South Korea was more than we could have ever dreamed. Across 3 different locations in Seoul, Busan, and Jeju, we chased the hottest fashion, discounted skincare, cheesy K-drama moments, magnificent landscapes, and enough KBBQ to explode my belly. There is so much to do in South Korea that we felt like we could have gone another month, but there is a lot that we got to see during our time there that it makes for a packed itinerary already. And it all felt magical.

Our trip to Korea was one of our longest trips we have taken so far, second only behind our 3-week double whammy in Greece and Italy. We planned it throughout 5 months from when I started my job to the start of the trip to ensure then everything would be perfect. And perfect it was. It was shocking to learn how much we were able to eat in a single sitting. It was super pleasant just sitting in a uniquely-decorated cafe, sipping on Americanos, and enjoying the vibes. And it was incredible to see the bustling night life along the many walking streets and shopping centers.

Itinerary

Day 1 (Seoul)

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Seoul Forest Park
Mooni Café
Nails with tan.nail
Shopping in Apgujeong
Juno Hair
Shangpree Spa
- Kevin go on Bird scooter ride
KBBQ Chicken near AirBnB

Day 2 (Busan)

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Train to Busan
Huinnyeoul Cultural Village
- Café Huinnyeoul Beach
- Café Go Slow
Gamcheon Cultural Village
Waterfront Pork Soup Restaurant

Day 3 (Busan)

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Cherry Blossoms along road
Coralani Café
Shinsegae Centum City Mall (largest shopping complex in the world)
Haeundae Blue Line Sky Capsule
KBBQ
Love is Giving (cute bear and stationary shop)

Day 4 (Busan/Jeju)

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Gwangalli Beach
Café Haute
Slept Coffee Shop
Flight to Jeju
Car rental + check into Around Follie

Day 5 (Jeju)

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Cherry Blossoms along road
café aeok
Café Malloh
Seongsan Ilchulbong
moalboal Café
Around Follie Grilling and Dinner

Day 6 (Jeju)

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Kimbap and Noodles and Drip Coffee
Jeongbang Waterfall + Socheonji
Gamttanam
Innisfree and Osulloc Tea House
Move to new AirBnB near city (Beach views!)
Jeju Black Port KBBQ

Day 7 (Jeju)

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Jejusi Saewoori Jeju (Gimbap Shop)
Umu (Part of Orrrn)
Dochidol Ranch
DangDang Soufflé
Aewol Café Street
- Bomnal Café
Dongmun Traditional Market
Night Time Noodles cooking in AirBnB

Day 8 (Seoul)

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Morning Flight to Seoul
Hotel PJ
Vintage Shopping in Hongdae
Shopping Itaewon area
- Rockfish
Convenience Store Ramyun along Han River

Day 9 (Seoul)

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Hanbok Rental
Color Analysis Hongdae
Vintage and Boutique Shopping in Hongdae
Cafe Layered
KBBQ

Day 10 (Seoul)

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Shopping Day
- Shinsegae Department Store
- Lotte Department Store
Myeongdong Walking Street
Lienjang Facial
Huge Tteokbokki

Day 11 (Seoul)

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Teddy Beurre House
GROWERS
Shopping
Teddy’s Oven
Sinsajeon (Honeycomb makgeolli)

Day 12 (Day Trip + Seoul)

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Garden of Morning Calm
Nami Island
Alpaca World
Dongdaemun Night Market

Day 1 (Seoul)

We started off in Seoul. After having flown in at near midnight, we desperately wanted to head to our AirBnB as quickly as possible. However, once we exited the train station we were greeted by drivers who tried to get us to pay a pretty hefty price for a lift. We did choose to walk, but we got lost almost immediately and it took over 30 minutes of strolling about in the shivering cold to finally arrive.

Luckily convenience store in Korea are usually open 24 hours a day, so we went into a nearby one and bought ourselves a whole feast for the night. This was too common an occurrence throughout the trip!

Day 1 truly began at Seoul Forest Park, where cherry blossoms could be seen blooming. Although we arrived at the tail end of the season in Seoul, petals were still up and as pink as you expect sakura would be. You could find clusters of sakura trees around the park, which was mostly barren due to it still closing out the winter season.

Our first cafe was mooni cafe, which features 4 levels with a huge variety of seating options. The highlights of this cafe are the bed and cute replica house on the rooftop offering cute picture opportunities that Mon instantly swooped up. The thing that stuck out to me was how immaculate every single detail was compared to cafes in the west, or even the rest of Asia that I’ve seen. Little did I know if was simply preparing me for the grandeur of other cafes in Korea.

Next, Mon had an appointment with a nail artist (shoutout to @tan.nail on Instagram), so I was tasked with exploring the famous cosmetics store Olive Young, known internationally by frequent visitors for its wide variety of skincare and makeup products available at relatively low prices. And I would have to agree, many products there are priced much lower than the counterparts at Sephora and the like.

Apgujeong-dong was our next stop for shopping. The Rodeo Street of Apgujeong reminds me of Carnaby Street in London, with lots of lights and people out and about. Unexpectedly, this area is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of Seoul and is home to both the Hyundai and Galleria Flagship Department Stores, featuring all your well-known brands.

Both of us booked hair appointments here, at JUNO Hair Apgujeong. JUNO Hair is a well-known hair styling chain that is considered perfectly adequate for anybody’s needs no matter what area you reside in. Once inside, we were offered warm tea and a couch consultation with the stylist who was going to complete our requests, Mr Ja Heon Koo. To get into the Korean vibe, I went with a down perm bowl cut and Mon chose to get layered curls. If you are in the area, I highly recommend this location and Mr. Koo in particular! See more of his work at @sleephoney.

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A post shared by Seoul korea hair salon 구자헌 juno hair [Ja Heon Koo] (@sleephoney)

After the hair styling, while Mon was going to get a facial treatment at SHANGPREE Spa nearby, I rented a Bird scooter and rode across Apgujeong-ro. The air was very crisp and cold but it was so much fun sightseeing the different shops and establishments in the neighborhood. I came back to Mon trying out some products in the lobby and her cute smile showed me she enjoyed her experience as well. With face, hair, and nails all done, the trip could really begin.

Day 2 (Busan)

The morning of our second day had us taking the Train to Busan. Luckily there were no zombies popping up unexpectedly! We checked into our Busan AirBnB at around 2 PM, giving us the rest of the day to explore. We were located right on the beachfront at Suyeong-gu, with a full view of Gwangan Bridge.

Due to how spread out Busan is, train was a bit harder to justify given our time constraint, so we took a 40 min cab to Huinnyeoul Beach Café. At the start of our journey near Namcheon Seaside Park, we start the most beautiful road surrounded on both sides with an endless string of cherry blossom trees, and it felt just like the opening to a K-drama.

The pink-exterior cafe itself was beach-themed, containing a deck with swings and deck chairs, among other things (including another bed!). The vibe I got from the crystal blue sea view, the brown furniture and green embellishments was tropical, but the bed, rocking chairs, and table of knickknacks made me feel cozy like home. I tried Korean ade here for a first time, a staple cafe offering containing club soda and fruit.

Further along into Huinnyeoul Cultural Village, where there’s many instagrammable spots to be found, Café Go Slow is another on that list. Its highlight is a cute large window where shoots like below come to life.

Afterwards, we zoomed to Gamcheon Cultural Village to catch the sunset. Many of the shops were closing at this hour, but we found some nice viewpoints to hang out at instead. The famous colorful houses in this village are as vibrant as any picture will show. I was blown away by how large it was, which made for a nice sweeping panoramic shot.

We finished the day by trying pork rice soup, or Dwaeji Gukbab, which is local to the Busan region. We had to take a 20 minute walk from our AirBnB to Subyeon Best Pork Rice Soup, but it was 100% worth it. The soup was extremely savory and fragrant, and once it had cooled down I slurped it up faster than I had slurped up any soup before. The soup is served with a healthy serving of chives, lettuce, kimchi, and chilis to enhance the taste of the soup. Personally for me, kimchi and chives were a good mix.

Day 3 (Busan)

We started the day with a quick walk to Namcheon Seaside Park to take in the galore of the cherry blossom roads. We constantly waited for the walking signal to snap our pictures in the middle of the street, and it always all worth it as I’ve never seen such beauty within a city.

We took a cab to Coralani Café next. For starters, this café is absolutely huge, featuring 4 stories of spacious seating and the calming atmosphere of the sea view. The blue and white color scheme is reminiscent of Greece, particularly the famous romantic destination of Santorini. Chill on some bean bags as you enjoy the tasty drinks and pastries they have to offer.

At around lunch time, we traveled to the Shinsegae Centum City Mall, which was once registered in the Guinness World Records as the largest department store in the world. We stumbled across physical stores for brands we thought were too boutique to have international outlets, such as Blumarine. Nearly every well known brand you can think of, it could have been found here. The shopping paradise of Centum City really felt like its own city.

Our next activity was riding the cute capsule pods along the Haeundae Blue Line Sky Capsule. Each pod was either red, green, blue, or yellow, but there were several bright pink ones with cute animal designs that I was hoping for. The pods travel leisurely for about 30 minutes along the Haeundae Coastline, giving ample time to enjoy the view. Highly recommended to book online to avoid queues, and start from Mipo to get the track closer to the coast! The other end, Cheongsapo, is an option for shorter queue timesif that works for you better.

We got back to Suyeong-gu and went out to get some KBBQ for dinner. Afterwards, we entered into the cutest bear stationary store called Love is Giving, where Mon got some jibbits and stickers as souvenirs. Honestly felt like buying the whole store! Then we walked out the beach for a little fireworks fun before going back to pack up.

Day 4 (Busan + Jeju)

The next morning was super peaceful. We romantically strolled along Gwangalli Beach ♥ and made our way to Café Haute. I chose to pair the beachside view with an Iced Americano, a favorite to Koreans across the whole country. Honestly, I was not a fan, but I got it checked off the Korea bucket list so all good.

Another fun activity that is found everywhere in Seoul and Busan are the self-shoot photo booths, where you can take several photos with numerous printout and design options to suit your tastes. They even provide props and stuffed animals for you to use at no additional cost, which was surprising given that there are no employees working these places at all, demonstrating the level of trust in the general public in Korea.

Before boarding our flight to our next travel destination, we visited Slept Coffee Shop in the Suyeong-gu area. The cafe is tucked away in the road behind the main one along the beach, and it presents itself as a cozy spot to chill and enjoy lunch. The menu is conveniently laid out at the counter with sample displays of the food, making ordering a tad bit easier. We went with the Jambon Beurre and a creamy corn Soup of the Day.

The rest of the day was a travel day. We drove past many more cherry blossoms on our way to Gimhae International Airport and took off for the local Korean’s favorite vacation spot, Jeju Island.

We arrived at Jeju in the evening, then had to go rent our car and drive another hour to our accommodation. Luckily there was a shuttle between the airport and car rental, and things went quite smoothly. It is highly recommended to rent a car in Jeju. The island is much larger than it seems at a glance, so a rental car will give you much more time freedom to explore more places than using the sparse public transport.

Note: Do not forget your International Driver’s License if you plan to rent an automobile in Jeju! They are very strict about it here.

The drive was dark and uneventful, but once we arrived at Around Follie we knew Jeju was going to be magical. Our room was a 27-foot refurbished Airstream, decked out with modern amenities, a built-in stereo, bathtub, and kitchenette. They even had music The rest of the glamping estate contained lodges, cabins, and even other Airstreams.

We cooked up a late dinner consisting of Korean 7-Eleven goodies and fully enjoyed our first night in our unique housing arrangement.

See our detailed experience at Around Follie here! → The Peak of Glamping: Around Follie Jeju

Day 5 (Jeju)

Waking up to the natural sunlight shining through our Airstream window was the blast of dopamine we needed to start our first real day in Jeju. Following a quick photo sesh and breakfast of 7-Eleven kimbap and noodles, we drove to our first café of the day.

We had a meaningful stop at this cherry blossom road we found ourselves driving. Absolutely beautiful scenery, looked straight out of a K-Drama or anime.

Café aeok’s decor consisted of stone walls and a backyard-style garden that blends the boundary between home and nature. The seats in the garden felt like they weren’t just added to provide seating for café guests. Something unique about this café is that they grow their own tangerines, which they use to produce tangerine chips and delicious tangerine juice. We each got a free bag of tangerine chips for the road.

We drove to Seongsan Ilchulbong next. Also known as the Sunrise Peak, this unique formation, featuring a massive crater and steep cliffs overlooking the sea, was formed from hydrovolcanic activity around 5000 years prior to present day. We did not go for the hike due to our already packed itinerary. Instead, we walked down the side of the entry cliff to view the Woman Divers Show, where the Haenyeo sea women showcased their historical methods of catching shellfish equipped with only a knife and their ability to hold their breath for several minutes at a time. They will even prepare their catch right before your eyes for you to buy and try.

Farms are common around Jeju, and some businesses even use the cute farm animals as a marketing gimmick for their cafés. One such business is Café Malloh. The entrance to the farm is neatly decorated with a variety of benches and fauna, and a short stroll behind the cafe was where the ponies were being showcased. They were much smaller than I thought, and there were also alpacas roaming around with them! This would be the first of many animal encounters during this trip.

The last cafe of the day was Café Moalboal, on the north coast of the island. The decor of this place is what I can describe as tribal print on nearly every bean bag, rug, or pillow in this 3-room establishment that overlooks a gorgeous cliffside. The outside area contains some unique seating arrangements and decorations as well, the latter including a bathtub and bed randomly placed at the edge of the cliff.

One iced Americano (wasn’t any better the second time) and several pics later, we rushed back to Around Follie to enjoy the evening at our Airstream. We had purchased the use of the Weber Grill and their Jeju Pork Rack set when we booked the accommodation, so we spent our evening cooking, grilling, and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible. It was a lovely night, made even better by the toasty fire pit keeping us warm.

Day 6 (Jeju)

Our final morning at Around Follie consisted of trying the complimentary drip coffee and more kimbap breakfast (the 7-Eleven nearby is so convenient!). We really did not want to leave, but we know that we will be back again for more of this outdoorsy experience again in the future.

We drove south towards Seogwipo for our first adventure of the day. There, we explored Jeongbang Waterfalls which required a steep descent of stairs to reach. The entrance fee to the waterfall is 2000 won for those age 25 and up, all under are charged 1000 won.

Another formation that we went to see is Socheonji, a natural swimming hole along the sea that is enclosed by black bumpy rocks.

Gamttanam Café was a last-minute addition to our itinerary but I am glad we went. The theme was all about Jeju’s tangerines, and it has a super cute van stall prop by the entrance with a cherry blossom tree overhead that really embodied the Jeju aesthetic. Several photographers were there to snap pics of this stall, and we even had to wait several minutes in between shots to get our own pics in. The inside of the cafe was also clean and nice, though many preferred to sit outside in the garden to drink and relax.

As we made our way back north to Jeju’s main city, we made sure to stop by the Innisfree Jeju House and Osulloc Tea Museum. The entire place was designed as a theme park for tea and cosmetics enthusiasts alike, with many walking paths and picture taking spots scattered around the park. It was unfortunate that there seemed to not be any noticeable discount between Innisfree here and abroad, but we did get our hands on some Osulloc matcha and tea for on the go.

After driving for about an hour we reached our new beachside AirBnB, chosen near Jeju City for quick transport to the airport in two days. We took in the sunset then went into town to try some of the famous Jeju Black Pork that we had yet to try. The restaurant was called Gogil, also called Dohuido on Google. Though parking was tight, the outdoor balcony and view combined with the delicious food were unbeatable. We also tried an authentic dosirak, or Korean lunchbox, consisting of rice, kimchi, meat, and side dishes that was akin to a bibimbap.

Along the way, we drove down the Dodu-dong Rainbow Coastal Road. The colored blocks add a splash of playfulness to the serene sea behind it, making for a lovely view and unique driving experience.

Day 7 (Jeju)

Our last day in Jeju was completely packed so our car was definitely working overtime. Our breakfast was at Jejusi Saewoori Jeju, a minimalistic Instagrammable shop specializing in flavorful and delicious kimbap. Their signature offering is the Just Shrimp Gimbap, going for 6,500 won ($5 USD) for nine colorful and beautifully constructed bite-sized pieces. The streets near this area were very narrow, but it was a relatively quiet and peaceful morning all around.

We went around to several vintage shops this morning, trying to see if there were any good finds. There are a good handful of vintage stores in Jeju City so just explore and see what you can find! I ended up swiping a baby blue Ralph Lauren that was quite neat even though baby blue is not my absolute favorite color.

Nearby, we stopped by Umu by Orrrn for some pudding, where we bought a set of three to last us the whole day. The entire shop was monochrome black and white except the wide range of colors from the puddings. Out of the custard, matcha, and mango flavors we chose, mango would be my pick though every one was quite tasty. Orrrn is another cafe one the island known for highlighting Jeju’s natural beauty, and it will be on the bucket list for next time!

