The Last Adventure in Seoul

Can it really be that my last day in Seoul has already come? How did the three weeks pass by so quickly? With these thoughts, I walked to school on foot for the last time in the morning. It's always amazing how quickly you can get used to an environment and feel at home there!

In school, we went through a really tricky text that we all struggled with. But everyone was there again, that was nice! After class, the school offered an activity, and the Polish girl, the Chinese girl, and I participated.

So our teacher took us to the nearby Jogyesa Temple. It was funny how all the classes and their teachers walked there in a duck march. Kind of like a kindergarten field trip, especially because there was a craft hour on the program first! 😅

Afterwards, we were given a tour of the temple with very interesting explanations, such as that the doors in the front of the building are reserved for the monks, and other believers should enter through the side doors.

Then it was time for us three girls to have lunch (the first time together because my private lessons ended one day earlier). Unfortunately, our teacher had to go back to school because she had classes. She was so sweet and even gave me a hug goodbye. I would love to have classes with her every day, it was just so much fun and we always laughed so much! 🥰

For lunch, we wanted to go to the Donkatsu restaurant across the street that our teacher recommended, but since it was lunchtime, the line in front of the shop was so long that we decided to go a bit further. 'How about this place?' asked the Chinese girl, who is married to a Korean, lives here, and knows her way around. The Polish girl and I simply agreed without knowing what it was.

We went down a staircase and found ourselves in a slightly old-fashioned cafeteria, a so-called '구내식당' (Gu-ne-schick-dang). We had to pay 6,000 won (about 4€) and then we could pile our plate as high as we thought we could eat. There was rice, meat and rice cakes in a spicy sauce, salad in a spicy sauce, salad without sauce, maple jelly in a moderately spicy sauce, and bean sprout soup. Everything was delicious, even though my nose started running after three bites. 🔥

After lunch, our paths separated and I went home with mixed feelings. I wanted to wait out the midday heat and started packing my suitcase in the meantime. It turned out to be a good idea because even though I only bought very small things, it seems like the contents have tripled! 😭 But I'm not called the holiday Tetris champion for nothing. Somehow everything worked out.

After packing was mostly done, I went into town one last time. There was one district still on my list that I wanted to visit: Mapo-gu.

Fun fact: Mapo-gu is a real hotspot for young travelers right now. As several universities are located in this district, numerous clubs, bars, and trend shops have settled here. Everything that a student could wish for!

In the Hongdae student district, many foreign students shape the cityscape. This is the first time that I don't stand out with my blonde hair. Hongdae is also known for its lively nightlife, and the 'Hongdae Boys,' who prefer to approach foreign women, are famous-infamous on social media. (In the sense of: it's better not to get involved with them.)

Clubs have never been my thing, and I already had my wild night with the 'Yongin Boys.' 😉 That's why I went to the Mangwon district, where things are a bit quieter and you can discover many small cafes and shops. One of them was disguised by a 'brick door,' and Christmas music was playing in the store, like Louis Armstrong, etc. It was kind of surreal.

In this district, Seoul feels different, somehow smaller and cozier. The buildings are not that high, so even in the late afternoon, sunlight reaches the streets. There are brick houses and artistic iron grilles, and doors with cranes and lotus flowers made of colored glass. Here, I feel more character than among the giants of glass and steel.

If you get off at Chungmuro Station and go up a few steps, you can go directly into the building where the Airbnb is located. And right at the bottom of the stairs is a small shop that sells kimbap and a few other dishes. I passed it several times a day during the three weeks, and it was always busy, even with locals. But I never really felt like having kimbap.

But yesterday, I really felt like it, and lo and behold, it was delicious. Kimbap is basically the same as sushi (Kim = seaweed, Bab = rice), only instead of raw fish, it is filled with plenty of vegetables and optional meat, tofu, egg, etc.

Full and satisfied, I packed the rest of my things and could finally go to sleep at half past 2 in the morning when the neighbors were finally quiet! 😵 (I really hope that my sleep will improve in the last week, otherwise, I'll come back as a complete wreck.)

The next episode will be from Gyeongju!