Seoul, South Korea - Day 3

What we did:
- Another great night of sleep! Woke up and turned on the 4th quarter of the Bears game - even across the Pacific this team has the ability to crush your soul. The the hail mary loss that will live in infamy. Honestly can’t even be mad it’s too comical
- We headed out around 10:30, grabbed some flat whites and breakfast sammies. Steph got to checkout the flagship store of Skin 1004! Like a kid in a candy shop, Steph got to browse all her favorite korean skin care products and is bringing some loot back to Chi. Even Trent took a skin type test - apparently sunscreen is good for you.
- We then took the cable car up (packed like sardines) to the top of Namsan (the South Korean needle tower) and wow is this an absolutely massive city. From the top we enjoyed gorgeous panoramic views of the limitless skyscrapers nestled between a ring of mountains - not bad Seoul!
- We took a cab from there to check out the Itaewon neighborhood! Incredible lunch of traditional Korean dishes at a pretty famous spot filled with pictures of various celebs. From there we walked around the neighborhood and wow does it look fun - just blocks and blocks of bars and clubs. Felt like we were transported to a party city in Mexico or the carribean
- This was 3pm on a Monday afternoon, and rightfully so everything was closed. Finally at 3:30pm an American bar opened up so we dutifully did our patriotic part and stopped in for a drink and, over beers, planned our escapades for later that night. Talking with the bartender our mood was quickly dampened though - there would be no partying in that neighborhood today. Two years ago (on 10/29) during a Halloween celebration, there was an accidental crowd crush in one of the alleys a block away and devastatingly 150 people died. We had seen reporters there earlier and this explained that. Freshly out of covid, around 100,000 partygoers coalesced in the neighborhood and the streets were so overcrowded that this particular alley unfortunately ended up as the site of the stampede. Locals are optimistic the neighborhood will slowly return to it’s prior revelry (and on many weekends this summer it has started to, just not the anniversary weekend) - it really is a super cool and fun looking area - but sounds like the incredibly somber mood will linger there for awhile.
- Mood officially dampened in Itaewon, we grabbed a taxi and headed out to the Gangnam neighborhood to check out more of Seoul! The song “Gangnam style” now has a new meaning - the wealth of this area is mindblowing. Every shop is massive luxury stores, every car is luxury (we saw over 15 Bentley’s driving around in just a few blocks). We wandered around looking for a place that would serve us drinks as we felt suuuper out of place. Most places didn’t open until later that evening or would have cost $30+ a drink. We did walk the “K-Star” road, which is essentially their hollywood walk of fame for Kpop stars. Finally, we happened upon a Belgian bar that let us in for $10 a beer and all was right with the world again.
- We had planned to go to a Korean BBQ spot nearby but after seeing it would cost the cumulative total we’d spent on food in the last 2.5 days in Korea - we opted to taxi back towards the hotel. The place we picked was perfect - they came out with a massive spread of Banchans and on the coal griddle in front of us cooked a great meal. We even dabbled in some Soju liquor to truly get the appropriate experience
- Off to bed for our early flight. Seoul and Korea you were incredibly generous to us - cannot speak more highly! Incredible food and culture!

Where we ate:
- Starbucks & Blue Bottle - after trying and failing to find breakfast (breakfast that is not pastries) in this country, we wound up at two American places for coffee and breakfast. When you’re left with no option, I guess it’s safe to stay with some staples. Coffees at Blue Bottle and breakfast Sammie’s at Starbucks - far superior than Starbucks at home.
- Maple Tree House: When in doubt, eat. At least that seems to be our motto here. We continue to gorge ourselves until we’re so full that we decide we should be eating again. Had 3 more Korean staple dishes on our list and knocked out two during lunch here - Bulgogi and Bibimbap. Other than Korean bbq, bibimbap is probably the most well known Korean dish in the states. Pair the bibimbap with a beer and a steaming tableside stove of marinated beef (bulgogi), onion, mushroom, glass noodles, and Banchan (small Korean side dishes served with almost every meal - kimchi, read bean paste, etc.) and that’s one delicious lunch!
- Sam Ryan’s bar: two Korean Cass beers. Finally drinking during the day! No wonder it was a British/american bar…
- Wangbijb: After opting out of a $200 KBBQ joint in Gangnam we ended up a local spot in Myeongdong. Great steak cooked on a table stove top with Banchan to supplement the meal. Tried Soju (Korean style sake) for our last meal. Didn’t have too much in order to avoid a hangover for a first day in Japan. Super fast and efficient dining experiences here have led us to nice and early bedtimes!

Fun facts:
- Red bean paste may become a pantry staple in our household from now on.
- Gangnam style is the 5th most viewed song on Youtube with over $5BN views. Gangnam Style launched Kpop globally
- The average 1500 sq ft apartment in Gangnam sells for almost $1.5M USD
- The world renowned k-pop band, BTS, is currently on pause as the members are serving their mandatory two-years of military service.
- “Gangnam Style” refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam region of Seoul, where people are trendy and hip, and exude a certain supposed class. And apparently absurd amounts of money…we definitely did not fit the “Gangnam style”
- Steph cannot drink Soju and will likely not be able to drink sake after all the underage sake bombing she did in college…Here’s to hoping there will be other alcohol options in Japan that she likes!
- “finger hearts” are a K-pop picture pose (see Steph in front of skin1004 store) where you put your thumb and pointer finger together to form a heart.Okumaya devam et