Buam-dong 부암동 and the Best Coffee Shop in Seoul

When looking to have a classy afternoon of coffee and shopping, many Seoulites head to Samcheong-dong (삼청동), an upscale neighbored next to Gyeongbok Palace (경복겅). Filled with boutique clothing stores, independent coffee shops, marvelous little restaurants, and timeless traditional Korean architecture, Samcheong-dong is a great place for a weekend stroll (Anguk Station, exit 3). However, it’s an extremely popular area. On any given weekend afternoon it will be overrun by crowds looking to shop, or tourists hunting for a meal after a walk around the palace.

If you’re looking an equally charming area without the crowds, try heading over to Buam-dong (부암동). Not as developed as Samcheong-dong, Buam-dong is a small neighborhood with a lot of character and a quaint atmosphere not often found in Seoul. It’s located between Inwangsan and Bukhansan, two mountains, offering great views at every turn. It’s also known for an eclectic mix of hidden galleries, classic restaurants, and superb coffee shops, including the famous Sanmootonge (산모퉁이), which is arguably the most beautiful café in Seoul. Buam-dong receives a lot less crowds since you cannot get there directly by subway, but here are simple bus directions!

1. 1.     Go to Gyeongbokgung Station (line 3), get out at exit 3.
2. 2.     Go straight about 100 meters to the second bus stop, take green buses #1020 or #7022 and get off at the Buam-dong Community Service Center 부암동민주센터. It’s only 6 stops away and it will be announced in English.

Places to go: 

To get to the first four places on my list, go to your right when you get off the bus and walk straight up the hill for 2 minutes or so until you hit Espresso Club (pictured below on the left). Known for serving up some of the best cups of coffee in Seoul, Espresso Club is also at the base of the road that takes you to most of major destinations on Buam-dong.

Espresso Club is the brick building on the left. You can stop in there for a taste of some of the best coffee from around the world! If you want great views and coffee however, head up to Sanmootonge.

Sanmootonge (산모퉁이) 

1.    According to the internet, this coffee shop was made famous by its appearance on the Korean drama Coffee Prince. However, even if you are like me and have never seen a Korean drama (it’s true), you’ll still be impressed. Located in a lovely brick house with magnificent views of Seoul and what I’ve deemed the Korean “Hollywood Hills”, Sanmootonge has just the right amounts of style, class, and quirk.

The coffee is a bit pricey at 8,000 won but it’s good quality, and of course you are really paying for the seat. Try to go early (before 1 pm) so you don’t have to fight K-drama fan girls or couples taking selfies for a seat on one of the balconies or in front of a window! The gallery downstairs is also worth checking out.  

Directions: Once you hit Espresso Club, turn left and you’ll see a fork in the road. Stay left and keep walking; soon you’ll hit a small bend where you’ll see a white building with a large brown sign for Santoomonge, pointing you uphill. It’s about 10-15 minute walk uphill, but there are great views and architecture along the way. Additional signs along the hill will keep you on track!

Jaha Sonmandu (자하손만두)
This is a famous mandu (만두) or dumpling restaurant. Known for its fantastic tteok mandu guk (떡만두국), or rice cake and dumpling soup, this restaurant also has a beautiful minimalist interior, perfect for dates, birthdays, treating yourself, and other special occasions. While certainly pricier than every day street mandu, regular dishes only cost about 6,000 to 15,000 won; 12,000 won for the tteok mandu guk. As a huge mandu fan, I think it’s well worth the visit!   

Directions: It’s just a little up the street from Espresso Club. Turn left at Espresso Club, then stay right at the fork, going a little up hill. You will see Jaha Sonmandu almost immediately on your right. 

Gyeyolsa Chicken, 계열사 치킨 (formerly “Cheers Chicken”)

Gyeyolsa is one of the most famous chicken restaurants in Seoul and is known for its traditional Korean fried chicken. Traditional Korean fried chicken is distinguished by a very thin crisp shell. The chicken is served on platters with large home fries. There is no English menu, but it’s just the first item on the menu, 후라이드 (which is Hangeul for “fried”). If you’re feeling more adventurous, another popular dish you’ll see many people ordering is the second item on the menu, 골뱅이 국수or snails with noodles! Get here by noon if you want to avoid the lunch rush!  

