Korea 2012: Day 5 (Bukchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을 - Myeongdong Dog Café 강아지카페)

Hi there! Thanks for being so patient with my Korea series. I do realise its taking a little long and can be frustrating for those of you who are planning your trips now.

This is a continuation of my previous post Korea 2012: Day 4 Part 2 (Puppy Café Sangsang Dabang 상상다방 애견카페 - Café Jass 카페자스 - Café aA: The Design Museum)


Anyway, we didn't get to do much on Day 5 due to the heavy snow and rain in Seoul. But I'm getting ahead of myself again. So let's get to the start of the day.

Jess and I decided to check out Bukchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을.

Surrounded by Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine, Bukchon Hanok Village is home to hundreds of traditional houses called 'hanok' that date back to the Joseon Dynasty. The name, 'Bukchon,' which literally translates to 'northern village,' came about as the neighborhoods that the village covers lie to the north of the two significant Seoul landmarks, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jongno. Today, many of these hanoks operate as cultural centers, guesthouses, restaurants and tea houses, providing an opportunity to experience, learn and immerse in Korean traditional culture.

HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3) and take Exit 2. Go straight on Bukchon-ro 북촌로 for about 300m to arrive at Bukchon Hanok Village.

Due to the increasing amounts of visitors to the Bukchon Hanok Village area, the number of complaints from residents living in the village about disruptions in their neighborhood has increased.

Unlike Namsangol Hanok Village or other folk villages, Bukchon Hanok Village is not meant to be a tourist attraction. Although many of Seoul's hanoks can be found clustered together in this area, Bukchon Hanok Village is a residential neighborhood where people actually live.

Please keep this in mind and follow the precautions below when visiting Bukchon Hanok Village:
Keep noise levels to a minimum (e.g. no loud voices, horsing around, filming, etc.) especially in the 31 Gahoe-dong area (which is a residential area). Do not litter. Keep group visits as small as possible. Do not use microphones or loudspeakers. Do not take photos or film the insides of houses, even if the door is open.

Please note: The heavily residential areas of Bukchon Hanok Village (31 Gahoe-dong, 33 Gahoe-dong, etc.) will no longer be offered as part of the Seoul City Walking Tours. 

The architectural difference is pretty amazing. Old in the middle of all the new.

We were exploring the area when it started snowing!

Footprints in the snow!

TOURIST TIP:
Don't wear any high heels or heels of any form to this place if you can. The roads are EXTREMELY STEEP! Heels only make it worse. There aren't any handles or such to help with moving around on the steep sloping roads, so I would suggest that if you are travelling with older folk, this location may not be too friendly on their knees. (Then again, I've got terrible knees for a young person.)

My verdict? Bukchon Hanok Village is a lovely cultural walking experience where you can experience bits of Korea's history which have mostly disappeared in the face of modernisation. If however, you're running on a tight schedule, I would suggest to give this place a miss. Skip this location as well if you're travelling with older folk. I would only recommend this location to cultural enthusiasts. I had lots of fun taking photos!

Bukchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을
37, Gyedong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul  | 서울특별시 종로구 계동길 37 (계동)
Website: bukchon.seoul.go.kr (Available in English, Korean, Chinese and Japanese)

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The snow started to get crazier and more heavy, it was quite insane. The temperature dropped drastically as well so we made our way back to Anguk Station and into Daiso 다이소 to kill some time and buy some heat packs.



I recommend the sticker types more than the handheld ones. They heat up much faster and provide so much relief. I bought the sticker ones and placed them on my rheumatism-plagued knees - BLISS!
If you've got weak knees like me, the sticker ones are AMAZING!
If you don't like too much heat, get the hand-held ones then as they provide a steady, gradual warmth rather than full-on heat; so you'll never feel that it gets too hot or warm.

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The snow was relentless, so we had to run into a traditional Korean restaurant 한식집 (han-sik-jb).

With the crazy snow, the 아줌마s (ahjummas) in the shop were lamenting that we had been through so much running through the snow. Our hair and jackets were completely covered in snow we had to stand outside and brush it all off before we entered the shop.

Smoking hot bulgogi which was heaven-sent in the cold weather.

