Ever been touched by a person or a place so deeply? Here I am, a year later, writing about you. Longing for you.

Seoul.

It’s been too long. And yet, everything is still so vivid. 

I remember having tough couple of days at work with only this trip to look forward to, motivating me every day. I can still recall the anxiety that I’ve felt while applying for the VISA (which is even more terrifying than when we applied for Japan, not gonna lie) and the relief when we received mostly positive results (A friend was denied initially and had to reapply to another local embassy due to some reasons but she still made it in time. It was truly meant to be). I can still feel the excitement of landing our feet in your soil for the first time and breathing in the same summer air.

Another dream that came true through God’s amazing provisions. I am truly grateful.

I am also glad that we were able to experience Korea before this pandemic situation happened. Actually, we have tickets booked in June 2020 but we could not push through because of the current situation. 2020, you are full of surprises. Here’s to praying that the situation will get better and God-willing, we will get to come back. But for now, let us reminisce.

Five days. No, scratch that. Actually, we only had four full days to spend because our round trip flights are set on a Monday morning and Friday at noon. We endured an eventful itinerary living and loving you with no regrets.

We planned everything thoroughly with our schedule set from the wee hours of dawn to the closing moments of Seoul Station at night time. Also, we took notes of the estimated expenses down to the very last Won. We also kept track of the k-drama locations that we would like to visit beforehand so the information would be handy and we would only worry about navigating onto the actual place. But of course there are circumstances that we cannot anticipate like the delays and the weather. It didn’t stop us from having the best experiences together, though.

D-1 is particularly a long one as we almost have no sleep due to excitement..... not really, but mostly because we all are hailing from the province and we need to head early to catch a 7 AM flight.

The next thing we know, we are at the Incheon International Airport and so the adventure begins.

After claiming our Flytpack (wifi) weeks ago and our Discover Seoul BTS Special Edition Passes in the airport, we availed the free AREX Airport Express Train ride to Seoul Station. The whole ride gives a glimpse of the fine distinction of every facet of the city. 

The first day is all about the city’s youthful side, reminiscent of our university days. Roaming around Ehwa Women’s University, Hongik University and the streets of Hongdae made me miss the times when I am also a student.... hopeful of the opportunities of the world. Today, I am still learning the ropes. And I am still hopeful.

Feeding the Potterhead in us, we went to visit the outskirts of Hongdae leading to the 943 King’s Cross Harry Potter Cafe. We only took photos outside, though because of the time constraint.

We also watched the buskers on the streets. Everything is lively and bright.

We ended the night visiting the flagship store of LINE in Itaewon.

D-2 is all about Namjooning (nature-tripping) also known as the Nami Island/Morning Calm Arboretum Tour and what a calming trip that was. We are lucky that the weather is also on our side as it is forecasted that it will be a rainy week ahead but our Nami trip is all sunshine and literal daisies and every flowers that you can think of.

My Love From Another Star? Petite France is such a dream. 

Dongdaemun is where we first experienced the night life on the streets, trying out their authentic tteokbokki and japchae and communicating with the locals among others.

D-3 is all about BTS (the Gangnam Tour) in which I have a separate post that you could also read here. 

It is already raining occasionally in D-3 and it feels like it has prepared us for the downpour. D-4 appeared to be the most challenging one with the rain continuing to get ahead of us. Oh, rainy Seoul. That’s the only part that I don’t really miss. 

Later that day we realised that we skipped the eating-at-a-proper-restaurant in the itinerary part to save the time that we missed off being stuck in the palace for hours because odf the rain while being on our rented Hanboks. Part of the budget-friendly itinerary is living off 24-hour convenience stores and it has saved us that day and to be honest, it is not that bad. Those stores have better varieties of microwaveable dishes and instant noodles that are just as good, anyway. We were able to tick off reenacting our favourite k-drama shots at the Changdeokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Gyeongbokgung Palace, the N-Seoul Tower and Heo Joon Jae’s house (Legend of the Blue Sea location) because of that minor sacrifice.

