South Korea Day 2

October 24, 2017 | 2nd day of our Autumn experience in South Korea.

Despite our lack of sleep, we managed to wake up early on that day. We were so excited to start exploring Seoul.

DEOKSUGUNG PALACE

This palace is also known as Gyeongun-gung or Deoksu Palace. The members of Korea's royal family used to live here during the Joseon monarchy until the 20th century. The place is so huge and each corner is Instagram worthy. This historical place is situated in the middle of the modern streets of Seoul. I was so amaze on how the Koreans were able to keep their culture and historical places intact and still be able to keep up with modernization.

Activity Information: Changing of the Royal Guards Ceremony

Ceremony Schedule: 11:00, 14:00, 15:30 (Closed on Mondays)

Admission Fees: [Foreign Visitors] Adults KRW1,000 / Groups of 10 or more KRW800

* Free admission: Children (ages 6 and under, Seniors (ages 65 or older), visitors wearing Hanbok, all visitors on the last Wednesday of each month (Culture Day)

Operating Hours: 09:00 - 21:00 (Ticketing 09:00 - 20:00)

DAEHANMUN GATE

JUNGHWAMUN GATE

GWANGMYEONGMUN GATE

JUNGHWAJEON HALL

SEOKJOJEON HALL

JUNMYEONGDANG HALL

SEOGEODANG HALL

DEOKHONGJEON & HAMNYEONGJEON

JOGYESA TEMPLE

This temple is one of Seoul's most popular Buddhist temple due to its convenient location. Jogyesa temple is situated in the most popular streets of Seoul, Insa-dong. The place was filled with Chrysanthemum which is an autumn flower that blooms every October.

Closed: N/A (Open all year round)

Admission Fee: FREE Activity Information Finding connections with Jogyesa’s daily temple stay - Discover true relaxation through awakening - Learn temple etiquettes and making lotus flower, or salt mandala and a tea time with a monk - Every 1st and 2nd Fridays from 13:00-16:00 (once a month) - For a group of more than 5 people, please make an inquiry before making a reservation

Finding connections with Jogyesa’s 1 night 2 days templestay (experience type) - Balwugongyang and making lotus flower, or salt mandala, chamseon (zen meditation), yebul, 108 deep bows, tea ceremony demonstration and tea time. - Every 4th Fridays and Saturdays (once a month)

DONGDAEMUN MARKET

We had our late lunch at Dongdaemun Market. The search on where and what to eat was quite a challenge that time. Language barrier was also one of our concerns since not all Koreans know how to speak in English. Good thing Riggs knows a few basic Korean phrases and words.

HANGANG PARK/ HAN RIVER

We have seen this place several times in some K Drama series reason why we decided to include this in our itinerary. My friends an I took our time to rest, chill and make fun of ourselves while feeling the very cool breeze. Just before the sun sets, you will see a couple of street performers showcasing their beautiful voices and sharing their passion to everyone in the area.

MEAT-ING DINNER BUFFET at HONGDAE MARKET

This is my much awaited "Korean BBQ" experience in Korea. We made sure that we will be able to include this in our itinerary. In our search for Korean BBQ, we found Meat-ing.

Meat-ing is open daily, by Lunch (10:30-4:00 PM for KRW 12,500 each) and for Dinner (4:00 PM – 12:00 AM for 13,900 KRW each). They will just give you 1.5 hrs to eat. Just be cautious on getting food. If there’s left over, you have to pay an additional KRW 2,000 including vegetables. So just get only what you think you can eat. Besides, you can always go back to the buffet station if you want more.

We came here around 7:30PM so we paid KRW 13,900 each. Each table has a grilling station so you will surely enjoy your food while grilling. They have pork, beef, octopus, salad, veggies, potato, bread, sausage, rice and different kind of sauce. The food service is very good too. An Ahjumma helped us grill and taught us how to cook our meal. This is a plus factor for me.