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When the snow got a little less insane, we decided to make our way back to Myeongdong and explore the area (since there were so many shops, we wouldn't experience any plan destruction due to the snow).

Lo and behold, our happiness was short lived. It began pouring rain! POURING!

We seeked shelter in Myeongdong Dog Café 강아지카페 and spent a good 2-3 hours there.

Remember my previous post where I mentioned the puppy café in Hongdae? This Myeongdong Dog Café provides a good contrast. The dogs are of varied sizes and breeds, and have different energy levels as well.

HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Myeongdong Station 명동역 and take Exit 6 or 7. Walk straight down Myeongdong-8gil 명동8길. Turn left after you pass a huge Nature Republic. Then make the first possible right turn onto Myeongdong-6gil 명동6길. It is located along Myeongdong-6gil 명동6길 and look out for the red signboard on one of the buildings. It is located on the fourth floor. 

Image from http://finaldustjourney.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/day-15-dog-cafe-at-myeongdong.html
The signboard that you will see which shows you the stairway to the dog café

Image from http://finaldustjourney.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/day-15-dog-cafe-at-myeongdong.html
The entrance to the dog café. With an entrance fee of 8000 won, you get a free drink of your choice. One of the pricier dog cafés but when you're rained in, you have no choice.

The dogs here can get up to a really huge size! My favourite! Look at that lazy black lab! =)

The black lab came to squeeze with us at our corner seat and pushed Jess out of her seat. When the owner came over to check on her, she pretended to be asleep when she actually wasn't. Haha sneaky girl.

Lazy black labrador Gucci (that's her name!)

My verdict? A pretty fun place to be rained in for dog-lovers. Cat-lovers can check out the many cat cafés within Myeongdong if you happen to be rained in as well. I'm glad I went because I met my black lab!


That's all for this post. Sorry its a little short and information-less since I didn't have many photos. It turns out that some days I have barely any photos at all because we barely did any sightseeing some of the times.


Till then,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V

Korea 2012: Day 4 Part 2 (Puppy Café Sangsang Dabang 상상다방 애견카페 - Café Jass 카페자스 - Café aA: The Design Museum)

Hey guys! So if you've just joined us, this is the series of my trip to Korea in December 2012. At this point, we're already at Day 4, so if you don't want to get confused, head back to Day 1 okay?

This post is a continuation of my previous post Korea 2012: Day 4 Part 1 (Thanks Nature Café and Trick Eye Museum 트릭아이미술관 in Hongdae 홍대)

We're still in the bright beautiful grounds of Hongdae on Day 4!

I figured I should show you guys how Hongik University looks like as it makes a great landmark as well as architectural splendour within the area.

Perhaps it looks a little meh in this photo. But I guarantee that when you're standing before it, you'll just be overwhelmed at its sheer size. Just AWE.

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Let's carry on with the café hopping!

1st STOP: Puppy Café Sangsang Dabang 상상다방 애견카페 

We initally intended to head to Bau House Café (a dog cafe) but at the time it was under some form of renovation. We then wanted to check out the café where Coffee Prince was filmed but that was under renovation as well. TERRIBLE LUCK WE HAD. By luck we found this puppy cafe just from the signs along the main road. Exhausted from navigating to defunct cafés, we decided to stop here and check out the cute puppies.

What is a dog café?
For those of you who don't know, or have huge hygiene restrictions and cleanliness issues in your countries with stiffy law-makers who refuse to budge, do let me try to explain. Dog cafés exist to cater to those who always wanted to own and interact with dogs but cannot afford to have one of their own. These cafés don't serve fantastic food nor drinks, but as usual, they sell the concept of being able to interact with dogs (or cats for cat cafés). You usually don't pay admission fees for these cafés, but they request that you buy a drink while you sit there occupying a table to interact with the animals. It allows the shop to earn some money while letting you interact with these cute puppies/dogs. 

I'm a BIG dog person. That means that I prefer those ginormous dogs to the small yappy ones. Honestly, even  if they don't yap I prefer the bigger dogs. The kind that hurt your toes when they step on it. The kind that cause you to fall when they pounce on you in happiness. Since this was a puppy café, I wasn't too excited but still, cute doggies.


HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Hongik University Station 홍대입구역 (Seoul Subway Line 2) and take Exit 9. Walk straight until you see the T.G.I.F. building. Turn left and go straight up the street until you see Hana Bank, which is across from the main gate of Hongik University. Go left and walk till you see "Ediya Coffee," and on the basement floor of the building on the right with a pink sign is "Puppy Cafe Sangsang Dabang."

This is the pink sign that you will see! Head down to the basement for the puppy café.

As you are heading down the stairs, you can hear the dogs barking frantically. They can smell you (someone new) and they're excited! Someone new means someone who might buy them treats and feed them. Remove your shoes at the entrance, its a general requirement to keep the café clean for the puppies and other customers. Don't forget to buy a drink at the café!

Managed to hold onto this cutie pie schnauzer

Awwww look at him and his puppy eyes....

This puppy has a baby blankey like most of us still do (don't deny it - I know you keep yours somewhere!)

My verdict? These puppies are extremely adorable but if you'd like a larger variety and number of dogs, I suggest you check out Bau House instead. If you're comfortable with puppy sizes, then this place is for you. The café is slightly small, so if you visit when they're crowded, you might not get a seat. Chances are nobody would be leaving soon, since they only have to order 1 drink to stay there for as long as they want to.

Puppy Café Sangsang Dabang 상상다방 애견카페
343-6 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | 서울시 마포구 서교동 343-6
Telephone: +82-2-337-1995
Website: http://cafe.naver.com/hongdapuppycafe (Korean only)

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 2nd STOP: Café Jass - Hongdae Branch 카페자스 홍대본점
 
If you're a big fan of the We Got Married series and the YongSeo couple, you would know this café very well. Café Jass is located in Hongdae next to FNC Academy. (Yonghwa is an artiste under FNC Entertainment). The couple had their third and fifth date here. This café is well known as YongSeo Café until now. YongSeo International (YongSeo fanbase) set up a corner full of YongSeo stuff inside this café.

Please don't hate me for this, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I was a fan of Yonghwa, but not Seohyun (she's just not my kinda female idol). Jess said that this café had a cool concept, and since we were in Hongdae anyway, we decided to check it out.

OMG Jess and "Café Jass" haha I just realised this!

HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Hongik University Station 홍대입구역 (Seoul Subway Line 2) and take Exit 2. Turn left and walk two blocks. Cross the street that you come to, heading to the right, then turn left the road between Pourtoi Bakery and Hana Bank. On the next block you'll see FNC Academy on your right side with Café Jass next to grocery store.

Borrowing this image from sweetpotatodays.blogspot.com to show you the shop's exterior.

P.S. Shops around may always change, but bear in mind that the shop's exterior should stay the same in general. This goes the same for all navigations to anywhere.

Love the wooden grunge look of the café with all its adorable knick knacks and childhood toys.

Jess ordered waffles which came with a side of bananas!

Nutcrackers! Always conflicted about owning them - they look so cool yet creepy at the same time.

The YongSeo monument in the shop decorated by the fans.

Little One Piece characters and figurines in one of the shelves.

My verdict? The atmosphere in this café is lovely, and the waffles weren't too bad. I heard that the sweet potato latte 고구마 라떼 (go-gu-ma latte) is really good so you can try that. Ultimately though, this is still a place for the fangirls of the YongSeo couple. I love the interior and enviroment, but since I was not a fan, neither was I in the know much about this couple, I guess I took in the ambience more than I did any fangirl moments of where the couple sat or what they ate.

Café Jass - Hongdae Branch 카페자스 홍대본점
215 Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul | 서울시 서대문구 미근동 215 
Telephone: +82 2-6083-5477 | Opening Hours: 8am-11.30pm (Weekdays), 10am-11pm (Weekends)
Website: http://www.cafejass.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafejass


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3rd (and final) STOP: Café aA: The Design Museum

A largely beautiful and interesting hipster café with absolute grunge. Part café, part designer furniture showroom. The shop has a rustic atmosphere paired excellently with class. There's quirky architecture, indoor and outdoor seating, as well as an "attic" seating area which is quieter and more discreet (overlooking the rest of the café). Since this was our last stop for the night, it was dark and we were dead exhausted (not to mention caffiene-overloaded for the day).