When we pulled up to Dochidol Ranch, I did not expect it to be so huge. They provided each of us a bucket of grass and pellets to feed the various animals living at the ranch. These included alpacas, ponies, horses, goats, sheep, and even a horde of little bunnies! Mon definitely enjoyed playing with the bunnies the most, as to this day she has been urging for us to get a bunny of our own. Throughout the ranch there are several refill points to fill up on animal food again so you will almost never run out. It took about 75 minutes to leisurely explore the whole ranch.

Book your entry ticket to Dochidol Ranch on KKDay! → Dochidol Ranch (Alpaca Farm): Jeju Island

Our mid-day meal was at DangDang Soufflé, who specializes in fluffy soufflé pancakes shaped like sunny side up eggs. All the food we tried was delicious; the full heavenly bite of the tamago croissant, the subtle spiciness of the mushroom & truffle oil pasta, and last but not least, the pancakes were even more fluffy than expected.

Since cafés had been such a staple for us, it would be a crime to not visit Aewol Café Street. This cliffside road is home to many cafés and is a great hangout spot for anyone looking to kick back with a drink and enjoy the sea breeze. We chose to chill at Bomnal Café, whose sweeping coastal view is nothing to scoff at. The aesthetic of Bomnal is quite tropical given its lush greenery mixed with the wooden walls and furniture. They also have three adorable corgis living on the establishment for your viewing.

Note: Parking was an absolute pain at Aewol Café Street. We had to park quite a bit away from the hub of cafés and took 10-15 minutes to walk to Bonmal Café, so keep this in mind and get there early!

That night, we finally went to our first Korean Night Market after a whole week in the country. Dongmun Traditional Market had so many gift stores that it was easy to get lost. Although it was nearing closing time, the area was still bustling with locals and tourists alike. Shops served all sorts of food, seafood, grocery, and trinkets so there are many options to explore here.

We got back to the AirBnB and cooked ourselves up a tasty dinner of instant noodles and a cut of beef that we had bought excess of during our Around Follie days. Another night of K-Drama and home-cooked meals ended the night once more.

Day 8 (Seoul)

Although it was sad to leave Jeju, we were excited to return back to the bustling metropolis of Seoul and integrate back into the city life again. We returned our car, took the morning flight to Gimpo International Airport, and took the train to our new home base for these next couple days, Hotel PJ in Myeongdong.

With nothing really planned out for this half-travel day, we set off to Hongdae for some street walking and vintage shopping. There is a lot of shopping in this area, if that is one of your priorities in Korea. It was very surprising to find a large selection of vintage Burberry pieces from 4FVintage and several other stores along Yanghwa-ro.

One of the most memorable parts of our Korea trip for me was taking a long romantic evening walk to the riverfront at Jamwon Hangang Riverside Park. The bridges were light up in multiple colors, and people were spread all around sitting on the grass and enjoying picnics and such. Any convenience stores at these riverside parks will often have cooking stations where people can cook their own ramyun, hand selected from inside the store, and enjoy it right away. The machines will dispense hot water and provide heat for exactly recommended cooking time of 3 minutes per serving. We enjoyed two packets of ramyun and two sausages together before traveling back to the hotel to rest.

Day 9 (Seoul)

A fun activity for anyone in the city is to rent a traditional Korean uniform, called a hanbok, and live out your K-drama fantasy at the handful of palaces in the Anguk area. The store we chose, Hanboknam Gyeongbokgung Store, offers traditional and themed hanbok rentals for 1.5, 2.5, 4 hour slots, or even an entire day.

For us, 1.5 hours was plenty of time. Although Gyeongbokgung Palace was closed on the day we rented, the outside area enough to snap some lovely pictures that will serve as long-lasting memories for us. This store, as with many others, will provide complimentary hair styling complete with hair accessories, some of which require additional payment.

Book your Hanbok Experience on Klook! → Hanbok Experience at Hanboknam Gyeongbokgung

There are several famous cafes in this area, particularly the London Bagel Cafe and Cafe Onion Anguk. We were unable to visit the former due to construction, and the crowd of the latter did not seem enticing for us to have to wait through. These may be saved for another trip of ours, but don’t hesitate to do your own research on their popular places!

