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Seoul Photo Diary

Well, this post has taken me some time to write 😅 Back in March, my team had a meetup in Seoul, South Korea. I went a couple days early to adjust to the time change and explore a bit more on my own.

Day 0 — Arrival

Landscape shot, but two-thirds of the photo is obscured by fog.
I took a bus from the airport to my hotel. The ride was longer and more foreboding than I expected, with some extreme fog.
Looking down a stream in the middle of Seoul with pathways on both sides, full of people walking. There are retaining walls on each side, and beyond the walls, streets and skyscrapers.
While waiting for my hotel room, I walked around Myeongdong. This is the Cheonggyecheon stream and path.
Landscape view with buildings in the foreground, and in the distance is Namsam Seoul Tower.
The view from my hotel room— Namsan Mt and Seoul Tower. Later in the week, I’d go there with my teammates.
A lunch tray with rice and beef, large dumplings, and side dishes.
First proper meal, lunch — bulgogi with rice and dumplings.

Day 1 — Classic tourist

The first three photos are from 경복궁 Gyeongbokgung, the main palace of the Joseon dynasty. You can get free admission if you dress in hanbok, so there are a lot of rental places and you can see about half the people were dressed up. I did a tour, it was nice to be guided through. It was also funny to see that the throne room really does look like it does in the kdramas.

Gyeongbokgung Palace, throne hall
Gyeongbokgung Palace, King’s throne
Gyeongbokgung Palace, Queen’s residence
Three dishes on a table: white kimchi, red kimchi, and dumpling soup.
만두국 (dumpling soup) from 황생가 칼국수, very delicious. Many people in line to get in, but the line moved fast.
A traditional-looking building with the Fritz Cafe sign
프릳츠 Fritz cafe — after lunch, I walked up and around the hanok village, then landed here to grab some coffee and sit.
Strawberry croissants at a cafe (명동양과). I ended up getting pastries here in the afternoon for the next morning, since cafes don’t open until 10 or 11.

Day 2 — All the walking

My main outing for this day was walking — the first three photos are from the Ihwa Mural Village, which is a neighborhood full of public art, murals and sculptures. This connected up with the old city wall, which I then followed down to the east gate & 동대문 Dongdaemun. I walked through the DDP, and then walked back to Myeongdong. I almost ate at a pocha on my walk back, and I regret not doing it now.

Colorful mural on a sidewalk wall, 4 people waving with "hello" in different languages.
First mural I spotted walking up from 낙산공원 Naksan park plaza.
The outside of a building, painted dark blues with vibrant Koi fish. The mural wraps around the front and side.
This one is so vibrant.
A mural on the side of a building next to the pathway's stairs. The mural incorporates the landing and stairs to look like an open living room overlooking water.
This one followed the stairs in a fun way.
An old cobblestone wall, about 5ft tall, with a path alongside.
The city wall.
A landscape view with shorter buildings in the foreground, and taller skyscrapers beyond. Far in the distance is a mountain in haze.
The view over the city wall. This path was along Naksan mountain, so the view was very nice.

Day 3 — oniwassant & team

I had to meet up with my team in the afternoon, so I didn’t have time to do anything big. I did take a trip to 누데이크 NUDAKE to get a very ridiculous croissant— the 오니와상: oniwassant. It had a kimchi-bacon creamy cheese filling, and was surprisingly tasty (not just for the photo).

A display of triangle-shaped pastry swirled with layers like a croissant, topped with a cheese cream. Other pastries are on display in the background.
Onigiri + croissant, obviously.
A tray with a chocolate drink, oniwassant, and spiral pastry. The drink is overflowing and topped with a croissant, coated in chocolate. The spiral pastry is topped with cinnamon, caramel, pepitas, and other nuts.
The chocolate drink was basically drinking pudding (it was also topped with a croissant). I ended up taking the hotteok spiral to go, but it was also great later.

I made it to the hotel in Hongdae, Local Sitch. It was an interesting mix of coworking space and hotel, so it was comfortable to sit around and chat or work. At this point I also stopped taking as many photos 🤷🏼

⬅️ For dinner, since our vegetarian hadn’t arrived yet, we went out for KBBQ. The staff grilled it for us (mostly). Definitely a good first group dinner.

Days 4-7 — the meetup

Typically we met for coffee in the morning, did some work & had discussions. Went for brunch, continued conversations. Went to a cafe, co-worked some for the afternoon. Then we’d see some sights and have dinner. I don’t have day-by-day photos, but here’s a collection.

A table with food and beer. The main platter is full of a white fish, cut raw with condiments on the side— wasabi, pickled ginger, garlic, and a small green (I don't remember what this was).
회 hwe with fresh fish from Noryangjin Fish Market
Looking up at a plaza away from the water, a teen boy is swarmed by seagulls.
Walking along the Han river. This kid was being harassed by seagulls but kept feeding them anyway.
A landscape over the river, with a bridge and skyscrapers in the distance.
Han river, Seoul from the south side.
A drink in a tall glass sits next to a bottle with the label "Buddah's Belly Almond Lychee Punch". The drink is cloudy, and has shaved almonds.
At dinner in Itaewon. This lychee punch was so tasty.
Gyeongbokgung palace in the background, the backs of 3 of my teammates walking towards it.
We went back to Gyeongbokgung as a team, right as it was closing.
A restaurant table with grill in the middle, absolutely packed with small plates of side dishes and beef.
Korean BBQ again, with beef this time.
A plate of french toast with prosciutto and whipped ricotta.
We had western-style brunches every day, breakfast isn’t really a thing (except like this).
A small street in Seoul, with 3 guys walking side by side.
Teammates in the distance.
A bar window spanning the wall, with alcohol bottles lining the bottom. There's text on the window: "I'm in the mood and deep. What is your mood today?"
Bar we passed while walking around.

⬅️ One evening we took a cable car up to Namsan Tower. We just caught sunset. This is a panorama video of the view.

6 people sitting around a plastic table, some raising drinks to the camera.
We tried to go to Seoul Brewery too early, so instead we got some drinks and snacks from a convenience store and drank there — a thing you wouldn’t do in the US!

Day 8

My flight wasn’t until the evening, so I had time to walk around and get some lunch in Hongdae. There were plenty of street vendors, though I once again missed my chance for some street food (too full from lunch 😞).

A brightly painted street with a large pedestrian walkway down the center. Shops and restaurants line the street.
Looking down the shopping street in Hongdae, I walked around here for some final souvenir shopping & lunch.

Pretty much as soon as I got back home, I wanted to go back. It took me almost the whole trip before I really said anything in Korean, and I’m still frustrated about that. Maybe going back without a Korean speaker will motivate me more 😆

A note from today: I wrote most of this back in April but never posted it. So here we are, late but published. And Mel & I do have vague plans to do a Japan & Korea trip next fall, still working out the details (dates & locations). Let me know if you have recommendations for either 🙂

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