Being the cheapo that I am, I'm gonna say that the prices here are slightly expensive (can't lie about that).
Cafés in Seoul sell concept, remember that. Its the first commandment of Seoul Café Hopping. If they have awesome brews and food, that's your luck.

HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Sangsu Station 상수역 (Seoul Subway Line 6) and take Exit 1. Turn right immediately and walk straight down Wausan-ro 와우산로. Turn left onto Wausan-ro 17-gil 와우산로17길 (where you see 7-Eleven). Continue straight until you see "Gr8 Hookah Bar" or "Bar Feline": turn left here and walk straight. You will arrive at your destination on the left. The shop name will not be Café aA, but rather it will be seen as aA: The Design Museum. You'll know it when you see it. All that concrete vibes.

TOURIST TIP:
Try not to take shortcuts unless you're absolutely certain they link up. That's how Jess and I got absolutely lost. If you're using google maps, trust the map. If google maps says that the route can't be mapped, trust the roads shown and follow them. Its better to take an extra 3-5 minutes to get there, then to get absolutely lost for 20 minutes.

Extremely overwhelmed with caffiene - so I bought an American Cheesecake. Meh.

The ordering counter.

My verdict? Interesting but not necessary to visit. Unless you're dead set on looking at quirky furniture because you're hipster like that. 

Café aA: The Design Museum
408-11 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul | 서울시 마포구 서교동 408-11
Telephone: +82 2-3143-7312 | Opening Hours: 12pm-12am
Website: http://www.aadesignmuseum.com/en_cafe.html
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That's all for Day 4. Thanks for being so patient in reading this. I do hope it was helpful and informative.
Stay tuned to the next post where we check out Bukchon Traditional Village, get snowed into a traditional Korean restaurant and get trapped by heavy rain in a dog café in Myeongdong.

Do leave any comments, feedback or questions you have for me!


Till then,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V

Korea 2012: Day 4 Part 1 (Thanks Nature Café and Trick Eye Museum 트릭아이미술관 in Hongdae 홍대)

Hi everyone! Sorry its been a while since the last post, but I've been slightly busy with school work. The end of the semester is about to kick in and that means more final assignments due and exams are coming up soon. Anyway, let me stop rattling on and let's continue with the Korea travels.

This is a continuation of my previous post Korea 2012: Day 3 (Hangang Park 한강공원 - Angel-in-Us Coffee - COEX Aquarium 코엑스 아쿠아리움)

We spent our entire Day 4 in Hongdae 홍대 just because there's that many things to do! (partly because we woke up slightly late as well.) Hongdae is the area surrounding Hongik University and is a bright and colourful scene for young people with shops, clubs and hipster cafes all over.

HOW TO GET THERE: Alight at Hongik University Station 홍대입구역 (Seoul Subway Line 2).

By the time we got to Hongdae, it was just about time for an early lunch. We found this restaurant by complete chance, so I unfortunately don't have any details for it. In my defence, the service wasn't too great. Food was not too bad though. This restaurant has a chicken as its mascot and is located on the second floor of a building in Hongdae.

Jess ordered some spicy chicken kimchi rice thing!

I ordered some Chicken cutlet with curry which was absolutely yummy in my opinion. There are other awesome things to eat at Hongdae though so don't make coming to this place an absolute necessity.

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NEXT STOP: Thanks Nature Café

Since this was a café hopping trip, we checked off many cafés alone in the Hongdae area. Thanks Nature Café is no stranger to anyone out there, famous for its sheep in the city.

This café is located at the basement of a building, so if you’re not alert, you may miss the staircase. As usual, this is more of a concept café than a place with awesome coffee. Hang out with some wooly pals if you wanna come here.

HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Hongik University Station (Seoul Subway Line 2) and take Exit 9. Turn left to go uphill at the first intersection you come to. Walk towards Hongik University’s Main Gate. Look out for a neon sign on the left that has the café name and comes with photos of the sheep attached.

Look at these fluffy babies!

The outdoor sitting area where you can sit with the sheep. Since we were a little cold in winter, we opted to sit indoors instead.