It was fogging and raining so hard that we cannot see anything that we almost lost hope. But the sun revealed itself towards the end.

What’s good in Myeongdong? Yes, the shopping district lived up to the hype. This was where we bought most of our souvenir items and skin care hauls. Lastly, who’s not to miss the authentic Bulgogi at the airport?

It feels like Namjoon has made some valid points on his song Seoul off his EP, mono. It was actually my whole vibe on the whole trip. From watching re-runs of  너의 목소리가 보여 (I Can See Your Voice) and other shows on the local channels (without the subtitles) to the seemingly endless walks through the steep streets, there are still things that we wished we could have done like noraebang (karaoke) or do a proper mini-hike in the mountains but it feels like we lived and immersed with the their culture as much as we can, within the time frame that we had.

It also gives us more reason to come back. We’ll see.

The place may not be on top of my list and there are other places that I can say that are even better in many aspects but there is just something about Seoul that makes it feel so homey and safe. The place embodies the nuance of modernization and cultural heritage perfectly. We have seen enough and yet there are still a lot to see. Seoul, you truly are something.

I’m loving you.

사랑과 미움이 같은 말이면 

I love you, Seoul.

Until we meet again.

I also posted a vlog last year, and since we are at it, let me share this with you again here.

If you’re a travel junkie, more so if you are a K-drama or K-pop fanatic, Seoul, South Korea is most likely on top of your travel bucket list. And who could blame you, the place is rich in culture and beautiful sceneries that could touch your soul in different ways: be it within the feels of the bustling city or the calmness of its park and forestry. Here specifically I am to jot down a list of the most basic locations a BTS ARMY could go to when you visit your beloved’s home country. 갈까요? (Shall we go?)

As the group gets more well-known and with the number of side projects, RUN BTS, music video, photo shoots and endorsements that they now have, the number of BTS-related locations also multiplies. But it is fun and nostalgic to see (and experience indirectly) where the dreams have all started. It is almost strategic as well because most of the locations are within the Gangnam area since the management’s old office is located there.

Having such limited time (we only stayed in Seoul for five days) and a vast number of sample itineraries used to plan the budget-friendly itinerary thoroughly, here’s what we came up with for our mini-BTS tour.

어서 와 방탄은 처음이지? 

(Welcome, first time with BTS?)

BTS ARMY, we got you!

What you (always) need: 

What you will see:

Oh, this was fun. RM’s Chair is located in the heart of Seoul Forest so we had a good, refreshing walk early in our itinerary. You will see the culvert area first (just make sure to check the forest map, okay?). It was drizzling that morning giving the walk a more chill vibe. Forever Rain from Namjoon’s second EP, mono is playing in my mind the whole time.

Ah, instant healing, indeed.

My friend is Yoongi-biased so we had to reenact this scene, obviously.

Last year, a Namjoon fansite has organized a tree planting project (RM Forest) in Jamsil area and this year, a Seokjin fansite has initiated a “chair” in the park for Jin as well. Something to look forward to should we all get to come back after this whole pandemic situation.

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The BTS Gangnamdol (12) is a staple tourist spot because it is free and very accessible. You could also find other groups like 4Minute, Super Junior, 2PM, FT Island, SHINee, Miss A, CNBLUE, TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation, EXO, AOA, B1A4, VIXX, INFINITE, KARA and Block B in here.

Multis are definitely going to enjoy this part as JYP Ent building, Cube and FNC Entertainment building can also be found in this stretch. However since we already have a full day of schedule, we didn’t go to said locations.

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This quaint little cafe owned and managed by 2AM Changmin and his family is a must-visit location for the OG ARMYs and it will definitely incite good old memories as the members used to go there in their pre-debut days. Now it is adorned by their signed albums and stuff.

The father says to order Five Berries Tea... because it’s Bangtan’s favorite and it tastes so refreshing, no wonder they like it a lot.

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This location will also take you down memory lane. It is also heartwarming how ahjumma (the owner) still calls the boys by their real names and how sweet it is whenever she shares stories about them.