We traveled back to Hongdae next because Mon had a color analysis appointment, where an analyst will put you through an experience to determine the most optimal make-up color palette that will fit a person’s specific skin tone and personal style. According to her, it was an eye-opening experience as the results were completely opposite of what she had expected!

While Mon was busy with her color analysis, I went for a walk through Hongdae Shopping and Fashion Streets. These streets were brimming with young people fashion, bright lights, vintage stores, and food shops, and the energy never seems to simmer down in the slightest. Buskers could be found along the road gathering crowds together for some fun entertainment. I suspect that the nightlife in this area is wild as well, and it could be easy to miss some hidden gems amongst the bustling and vibrant atmosphere.

Cafe Layered is an establishment in the quaint neighborhoods of Yeonnam-dong. The assortment of cakes, pastries, and desserts here was astounding, so it was extremely difficult to choose what we wanted to try. Everything was laid out so neatly that it felt like a museum of sorts, even though it was a buffet self-service. The interior vibe was definitely the glamour girl type of vibe, with cursive writing and string lights placed around. We managed to snatch the outdoor seating, which ended up feeling like our own private patio. Highly recommend their best-seller, the Spring Onion Cream Cheese Scone.

We checked out the Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center on the way back to the hotel. There are several of these “malls” within the subway system, including another huge one in Gangnam-gu, all selling clothing and items at discounted rates. The energy of the place felt like we were at a night market but confined inside the tunnels of the underground. We bought several pairs of socks that had cute designs on them because of a three pairs for 10,000 won steal of a deal.

Day 10 (Seoul)

We designated Day 10 as a shopping day. There are malls everywhere in Seoul, but we went for the biggest of them all: Shinsegae and Lotte Department Stores. If you love to wander around malls, then definitely take a few hours or a day to explore this shopping complex. We shopped around for the entire morning and early afternoon, ate some bibimbap at the food court, and tasted some high-quality cocktails and coffee at Big Pilot Bar.

Mon then visited Yonsei Yegam Dental Clinic to attempt a teeth whitening operation, due to it being much cheaper to do here (300,000 won or ~S$300) than back in Singapore (~S$900). Although the dentist advised Mon to not proceed with the whitening due to sensitivity concerns, she was offered another product which to help with staining so it was still a worthwhile visit. This clinic is known to serve foreigners of all backgrounds so don’t be shy to stop by!

There is no shortage of shopping in Myeongdong, arguably Seoul’s most popular neighborhood. After having spent the first half of the day wandering indoors, we stepped outdoors onto Myeongdong Walking Street. This street is home to numerous street food vendors and kiosks in addition to the strip mall of various other stores. We tried several snacks, including freshly grilled lobster tail topped with cheese that is somewhat overpriced at 25,000 won each. We bought a bunch of facial masks as we continued to eat and shop the night away.

Later that night, we went for an Aqua-Peel facial treatment at Lienjang Clinic Myeongdong. The treatment here was quite affordable, currently going for 39,000 won ($30 USD), and my face had never felt so clean before either. For this treatment, the technicians use a variety of tools to essentially remove all the built-up dirt under my skin within the pores.

Within the same building is a Blue Bottle Coffee, so we grabbed an iced latte to go while we took a night stroll towards Namdaemun Night Market. Unfortunately for us, everything was closed and shut down by the time we reached, so we had to find another place to eat for dinner instead. We ended up at a restaurant that offered a humongous serving of chicken, noodles, kimchi, and tteokbokki. We could only finish half until we called it quits, which was a surprising development for us considering we had eaten so much KBBQ in the days before.

Day 11 (Seoul)

Our penultimate day was full of teddy bears and boutique shopping. We first had to relocate from Hotel PJ into a new AirBnB in Yongsan-gu that we booked last minute to extend our trip, which took up the entire morning. As soon as we dropped off our luggage though, the day’s adventure began.

Nearby was a cafe called Teddy Beurre House, which was decorated with large bears and furniture that gave off the vibe of a classic study. They also provide a toaster oven for customers to toast the pastries they purchased to whatever toastiness they’d like. Highly recommend the raspberry croissant, but there are so many that it will be a whole task to try them all!

There is an abundance of boutique shopping throughout Seoul. For an overview of shops we visited, see → Must-Visit Shops in Seoul.

