Kwanghŭi-dong

Seoul is a city I've always wanted to visit, it's just a shame that I didn't do any research into how cold it would be in February! Some days had a temperature high of -5°C, and being ill equipped for such cold weather I didn't stray far from my hostel on those days! I still immersed myself in Korean culture by watching stupid Korean reality shows, very entertaining!

But I did my best to explore Myeongdong, a busy area in central Seoul full of shops and restaurants. There was a street food market which was good, but the food was stone cold within minutes of being served and my fingers felt like they were going to drop off from the cold before I finished it! So I mostly stuck to restaurants serving bubbling kim-chi stew or sizzling kim-chi rice, good hearty Korean food perfect for this weather.

On the slightly warmer days I ventured further out for sightseeing. Bukchon cultural village is a residential area of well preserved hanoks, or traditional Korean houses which looked particularly pretty in the snow. It is popular for young Koran girls to rent a hanbok, a traditional Korean dress, and pose for photos around the area. On my strolls one night I discovered a lantern festival set up along a small river that goes through the city. It was a surprisingly peaceful area to be amongst the chaos of central Seoul. I also visited the 600 year old Deoksugung Palace, one of the smaller palaces in Seoul but still a nice place for a dusk stroll.Lue lisää