They also have a vegetarian bibimbap for those who cannot have meat.

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Reminder: Fangirling doesn’t have to be expensive. It is okay to splurge a bit sometimes but only within your means, though. 

These cuties make you want to take a piece of them home. And just like their appas, they are also everywhere! Name it! From plushies to cutlery and home necessities, there is a BT21 item for you.

Personally, BT21 is one of the reasons that furtherly drove me to appreciating BTS and their artistic side (aside from their music). I loved the fact that these creatures and their universe are from their initial sketches and ideas. I even used to joke how I am a BT21 stan before BTS. And yes, I have acquired a lot of TATA in the past few years, bought during international travels and even on the official local shop.

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We were still full from our scrumptious lunch at Yoojung Sikdang so we didn’t get to try the same menu that Taehyung and Jimin have ordered. But we did try some drinks and checked out the manga on the shelves.

Also, we took some photos as this comic book cafe is also a previous RUN BTS location.

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We took photos of the hand prints and the closest to my hand’s size is Jimin’s.

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Jamsil Olympic Stadium (Love Yourself/Speak Yourself The Final concert location) — We were in Seoul a month before The Final concert is taking place and since we were headed to SMTOWN (which is sadly inoperational in this present day) the very same day, we also went to take pictures of this historic place.

Old Bighit Entertainment office — We did find the office after being lost in the residential areas of Gangnam (Despite using the ever reliable Naver Maps). However, since Bighit has transferred offices, the old building has other present occupants and it feels wrong and creepy to take photos even of the outside vicinity so we didn’t do it and we just treasured the moments that we had while searching for the place (all while the rain is pouring hard).

BTS is literally everywhere. We were in Korea on Jungkook’s birthday week so there are a lot of fansite subway ad projects that we were able to see, too. 

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There are a lot of factors that we have considered while coming up with this itinerary. Say for one, we visited these places off-comeback season so we were able to access the places easily.

Yoojung Sikdang is always packed when there’s a BTS concert looming around. This is because international fans are making sure to check this one off their BTS bucket list as well. But as for us, since it is on a weekday plus there is no official BTS schedule then, we didn’t have to wait longer outside even though it is already lunchtime when we visited. Some of my friends have to wait for hours in the cold just to be able to taste the best bibimbap themselves. 

We even did score the whole place all by ourselves at one point. We were the only customers at The Min’s and we get to have a bit of small talk with the owner too.

The “VMIN” Café is placed under renovation a month after we visited so I think the universe has really conspired for us to be able to visit the place before that. Unless the soulmates or BTS hails the place again in the future, the feels won’t be the same should they reopen soon, right? But it is still worth it, eh?

We went to the LOTTE MALL Star Avenue near its closing time so there are less people lurking around the actual hand prints. However, there are a lot of people on their way home but despite that minor miscalculation we still managed to get a few snaps.

Lastly, we have The Laundry Pizza (the location for Love Yourself: Her album photoshoots) on our itinerary initially but the fatigue factor has already set in plus the occasional pouring of the rain is draining our energy so we collectively decided to already call it a day and we just spent the remaining time that we had shopping in Gangnam’s underground markets.

We did this Bangtan Tour (excluding the Star Avenue) in just one day. *Haruman plays in the background* This was in 2019 so there may be a lot of changes in the forex and prices but can you believe we only spent around 50,000 KR Won (2000php) for this tour?

There are a lot more to explore especially these days. Personally I’d like to visit Daegu (Taehyung and Yoongi’s hometown) and experience the beaches of Busan but unfortunately we didn’t get to squeeze it in. No regrets, though because we had the time of our lives then. It is also good to have something to look forward to after everything that is happening in the world. Daegu and Busan will be on the new list when we get back. Hopefully.

What was your favourite part of our trip? (Dora, is that you?)

If you want to have a copy of our full five-day itinerary, just let me know in the comments or message me personally.

Stay safe and healthy and see you around! x

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Watch the vlog here: