I don't think I will ever get enough of South Korea. I feel like my interest in the country is getting stronger and deeper each day especially that I am studying the language. At the moment, I am not watching any Kdrama just because I know that I will feel bad that I can't go back to Seoul anytime soon. I wish I have all the money I need to visit Seoul anytime I want.

My visit last October was my second time in the country but still felt like the first since I visited a lot of places I've never been to. Making this post so that on my next visit, I can include these three places again.

1. Gwangjang Market


If you want to experience authentic Korean food then you must pay Gwangang Market a visit. We went there late in the afternoon on a Sunday and I guess it was a wrong move since the place was packed with tourists and locals. We were hoping to get a table but wasn't lucky to have one. We decided to just grab some food and enjoy it at our hotel.

We got the famous mung bean pancake and the mayak kimbap.


The beauty of this university is undeniably irresistible. Every corner is IG worthy! I love it here because of the shops around. You can snatch cheap clothes because the target market is students. I got a really nice top for just 10,000 won or roughly 450.00 PHP.



The next day, I met my Korean friend and she brought us to Insadong and learned that it's the same area as Jonggak.


Insadong was too crowded so we decided to have early dinner and eat samgyupsal (my mom's request). My Korean friend recommended Saemaul Restaurant. It was very affordable and I love their Kimchi Jiggae! It's the best among the three that I've tried! It is not too spicy. Check out my review of their Kiimchi Jiggae here.

I can't wait to go back to Seoul and explore the city. I guess it's official, SEOUL is my FAVORITE city. Well, my love for Korean dramas and KPOP was factored in. Teehee!

1. Nice Room

The word "nice" is very broad to describe something so I'll let you understand that statement through the picture below:


One thing I liked most about this hotel is the separate toilet and bath. I considered booking this hotel because of this. How convenient it will be if you are three in the room and you don't have to wait for the other to finish his/her business to use the toilet or bath, right?




Not to mention that the sink and the mirror is outside so you don't have to wait either.



The sink is beside the single bed though. It wasn't an issue to me but it might be to you. But didn't cause any problem to me.




There is a bank, a grocery store, and Ediya Coffee and a bunch of restaurants at the main street.

 3. Value for money

I guess you are wondering how much did it cost, right? I paid 13, 813.19 PHP or around $265 for 5 nights. This can go lower depending on the season or month of your visit.

If you remember, I booked a triple room so if you divide the cost to three, it'll just be 4, 604.40 PHP per head or roughly 920.00 PHP a night! What a steal, right?

But what makes me say that this is a good deal? Well, you got a buffet breakfast! Check this out:


They serve the same menu everyday. I don't mind eating cereals and eggs everyday.




They serve sliced bananas, dumplings, sausages (which isn't my type), and hard boiled eggs. We ate breakfast here everyday and it was nice to fuel up your stomach before going out. At least it saves you energy from looking for a place to eat.

A nice, clean, and comfortable room with free breakfast plus a good location - how can you not say that this hotel is worth it??

Oh, but we did have problem on the sockets though. Only one electric socket is working in our room. Good thing I brought extension wires. The staff apologized through Kakao Talk and attended to my concern. They offered an extension wire but since I already have one, didn't bother to go out. They also gave me an extra hair dryer since the one attached to the mirror is fixed and the socket wasn't working as well. But I guess this is an isolated case. Nevertheless, we still had an awesome stay.

Before I forget, there is a rooftop where you can enjoy a nice view. A flea market is just few steps away from the hotel.

Did I convince you to book here? Let me know if you enjoyed your stay at Seoul N Hotel too!

1. RIDING A BUS

Never considered taking a bus while touring around Seoul until my mom and I met fellow Filipinas who encouraged us to try it. We failed on our first attempt because we waited at the wrong bus stop and ended up going the other way. We went down and looked for the nearest train station. On our next bus ride, we were with my Korean friend so we didn't lose our way and realized that it was way easier and fun!



What I love about riding a bus is that you get to see the beautiful city. Unlike riding the train where most of the time you are underground seeing walls.


