➹ beautiful insadong

Today, I wish to go back to walking along the streets of my beloved Insadong ... one of Seoul's most charming and picturesque destinations. I talked about exploring Insadong during the Autumn of 2011 when me and my friend walked into the famous street from the Bosingak tower. This time, I was by myself and I started my walk from Angguk station. This lovely mural welcomed me when I got off the station.


I didn't really have an itinerary which is quite unbelievable with my personality. Hence, I was partially just wandering around, partially struggling to take decent photos, and all the while avoiding to do more shopping since my bags were already too full! Despite my messy state of mind, I still managed to enjoy the area. I suppose Insadong's charms were calming and intriguing at the same time so I had no choice but to immerse myself in its beauty.






I skipped breakfast that day because I had to pack my bags and check out before noon time. So my very first target was to find a restaurant for early lunch. I walked past so many food options but as I didn't do my research, I didn't know what to choose! I was also concerned of dining alone as most restaurants may not welcome a solo diner~~ Anyway, I settled for a nice looking place after ensuring that they have my favorite bibimbap.




The ceiling was so low and the lighting was quite intimate hahaha... It was not what I expected at all. But the bibimbap was good enough so I had no qualms. I wanted to finish lunch before the weekday crowd rush in so I didn't take a long time and headed out to the streets once more.

I headed into Ssamziegil which is a definite must-visit for some unique crafts and what-nots. As expected, I enjoyed going up the staircases, window shopping and just taking some photos. Too bad some stores don't allow cameras so that part was a tad bit upsetting. But I can understand the shop owners well because they do carry some interesting goods.










I probably spent a long time just hanging out at Ssamziegil ... likely because you don't really need an itinerary for that haha! Going out into the streets again was a bit daunting because there are so many inviting alleys and store fronts that I didn't plan for. I spotted this pretty gallery showing ddakji and I was deliberating paying the fee to go in ... but I was conscious of the time and ended up passing it up. Maybe next time I will plan for this walk better.



AS I walk farther from Ssamziegil, I found the cosmetic shops with the trademark Hangul names as really fascinating. Of course, the Starbucks one is quite famous by now. There aren't a lot of other cosmetic shops using Hangul names in Korea so I really thought the Insadong branches were adorable.




I wish I had a detailed plan back then so that I would have combed the area fully and enjoyed every corner of the place. But as it was my last day in the city, I was feeling sentimental, rushed and a bit burdened with leaving. I vow to return on a more relaxed state of mind and would definitely go through more of Insadong. This place has earned my approval and seems to always beckon me back. :)

➹ the perfect hotteok from insadong

Are words even necessary? ㅋㅋㅋ






While strolling along the chilly streets of Insadong during winter, I came upon this irresistible hotteok stand. My heart was all for lining up and waiting for my turn for a piece of pure heartwarming delight. I took my steamy hotteok and sat by a bench near the stand to relax and fully enjoy my snack. I may have gotten another piece if not for the long line hahaha ... It was really really yummy. I miss eating hotteok already~~~

➹ seoul souvenir shopping

SOUVENIR. I've learned that the meaning and significance of this word evolves with the traveler. For some, it could mean small gifts to give friends and family back home … while for others, this could mean a personal memento to save from an extraordinary experience. The curious thing with Seoul is that the city seems to invent fun new souvenirs with each year. I've been to Seoul more than once, and I managed to find new treasured souvenirs with each vacation!

Friends planning to visit Seoul as first timers would often ask me what and where to buy cheap yet good souvenirs in the city. My default answer has always been Namdaemun.



Right off the subway exit, tourists can find this store chock full of adorable Korean souvenirs of all kinds.






Key chains, magnets, bookmarks, chopsticks, pouches, and whatnots … everything is just too cute and tempting, to be honest. Just walk around the market and you will find all sorts of knick knacks. Food packages like teas, ginseng, and other traditional fare can also be purchased. There are also T-shirts emblazoned with Korean flags, words, and landmarks. Or if that is not your thing, check out some Red Devils merchandise (shirts, jerseys, and even the red horns haha!). And then ofcourse, hallyu merchandise! Non-official calendars, notebooks, socks, posters and what nots are all over the place.

The selection would match a shopping list filled with office peers, friends, and extended family members. So I highly suggest coming here prepared with your budget and shopping list haha! Else, you'll have a tendency of leaving with more than what you intended to buy. My personal favorite thing to buy here are the bear key chains in hanbok (they never get old for me) and the huge fans with really pretty Korean designs. I still use the fan I bought from 2008 (especially during brief power outages) and later on I bought one for my mom and grandmother as well!