Our lunch was at GROWERS, a brunch cafe specializing in pasta dishes. Their Pork Shoulder Butt Oil Pasta (their most popular offering) and Mushroom Cream Truffle Pasta (mmm… truffle) is honestly to die for, not to mention the restaurant is very aesthetically pleasing as well.

The second teddy bear themed cafe of the day was Teddy’s Oven, which is located near to Seoul Forest. Although it was still raining at this time, we chose to sit outside because the seating and decor was just adorable. The snacks and pastries themselves are themed around bears, whether in shape or with an included teddy graham cracker, and there is a bit less emphasis on teddy interior decor than Teddy Beurre House. Blankets are provided for those opting to sit outside as well.

Each person is also provided with fortunes that were scarily accurate to us on a personal level. Be sure to get yours and see if you experience the same! Hope Teddy isn’t watching us…

For dinner, we took the train all the way to Gangnam-gu to Sinsajeon, a restaurant famous for their assorted potato pancakes and glistening honeycomb makgeolli (rice wine). The crowd when we arrived was enormous, so we ended up having to wait about 60 minutes to get in. This gave us some time to wander around the area and shop at Olive Young and Calvin Klein for Mon. Once we got inside, we ordered the cheese potato pancake, kimchi stew for 2, and the honey makgeolli for each of us. The sweetness of the honeycomb cannot be understated, though it does take some time for the honey to dissolve and really disperse its flavor. It is not a very strong drink so finishing it was not an issue. The cheesy potato pancake is essentially hashbrowns, delicious as expected. And although the kimchi soup was nothing extraordinary, it was just as tasty as others we’ve had so I would say Sinsajeon is a win.

Day 12 (Day Trip + Seoul)

For our last day in South Korea, we booked a day trip outside of Seoul. The group tour that we booked took us to the Garden of Morning Calm, Nami Island, and Alpaca World. But you can find many options of day trips on Klook, so you can pick and choose the activities that suit your interests the most!

Book your Day Trip with Private Driver on Klook! → Nami Island One Day Tour

For this booking, our driver and guide was very easy-going with our free time at each of the places, letting us explore whatever we wanted to. We also learned that he had travelled to Singapore a year prior to study English for this exact job, which shows his superb dedication to giving us a good experience.

The Garden of Morning Calm is an expansive garden boasting a variety of flowers, traditional hanok structures, and bridges. These elements all come together into beautiful views and backdrops that really do give you an overwhelming sense of calm. We were lucky to have the garden as our first stop, as an hour after opening it began to get crowded with other tour groups.

It was cool to learn that several K-drama series have been filmed at this location, including “A Love to Kill” (2005), “Love in the Moonlight” (2016), “I’m Not a Robot” (2017), and many others.

We had to take a boat to Nami Island, which is known for embodying the idea of a fairy tale. This half-moon shaped island is accessible by boat or the Nami Skyline ZipWire, a 640-meter zipline ride down onto the north side of the island. The tour only included the boat, but maybe next time we can try the zipline!

Nami Island contains impressive scenery year-round, and in spring it is obviously the cherry blossoms that steal the show! We could have rented a bike to see the island’s sights more quickly, but we took our time strolling to each of the scenic attractions the island had to offer. From romantic paths such as the Central Korean Pine Tree Lane to the engaging viewing of ostriches at Ostrich Village to seeing a dozen or so wild peacocks around the island, it really did feel like nothing short of a fairy tale.

The final stop on our day trip was Alpaca World, which is like a smaller version of Dochidol Ranch. After feeding some of the alpacas we spent most of our time playing with the dozens of bunnies they had hopping about. After nearly an hour of that we were finally finished and made our way back to Myeongdong.

From there, we decided to explore one last night market. At Gwangjang Market, there was so much food option it was difficult to choose where to eat. We eventually chose to try kalguksu, which is a Korean soup noodle dish consisting of vegetables and hand-cut noodles, served alongside some pork and kimchi dumplings. What we realized too late, however, was that at the stall directly behind us, was Cho Yonsoon’s kalguksu stall from Netflix’s Street Food series. The line wrapped all around the stall, and unsurprisingly it was full of tourists!

Those noodles at Gwangjang Market marked our final meal in South Korea on this trip, though we hope to be back again soon. There is just so much more to see and do in Seoul that we may need another two weeks to finish. We stayed up late eating 7-Eleven food and thinking about the good times we had on this long trip before flying back to Singapore in the early afternoon the following day.