just enter their stores and voila! A free face mask for you :)
Say hello to Song Joong Ki aka ‘Big Boss’ standee! My sister wants to take that standee home. Kidding, we don’t know how can we do that. If you love korean foods like Banana Milk, you can buy it here in small boxes or per piece.
If you’re a fan of LINE, you must visit this LINE Friends store! They have a big Brown stuff toy and people fall in line just to take a picture with it. They also sell foods and LINE items.
Most of the stores you’ll see at Myeongdong has pictures of popular Korean Idols and Actors. From Kim Soo Hyun to G-Dragon, they have it!
They also play Kpop songs on their stores. So if you’re strolling outside, you’ll hear Rookie of Red Velvet on one store and Knock Knock of TWICE on the other. Haha! And everyone’s competitive when it comes to luring tourists on their shops!
Of course my fangirl heart will never change. There are a lot of shops in Myeongdong that sells Kpop Albums and other items. Mostly are on the underground subway - Myeongdong Station.
Idk I just took a photo of this elevator ‘cos of this cutie design hahaha
And this is the reason why Bae Jinyoung became my bias on Produce 101. I always see this subway picture whenever we went to Myeongdong Station. Okay, too much fangirling.
Myeongdong is a good location if you will choose a place to stay in Seoul. It’s shopping district is alive even until midnight and there are tons of Guesthouses to choose from in that area.
“ The warm sunlight was brightly shining
The spring that was filled with pink light is ending ”
- When the Cherry Blossoms fade, IOI
Nami Island will always be on the “must-visit list” when travelling to South Korea. It was even featured on the Filipino Movie, ‘My Ex and Whys’. And they said that the best season to visit here is Autumn. But even if we weren’t able to see the orangey leaves of Nami in Autumn, we enjoyed the scenery here.
If Petite France features ‘My love from the Star’, Nami Island features the famous Korean Drama, ‘Endless Love: Winter Sonata’.
Aaaaaaand the famous spot! It was quite crowdy at that time but I was glad to take a photo of this. This is Nami’s popular spot. This was also the place featured on ‘My Ex and Whys’.
To get to Nami, you must ride a ferry from the entrance to Nami Island. It is included on the entrance fee anyway. Autumn and Winter I think is the best season to visit this place.
“Cause I’m a pilot anywhere
lighting star shooting star
I’ll give you my Galaxy”
- Galaxy, Bolbbalgan4
Petite France was featured on some Kdramas so we really added this to our itenerary. It was featured on the korean drama ‘My love from the Star’, and it was also featured on ‘The liar and his lover’ korean adaptation.
There is also a special spot for the korean dramas and shows Petite France is featured at.
They also displayed Cheon Song Yi’s outfits!
And here I am, just staring at the clown.
I can’t help but take a photo of these cutie koean kids hahaha :D
Petite France is soooo beautiful that these photos are not just the photos I have. And, it’s a must visit place when you travel to South Korea.
“Love is like a movie, it’s so predictable
That’s how I want to love you too”
- Movie, BTOB
This, we wouldn’t miss. Namsan Tower! Most Kdramas feature this location and you can really feel the love once you went here. Just bring an oppa. Kidding!
But before you reach the love locks area, you will be amazed at this view first!
Everywhere we look, there are love locks! Even at the stairs! Well, it is their trademark, anyway.
Love locks love locks love locks.
Some even put a phone case with a message! Hahaha!
Look at the tower! Oh, not at the couple at the back hahaha!
Even inside, you’ll see tons of love messages with their pictures.
And they said that this is a lane for lovers and that they should walk here together.
“You’re so pretty to me
I wonder if it’s a dream”
- Pick Me (Naya Na), Produce 101 S02
After window shopping at Ewha Womans Universitty, we headed to Hongdae aaaannnddd my fangirl heart exploded (in tagalog, ‘sabog feels’) when we were at Hongik University Subway Station. This station is full of Produce 101 subway photos OMG OMG OMG OMG.
Just allow me to fangirl here for a moment.
When I saw Minhyun’s subway photo, I literally stopped and told my sisters that I would take a quick photo this. OMG what more if I saw the real one!
So, my niece is a fan of Samuel so I stopped to take a photo of this as well (I’m not that a fan of him, tho).
