🇰🇷 Seoul - Fall 2023

Best of our Seoul 2023 Fall trip! It's both our "first" time in KR (excluding family trips on tours that we don't remember haha) so it was a highly anticipated trip! Here's a list of our top fave food spots and activities.

- FOOD -

1. Ggupdang 꿉당 - Pork BBQ

Seoul Michelin Guide, known for their grilled pork. A local colleague recommended this and it didn't disappoint. I'm not usually a fan of pork due to the smell but the pork was fresh and accompanied really well with the banchan. 

We went to the Sinsa outlet before the dinner crowd on a weekday (~5PM) and there was no wait. There's a virtual queue system by Catchtable, scan a QR code to input your details to join the waitlist and be notified by email when your table is ready.

We wanted to get their Kkubsal (Black Ribs) but they have limited portions a day and apparently they sell out as soon as they open for the day as people pre-order ahead. So we got the Kokumi (Shoulder Blade) and Samgyeopsal (Pork belly) instead (19,000W per portion), with a side of rice (3,000W) and Bibimmyeon (6,000W).

Meat will be cooked by the staff on-site, and they'll advise what to pair the meat with. Rice + pickled ginger + pork went so well together.

 

2. Hanchu - Fried Chicken

A random chicken place N found online. Simple, no-frills restaurant that's family-owned.

We got the banban (half original, half spicy), weren't expecting to finish it as this was dinner round #2 but we polished the plate lol.

They serve beer snacks as well (crackers) for those hanging out with drinks.

3. Hanwoo Beef @ Majang Meat Market

Rather than going to a restaurant we went to the meat market to get meat from the butcher instead! A friend recommended a butcher she patronized before, look up "현대축산" (EN: Hyundae Livestock) and you should be able to find them within Majang meat market.

Got a whole box of meat with different cuts for 86,000W. We just told the butcher we wanted to eat it now, and they led us to one of the restaurants upstairs where we paid a cover charge (forgot how much, maybe ~$10 SGD per pax) for the use of their grill, and banchan.

I enjoyed this meal a lot! I'm not the most discerning when it comes to meats but N enjoyed it too, although he mentioned he would still prefer Wagyu over Hanwoo haha.

 

Bonus: Outside Majang meat market there was an ahjussi running a fruit store. We saw a box of Shine Muscat and wanted to get 1. But with the language barrier we somehow ended up getting a whole carton (?!) and it was only 10,000W for the whole carton (4 bunches)... 😳 Best grapes we've had - plump, sweet, bubblegum-y.

4. Hanmiok - Beef Brisket

We got the Chadol Gujeolpan (차돌구절판 中) - literally translated on their menu to Korean traditional beef brisket of nine delicacies -- beef brisket, water parsley, kimchi, bean sprouts, bracken, scallops, octopus, egg and buckwheat pancakes. The staff will torch and cook all the ingredients on the pan, and finish up with the egg. Seemingly simple but everything went so well together.

Reservations available on catchtable at a fee (that goes towards the final bill) so you don't need to stand in line.

5. Myeongdong Kyoja - Kalguksu

Kalguksu soup really packed a punch.

6. Mokmyeoksanbang 목멱산방 - Bibimbap / Jeon

Michelin guide restaurant serving bibimbap and jeon. Located near N Seoul tower for a pre/post hike meal. Self-serve, no-frills restaurant and while it looks simple everything was well enjoyed.

 

7. Woo Lae Oak 우래옥 - Naengmyeon

A local colleague recommended this for our last meal in Seoul. Was worried about the line but we arrived ~30 mins before opening and left our name in their virtual queue system (machine upfront of their restaurant) and went to walk around. We were 3rd in line and got seated immediately upon opening.

They serve BBQ as well, but with only the two of us it was way too much so we only got the cold noodles. Both the naengmyeon and bibim naengmyeon didn't disappoint.

8. Mongtan - Beef Short Ribs

Saved the best for last. Known for their beef short ribs - our favourite meal of the trip! It was a last minute decision as we read the lines were really long, but N braved the line in the morning (waited 1h+) just to get us a seat later that evening for dinner.

We got two portions of beef, and fried rice at the end. Not only was the meat good, the accompanying banchan made the experience even better - they serve cold herring roe which went so well with the hot grilled meat.

 

- THINGS TO DO -

1. Getting around with Ddareungi 따릉이 (Seoul City Bike)

For a few mornings I rented the Seoul City Bike and accompanied N while he went on his morning runs. It's actually quite a fun way to get around the city! The bikes are also well-maintained and pretty affordable even for tourists (~1,000W an hour).

2. DMZ Tour

Initially booked a DMZ+JSA tour with Klook, but provider had to cancel all JSA tours due to an existing complication following the Travis T King incident. So we went ahead with just the DMZ tour. It was an interesting experience but I don't think I'll do it again on our next trip.

3. Profile Photoshoot @ Sihyunhada

Was looking for a KR photoshoot experience and came across this studio! Went to their Sinsa outlet (which seems to now be perma closed), but they have plenty outlets around Seoul.

It's about ~$50 SGD for one head shot. Prior to the shoot you'll take a quick questionnaire to indicate the "vibes" you're going with e.g. casual, professional so the photographer can guide your poses accordingly.

Post-shoot they'll also do some photo editing on the spot, you can indicate if it's too much/little and they'll tweak accordingly. Entire session was about 30 minutes!

There was an ongoing promo so we also got free vouchers for their self-service photobooth!

 

4. Photobooth

There are plenty of photobooths in KR with different concepts! We got free vouchers so we used them at Sihyunhada Frame (the self-serve photobooths of the profile photoshoot studio we did). There are plenty of outlets, and each of them has a different colour theme. We just found one that was convenient and it was the one near Hongdae (purple/blue).

Super straightforward even though we don't speak Korean. You can choose either colour or B&W for the final printed copy, and they also allow you to download a timelapse of your time in the booth.

4. Hiking @ Bukhansan

We planned to take a hike up Bukhansan, but didn't want to pack any hiking equipment on this trip (since it's "one use"). We found Seoul Hiking Tourism Center near the start of the hiking trial that rents equipment at affordable prices! We only rented hiking shoes, but pants/jackets are also available. They have lockers on site so you don't have to lug a huge bag on your trek, and with shower facilities you can also freshen up post-hike. There are also provide guided tours on certain days of the week, but we didn't time it right so we did our own hike. 

Got some gimbap and water from a nearby convenience store, and it took us about ~3hours to and fro to the 2nd highest peak.

 

 

5. Hanbok Rental

There are SO many hanbok rental providers near Gyeongbokgung Palace, and I decided on Studio KJD which came highly recommended by the photographer we got for a shoot.

No regrets even though they're more expensive, their hanbok quality is a lot better than most you see around and I loooooved the pastel floral design on the one I chose! Although I didn't like the way they did my hair but had no time to redo, so I ended up taking everything out after.

They offer photoshoot services as well, but I got a separate photographer from AirBnB experiences. I thought it was just ok (in terms of the output) so won't be recommending.

  

6. Caricature

Acorn caricature is one of the more common brands I've seen around and we got ours done along Samcheong. It's around 19,000W for a couple drawing on canvas, +7,000W per pet.

7. Colour Analysis

Who visits KR and doesn't do a colour analysis? 😂 

It was quite an underwhelming experience (just sitting there with cloths being flung around) but the results were interesting to know and I was relieved to know what I like was in line with my 'best' colors i.e. pastels hehe. We did ours with Cocory as it was easy to book months in advance, but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise. They provide all final results via images on Instagram DM, and it was quite challenging to filter through the info easily.

 

8. Picnic by Han River

I think this was my favourite activity in our entire trip! I love how picnics by the river is a thing, many providers in the area that makes it super easy to plan a picnic. I'd do this more often in Singapore if it wasn't so hot... :')

Packed some coffee, headed to a tent rental store (plenty available near Yeouido park where we went, here's the one we visited), grabbed a bunch of picnic necessities and headed to the park to pitch a tent! There's a full menu that even includes decorative items like flowers, lights, bluetooth speakers etc. We kept it simple with just the basics + board game. Their tents are self-assembling so they basically just pop into shape and very easy to keep afterwards.

There are plenty of food options at Yeouido park, convenience stores for ramyeon, BHC fried chicken. You can also order food delivery and there are specific delivery pick up points that make it easy to find your food. We just got a pack of fried chicken from the nearby BHC since food delivery can be a hassle without a local mobile number.

 

 

- OTHER -

Found this service by Namane Card where you can customize and print your own transport card. Of course we got the cats printed haha. There are kiosks available at Incheon International airport, so it was convenient to get the cards as soon as we touched down for our transport into the city. You can only top up the card at their specific kiosks, but there are plenty within Seoul. We had no troubles getting ours topped up periodically as there was a kiosk near our AirBnB.

***

Leaving these final pics here for the memories! Spent a lovely time with one of my favourite local colleague and his family on a (very) sunny afternoon hehe.

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