 Directions: It’s also just a little bit up the street from Espresso Club. Stay to the left at the fork. It’s located down on the lowered sidewalk to your left. 

Changuimun Gate and Seoul Fortress

if after all that eating you’re in need of some exercise, make a right behind Espresso Club and walk straight for just a minute and you will come to the Changumin Gate (the oldest of the fortress gates) Through the gate you’ll find one of the entrances for the Seoul Fortress which you can hike (yes that large fortress you can see from Sanmootonge).

Ivy and Shortcake

If you want to explore another part of the Buam-dong area, make a right at the base of Buam-dong (when you are facing these shops). A few minutes down are some other neighborhood favorites.

One of the first places you’ll see walking down the street is Ivy, a small yellow café with only 3 seats. Apparently it can be rented out at night to small groups for 50,000 won. After Ivy you’ll see Shortcake, which is a popular cupcake shop. While probably more sought out for its cute décor than the cupcakes (I agree with the assessments I’ve read that the cakes are a little dry) Shortcake is still pretty good! In a city with a lack of cupcakes, I don’t get too choosey! The frosting on my Oreo cupcake was quite good. 

Left- Ivy, Right- Shortcake interior and Oreo cupcake!

Keep walking past Shortcake and you’ll come to a rotary intersection. You have to cross the street to get down to the pedestrian intersection. If you go to the right you can get great views of the mountains and visit some other interesting shops.  I didn’t get a chance to go left, but it looked like there were a few interesting things there as well. Really you could spend an afternoon exploring, which I would encourage you to do if you have the time.

August

With limited time, my friend and I decided just to check out nearby August (to the right of the rotary), which is an interesting vintage shop filled with clothes, house ware, and other knick-knacks. The owner was very friendly; she used to live in L.A. and speaks English very well! 

 Pro tips for Buam-dong (and in general):

1.  Wander down small streets, take long walks, and let yourself get lost. The neighborhoods surrounding Gyeongbok Palace, particularly Samcheong-dong and Buam-dong, are filled with hidden coffee shops and galleries. There are tons of great places and little treasures to discover.
2. Taxis are cheaper than you’d think. If you start the day checking out Gyeongbok Palace or Samcheong-dong, which I would recommend, a taxi to Buam-dong from there will only cost about 6,000 won. In general, travel between major destinations in central Seoul isn’t too pricey, especially if you are splitting it with friends. Even going all the way from Hongdae to Gangnam is only about 15,000-20,000 won depending on where you are.
3. Coffee shops are empty before noon. For most Koreans, coffee shops aren’t for morning pick-me-ups, but places to be seen in the afternoon. If you want to avoid crowded coffee shops in Samcheong-dong or Buam-dong, you don’t have to get there too early. Coffee shops start to get really crowded around 3 or 4 o’clock. 

Places that Really (and Thankfully) Exist: The CupNoodles Museum

For those who don't already know, I re-signed my contract and will be staying in Korea until the end of February 2014. That means another year of fun filled blog posts for you!

Between contracts I was able to take a two week vacation in the US and an amazing trip to Japan with my friend Deanne. To be honest we spent most of the week in Tokyo gorging on ramen and sushi, but I thought it was time very well spent. In between eating sessions (needless to say the food in Japan is amazing) we managed to fit in some shopping and visits to the main tourist attractions. Though the Shinto shrines and shopping were incredible we agreed that our greatest discovery by and far was the CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama (located in the outskirts of Tokyo).

That's right. There is an entire museum dedicated to the sodium filled joy that is Cup Noodles. Though some might be quick to write it off as an over the top marketing ploy, it actually has some cool art installations, and you can make your own custom Cup Noodles! You can even learn how to make the noodles from scratch and learn the hot oil drying process used to harden them. Unfortunately we didn't get to the museum early enough to make our own noodles, but it certainly looked like fun.

The custom Cup Noodles making experience begins with decorating your own personal cup. Then once you finish and the noodles are put in place, you can chose your powder flavor and four little dried vegetables and/or meat additions. Then you watch as they shrink wrap the container and voila! Your own custom Cup Noodles is complete. Perhaps I am easily entertained, or perhaps it was actually really awesome.

You can see my sad attempt to draw a bowl of ramen above the "S"...I blame the lack the fine tipped markers.
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Here you can see the machine they use to press the noodles in the container, and they allow you to...wait for it...crank the machine yourself.

The awesome custom noodle factory people.

The gentleman working at the counter was kind enough to pose my custom noodles for the camera.

Afterwards you could wander through the exhibits, including a massive display of Cup Noodles throughout the years, starting from its inception in 1958. According to the historical information provided it took Ando Momofuku, the inventor of Cup Noodles, an entire year of sleepless nights and weekend-less work weeks to perfect the hot oil drying process that preserved the noodles for future consumption. The additional exhibits were about creativity and pursuing your passions (in case your custom Cup Noodles wasn't inspiring enough already).

The great man himself.

I thought the most amusing part (aside from the above statue) was the ramen bazaar, a labyrinth of mock cheap noodle stands modeled after their counterparts in various countries. It serves as the museum's restaurant where you can buy and eat noodles as they are made in different cuisines, from Chinese to American to Vietnamese.

I like how they purposely made the stand on the right look particularly dingy, though it didn't do much to wet my appetite. Not that it mattered much since I was able to enjoy this ramen the day before (if you are bored, at work, and very hungry, I suggest you skip the next photo):

 This is some out of this world authentic Japanese ramen we ate at Kyushu Jangara Ramen in Harajuku. The restaurant right near the Harajuku subway station and I highly highly recommend eating there if you are in Tokyo!

Overall, I'd say it was a very very positive day:

The Cat Cafe...with real cats!

I knew I had to write a post dedicated the cat cafe photos which everyone on Facebook seemed to love. Yes, there are actually cat and dog cafes in Seoul where you can go have a coffee while you pet/feed the animals (the cat and dog cafes are separate of course).  Next weekend I want to try a dog cafe since the cat cafe is lacking in unconditional love, i.e. they won't even come near you to pet them if you don't buy treats for them to eat. Note the most popular man at the cat cafe, with his plethora of treats:

And how awesome is that grey and black cat?!

Of course there are rules. Don't grab, tease, or squeeze the cats. No human food either. These are princess cats and they must be treated as such...they have "requirement."

Lots of people had iPads to help them engage with the fluffy felines.

Including that kid in the back who actually had a cat toy application on his iPad....I'm 100% serious...I'm also 100% sure the cat wasn't having it. 

And don't forget the cat themed coffees! Pretty impressive coffee/ latte art considering people clearly don't come here for the coffee. My friend and I we're trying to imagine a group of American guys hitting up the cat cafe (*in frat boy voice*): "Yeah man I've just had a rough day. We should just go to the cat cafe...get some drinks and like, pet some cats."

I thought this cat was the cutest, but he was a total jerk. I unsuccessfully tried to pet him, so the nice Korean boy sitting next to me (his hands are pictured here) gave me some of his cat treats. What does that cat do when I held out my hand with the food? Knocks it out of my hand, onto the floor, eats it, and runs away...rude. If you're a cat lover, be aware, you better come prepared with some serious cat treats if you want any lovin' from these guys.

And in case you weren't totally overwhelmed being surrounded by cats on the floor, tables, and chairs, they can also run around on the ceiling! Overall it was an amusing experience...but I think I still prefer dogs. Will definitely be taking a trip to a dog cafe in the near future.

Muuido Island: Mud, Huts, and Walking on Water

Last weekend I took a scenic trip to Muuido Island, a two minute ferry ride off of Korea's west coast. Seriously, the island is so close to the mainland they could easily build a bridge, or give visitors inflatable row boats to drift on over, but nope, gotta take the ferry. I suppose it keeps the small island from being completely overrun with fishermen and tourists. I myself went with the Seoul Hiking Group (kind of like Climbing in Korea...with less climbing).

I was bummed when I left Yeoju Saturday morning since the weather wasn't so great, but it turned out that the low temperatures were perfect for Muuido since its beaches aren't really for swimming.

From the edge of the water, looking at the island. There's a small sandy beach then it's all mud. Mmmm squishy.

Though beautiful, the tide drifts in and out over a kilometer, revealing a muddy, snail infested coast, perfect for squishy barefoot treks and clam digging, but not so great for swimming. By the time you hit the ocean when the tide is out, you'd probably have to wade another half a kilometer to reach waist deep water. When the tide does come in, it's up to you whether or not you want to enter the opaque shallow waters and swim with hoards of -insert crustacean and/or slimy sea creature-. In spite of my oh-so-sincere love of crabs, I decided to pass on that experience.

Even if you don't want to swim there's still plenty to do on Muuido: ziplining, ATV riding, hiking, horse back riding, and eating seafood. Or you could really indulge your adventurous side and do what I did: nothing. I spent a blissful 48-ish hours just sitting, relaxing, and taking occasional walks on the beach. The only real variation was Saturday night, when I joined the group to warm up with a bonfire, some wine, and a pair of iPod speakers.

There were a few different sleeping accommodations. I opted for the "beach hut", though "beach box" might be a more appropriate term. When looking to travel cheaply in Korea, most people stay in pensions, which are like hostels, except the rooms have no beds, just blankets and pillows. The hut/box was like a much smaller pension room, sans bathroom (there were relatively decent public bathrooms a few paces away).

Pick a hut, any hut.

My size.

Sleeping on the floor isn't so bad unless you're like me and like to sleep on your side. Then you get to spend a lovely evening with your shoulder jammed awkwardly into your chin. Had it not been so cold out, I probably would have just piled up some sand and slept on the beach. Guess that brings me to Muuido travel tips: bring a sleeping bag and snacks (there is a small convenient store, but it has a limited selection with jacked prices since it's an island).

Sunday morning I took advantage of the low tide and took a quite literal walk around the island. You can walk where there used to be water and get great pictures of the Island's rocky cliffs and shores. When there are no people around the effect is surreal. I'm sure James Cameron could put these rocks to work as some distant planet movie set.

Welcome to planet Muuido. The Muuidians are expecting you.

For extra fun, bring a friend along and have them take a picture of you out on the shore; from far away it looks like you're walking on water:

No man is an island...except this guy. I wasn't exaggerating when I said you have to walk really far to hit water of any actual depth. On another note, there's been no shortage of inspirational scenery lately. Due to a wave of typhoons (unintentional pun, now intended), we've been experiencing some amazing sunsets. Unfortunately I didn't have a real camera on me, just my iPhone, so the color/picture quality isn't great, but I was able to catch this sunset by the river in Yeoju:

I wish this photo captured the atmosphere better, it was like someone plugged in an electric pink light bulb behind the clouds. Speaking of light bulbs, the classy, glowing building to the right is a love motel...can't win them all I suppose. Then this weekend I lucked out when I caught this sunset while riding the subway in Seoul. Who needs Instagram filters when you've got a phone camera that's useless in low light and a tinted train window? Not me:

Keep in mind that's a very, very very small portion of Seoul you're looking at right there.

Well, that's all for FlyLikeaSegal, the sunset addition. Sorry for the delay, I'll try to get out my next post by earlier next week! Stay tuned for baseball in Korea...I hope you like cheering. 

How to Swim with Sharks in Busan

Dun dun.

Dun dun.

Dun dun.

Careful, he's hungry. I ran into this guy at the Busan Aquarium. I had a few days off from school and decided to take a trip to Busan, the second largest city in South Korea...or Seoul with a beach. While the Busan aquarium may not have had fish swimming in toilet bowls and washing machines, for a mere $120, you can actually go diving in the shark tank! They only do it on weekends and you have to book it in advance, but I'm thinking it might be worth making a return trip for...hopefully the sharks don't think that I'm bite sized.

I also found what appears to be the stuffed animal version of Nemo's dad after a night on the town. Lookin' a little out of it there eh?

Moving on from the never ending rotation of questionable stuffed animals...I stayed at the Pusan Hostel, which I discovered is actually a temporary hostel, a.k.a. a giant apartment located in super ritzy complex (please refer your eyes to the picture below). Lesson: you can live in a fancy apartment as long as you rent it out to 20 other guests on the weekends to pay the bills. It was a bit far from the major downtown areas but I had a room to myself and a fabulous view of the ocean! Definitely one of the nicest apartment complexes I've seen in Korea so far.

View of the buildings from a neighboring park.

 Though I've traveled a lot, this was my first true solo trip abroad, going to a new city by myself. Traveling in Korea isn't like traveling in Europe where you're guaranteed to run into other foreigners where ever you go. During the day I went sight seeing with other people from the hostel, a small group of English teachers and travelers, but at night I would generally go out and just make friends with the first English speaking people I could find, which were surprisingly few and far between for such a big city! Nevertheless I had a great time!

My adventures started immediately after I arrived. I wanted to try and get a nice view of the city, so I began walking up a nearby hill thinking I would get to the top, see the city and walk back down, but the trail kept going and going...I ended up hiking 5 kilometers around the rocky coast before I finally found the view I was looking for.

Almost...

Parts of the trail were just a man made path, you can see the fence.

 Getting there...

There it is!

I knew Gwangalli Beach, a popular nighttime destination, was just beyond that bridge. What started as me looking for a bus or taxi to Gwangalli turned into another 5-ish kilometer venture until my toes finally hit the sand. I re-energized with a true American meal: a chicken quesadilla with avocado. Back home this wouldn't be news/blog worthy, but finding good Mexican food and avocados for cheap in Korea after weeks of nothing but kimchi, Korean BBQ, and dumplings was like stumbling on the holy grail. I ate it at the Fuzzy Navel, a popular restaurant across the street from the beach.

This is a picture of Gwangalli at night. On the right you can kind of see the crowds (there was a concert going on further to the right). There are three beaches in Busan, Haeundae being the largest and most popular, but Gwangalli is known for its nightlife.  I've been taking a lot of pictures with my iPhone, for the most part I think the quality is decent, but for night time I need to start carrying around a real camera.

The next day I checked out the Haedong Younggungsa temple, famous for its beach side location. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. While it certainly was beautiful (you can't go wrong with a good ocean back drop), I noticed that the temple also looked somewhat familiar:

Me forgetting to throw up my peace sign!

Because of the many wars and Japanese occupations, most temples in Korea are reconstructions...with identical paint jobs. Most of the Haedong buildings looked like smaller versions of the ones at the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. I guess in general it just didn't have the same wow factor as other historical sites I've been to (though perhaps I've become a bit jaded).

Afterwards we went to Songjeong beach, which I'd recommend going to if you ever find yourself in Busan. Most people head straight for Haeundae Beach since it's large/well-known/has lots of touristy things to do, but if you're looking for a cleaner, less crowded beach for a relaxing day, hop on the #181 bus and get off when you see water! It's very close to the Haedong temple.

Since it rained Friday we skipped the beach and went to the aquarium which was awesome, evidenced by the opening photos. After that we went to Spa Land, the most amazing jimjilbbang (Korean spa) ever! It's inside Centum City, an urban development which is also home to the world's largest department store (they love superlatives in Korea). It's definitely a great place to relax if you're in Busan, but it might make all subsequent jimjillbbangs look pretty lame. It has 13 saunas, each with a different theme...how would you like your hot steam room? Turkish? Or Roman bath style? I opted to lounge in the outdoor hot spring (I know, life is rough).

Inside the department store....personally I think the Guggenheim could sue for copyright infringement...

Then we trekked to the other side of Busan (it is absolutely huge) and shopped around the BIFF Square where they hold the eponymous Busan International Film Festival. The outdoor markets in the area are enormous, you could spend hours just walking through the streets and combing through the various kiosks. I myself like to buy cheap funky socks:

I spy with my little eye...Obama socks.

A very tiny part of the market area.

We also checked out the famous Jagalchi fish market. And by checked out, I mean we walked in, saw this lady wrangle an octopus, turn it inside out, put it in a plastic bag, and give it to a customer....after that we decided we'd pretty much seen all we needed to see at the fish market. While we were walking away we saw another octopus unsuccessfully try to escape from the red bucket of doom...sorry buddy!

After regaining our appetite we tried some of the famous street food. If you go to Korea and eat nothing else, try hotteok. It's fried dough filled with brown sugar and nuts...the heat melts the brown sugar so it turns into a gooey filling...so unbelievably good.

And for the grand finale: we went up the Busan towers for some lovely views of the city!

Sorry for the poor picture quality...again I was just carrying the iPhone...but yes, that is another giant department store. Korea: the country that likes shopping more than I do.