Two "Only in Korea" Situations Happened This Week That Will Make Me Miss This Country

 

Situation #1:

Last Thursday, while the Election was happening, I couldn't focus on teaching, I was glued to my phone between classes, and while I was grabbing a burger at McDonald's. Due to that, after I ate my burger at the McDonald's next to my work building, I left my jacket on the stool opposite the stool I was sitting on at 3:00. If it had been a colder day, I don't think I would've forgotten it, but because it wasn't that cool and I was so wrapped up in the elections, I easily forgot about it. 

By the time I left work at 9:00pm that night, I realized I immediately that I had left my jacket at McDonald's since it wasn't where I left. I quickly went back to McDonald's and it was exactly in the same position that I left it untouched. This is one thing I love about Korea. Stealing is rare and people never mess with things that isn't theirs.

Situation #2:

My friend Nate Richey and his fiancé were getting married on Saturday at 12:00pm. I decided to get there early, find a cafe and get some coffee. It took me about 15 minutes to find one, but I found a great one that was playing classical music, had comfortable seating, had great coffee, some fancy chandeliers, and a very kind cashier. The only thing that was weird about this place was the name as you can see in this picture....

I guess I was a deadbeat for getting coffee here! It still amazes me that the largest city in South Korea, 18th largest city in Asia, and the 28th largest city in the world, often has businesses with strange, funny, or weird English names like this. Regardless of that, this is also one of the reason why I love Korea!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

The National Hanguel Museum in Seoul, South Korea

National Hanguel Museum

One place to visit in Seoul if you have some extra time is the National Hanguel Museum. If you can't read Korean, taking a look around this place won't take more than an hour. If you can read Korean, and you're a huge art enthusiast, you'll spend two to three hours here. Nevertheless, even if you don't know the language, you can browse it if you have some free time after looking around the National Museum of Korea. However, since the National Museum of Korea is a lot bigger, I would save half a day for that alone.  I recommend visiting this place and then going to the Yongsan Family Park right after. Here are some of my favorite artifacts at the museum:

A wall of Hanguel: The Korean alphabet

Korean instrument: Gayageum

Keyboard with floppy disks

Hanguel Typewriter

Hanguel Typewriter

Hanguel Eye Chart

Admission: Free

Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, Sunday-10:00am-6:00pm
            Saturday- 10:00am- 9:00pm

Address: 139 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsandong 6(yuk)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Phone: (02) 2124-6200

Directions: Exit 2 at Ichon Station (Line 4, Gyeongui-Jungang Line) and walk 430m in the direction of Yongsan Family Park 

Website in English: https://www.hangeul.go.kr/lang/en

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Changgyeonggung Palace at Night in Pictures (Seoul, South Korea)

In 2018, evening visits to Changgyeonggung Palace were only offered at special times. However, beginning this year you can visit there from 9:00am until 9:00pm from Tuesday until Sunday and the latest time that you can be admitted in is at 8:00pm. Please note that the palace is closed on Mondays.

Here are some pictures that I took with my wife last year. The place is underrated since everyone talks about Gyeongbokgung Palace and not many tourists know about this one. It's not that huge, but you can expect to spend about an hour here.

The entrance

Outer courtyard

The center of the temple

A full moon

A woman is taking pictures in a traditional Korean outfit called a "hanbok"

Exiting out of the temple

Cost: Adults= W1,000; Aged 7-18= W500; For children under 6, senior citizens over 65 years old, and those wearing a hanbok= FREE.
Hours: See above
Address: 185 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul
Directions: Hyehwa Station (Seoul, Subway Line 4), Exit 4. Walk for approximately 15 minutes.
Website: cgg.cha.go.kr (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
Inquiries: +82-2-762-4868 (Korean only)
1330 Korea Travel Hotline: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Malay, Vietnamese, and Thai language available)


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Dream Forest in Seoul, South Korea (Summer 2018)

You can see the Observation Tower at the top

Dream Forest (also known as 북서울 꿈의숲) in Seoul, South Korea and formerly known as Odong Geullin Park is one of the most underrated parks in Seoul. It's the fourth largest park in Seoul after World Cup Park, Olympic Park, and Seoul Forest. All of my students (who I teach near COEX Mall and Samseong Station) talk about Olympic Park or Seoul Forest, but then again these are students that live on the south side of the river. They think going to the other side is too far. Haha! Maybe people that live in Gangbuk talk about this park and I just don't know it. Nevertheless, I love this park for various reasons:

First, the park is quiet. A moderate amount of people come here even on weekends. You can walk around and find a bench or sit on the grass without being bothered. It's amazingly peaceful and relaxing.

