Seoul Food

Food in Seoul was delicious. It makes me want to still be there, and I wish they’d open up certain chains in the UK so I can eat them all the time!

I should start with the most famous of Korean food: Korean BBQ. This was at once mouthwateringly delicious, bewildering, and hard work. We ordered 2 dishes; beef and mushrooms. We received about 12,000 dishes so it was interesting trying to work out what everything was, but we were pleasantly surprised

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Gunfire at the DMZ?!

Looking over the Demilitarised Zone into North Korea was surreal, fascinating, and a little scary – especially when I heard distant gunfire! – but more on that later.

The Demilitarised Zone is the zone between North and South Korea. Known as the DMZ – and pronounced the American way, “D M Zee” (if you say “D M Zed” you will get strange looks!). In the Korean War in the 1950s, an armistice was reached in 1953 where both sides agreed not to have any military in the 2km directly in front of the front-line, thereby creating a 4km gap between them. The front-line itself is called the Military Demarcation Line – we got confused over all the terminology! It is fair to say that although the 2km South Korean DMZ is demilitarised, the area just outside of that is heavily militarised. There are South Korean and US army bases there.

Lit up at the spectacular Lantern Festival, Seoul

The Seoul Lantern Festival was of the main reasons we wanted to come to Seoul. And it exceeded expectations spectacularly. I absolutely loved it.

The Lantern Festival is set up along Cheonggyechoen-ro, which used to be an underpass for traffic. Happily, the city of Seoul has transformed it into a strolling park, with a stream running down the middle and a footpath either side. Every so often it is landscaped with a small bridge or stepping stones across the stream. So even without the lantern festival it would be a nice place to have a walk. But of course the Lantern festival makes it incredible! The amazing handmade paper Lanterns are placed down the middle of the stream, on small platforms.

Got Seoul? Memorable Moments in Myeongdong

I was pleased to move back North of the River to Myeongdong. This is known as the centre of Seoul and is popular with locals and tourists alike, with buzzing pedestrianised streets, shops, cafes and restaurants all adorned with neon signs.

In an effort to reduce pollution Seoul has transformed one of the overpasses (which used to be choked with traffic) into a pedestrianised walkway filled with flowerbeds, and even a paddling pool, a trampoline and a piano! It was like an urban park for strolling or sitting. We strolled over one evening and I tried out my camera settings photographing the rather grand Seoul Station.

You’re such an Old Seoul.

This blog is about the old, historic parts of Seoul, in case you were wondering! There were plenty of Temples which many visitors explored while dressed in traditional costumes – which gave them free entry to the temples.

We started with Gyeongbokgung Palace where we saw the changing of the guard,

Rockin’ it Gangnam Style

Did you know that “Gangnam Style” (the amazing catchy song by Psy) was based on Gangnam, the area south of the river in Seoul, South Korea?  When I heard this, I knew we had to go while we were in Seoul.

There is a permanent tribute to Psy’s Gangnam Style in the form of a stage where you can go and show off your moves in the middle of the city!  We also explored the bustling and brightly lit back streets, full of cafes, restaurants and shops all vying for attention in bright neon.

Comfort Women: The Untold Darkness of WW2.

As if World War Two wasn’t bad enough, with concentration camps, the Holocaust etc. Oh wait – there’s more. Comfort Women. Now this isn’t a nice thing to hear about, especially on holiday, but I feel we have a responsibility to hear about it. So I took my husband along to the War and Women Human Rights Museum to find out more.

The War and Human Rights Museum which was a fascinating and horrifying look at Comfort Women; a system whereby during WW2 predominantly Japanese soldiers used predominantly Korean Women as sex slaves, or “comfort women”.

I ♥ Seoul: Happy to be in Hongdae

After an exhausting 27 hours of travelling since we left home (3 trains and 2 planes), we went to bed feeling grimy, exhausted, and uncomfortable. But what a difference a good night’s sleep makes… we awoke the next morning bright and early, feeling amazing! The sun was shining, we had safely made it to Seoul, the hotel was nice, and we treated ourselves to a buffet breakfast in our hotel which was divine. All was well with the world!

We strolled around Hongdae which we quickly found was a lovely place – safe, with lovely autumnal leaves, quirky little shops and cafes everywhere, a student-y vibe, and a plethora of Animal Cafes. There was a Cat Cafe, a Meercat Cafe, a Sheep Cafe etc.

Travelling across Continents to reach the Kimchi Festival, Seoul

The Kimchi festival wasn’t widely publicised but I stumbled upon it online before we went. A festival? Thousands of people making Kimchi at the same time? We are there! We shifted the holiday forward a couple of days and found flights via Italy so we could get there in time. That’s dedication for you.

So what is Kimchi? Kimchi is cabbage fermented in spices. Normally the spices used are chili, garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, salt or similar. After the cabbage is rubbed in spices it is packed away to ferment. Kimchi is made in the autumn to preserve the vegetables as we head into winter.