The indoor sitting area. Nice and chill-out, with lots of people studying or doing some work with a cuppa.

The exterior of the shop. That stairs you see is your way into this place from the main street.

You can feed these sheep with some of the sheep-food lying around there. No human food please.

Why hello there!

I ordered an Iced Caramel Macchiato despite the cold weather. YUMS! The actual reason is because that was the only thing I could read in Korean at the time. Their coffee could afford to be stronger though.

My verdict? One of the most memorable cafés I've been to in Seoul. If you're in the Hongdae area and you love sheep, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you come down. If you're lucky, you get to see the owner interact with his sheep and its absolutely adorable (since he treats them like his own kids - AWWWW).

Thanks Nature Café
486 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seogyo Prugio Apartment store B121 |
마포구 서교동 486 서교푸르지오상가 B121
Telephone: +82 2-335-7470 | Opening Hours: 11am-10pm daily
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TNcafe

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We saw some pretty interesting buildings while walking around looking for the Trick-Eye Museum. I love the atmosphere in Hongdae. Its so young and vibrant.

How cool is this building! I think its just a restaurant though.

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NEXT STOP: Trick Eye Museum 트릭아이미술관

This is a really famous tourist destination in Korea. Everyone comes here to take awesome photos that will make your friends look at it and go "WHAT?!?!" No kidding. Singapore even "imported" the Trick Eye Museum and incorporated it into our tourist destination island of Sentosa (just some information for you non-Singaporeans out there).

The concept of this museum is really interesting and I applaud the artistic genius who thought of it. The Trickeye Museum is an art gallery with paintings created using 'trompe l'oeil' techniques that give each 2D art piece the illusion of being in 3D. Instead of merely viewing paintings (as in a typical art gallery) visitors can interact with the paintings, posing themselves just right so that they look as if they are part of the original work. To ensure that even its busiest patrons have time to enjoy the fun, the museum stays open each day until 9PM, making it a popular date and hang-out place.

So if you are headed here, remember to bring along the camera (and extra batteries)!

HOW TO GET HERE: Alight at Hongik University Station (Seoul Subway Line 2) and take Exit 9. Go straight for about 150m, cross the road, and turn left onto Hongik-ro Street 홍긱로. Go straight for 120m, and turn right down the second side street (in between TONYMOLY and Holika Holika). Continue straight for 100m to arrive at Trickeye Museum on the right.

P.S. It will be at the corner of the building with a staircase headed down to the basement. Don't get lost looking for a huge sign and awesome display at the building. It can be rather inconspicuous.

Someone actually put their entrance ticket in this guy's hands. Cool effect though.

There's somewhat of a cafe within the museum. People relax there after walking around the museum.

고맙슴니다! (Thank you!)
P.S. See this jacket I'm wearing? It was given to me by the guesthouse owners because my leather jacket was considered too thin for me in their opinion for the winter. See they're nice! Its that 아줌마 who isn't!

Oh dear David started to get chubby after standing there for so many years.

I absolutely love Edward Norton's Scream and to take this photo, I was absolutely elated.

Guys I found the stash!

Doing part time barber work in London.

While also exploring the canals of Venice.

Stopped to have some afternoon tea with King Sejong. Gosh so disrespectful of me! I didn't support my right hand while pouring him tea.

A different species of good looking studs.

My verdict? This place was really fun to take photos in, and helped to create many happy memories. Don't worry about not being a great photographer as there are specific directions for where to stand to grab that perfect, eye-tricking shot. Thanks Jess for introducing this place, I had lots of fun. I recommend this place for the kids and families especially. It provides some entertainment from the shopping in Hongdae.

Trick Eye Museum 트릭아이미술관
357-1, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul Seogyo Plaza B2 | 서울특별시 마포구 홍익로3길 20 (서교동)
Telephone: +82-2-3144-6300 (Korean) | Opening Hours: 9am-9pm (last admission 8pm)
Admission Fees: 15 000 won (Adults), 12 000 won (Children, Youth and Students, 18 and under)
Website: www.trickeye.com (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)


That's all for this post! Thank you so much for reading.Stay tuned to the next post where we café hop all over Hongdae before calling it a night.

Please leave any comments, feedback or questions for me!


Till then,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V