Chuseok in Seoul
Video of Week 6 (Part 1)
Took the 9:04 AM Mugunghwa from Daejeon Station to Seoul Station. Then we took the airport express train towards Incheon to Hongik University Station (2 stops) to our Airbnb.
Day 1 | 10.02.17: Exploring the Nooks and Crannies
Hongdae (홍대)
Since our check in time was at 3:00 PM, we dropped our luggage at our friend's airbnb which was walking distance from ours. Ate a quick lunch around the area and then I went back to the airbnb to get my laptop since I wanted to edit my videos. I found out that You Are Here Cafe was a few blocks away, I decided to go. Unfortunately, to my dismay, it was officially closed! I'm assuming since Simon and Martina moved to Japan, TTMIK (Talk to Me in Korean) stopped running it. I headed back to my friend's airbnb and chilled around there. At around 3:30 PM we walked to our airbnb and checked-in. Afterwards we got dinner around the area.
1. Rimenàre la pasta
buttery garlicky bread but why must you add sugar...
garlic shrimp pasta - recommend!
Since we had no plans, we took it easy by exploring Hongdae. We found a stall selling waffles for only 2,800 KRW. We got the chestnut paste one (waffle folded in half sandwiching fresh whipped cream and chestnut paste). So good, not overly sweet and the chestnut wasn't overpowering, it was perfect.
Also got takoyaki from the next door stall, super cheap too, we got the 6 count one (don't remember the price) but if you get 17 it costs only 6,000 KRW. However, it wasn't amazing. It was a bit cooled down when we got ours, the filling was plain with only a small piece of octopus in it.
Afterwards we walked around some more and stopped by Yes24, which is a bookstore and a K-pop and anime merchandise shop. Then we picked up some some snacks and went back to our airbnb. I tried Tim Tams for the first time, not bad, just a bit too chocolatey for me.
Day 2 | 10.03.17: Flowers and Vegan Food
I woke up not feeling too well, a bit lightheaded but I didn't get sick. We left our airbnb really late at around 12:00 PM. We went to a Mexican place and I got a chicken quesadilla (6,500 KRW). We went back to Yes24 for some albums. We planned to go to Ihwa Mural Village in Ihwa-dong. Since my friend arrived to Hongdae from KAIST at around 1:00 PM, I separated from my group and met up with her.
1. Arriate Cafe
We visited the Arriate Cafe in Hongdae (SO PRETTY). It is a flower cafe with tons of dried flowers hanging on the ceiling and bouquets everywhere. It smelled really nice and so instagram worthy (4 floors worth of goodness). I got a hot yuzu tea and we sat on the second floor. I got some work done. Currently writing this blog draft and edited my Week 3: Jeonju video.
This cafe has 4 floors and so many dried flowers hanging from the ceiling. It is a very nice place to get some work done or just sit and chat with a friend.
Tip: I had a hard time finding the address of Arriate Cafe because the only address on their Instagram page is their Gangnam location. I tried searching on the web and the best directions were found on this blog. This is the actual address:
6gil-30 Hongik-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
hot yuzu tea and iced american
2. Plant
At around 6:00 PM we headed to Itaewon (about a 20 minute train ride from Hongdae) to Plant which is a vegan bakeshop and restaurant (two separate locations but very close to each other). It was operating regular hours and closed on Wednesday, October 4 for Chuseok. It was my first time having vegan food and it was delicious. I ordered the avocado hummus sandwich, my friend ordered the rainbow wrap and we got a side of fries and a chocolate cake to share. Here's a more detailed review of the food. BONUS: The staff speaks English!
Tip: The bakeshop is located in more of an obscure alley way but the restaurant is closer to the main street and Itaewon Station exit 3 or 4.
Bakeshop: Itaewon-dong 63-15, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Restaurant: 2nd Floor, Bogwang-ro 117, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
All photos and video footage (unless otherwise stated) are taken by Kaity Chen. Please credit if using.