Riding a bus can be intimidating at first but it was pretty easy and simple. With the help of Google maps, I was able to navigate my way around Seoul. First, search for the location where you want to go and Google maps will show you options on how to go there. Of course, you will select the bus option. It will tell you which bus stop you should wait and the bus number you have to take. What I like about the bus stops in Seoul is that there is an English translation of the name of the bus stop and sometimes the bus routes as well.

Upon riding the bus, tap your T-money and enjoy the ride. Listen to the bus announcement for there is an English translation as well of the next stop. Press the button if you're getting off the next stop and tap your T-money again. Pretty easy, right?

2. EATING ODENG ON THE STREET

I've tried eating odeng in Philippines but for some reason, odeng in the streets of Korea tasted so much better! Aaaah! I really enjoyed it plus the free soup in a cup. Lakas maka-Kdrama! I will definitely spend a day eating street food on my next visit. Didn't get to do that a lot during my last visit.


3. SEEING BTS EVERYWHERE

The first time I visited Seoul was in 2016 and I had zero knowledge about the existence of BTS. But if you happen to visit Seoul recently, there's no chance you will miss them. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!! You can hear their songs everywhere you go. BT21 is everywhere as well! Gosh! It was heaven for an ARMY like me!


I went in October so it was Jimin's birthday month. I am not exaggerating when I say that Myeongdong was full of birthday greetings in a form of banner for him. Here's how it looks like:


You won't miss the greetings on train stations as well. Here's one of the few I saw:


Even bus stops got their faces as well! I failed to take photos of the other ads but here's one with JK, J-Hope and Suga:


I liked how I enjoyed different things in my second visit to Seoul. I can't wait to go back and discover more about this country. I can officially say that South Korea is my favorite country. Thanks to BTS, I fell in love with this country even more.

See you this year, Seoul! I am claiming it. I will come back this year!!

Whoooah! Writing about food is difficult when you're hungry, huh? Anyway, I'll have to fight my cravings and daydream about the food we ate in Korea while finishing this entry.

I am the type of traveler who makes an effort to research about food to try in the country I am going to visit. To prove that to you, here's a screenshot of the google sheets I made. Feel free to use it if you're interested.


If you notice, I did not only make a sheet specific for food but everything that has to do with our trip. I am meticulous when it comes to planning :D

Sadly, we weren't able to try everything on the list but happy that we found some good places to eat that is not on the list. I'm keeping this so I have a guide on my next visit. 

Alright! Enough of the intro. Let's go to my top three favorite food in Korea (for my recent visit).


I can say that this became our favorite food while on vacation. We ate kimchi jiggae three times! It was our first meal, we ate it on our third day and while waiting to board on the plane. We've tried three different kimchi jiggaes in three different places. 

Let's talk about Yookssam's (육쌈) Kimchi Jiggae. 

Yookssam : Kimchi Jiggae, Kimchi, Diced Radish Kimchi, and Charcoal Grilled Bulgogi

A closer look of our Kimchi Jiggae

Oh God! I love Yookssam because every meal comes with a free bulgogi. It's affordable too! Our bill was just 9,000 won (around 420 PHP) for this set plus two orders of rice. For Filipino standard, one order is good for sharing already. As expected, the kimchi jiggae was spicy but flavorful. I loved the bulgogi too as it was tender and that aroma you get when something is grilled enhances the taste.

Next on our list is Saemaeul Restaurant's (새마을식당) Kimchi Jiggae

This one is my favorite! My Korean friend brought us in this restaurant and she said that they are known for their kimchi jiggae. How can we miss the opportunity to try it, right?

Saemaeul : Kimchi Jiggae

It's not that spicy unlike the other two that we tried. I like this the most because of the generous amount of meat.  I hope you can see it in the photo. Just order rice and you are good with this already.


Their kimchi jiggae is best paired with seaweed flakes! Oh my! I can't remember how much seaweed I had! It was a perfect combination. I even bought some seaweed flakes in the grocery because of this. Aaaaaah!! Will definitely come back here to eat this again.

