Day Four in Seoul (Part 2)

Our Myeongdong adventure continues!

After our very filling lunch, we averted our attention from the glorious store displays. My sister and I immediately wanted to start shopping but we had to look for the Myeongdong Cathedral first. We asked for directions again and learned that it was right where we though it wasn’t! That sounds confusing but the point is, we were almost there when we thought we made a wrong turn then headed back and eventually got lost. Haha.

When we reached the cathedral, we thought it was closed because all the doors were closed. Then somebody came out and we realized that a mass was going on. It was a Sunday, which was why we went there in the first place. We entered the church and the mass was in Korean so we didn’t understand anything. Heh. But we finished the service, and I realized that it was the quietest mass I have ever attended. It was the most solemn one, too, I think. And my parents couldn’t stop raving at the discipline the Koreans were showing, even in church, especially in church.

Once the mass was over, we wanted to take photos inside since it was so pretty! But we were too shy and we felt as if we’re disrupting something sacred even though the mass was already over. So we just took some photos outside but it was raining and we couldn’t really pose that much because of the cold (which is pretty obvious in the photo haha). If the church looks familiar, it’s because it was used in You’re Beautiful!

It was around 3 in the afternoon and we were already so cold, as you can obviously see in the photo above. We had to walk really fast and couldn’t even glance around the place that much. We walked back to the shopping district and the first shop we went was the one selling KPOP goodies! Of course, of course. We’re in the land of the oppas, it’s quite stupid to not enter a DVD store.

I saw so many DVDs and CDs of DBSK and I wanted to buy so many things! But we were on a budget and I opted to buy Shut Up! Flower Boyband’s OST album and CNBLUE’s Earfun. Not the special edition but they had the special edition and I so wanted to buy it! But as I’ve said, we were on a budget and I felt bad to spend too much money on CNBLUE. Huhu.

Even after we’ve paid for our purchases (Ate bought Goong and I’m Sorry, I Love You OST albums), I couldn’t let go of the Earfun Special Edition. It was so beautiful! I think the unnie from the store took pity on me that’s why she gave me a free Jung YongHwa poster! The one on the back cover of the special edition! OMG!!!! Then I lost it when we’re on our way to the airport. I almost cried. It’s basically the stupidest thing I’ve done in a long while.

After tearfully parting from the Earfun Special Edition album, we continue walking around Myeongdong. I love MyeongDong! The weather was so cold and the wind was so harsh but there were still tons of people around! It was so colorful. There were stalls on the streets and there are also amazing things to see in the stores. There were tons of little alleys full of stores and we didn’t know where to head first.

In short, I enjoyed my shopping in MyeongDong. If you want a mix of signature and non-signature (WHAT) choices, then you should try MyeongDong. My favorite is this store that sells women’s clothing for only 2 for W10,000! My sister and I bought a sweater each, and that’s like only 200php for one! I regret not buying more.

When you’re in Myeongdong, keep your eyes open for this Dunkin’ Donuts branch. It’s used for one of the scenes in You’re Beautiful, between ShinWoo and Go MiNam. And I was like, “YONG WAS HERE OMG!”

If you’re looking for a place in Seoul that has all the prominent cosmetics brand in the country, then try Myeongdong. Etude House, Nature Republic, Skin Food, Tony Moly, The Face Shop, etc., can be found in every freaking street corner. It’s not even a joke. I wish I can show you the map of MyeongDong to prove it. But really, there’s one in every turn, it’s quite insane. But then again, South Korea is known for cosmetics so I guess it should be expected.

I wish Giordano in the Philippines also has So JiSup as a model. Damn hot.

YongSeo was here! This is where the Goguma couple went shopping during the later part of the show. It was full of signature brands and the only thing we did inside was go to the washroom. /slowclap

If I’d ever go back to Korea, I’ll make to come back to Myeongdong. I also promise to bring more money and to shop till I drop. I have so many Korea regrets and one of them is not shopping enough! It’s just frustrating to see all these wonderful stuff that I know I wouldn’t find anywhere else. Myeongdong is lovely, and I now understand why it keeps getting mentioned in dramas and variety shows and pretty much everywhere else.

It’s not just about shopping, too. There’s a wide variety of street food people could try. I regret not having tried the squid and churros and giant cream puffs, etc. I want to go back! Myeongdong is just amazing! And to think we went there in such crazy weather. Huhuhu. I want to go back to Myeongdong so bad.

From Myeongdong, we walked towards Cheonggyecheon stream and I’m telling you, it was far! Or maybe the wind was just so harsh that walking was too difficult? Or maybe it was just really far. But everyone we asked said we could simply walk. And walk we did.

The Cheonggyecheon stream is pretty long, and I’m pretty sure there’s an attraction in many spots of the stream. In the spot where we headed, we saw an artistic light show at one side of the stream. The display changed in almost every second and I wonder if the designs repeat. Maybe it did, but I didn’t notice. There weren’t that many people since it was raining a bit but there were still some tourists. I even had a little moment with a Japanese guy while crossing the stream. Feelingera!

But there’s nothing much to see. I guess we went on the quieter part of the stream. I wanted to walk further and see what else was there but we were freezing already. There’s a bridge nearby and decided to walk under it. There’s a little exhibit of some of the activities they do along the stream and I knew right then that we should have went somewhere else. Oh well. We didn’t know what to do or where to go next so we took photos instead. Haha!

We were already quite tired by then but I wanted to go to Banpo Bridge! It was quite far and we had to ride two subway lines just to get to the bridge. We were shocked when we reached the station because it was empty!

There were no one around and we didn’t really know where to go next. The first person we asked is an elderly male who couldn’t speak English. Surprisingly, we ended up understanding each other though he’s speaking Korean and I was speaking English. He corrected my pronunciation of Banpo, though. Heh. He was so nice that he even lead us to the path we should take. Ajusshis in Korea are the cutest.

It was quite scary at this point since we entered a neighborhood with no person in sight! I feel like a character from a South Korean murder mystery would leap out and attack us. The neighborhood just gave off that vibe, okay. And I watch too many crime movies. Anyway, we relaxed a bit when we saw a police outpost. Turned out we were on the right track!

But when we reached Banpo bridge, there were no magnificent lights that I saw on TV. Huhu. We didn’t want to leave right away because we traveled so far! But we had no choice, really. Besides, it was also drizzling. Goodbye ,Banpo! 🙁

We went back to the station sad and grumpy and cold and hungry. There were teens inside the station and my father asked them about the bridge. We were depressed when we learned that the light show starts every 30 minutes (or something)! We just didn’t arrive at the right time. But we were too tired to go back so we just decided to go home.

Once we went back to Hyewa Rotonda (that’s where we’re staying!), we looked for a place we could buy chicken, since you know, South Korean fried chicken is quite popular. But we didn’t see any! But we did see stalls selling chicken balls (mixed with dukbokki!) and chicken bbq. We also bought some rice and we had a pretty good dinner back at our room. It was a pretty cheap dinner but it was really good, too.

So that wraps up my fourth day in Seoul. I didn’t want that day to ever be over because I knew that next day, I’d be leaving behind the place I had been dreaming of all my teenage and adult life. Haha.