Namdaemun is a primary default. The next default souvenir haven would be Insadong. The main street is lined with curious souvenir shops with pretty store front displays. I do think that the options in Insadong are more special than those in Namdaemun though you'll find a lot of similar items as well. I remember buying a shirt with special Hangul printing off one of the stores from there. I've always wanted to get the rubber stamps with my carved Korean name on it so I do need to go back to Insadong next time… And someday I'll buy that pretty music box with my own choice of design and kpop song! This music box store can be found inside Ssamziegiel. I did find this music box sold in that huge bookstore in Time Square but the selections are more overwhelmingly cute in Ssamziegiel.




After Insadong, I'd recommend the Korea Tourism Organization office along Cheonggyecheon (somewhere between Jonggak Tower and Cheonggye Plaza). Sure, this isn't exactly a tourist DESTINATION but there are amazing souvenirs here! Last year, there was an online survey conducted by KTO on the best Korean souvenir items and most of the candidates are available for purchase here. The products are a bit more pricey than Namdaemun or Insadong since they are more exquisite too. How I wanted to get those flash drives with the beautiful Korean enamel designs… And then there were these pretty tea sets which we wanted to get for a dear friend… Sooo irresistible, right?





There are also hallyu souvenirs from the KTO office. You'll find a lot of official goods like photo books, file folders, stuffed toys and what nots from famous dramas and singers. There is also this photo area with lots of hallyu star standees hahaha … HEAVEN haha^^.

But my personal favorite places to shop for hallyu souvenirs would of course be the official stores (SPAO, Everysing, record stores) and the Myeongdong Underground Shopping!



So let's go there … and you'll find some more souvenir shops with pretty much similar goods with what you've seen so far in Namdaemun and Insadong. Except that, the souvenir and merchandise stores are more mainstream than traditional Korean and the hallyu stores in Myeongdong underground are more into kpop (so ADDICTING). You'll find ALL SORTS of kpop goodies here~ from albums to calendars, photo books, stickers, fan lights, banners, towels, posters, shirts, CONCERT MERCHANDISE and T-MONEY CARDS! Needless to say, I can go bankrupt if I linger too long in these shops. You'll also find some random Pororo goods, cute accessories, and clothes which you can (I think) bargain for. This is a smaller scale Dongdaemun … less trendy than Dongdaemun but not as errr mature as Namdaemun.

Now going into mainstream souvenirs, I'd have to mention at least 2 places ~ 1st is the Haechi Shop at Gwanghwamun. They have uber cute Haechi merchandise from magnets, bags, bookmarks, to stuffed dolls. 2nd would be the souvenir stores at N Seoul Tower. Ohhhhhh, cuteness extreme?!?!?!





I don't think words are necessary for that haha… Just don't miss the souvenir stores at N Seoul.

Wow, this post has gotten longer than I originally imagined. And the thing is, there are MORE places for souvenir shopping which I did not mention. So I'll just namedrop those which I've visited so far ~ Hongdae! Gyeongbukgung Palace! Artbox! Bookstores (Bandi & Luni's, Kyobo, etc)! And Incheon International Airport (oh yeah, LOTS of goodies here)!

I hope to find more remarkable souvenir shops in the future and I plan to come back to all those I mentioned above for another round of treasure hunting haha! Seoul is just an incredible shopper's haven ^^.

➹ autumn finds at insadong

It was my second time exploring the bustling streets of Insadong last Autumn. The light morning rain has just ended as we walked through the twisting alleys from Bosingak tower and into the main street of Insadong. Our first landmark was the Starbucks shop with the 한글 signage. This has always been and still is a fascinating sight (curiously so).


The streets were full of shoppers and office folks heading for or from lunch. The shops lining the streets had everything from Korean souvenirs to fall/ winter gear. We ourselves were on the lookout for cute scarves, gloves and bonnets and there were infinite options! But we weren't really planning on shopping at Insadong. I had this preconceived notion that souvenir shopping is best done at Namdaemun and then clothes+cosmetic shopping is best done at Myeongdong or Dongdaemun. Insadong for me was more for cultural immersion and finding those quirky uniquely Korean stuff... and I suppose I got this from reading so many write-ups on Seoul travels! In any case, I may have had a shift in perspective after this trip cos I did find lots of great regular stuff at Insadong which I regret not buying later ...

So anyway, because we weren't on our serious shopping-mode, we had our cameras busy clicking away but it was a bit challenging since there's soooo much to look at while at the same time, we had to be cautious not to bump into other pedestrians along the way ^^.




We headed to Ssamziegil and I was kind of sad that there were no Christmas suspensions yet on the middle of the courtyard.



Nevertheless, there were endless picture options!




I love this corner so much!!!


Autumn has created a charming aura on the rooftop garden ...


We ended our tour with a coffee break at this cafe. The cream cheese pretzel was soooo good ^^.




I wish we stayed longer at Insadong but we wanted to catch the changing of guards at Deoksugung so we had to hurry off. There were definitely a LOT more stuff to see than we had time for. I think I can even spend the entire afternoon browsing around the shops there! But yeah, that will be a plan for next time~