Last on my list is the Kimchi Jiggae in the airport.


The only thing I remember about this one is the generous amount of tofu and it was SPICY! I was starving that time so this was definitely a good one.

Moving on...




I was intrigued by this dish because it originated in North Korea. I was planning to try it from a restaurant owned by a North Korean in Seoul which I learned from a vlog that I watched but wasn't able to visit the area. Luckily, Yookssam happens to offer this dish.


Yup, I got it from Yookssam as well. I ordered this on our last night in Seoul. It was a simple dish and the bowl was HUGE! Well at least for me. It was a noodle soup with sliced pear, cucumber, and boiled egg. The special thing about this is the iced broth. Yes, it's cold! As you can see in the photo, there are bits of ice on it. Oh, I remember how refreshing the soup/broth was! The taste was tangy but savory at the same time with a bit of sweetness. To be honest, buckwheat noodles isn't my type but I'm all for the broth here! YUM!

Last on my top three favorite is....

3. Golden Olive Chicken of bb.q Premium Cafe

bb.q premium cafe

Oh my goodness! How will I even start? Okay. If you are a fan of kdramas and you watched Goblin then you already have an idea about this chicken place. It was used as a filming location for Goblin. Nope, I did not watch the drama but I got interested on the good reviews of the chicken. So it's like hitting two birds with one stone, right? Visiting a kdrama filming site and eating the famous olive chicken.


So, what makes this chicken so special? Well, it was fried using olive oil. It was amazing to taste the flavor of olive oil in the chicken. I am telling you, it is beyond delicious. It was juicy and it tasted so clean and fresh. I don't know if clean is the right word to use but it taste really clean. Oh, I forgot to mention that one order comes with eight pieces of chicken! For Filipinos, eight pieces is already for the whole family but according to a Korean I met, one order is just for one Korean! She said "one chicken (one order), one Korean" Whoah! I managed to eat three pieces in one sitting and my mom finished two.

I am the type who loves to eat with sauce. I think fried food is boring without a sauce. This chicken comes with a pickled radish and that sweet and spicy sauce which I think was made of gochujang (red chilli paste) and maybe strawberry sauce? Not sure but it tastes like that. Gosh, I wish I am in Seoul right now!



Another thing that amazed me about this chicken is that when we ate our leftover for dinner, IT WAS STILL CRISPY AND JUICY!! It is as if we just ordered it. Except that it wasn't hot anymore, of course. Can you believe it? I can't help it. I AM MISSING THIS CHICKEN SO BAD! I guess this is where I will head first when I go back to Seoul. Best fried chicken for me!!

Okay, I know I should limit to three but I just have to add this one. It's not a Korean food so I guess I  am still in line with my theme so here it is..

Shake Shack

Do I still have to explain this one? But I gotta say, I LOVED THE STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE even if it was cold outside. HAHA!

Shake Shack Dongdaemun Branch

Shack Burger, Cheesy Fries and Strawberry Milkshake

Food will always be my favorite topic. Did you enjoy my post? Did I make you hungry?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This post is my first blog entry for 2019. I have so much to share about my recent trip to South Korea but I'd like to start with the  first step which is applying for a visa. Unfortunately, Filipinos have to apply for a visa if we want to visit South Korea. The thought of applying for one is quite intimidating and nerve-wracking. I remember the first time I applied for a visa, I immediately searched for reasons why people get denied. HAHA! I was terrified but luckily I was granted a single entry. Even if I've been to South Korea once, I was extra anxious this time because I'll be applying with my mom and I will be supporting her in our trip.

To prepare for our application, I googled...

"Applying Korean Visa with mother"

"Applying Korean Visa financially supporting mother"

"Requirements for Korean Visa with sponsor"

"Sponsoring mother for Korean Visa"

and the list goes on. However, I did not find a blog or a post that shares the same situation like ours where the daughter will support/sponsor her mother's trip. Here's our background:

MOM 

My mom in Seoul Forest - I Seoul U