Secondly, it has a few hiking trails. I have yet to do that but there is an area full of trees that you can hike up. It's very well preserved and maintained.

Next, if you have children, you can take them to the children's museum (not free), which is on the premises. There's also a little creek and a baby pool where kids can dip their feet or play in the water.

If none of these convince you, there's a big area full of grass! You can have a picnic, play catch with your child, or put up a tent which some people do here. Koreans love to camp in parks and this place is no exception.

So much grass!

Finally, the best feature is the observation tower at the north end of the park. You take a cable car up about 50 feet. Then you go inside a building and take the elevator to the top. There is a cafe, which overlooks the surrounding area of the park. Surprisingly the drinks are reasonably priced and you can easily get a seat there. One floor above that is an observation deck, where you can see a vast amount of landscape of Seoul including the local mountains Dobok Mountain(Doboksan), Surak Mountain(Suraksan), and Bukhan Mountain (Bukhansan) to the north. In the south you can see Lotte Tower far off into the distance, N Seoul Tower, and the Han River.

Lotte World Tower in the distance on a cloudy day

N Seoul Tower on the right side of the picture

How To Get Here:
[Subway + Bus]
Miasageori Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 1. Take Maeul Bus #9 or Bus #11. (10 minute-ride) and get off at Dream Forest Bus Stop.

OR

Dolgoji Station (Seoul Subway Line 6), Exit 3. Take Bus #147 (5-minute ride) and get off at Dream Forest Bus Stop.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Achasan (Acha Mountain) in Seoul, South Korea

Lotte Tower in the background

One of the most underrated areas of Seoul is Achasan. Achasan, with an altitude of 295.7 meters stretches from Seoul to the city of Guri. The mountain can be found right dab in the city off of Line 7 on the Seoul Metro. My friend Nate Sympson recommended going there because it is a great place for photographers to get stunning sunset and twilight shots. After about 40 minutes of hiking, you'll observe a panoramic view of Seoul that includes the Han River, Lotte Tower to your left, and N Seoul Tower (formerly known as Namsan Tower). N Seoul Tower will be off to your right and in the next picture below. I had heard about Achasan a few times, but never realized how wonderful the views were from there.

N Seoul Tower off into the distance

Here's a little history of the mountain. During the Joseon Dynasty, the two peaks (Bonghwa and Yongmabong) as well as the Manguri Cemetery were originally considered part of Achasan Mountain. 20 bastions were discovered on the mountain that were originally estimated to date back to the Three Kingdoms Era. Further research indicated that some of the remains were actually part of the military fortress built during the Goguryeo Era (37 BC to 668 AD). Due to these findings, Achasan Mountain was officially designated as Historic Site #455 in the year 2004.

The other side of the Han River

My Review: This place is popular among Koreans but few non-Koreans talk about it which is surprising. However, since few tourists come here, it's not an overly crowded place. I was pretty amazed by the view and we stayed for three hours just seeing the different lighting of the sun as it got darker. You can see Lotte Tower light up slowly and see the city lights illuminate as the minutes tick away. It was breathtaking to say the least. Since my friend and I came up in March, the weather during the afternoon was perfect, but it got windy as 6:00pm approached. That is something that you should keep in mind. Also, if you do plan to come here, I would suggest to bring a lunch because there aren't many restaurants on the way to the entrance to the hiking trails. There are a couple of small Korean restaurants on the way there, but my friend and I just decided to meet my wife and her friend at Wangsimni Station (5 subway stations away) for dinner after hiking. Here are a couple of more shots before you go:

How To Get There: Take Seoul Subway Line 5 to Achasan Station and come out of Exit 2.
Walk straight and turn on the second left street.
Walk straight for approximately 210 meters.
Follow the street on the right after the three-way intersection (also known as a Y-junction).
Follow the street for approximately 470 meters and turn right towards Dongui Elementary School.
Walk straight until you get to the Achasan Park Entrance.
It will take you about 10-15 minutes from Achasan Station.


