➹ yummy finds at the korean grocery

Occasionally, I buy my lunch from a Korean grocery nearby. I love trying out all sorts of delicious drinks ~ most especially banana and strawberry milk!!! Here was what my selection has been in the past weeks.






Strawberry milk is YUMMMMMMMY!!! ^^

➹ running man fan - seoul itinerary

A friend has recently succumbed to being an avid fan of the hit variety-reality show, Running Man 런닝맨. She did a marathon on ALL the past episodes and is now able to catch up to the latest subbed releases (Ep 82 as of writing). Now, she wants to visit a lot of the popular places featured on the show on her upcoming Seoul vacation with friends. It will be their first time in Korea so I'll be helping build her itinerary.

Fortunately, wiki has an ULTRA COMPREHENSIVE database of NEAR-EVERYTHING you can think of about Running Man. Just check out their List of Running Man episodes . Die-hard Running Man addicts can certainly revel on all the details compiled on wiki… PD-nim's must be so proud to have created this cult following!

Anyway, I spot a couple of landmarks which would be easy to visit as a first-timer in Korea.
[Episode 01] Times Square (Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Hyo-ri]
[Episode 06] N Seoul Tower (Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Kim Shin-young, Se7en, Son Dam-bi]
[Episode 07] Sejong Center for the Performing Arts (Jongno-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Eun-jeong (T-ara), Jo Kwon (2AM), Jung Yong-hwa (CN Blue)]
[Episode 08] Seoul Museum of History, Gyeonghui Palace (Jongno-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Lee Joon (MBLAQ), Park Jun-gyu, Victoria (f(x))]
[Episode 09] Lotte World (Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Lee Hong-ki (FT Island), Kim Soo-ro, Shin Bong-sun]
[Episode 11] Seoul Central Post Office (Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Jung Yong-hwa (CN Blue), Kim Je-dong]
[Episode 16] I'Park Mall (Yongsan-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Yuri (Girls' Generation)]
[Episode 19] Namsangol Hanok Village(Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Nichkhun (2PM)]
[Episode 29] COEX Aquarium(Gangnam-gu, Seoul) [Guests: - ]
[Episode 33] Incheon International Airport (Jung-gu, Incheon) [Guests: Oh Ji-ho]
[Episode 34] Hongdae area (Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Park Jun-gyu, Uee (After School)]
[Episode 39] Seoul Folk Flea Market (Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Sunny, Yoona (Girls' Generation)]
[Episode 46] Kyobo Book Centre (Jongno-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Kim Hyun-joong (SS501)]
[Episode 49] Dream Forest (Gangbuk-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Goo Ha-ra (Kara), Noh Sa-yeon]
[Episode 54] 63 Building (Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Choi Kang-hee, Ji Sung]
[Episode 66] Everland [Guests: Kim Sun-ah, Song Joong-ki]

Funny how I've only been to 6 of my easy picks! There's just so much to visit in Korea ~ and even just in Seoul.

[Episode 01] Times Square (Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Hyo-ri]


[Episode 06] N Seoul Tower (Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Kim Shin-young, Se7en, Son Dam-bi]


[Episode 09] Lotte World (Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Lee Hong-ki (FT Island), Kim Soo-ro, Shin Bong-sun]


[Episode 33] Incheon International Airport (Jung-gu, Incheon) [Guests: Oh Ji-ho]


[Episode 34] Hongdae area (Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Park Jun-gyu, Uee (After School)]


[Episode 66] Everland [Guests: Kim Sun-ah, Song Joong-ki]

I've seen the Sejong Center for Performing Arts from across the street at Gwanghwamun Plaza. And I think I've seen the Post Office while strolling around Jong-no before ... both landmarks feel a bit more special because of the Running Man episodes shot in them ^^.

How fun would it be to have Running Man film in these heavily touristy areas?
Myeongdong!!!
Namdaemun
Ssamziegiel
Cheonggyecheon

Such a day shall come ^^.

➹ korean accessories in singapore

Went with a friend around a mall in Tampines and found this stand advertising Korean-made accessories! Everything was ALL TOO CUTE!

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This reminds me of those times when I was so overwhelmed with filling my basket at that naughty cat store in myeongdong ! Ahh, at least I can somehow get my Korean-accessories fix here at Tampines for the meantime ... Oh btw, Helen (another accessory store) also sells Korean made goods. Just bought a really pretty hairband from there!

➹ tiramisu caffe coffee prince franchise

Last November, me and my friend accidentally found the Coffee Prince franchise cafe while wandering around the streets of Hongdae. We were really looking for the Hello Kitty Cafe but we ended up lost and just aimlessly exploring the busy streets that night. Fortunately, the Hello Kitty Cafe turned out to be on the same side street as this Coffee Prince franchise! So we eventually found our target. However, for a moment there, I kind of wanted to go into the Coffee Prince shop and reminisce the pleasant time I had when I visited it last 2008.

For me, 2008 is part of those long gone heydays of the drama, Coffee Prince. That was when I first visited Seoul and met a new friend who was a foreign exchange student at that time. I didn't really know where to go around the city with the limited time I had... So I was extremely delighted when my friend offered to take me to the Coffee Prince shop at Hongdae!



Now, there are (at least) 2 Coffee Prince shops in Hongdae (as far as I know). There is of course, the actual set of the Coffee Prince drama – where 슈퍼주니어 also shot their parody from PKL's Wonderful Outing (kya!). And then there is the relatively newer franchise store which is closer to the subway stop. My friend took me to the franchise version that year. I was far too amazed with the Hongdae scene so I did not pay attention on how we actually got there ... which was why it was pretty neat that I managed to find it again after 3 years!

Here's how cozy it looked like during Fall of 2008:







The franchise shop had a better ambiance for me, though it lacked the nostalgic feel of the original set. I liked that everything was cute and pretty and comfy at that shop. The baristas were nice (they had the drama uniform too) and most everything was still quite sparkling new ^^. Here's how the menu was at that time:









Here were our choice picks that autumn day:



Compared to the original Coffee Prince, this franchise store had (1) far more food and beverage options (2) prettier menu (3) less expensive prices (4) more delicious drinks and (5) far less tourists!!! Well, perhaps all those are supposed to make up for the fact that it is not the actual drama set. And that's why the experience here is really more personal ~ just like enjoying your time on your favorite cafe.




I wonder if everything is still as nice and pretty as before. With the newer and recently more popular Hello Kitty Cafe just across the street, I wonder how this cafe franchise is faring too...



Oh, and on a side note ... Even if Google Street View for Hongdae is dated 2009, this particular street where the Coffee Prince franchise shop is located ... is out of view ㅠ-ㅠ.

➹ pororo generation

I think I first heard about Pororo from watching Running Man ㅋㅋㅋ. Haroro has in fact been one of my favorite players in the show. And then I encountered Pororo once again when I watched Greatest Love! That was when I realized how popular this penguin character is. There was a time when Dooly (the dinosaur character) was all the rage (cue X-Man, Star Golden Bell clips)~ and perhaps it is still quite popular these days … But it is crystal clear that it is NOW the peak of the Pororo generation!

A few weeks before I came to Seoul last fall, I encountered Pororo again via Flower Boy Ramyun! At this point, I just had to check out what all the hype is all about! As expected, there is no shortage of Pororo goodies online even for English speakers like me. Surely, there are tons more from Korean netizens! Sadly, I had no time to browse around before my trip.

Little did I know that Pororo is like all over Seoul! Well, all over Times Square at least. We went into the 24-hr eMart after midnight and marveled at the wide variety of Pororo merchandise at this supermarket! Chopsticks, lunchboxes, mugs, pencil cases and what nots. I couldn't choose what to buy for my 4-yr old nephew at that time because the choices were all overwhelmingly cute! I settled for a simple pencil case since I wasn't sure if my nephew even knows who Pororo was.

The next morning, we went into Kyobo bookstore and found Pororo books, toys and even Pororo himself in a car ㅋㅋㅋ.


I wanted to buy a book for toddlers ~ for my Hangul education and just for fun ~ so I picked this out.



The department store section in eMart is not open 24 hours so we came back to browse around after Kyobo. It was not so surprising that we found a whole section for Pororo in the Toys Department.




Pororo merchandise was even all over Incheon International Airport. This was where we found a Petty doll. Too bad it was a bit too expensive else, my friend would have bought it haha. Next time, I wouldn't mind taking home a Pororo doll myself ㅎㅎ. It was also in IIAC that we found Pororo chocolates!!!



So yeah, I gave in and bought a pack. They were sooo yummy!!! Well, it's hard to go wrong with strawberry yogurt, yes? Buying these was also a good thing since my nephew and niece are apparently huge fans of Pororo! They were so excited when I gave them the chocolates. My nephew even introduced me to all the characters on the show. It was not surprising that he even asked me to give him the Pororo book~ ah, but not yet. He wouldn't understand the Hangul characters yet haha!

Last Christmas, I decided to watch Pororo episodes in their youtube channel. Oh sooo much fun! ^^ It's such a fun way to learn simple Korean expressions. Ah scratch that ~ it's the CUTEST way to learn Korean expressions!

For my nephew's 5th birthday, I had Pororo notebooks custom made for his party! His classmates loved these so much~


Now I even downloaded the free Pororo apps on my smartphone. The camera app is also loads of fun for kids ^^.

Lastly, I just found out that this Pororo drink is also delicious (well, according to my nephew haha).


So what's all the hype on Pororo? I'm not exactly sure myself but I'm now pretty hooked in it!

➹ lotte world star avenue

No words are needed … REALLY.













I should say that we didn't know we could go inside the Star Café with our Lotte World tickets (a friend told me about this afterwards). So in fact, we missed some more picture-taking opportunities ㅜㅜ. But since we didn't know this when we were there, we walked away feeling pretty good with the eye candies above. No major heartaches though since my main biases are not Lotte endorsers, whew.

Not shown in the pictures are Bi, Choi JiWoo & Song SeungHyun.