AAAAAAAAAAAAND these two (which are both on the top visuals list) have their subway photos face to face (am I right? Basta magkatapat hahaha). Aaaaand lots of fans are taking either a selfie or just a photo of it as well. The first one I saw was Jihoon’s (the first photo) and I was like “HALAAAA BEBE KO
Too much of fangirl feels. The main reason we went to Hongdae is to visit their Hello Kitty Cafe. My sister is a big fan of Hello Kitty and I saw her excitement as we were looking for it. Outside and inside are full of Hello Kitty items! It’s like a Hello Kitty house by looking at it from the outside.
My sister said that she don't want to eat this cute foods. Buuuut we ate it lol. It was worth it. They’re all delicious!
There’s more upstairs. There is a Hello Kitty room and more Hello Kitty items. But we weren’t able to visit the Hello Kitty room ‘cos there are people taking photos inside at that time :(
Rather than hot pink
I like a deep purple
I also like pajamas with buttons and lipstick
- Palette, IU
On our free day, we went to Ewha Womans University to check on their fashion shopping area. They said that there are lots of cheap and pretty clothes there.
But first, went to look at the University area. We saw students on their casual attire. I think it’s quite the same here in Philippines. Just a pair of jeans and a shirt plus a backpack. They look simple.
There are lots of students (I think) that are looking for clothes and I must say that much of the clothes here are on trend.
I want to buy them all but I’m afraid I won’t be able to go home if I did (Hahaha)
I didn’t get to buy something for myself here but I enjoyed window shopping naman hahahaha
Above the sky, the end of the ocean, wherever I look
It’s so beautiful
I can’t take my eyes off of it
It spreads even in my dream
- All Mine, f(x)
For every travel, souvenir shopping will always be on the to-do list. So for traditional souvenirs, we went to Insa-dong to look for pretty but cheap items.
Insa-dong looks like just an ordinary place in Seoul, but it is filled with traditional items and people wearing hanbok. Beautiful Hanboks :) There are also shops offering Hanbok Rental for a cheap price.
Paintings, keychains, brushes for calligraphy, paper fan, traditional chopsticks, pouch, masks, they got it all here. That’s not all. In every shop, you’ll find different interesting items.You can also ask for a discount!
I’m sure, Insa-dong will always be on our itenerary :)
“Spring comes, into this street
Spring comes, into my heart
Don’t know why I am so excited”
- Love Blossom, K.Will
On our third day, we went to Everland! We did not expect that this place will be thrice as big as our very own Enchanted Kingdom. But this place is so beautiful. It has a variety of things their guests can do inside - visit the animals, try mild to extreme rides, or just stroll around the park filled with flowers.
We rode this thing to reach the other side~
And we saw this extreme ride while we were up. This ride looks scaryyy~
After reaching the other end, we went to look for a place to eat, and after eating, we took a stroll on the park filled with flowers.
After strolling, my sister and I went to ride on Thunder Falls. We didn’t knew that this was quite extreme. But we enjoyed it (even if our clothes got wet). After that, I remembered the We Got Married (SungJoy) episode wherein it was featured. Gaaahhhh I was just watching it then and now I experienced riding that scary ride.
Afterwards, we just took a stroll (again) to get our clothes dry. Haha!
They also have this kind of umbrella-thing :D
Aaand this is me posing with Brown from LINE friends. Brown doesn’t look happy tho. Haha!
“It’s summer in here, turn the radio on
My favorite song is playing
Hey turn it up
This hot rhythm, drive where it takes you
Into the dazzling summer oh oh”
- Party, Girls Generation
On our Day 2 of South Korea adventure, we went to the KPOP Entertainment company buildings. I was so excited that I didn’t noticed we were already at the front of the JYP Building
Oh, look someone’s coming out! Haha turns out it was just a staff.
There’s also a van outside after that time but no one’s stepping out. I wonder if it’s TWICE? Hahaha!
Next stop, FNC! The home of my forever favorite, CNBLUE <3
Sadly, I didn;t saw any of the members :(
But after a day or two, someone posted on C.N.Blue Philippines group a picture of Yong Hwa outside the company building. T^T
Last, Sm Entertainment. It was kinda hard to find for it’s location is at the end of the area.
I was hoping to see any of the Girls Generation members, or Red Velvet, but the same, I didn’t saw anyone. Haha!
Before entering this KPOP Road, you’ll see a map about the locatons of these three buildings.
BONUS:
I saw Dae Hwi of Produce 101 Season 2! Kidding, just a Subway Photo.
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