Seoul - so much to experience!

After about two weeks, we are now back in Seoul! We used the time to get to know the city a little better, settle in, and of course, share our experiences with you!

The neighborhood where we spent most of our time is Hongdae. We had already lived here during our last visits and immediately fell in love. So, on one of our first days back in Korea, we took another trip here and a little further towards Ewha Women's University. This was the first university in Seoul exclusively for women, known for its modern campus design. We were impressed!

Since we were so overwhelmed by Hongdae, Kati and her roommate Nella decided to look for accommodation there. So, a few days later, we found ourselves back there to visit a new apartment. It was a house that the father of a family had built as an architect, and now it is a beautifully designed student house. Since we immediately felt comfortable and the family was very nice, the decision was easy, and the girls quickly decided to move.

To celebrate this, Philipp planned a surprise for the next evening. For this, we took subway line 2, which connects almost all important points in Seoul, and headed towards Jamsil. Here, you can find not only the Lotte World Mall and the Lotte Tower (the 5th tallest building in the world) but also the Doosan Bears baseball stadium. Since baseball is the national sport of Korea, and the atmosphere surpasses even the best football game, we couldn't miss a game!

Another highlight of our weeks in Korea was Philipp's much-needed visit to the hairdresser. Since there is no shortage of modern salons in Seoul, we quickly found one during our walk through Hongdae. We were immediately welcomed as the first international guests, and the work started right away. Soon, we learned that the hairdressing culture in Korea was a bit different from Germany. We were initially happy about the low price but now understood the reason for it! Koreans apparently go to the hairdresser much more often than we Germans do, so when Philipp asked for a trim, he only had about 1cm of hair cut off. After some begging to take off a bit more, we managed to overcome this hurdle to the delight of all employees (and with the involvement of 3 hairdressers at once)!

Another neighborhood we couldn't miss was Gangnam. Some of you may know the song "Gangnam Style," which we believe describes the energetic Koreans very well. Gangnam itself has several facets. The southern part is characterized by high-rise buildings and the Samsung district, but the northern part is the real highlight of Gangnam. Here, an alley of Ginko trees is lined with interesting restaurants and shops, and you can see many of the well-off residents of the neighborhood that Seoul is known for.

But since Seoul also has a lot of culture to offer, we decided to take a bus tour on another day. This took us, among other places, to Namdaemun Market, where we could buy some souvenirs, to a Hanok village composed of traditional Korean houses, and to Changdeokgung Palace, one of the 5 major palaces of the Joseon Dynasty. To wrap up this tour, we went to Insadong, a neighborhood known for the traditionally crafted pictures and other souvenirs, and where we had heard of a sensational dumpling restaurant. We quickly got a table in this small restaurant and enjoyed a variety of their house dumplings.

A few days later, we went to the Common Grounds. This relatively young project on the eastern edge of the city center is a shopping center built entirely out of blue containers and sells young, hip brands. Many delicious and modern restaurants were located on the roof of this mall, and the blue wall served as a great backdrop, especially for the photography enthusiasts in Korea. But that was not the only thing we wanted to experience on this day. It had long been on our list to visit one of the two observation towers in Seoul. In the center of downtown, there is the Namsam Tower, which gets its name from its location on the top of Namsam Mountain, and the Lotte World Tower. We chose the latter because it was not only located near Lotte World Park, the Disneyland of Korea, but also conveniently on our way back! We had planned to enjoy the view at night to see the variety of lights in Seoul, and we were not disappointed!

After all these great experiences and impressions, Philip's time in Korea was slowly running out, and we headed to Shanghai! University has now started for both of us, and we look forward to being able to tell you more about it in future posts!