On a Mission to Eat Everything @ Seoul, South Korea
Authors’ note: this is a bit of a longer post as it covers three days, but there’s lots of pictures. If there was ever a post to skim for the photos this would be it.
Adam woke up full of energy and ready to explore Seoul. Unfortunately it was 11pm local time. Damn jet leg. After a few more short naps, morning arrived and for the next several days Adam had one simple mission: eat everything.
Unfortunately, food requires some time to digest. So Helen planned activities to slot in between Adam’s hunger cycle; burning time and hopefully a few calories. We broke our fast with a large seafood pancake and rice pourage soup from a nearby restaurant, then hopped in the train for a tour of the Changdeokgung palace.
While Changdeokgung is not the largest palace in Seoul it has a secret garden tour that Helen, a plant lover, was eager to see. The palace was a beautiful combination of wide open spaces with intricate architectural designs. The secret garden was less flower/vegetable beds and more artfully crafted ponds with pavilions surrounded by maple and ginkgo trees. Our favorite part was this solid stone gate that says “Gate of Everlasting Youth.” The guide said no one knows why it’s there but if you walk through it you’ll get younger.
Afterwards we wandered around Bukchon Hanok village and found Ttebokki on a cast iron skillet to satisfy Adam’s hunger cycle.
Replenished, we resumed our meander through the village. It was full of well-designed shops and the streets were so narrow that cars weren’t allowed through; which made it a very enjoyable place to spend an afternoon.
For dinner we met up with our friend Eduardo, who had just arrived from New York. Back in 2020 Eduardo spent a few months living in Seoul so we let him lead us to a Korean barbecue restaurant with a charcoal grill. He cooked us an assortment of delicious meats and showed us how to mix Soju and beer the Korean way. After dinner we contorted our American muscles to sit at a tiny floor table to enjoy a few drinks at the local bar, which was about as uncomfortable as it looks.
The next day, Helen was itching to burn some calories and found a hiking trail in Bukhansan national park. The trail worked its way up into the mountains and passed through an old Korean military fortress.
The hiking trail mellowed out for a bit before entering the final ascent to Baegundae peak. The long granite rock face reminded us of Yosemite’s half dome. We had to pull ourselves hand over hand up the railings, holding on for dear life.
At the top we found a spot to enjoy the view. Helen unwrapped the protein bars we had purchased at a convenience store before the hike. To our left were a couple of friendly Koreans who brought hot water, cup a noodles, and kimbap (a Korean sushi-like roll with cooked meat and veggies). After looking over at our meager meal they took pity on us and kindly offered some of their kimbap. It was delicious, far superior to our dry snacks. We swapped some travel stories before saying goodbye and making our way down.
As we descended Adam accidentally went left when he should have gone right. Not wanting to ascend again we decided to press on and follow the path which led us to a beautiful Buddhist temple.
From the temple we worked our way back into town, but not before stopping for some more food. Adam ordered a Korean take on an American staple, the hot dog. Toppings were good but the hot dog itself was not up to an American all beef standard.
We caught a bus back to Seoul and met up with Eduardo to explore Hongdae neighborhood. During his time living in Seoul Eduardo became close friend with a talented bartender. So we taxied to his bar, Bar Old-Fashioned, for some of the best drinks of the trip so far. The bar was quaint, only sitting maybe 10-15 people and had a perfectly curated playlist. Helen had to poke Adam to Shazam every other song. Around midnight Helen and Adam tapped out but Eduardo stayed out to catch up with his old friend.
The next morning we found a local bakery for more food.
After lunch we walked to the neighborhood near Tong-in market for some more meandering and even more tasty food. Now eyeing new places to eat Adam lamented the wasted hunger cycles from his oversized breakfast. But, as it always does, Adam’s hunger soon returned, just in time for a new restaurant, Kandasoba Gyeongbokgung. We ordered soba noodles and ramen and drained our bowls to the last drop.
This was without a doubt our favorite meal of the trip so far. When we walked out of the restaurant Helen exclaimed “that may have been the greatest experience of my life.” Adam tried not to take it too personally as he’d recently proposed to Helen only two weeks prior and thought that was a pretty great experience.
We spent the rest of the day walking through Seoul and of course, eating more food.
Tomorrow our crew will be completed as Matt and Ali land and we can soon begin our journey to Busan!
