Hello! This is the second part of our day 2! Like what I’ve said in part 1, it’s my favorite day from the trip.
After Insadong, we went to the nearest subway station, Anguk Station, and of course, my heart was racing at that point. We’re talking about THE subway. Riding the subway was on my Seoul to-do list because of a lot of reasons. 1.) The opening scene of My Sassy Girl is on the subway station. My Sassy Girl is my first Korean movie. 2.) A lot of scenes from fanfictions and South Korean internet novels happen on the subway. Internet novels used to be my life when I was in high school. 3.) JUST BECAUSE. Okay, I only had three reasons.
Anguk Station was quite lovely. I cannot remember which Exit we entered. It’s either 4 or 5, I think. Once we went down to the station, this wall full of artworks welcomed us. Obviously, it’s by different artists. They also used different materials and some even carved on the blocks. It’s amazing. I like how they seem to try and incorporate art in almost every available space.
We bought a T-Money card (W2,500) so that we could ride the subway. We bought it in a 7-Eleven store located inside the station. It’s quite easy to use T-Money, and all you have to do is reload as much as you want. The content doesn’t expire, too. You can also use the T-Money card when riding the bus! The reloading machine also has the option of having the instructions English or Korean. So we didn’t really have much trouble.
Since it’s our first time riding the subway, we had a pretty hard time making our way around the situation. Good thing we met a Filipino mother and daughter who were also going to Chumuro station. But I think even without their help, we’d manage just fine but it would definitely take us longer. Haha!
The Seoul subway system is pretty impressive. There are actually 14 subway lines that can take you anywhere in Seoul. One line even leads directly to the Incheon airport. There are also maps (in Korean and English) inside the stations so as long as you know where you’re going, you’ll definitely find your way. But we did get lost once haha. Also, the signs are in English! And they also give directions to the nearest landmarks. They made the subway system pretty easy for foreigners to navigate.
By the way, our destination was the N Seoul Tower. To get there, ride the subway and get off at Chungmuro Station (Line 3 or 4) and get out at exit 1. You’ll see the Daehan Cinema the look for the nearest bus stop. There are special buses that will take you to the top of Mt. Namsan where N Seoul Tower is located. We took bus #2 but I think you can also take bus #5. We also used the T-Money card to pay for our bus fare.
The bus was packed! But I didn’t mind standing during the whole bus ride. I think I was too happy experiencing so many things for the first that I really didn’t mind all the hardships we endured. Hehe. On our way to the top, we passed by these mesmerizing array of trees with so many beautiful flowers! I’d read about the walking trail on Namsan Mountain filled with cherry blossoms and forsythias and wanted to go there. But we could only pass by and watch in awe. It really was so beautiful. So if you have enough time, drop off from that stop. You can ride the bus again to reach N Seoul Tower but you can also walk. But it was quite far.
When we finally reached the last stop, we were welcomed by a large crowd! It was the most tourist infested place we had visited just yet. Oftentimes, we’re either the only foreigners or there weren’t much. There were still a lot of Koreans, though, especially couples who were way too cute, really.
The view was amazing! We still weren’t on top of the mountain, and had to walk uphill first. But the view was already so pretty!