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Seoul Citizen's Forest in Yangjae, Seoul, South Korea

If you're looking for a park that's not overly crowded and one that's not where every Korean goes, I have one recommendation for you: Seoul Citizen's Forest in Yangjae. It was created in 1986 just before the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Summer Olympics.

I came here in May of this year when the weather was still a bit cold, so it wasn't as green as it normally would be between the end of the spring and middle of the summer. However, I still enjoyed it because it was nice and quiet. During the summer, the stream that runs parallel to the park (see picture below) has grass along the hillsides. But as you see from the pictures, notice few people were there when it was bit cold, so it was great!

And if you take a closer look, you can see South Korea's national flag in the distance, which gave the picture more character.

The park itself has various walking trails including the main 4.8km walking course. It also has 43 species of trees including pine and maple trees. It truly does feel like you're in the mountains when you're strolling through some parts of the park and see maple leaves scattered all over the grass.

These trails were made for jogging and biking as you can see....

One famous person is memorialized here: Yun Bong-gil. According to Wikipedia, on April 29, 1932, Yun Bong-gil brought a hand grenade disguised as a water bottle to Shanghai's Hongkew Park where a celebration for Japanese Emperor Hirohito was being held. He threw it, killed Yoshinori Shirakawa and the government minister for Shanghai's residents, Kawabata Sadaji.  He seriously injured Lieutenant General Kenkichi Ueda, the commander of the 9th Division of the Japanese Imperial Army and the Japanese Envoy in Shanghai Mamoru Shigemitsu, who both lost a leg. Yun tried to kill himself with a bomb in a bento box, but was arrested before he had the chance. He was found guilty by a Shanghai military court on May 25, was transferred to Osaka prison on November 18, and was moved to Kanazawa, Ishikawa. Yun was executed by a firing squad on December 19 and then buried at Nodayama cemetery in Kanazawa. President of the then Chinese Republic Chiang Kai Shek praised his actions by saying "A Young Korean patriot accomplished something tens of thousands of Chinese could not." Future president Syngman Rhee disapproved of this and Kim Koo's strategy of assassinations as a way of gaining independence. He felt that the Japanese could use those attacks to justify their oppression of Korea.

Yun Bong-Gil Memorial

Yun Bong-Gil Memorial

The trails lead to Yangjae Stream on the other side of the park. From there, you can walk all the way to Gangnam on the 15.6 km path. Here are a few pictures of Yangjae Stream (Yangjaecheon). For more information on Yangaecheon, you can go here.

Yangjae Stream (Yangjaecheon)

Yangjae Stream (Yangjaecheon)

There is only one disadvantage of this park. If you're looking for a restaurant near it, you won't find one. After my friends and I came out of the park, to find a restaurant, we found one pub, and a few businesses, but no real restaurants. We had to take the bus back to Gangnam Station to eat. You can either have a picnic here, eat before you get to the park, or just go to another area to eat after you leave the park.

Getting there:

1. You can take the subway by going to Yangjae Station on Line 3 and come out of Exit 7.
2. You can take the bus: Seocho 8, 8201, M6405, 3200, or Seocho 20 and get off at the Citizen Park bus stop (시민의숲).


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

An Underrated Area in Seoul: Buam-dong

Buam-dong, Seoul, South Korea

One area of Seoul that many non-Koreans don't know about is Buam-dong. To Koreans it's fairly popular but since it's not the easiest to get to, Koreans settle for Samcheong-dong, which is nice but very crowded on weekends.

How do you get here? I made the mistake of thinking that it was close to Hongje Station after looking on Naver maps. I knew it was a bit of a distance but I thought I could walk there. After about 20 minutes of walking, I finally took a 7-minute taxi ride. Oops! Therefore, I wanted to find a way to make it easier for you. I was able to get assistance from the website www.seoulsecrets.net, which provided me with the directions:

"Take the subway to Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) and come out of Exit 3. Walk straight for about 100 meters and look for the second bus stop (not the shuttle bus stop). Take either the #1020 (green bus) or #7022 (green bus). Take one of those buses for 6 stops until you reach the Buam-dong Community Service Center. You'll be able to hear it in English, so make sure that you're listening carefully. The bus journey will take no longer than 10 minutes."

Once the taxi driver dropped me off at the top, I really had no idea where to look. I saw an area that was right dab in between Inwangsan to the south (close by on foot) and Bukhansan to the north. Quaint little restaurants, shops, and cafes were nearby, so I started doing my own exploring.

I was a bit hungry, so I wanted to find a place to eat at first. I followed the main road that leads to Gyeongbok Palace and saw a cute Italian restaurant called Da Pasta (a name that made me smile) on the east side of the street.

Da Pasta Italian Restaurant

There were a total of four tables with nice elegant European style decor in the restaurant and two very nice ladies working there. When I walked inside, there were two customers at another table eating. As soon as they left, I was alone for about 30 minutes talking to one of the owners and told her what I was doing in Korea.

The interior of Da Pasta

They were very surprised to see a non-Korean alone and asked me where I was from and they hoped I would enjoy their pasta dish. I chose a pasta dish that doesn't usually disappoint: Carbonara. Overall the flavor was there, however it was a bit dry. But there was a reason for that. The owner told me in Korean that Koreans preferred it that way but admitted that non-Koreans usually complained that the pasta was indeed too dry. I didn't tell her that but I definitely agreed that more sauce was needed. Nonetheless, the pasta was of high quality and there was a decent amount of bacon in it. It was W14,000.

My carbonara dish

I wasn't sure what my next stop would be but I decided to look for a cafe and do some reading. I walked for about 5 minutes south and saw a two-story cafe on the corner called Club Espresso. I saved a seat upstairs and then went downstairs to check the menu. This cafe is famous for its croissants.

Club Espresso 

First Floor of Club Espresso

Here's a shot of the cafe upstairs. The place gets packed on weekends as you can see...

Second floor of Club Espresso

I ordered an iced cafe latte and a chocolate croissant. How did the croissant rate? The taste was excellent and it was very buttery. Just thinking about it right now makes me want to go back there for another one. The coffee was great as well...

A chocolate croissant with my iced cafe latte

But the best part of my exploration of Buam-dong was yet to come. After I did some reading and enjoyed my dessert, I wanted to get outside and experience the sunshine. I started my walk toward Inwangsan. I was pretty surprised how the street just passed right through the mountain.

Inwangsan in front of me

After about a 5-7 minute walk, I found a trail that led me up to the Seoul City Wall that surrounds Inwangsan, which I wasn't even looking for. I decided to walk up the stairs and follow a trail that led me to the wall...

On the way to the Seoul city wall on Inwangsan

I wasn't sure what kind of view I would get from the top but lo and behold I got some great shots of Seoul from here. As I looked over the wall, this is what I got to see...

A view of Bukhansan from the Seoul City Wall on Inwangsan

I kept walking up the stairs and came across two Korean soldiers that wouldn't allow me to take pictures from one particular point. Then I realized that that point was directly above the Blue House (Cheongwadae). Once I couldn't go up any further, I came down the mountain and got a great view of N Seoul Tower on the south side of Inwangsan. I got two wonderful views of Seoul from two different vantage points. Here's what I was able to see....

A view of N Seoul Tower from Inwangsan

Another shot of N Seoul Tower as I was coming down the mountain

How amazing was that! Not only were the views great but it wasn't that crowded and it was very quiet. I totally recommend coming here when you have a free weekend. Make sure you make a trip here before it becomes a hot place on TV and everybody and their cousins come here for a visit. It's well worth it just for the nature.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy