Step by step covering Seoul (3)

Day 4: Ewha Station >>> Namdaemun >>> Myeongdong

We started off the morning with breakfast in our room because we kept seeing all these yummy looking baked goods in the bakeries and couldn't help buying some... plus Eve had some walnut cream bread from a friend and we needed to finish it. We tried to eat an apple or some other kind of fruit a day. You may think that Korean cuisine seems very healthy, and it is - not too oily, salty or processed, but actually when we had our meals, we didn't get that much vegetables. So in order to keep our digestive systems working healthily, we also bought prune juice and drank a small cup every night.

right: see the students from the uni are dressed so nicely...

Our first stop was Ewha station, which is where Ewha Womans University is located. I think initially, the reason for going there was because there was something called Six Colour Pots in the area - six types of "hot pots", each a unique colour & with different ingredients. So I suggested that we also check out the university nearby and walk around the grounds.

The area around the university is absolutely a girl's shopping district! The streets are shaded with trees and reminded of certain streets in Vancouver shady streets and shops/boutiques on both sides. I think this area gets a lot of business from all the students. There are LOADS of shoes stores!!! And they are all so pretty! Lots of high heels, boots and flats to suit all tastes. The prices are similar to those in Canada and the US, but there are SO MANY MORE Styles to choose from! Not like in Canada where you can only get stuff from ALDO, Stoneridge, and what else is there? And they both sell the SAME shoes!

Walking around the campus, we can really see that all the students (well, all that we saw) are girls! We picked up a campus newspaper and it was talking about how there are a few male exchange students and about the fun time they're having in Korea... the campus grounds are very pretty, and very hilly! Lots of slopes! It's not so big that we got lost, we were easily able to navigate it even without a map.


We then made our way to Sinchon station area, on the way we saw a Daiso store (a Japanese $1 store - can be found in Vancouver) and popped in to see if we can pick up some cheap souvenirs.... hahaha... I ended up buying some Korean chopsticks and spoons to give away.

Sinchon station is another university area, as well as Hongik station further down the line, but we didn't take the subway as the weather was just so nice outside!


At Sinchon station, we found the restaurant that was recommended for trying Stir-fry spicy chicken. I have to admit I had my doubts about this dish, as it just looks like it's coated in red chili paste, not only that, but I think I tried a similar dish in Toronto and it didn't really taste all that great.... I really enjoy Korean food, but I need something more than just eating meat and vegetables marinated in red chili paste.... plus this didn't look like it had rice to go with it.


We were seated and our waiter quickly took our order and gave us bib/aprons. A portion for 2 people was thrown into the heated pan in the middle of the table and it took a while for it to cook, so we happily snapped some photos while we waited. Maybe it was hunger, or maybe it was watching the meat and vegetables cook, or maybe both, but my mouth was starting to water just watching it....

The bib/apron was not really useful, I thought... haha.... we didn't even have to cook the dish ourselves. When we picked up the spoon to mix stuff around the waiter came around and took over...

The first taste of the dish, I was surprised cuz it wasn't spicy like I thought it would be... and then the waiter added cheese to it! I'm not a big fan of cheese... but this was ok, the cheese taste wasn't over powering... and the tteok that was in the dish was absolutely perfect! nice and soft and chewy!

We left happy and satisfied.

In the afternoon, we decided to do a bit of souvenir hunting, just take a look around and see what there is to buy, so when we come back near the end of our trip we can just pay and go - also then we can compare and see where prices are good.

We made a stop at Namdaemun, which most people will respond with "what? there's nothing there!" and so true... but I wanted to buy a pair of ahjumma pants (those super comfy and loose-fitting pants that usually middle age or old ladies wear at home)... and we thought maybe we would find some there. But actually we couldn't find any there! The shopping there was not interesting, but there are lots of clothes for kids, so if you need to buy children's clothing that's a pretty good place to go to.

right: trying out a deep fried fish cake with french fries

Next we went to Myeongdong, which is very close to our hostel (actually Namdaemun is close too). Myeongdong has a lot of clothing, shoes, bags, and other stores - they even have Forever 21!, but the clothing size is suited to Korean. I walked into Basic House, and for some reason all the clothes looked like clothes that had shrunk in the dryer or something... I was like, there's no way I would fit into that! And they didn't even put out the larger sizes, all the sizes I saw on the racks were XS.....

Thankfully, we found uniqlo so we decided to head in there as Eve visited the one in New York before, and I go to the one in Hong Kong, and we both had good impressions of it. Plus they had L and XL sizes! I ended up buying a lot of turtle necks in cotton and knitted... I'll always need basics like these so I was happy!

Around Myeongdong, they have lots of street vendors that come out in the afternoon and evening, lots of snacks as well as clothing and accessories vendors! The prices are similar to what I would find in HK, but I didn't feel like bargaining so I ended up not buying anything that day.

For dinner, we went back to our hostel to drop off the clothes we got from uniqlo, and then went to the restaurant next to our hostel. Every day when we return from our outings, we see the yummy looking fried food in the restaurant window and we decided we would definitely try it one night.

We ordered a plate of the fried vegetables and then also a Soondubu jigae (soft tofu seafood soup) - one of my favourite dishes at a Korean restuarant in Toronto (Yonge & Cummer). The waitress was a little surprised that we ordered those, cuz after we ordered these two things, she said that should be enough for us... hahaha....

To be truthful, the fried vegetables look very yummy, but actually they just taste like vegetable that's been coated in egg and fried, so not that special....

The Soondubu jigae was SUPER big! I was surprised when it arrived... I guess that's why the waitress said it was enough... hehe.... but it was good, reminds me of the taste of the one in Toronto. mmmm!

We picked up some walnut cakes (Eve really likes the ones with red bean paste filling in Toronto), these had walnut paste filling, for breakfast.

Once we showered, we settled down to watch an episode of "Bad Couple" in Korea and pampered ourselves with face masks that we got from It's Skin (one of the many skin care shops) from our shopping trip in Myeongdong.



Total steps walked: 15,683 steps


Day 5: DMZ & Panmunjom >>> Cooking' Nanta

We woke up EARLY to get dressed and eat breakfast (walnut cakes, cheese bread and apple) and a cup of Korean instant coffee.

Our tour guide was supposed to pick us up from our hostel at 7:30am, but 10 minutes past and we still didn't see the bus, so we gave the tour company a call. They had apparently gone to another location (there's two Seoul Backpacker locations in Seoul), and so we had to take a taxi to meet them.... at Lotte Hotel, which was really just across the street from our hostel! But we had already gotten into the taxi and the tour guide actually asked us to pass the phone to the taxi driver and told him where to go. The taxi driver must have thought we were really stupid!

After we got on the tour bus at Lotte Hotel, it turned out to be a 7-seater van, we met three other girls - 2 from Australia, 1 from Suzhou, China - but I think she's a Singaporean working in China, anyways, we thought it was only us 5, and what a nice trip it'll be with such a small group. 5 minutes into the ride, the driver told us that he was bringing us to another meeting point and we will get onto a large tour bus..... ohhhhh.... so we got to the next hotel and went to use the restroom and waited for the bus. Finally after getting on the bus, we had to go and PICK UP ANOTHER GROUP!!!! When are we going to start on our trip????

Finally, we started to make our way to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). Along the highway we saw many guard posts, some with soldiers, some with card board cutouts.... hehehe.... really! The reason for the guard posts is because the Hangang (of the Han River, the river that runs through Seoul) merges with another river that runs from North Korea, so in case there are any illegal aliens who decide to try to swim to South Korea...

We arrived at Imjingak to buy tickets and there was a deserted amusement park there, added to that the morning fog was only just starting to lift, so the photo looks a little freaky... apparently this amusement park is filled with people and alive on the weekends...

After a quick snapshot with the Imjingak sign, we got back on the bus and headed to Dorasan Station.

"Dorasan Station is the northernmost international station located over 700 meters from the Southern Boundary Line of DMZ. It not only is a symbolic place of division but also, with the completion of the Gyeong-ui (Seoul-Sinuiju) railroad line..... a gateway of interchange between the South and the North."

In 2000, North and South Korea agreed to try to work towards reunification, and so this railroad was built to facilitate the transportation of goods between the North and the South. However, a few years later the hard-earned relationship deteriorated and all cross boarder journeys stopped. Dorasan Station is now a tourist attraction and a symbol of hope of reunification.

Hopping back onto the bus, we went to Dora Observatory,

"...... where you can see North Korea closest at hand. Propaganda village and farmland of North Korea are spread just ahead, and some city area of Gaeseong, Gaeseong Industrial Complex and a bronze statue of Kim Ill-Seong can be seen..."
It was a hazy day, and I didn't bother inserting a coin to use the telescopes......

At the Observatory, we were only allowed to take photos behind a yellow line, and really there's no way to take any clear photos, unless you happen to have a tripod and a super long lense camera! I did try holding my camera up above my head and jumping for a photo, but even with an SLR, it didn't snap a photo cuz it kept trying to focus on something.... sometimes technology doesn't help......

Those who tried to take a photo by the telescopes (in the restricted photos zone) were immediately chased down by the South Korean soldiers on duty to erase the photos from their camera/memory card.

Last destination on the DMZ tour was the 3rd Tunnel. After the Korean War ended, South Korea discovered 4 tunnels from North Korea's border going towards Seoul. These were obviously built by the North Koreans, but when questioned they gave excuses like: oh, didn't know that we were going in that direction, or we built this tunnel because we were mining coal (they even took coal and coated the walls black).

The 3rd tunnel was built big enough so that the North Korean army could move through it comfortably, i.e. the height was perfect that they did not have to stoop to move through... an entire army of 30,000 could move through the tunnel from the North to Seoul in an hour!

We put on our hard hats and walked down deep into the tunnel.... the journey through a part of the tunnel (not all is open to the public) was quick, maybe 15 minutes, and I really didn't have to stoop... perfect for my height!

But the journey UP from the tunnel! That was killer, it was soooo steep, unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our cameras in so don't have photos, you'll have to go and experience it yourself!

By this time, we were getting hungry... it's lunch time!

The only thing is that we got a bus driver who was new to this, so he got lost, and we never got to eat lunch as we had to hurry to catch another tour for Panmunjon. :S

We made it to meet the next tour bus, and we were with a group of English speaking and Japanese tourists (they had a translator). Panmunjon is the area in which the United Nations set up a Joint Security Area (JSA) where there are North and South Korean army posted, as well as the UN armed forces to make sure they stay peaceful. Originally, when it was set up at the end of the Korean War, North and South Korean soldiers lived together in the JSA (which is within the DMZ - ironic because it is now one of the most secured zones with lots of soldiers and security measures), but because there was an Axe murder incident where North Korean soldiers ambushed a UN group and killed the UN leader so they were pushed back across.

** Note, no Koreans are allowed in the JSA, only foreigners are allowed.

On the tour bus within the JSA, we were repeated reminded not to speak to any soldiers whether they were North or South Koreans, don't point, don't stand up unless we were told to, don't take photos unless we were told to...... a lot of don'ts.... the only person who smiled to us was our bus driver, who Eve and I think is probably a newbie in the army... hehehe....

We were briefed by a corporal, and then we went to the United Nations Command Military Armtice Commission (UNCMAC) Conference Building, which separates the North from the South within the JSA. We lined up two by two and were led by a soldier to a stand in a line facing the North Korean side. Below us were blue "cabin" looking buildings where South Korea soldiers stood on duty, and across the way, we say one sole North Korean Soldier staring at us. We were told that we can take photos there out in the open...... and that although we can only see one North Korean Soldier, there are actually hundreds of cameras and eyes from the North on us.

left: North Korean building (white), if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll see one lonely North Korean soldier
middle: our guide, the blue UN building marking the middle of the JSA
right: UNCMAC Conference Building with a South Korean soldier standing guard

The soldiers standing on guard wore aviator sunglasses to make them look more intimidating and also they stood with half their bodies behind buildings in case the North shot at them, then they can use the buildings as shields. Whereas, we tourists, were out in the open.... but I think they kind of know that it's now really become a tourist attraction, so it should be safe.... cuz if there really was shoot out, I'm sure we'd all die instantly... Supposedly, the North also opened up their side to tourists, but they conducted their tours in the morning only. So civil, they take turns! :D

We then went into the UNCMAC Conference Building where the ceasefire agreement was signed between the South and the North at the end of the Korean War.

left: our photo with a South Korean soldier, we didn't dare get too close
middle: a United Nations flag marking the split, South Korea to the left, North Korea to the right
right: I think one of these ladies tried to get pas the soldier...

Past the middle of the table in the center of the room, then you're on the North Korean side.... A soldier stood in the middle to prevent anyone from going out the door to the North Korean side. One lady tried to step behind him to take a photo with him, and he instantly stamped his foot and raised his arm to the the side to prevent her from stepping around him. Tsk tsk... you were warned before hand!

Before ending the tour, we passed by the "bridge of no return", this bridge crosses over the military demarcation line to the North. POWs were returned to the North by this bridge, they were brought to the bridge and can choose to stay in the country of captivity or return to the North. Once they crossed the bridge they would never be allowed to return.


We returned to Seoul in about an hour, and had time before dinner and our evening's activity. As we were going to watch Cookin' Nanta in Myeongdong that night, we decided to have our dinner in the area and to try out the street stalls! There's loads to choose from and we decided to try out some of the stalls that had long lines...

below: fried fish cakes, Eve tried one with tteok in the middle!

We also found a tteokboki vendor who was operating out the back of his truck. We ordered tteokboki and Soondae - this is not something we can try elsewhere, so even though I don't usually eat pig's blood jelly or intestines, I decided to give it a go anyways. Have to say that it's not as good as I imagined it to be or as I've heard.... can't even really describe it.... hahaha... but that plate of soondae was definitely too much for me and Eve. :)


We walked around some more and then headed to the theatre to find our seats. I've seen other Nanta shows before, but they were not that interesting, just people hitting blocks with sticks (like rolling pins) rhythmically, so I was surprised that the seats sold out!

Cookin' Nanta pleasantly surprised me! It was so much fun to watch! There's a storyline -

"......three chefs (unmanly head chef, sassy female chef, and a sexy, masculine guy) start their day in the kitchen, the ill-natured manager orders them to prepare 10 dishes for a wedding ceremony menu in just an hour, oh and his nephew will be helping out as assistant....."

The chefs were entertaining and they even got the audience involved and doing magic.... if you are ever in Seoul or they come to your area (they tour around the world), then be sure to get a ticket!

We went back to our room happy and smiling!

Total steps walked: 11,331 steps

photo by eve wu