OH HEY THERE!

I got featured on MyKorea on Paper.li!!

Well, a photo I posted on Instagram anyway.

YAY!!

Here's the photo I took:

I actually saw this in a cafe in Hongdae one night, when I REALLY wanted a cup of something to drink that didn't have alcohol in it. And the cafe itself had some really cool decorations, and this was near the counter. Major nostalgia right there... 

So anyway, the photo from my Instagram (that was also posted on my Tumblr) was featured on the newspaper! YAY! I love it when things like this happen! 

Thanks for featuring me MyKorea/ Marc Thill! :)

Toniiiiiiiiiiiight... 그토록 기다렸던 우리만의 시간

THIS VIDEO ONLY HAS 550,000 VIEWS ON YOUTUBE (I think I contributed to the 50,000 views haha).

THE ABSURDITY! IT MAKES NO SENSE! NONE WHATSOEVER! 

Breathe Kim, breatheeee (phewwww)

If you've heard the song being played, I'm POSITIVE you'd do a double take of the song and be like "WOW THIS IS PRETTY DARN GREAT". The way I did actually haha. 

BUT SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THIS SONG ONLY HAS SO LITTLE VIEWS? 

It's a pretty great song. Okay they're not 2NE1, but tell me, how can anyone watch the video and not wanna join a Holi Festival?? Take a look.

AM I RIGHT OR AM I RIGHT?! AHHH this song is just soooo fun! Those clothes are super cute, the girls are having a great time, and damn those colors!!! 

I'm not an avid iTunes Store customer, but if I REALLY like one song and don't plan on buying the album, I purchase it. And this song is one of those songs. I only do it if I REAAAAAALLY like the song. Also cause my iTunes has not a humungous credit sum waiting to be consumed. 

If you like the song as much as I do (clearly I'm obsessed with it), copy the link and then open this link, and then paste the coped link in 

this box

& 

HIT REPLAY

DO IT I KNOW YOU WANT TO 

I'm not even paid to say any of this. 

Kay, you don't need to understand Korean to understand the song. Just let it soak in and just enjoy it.

DO IT I KNOW YOU WANT TO 

남산타워 Uh, LEE MINHO! DUHHHH

I know I said I would do a video review but uhm... that has a shit ton of work to be done to it before it can be shown to public... So bare with me (: hehe

Instead, today, I'll be talking a bit about 남산타워 aka Namsan Tower! or N Seoul Tower! Super famous landmark, gives you a pretty good view of Seoul (towards Myeondong and all), and it's a pretty known place for couples to visit and have their personalized locks locked onto the rails of the look out point.

How to get there:
Kay, honestly, a friend drove me to the National Theatre of Korea, and we bused it up the hill to the tower!

So, I'm gonna pull out my cheat sheet and show you some ways of getting up there (instead of you having to google it and all hehehe)

Alright.

How to get there by:


BUS
First, get to the bus stop by subway.
Your options include Myeondong Station (Line 4), getting out at Exit 3 or Chungmuro Station (Line 3 or Line 4), getting out at Exit 2/ if you're looking at the map, in front of Daehan Cinema)
From there, you can take the Namsan Sunhwan Shuttle Bus #2 (02번 남산 순환버스) up to the tower.

Running Hours: 0700 -2400 (aka Midnight)
Intervals: 15 minutes
Cost: 950 won with cash, 850 with T Money card.

Route/ Using the same bus, you can also board it at the following locations:
N Seoul Tower (N서울타워) → Namsan Public Library (남산도서관) → Seoul Education Research & Information Institute (교육연구정보원) → Namsan Walk B Course (남산산책로입구B코스) → Seoul Animation Center/Soongeui Women's College (서울애니매이션센터,승의여대) → Teogyero 3-ga Hanok Village (퇴계로3가하녹마을) →  Daehan Cinema (댈한국산) → Teogyero 5-ga (퇴계로5가) → Dongguk University Station (동대입구역) → National Theatre of Korea (국립극산) → Namsan North Side Circuit Entry (남산북측순환로입국).

Option 2 (subway and Namsan Sunhwan Shuttle Bus #3)
Subway stops: Seoul Station (Line 1/ Line 4) getting off at Exit 9, Itaewon (Line 6) Exit 4, Hangangjin Station (Line 6) in front of Exit 2

Namsan Sunhwan Shuttle Bus #3 (3번 남산 순환버스)
Running Hours: 0730 -2330 (aka 11.30pm)
Intervals: 20 minutes
Cost: 950 won with cash, 850 with T Money card.

Route: N Seoul Tower (N서울타워) → Namsan Public Library (남산도서관) → Beokbeom Plaza (벅범광장) → Huam Intersection (후암삼거리) → Namdaemun Police Station (남대문경찰서) → Seoul Station (서울역) → Namdaemun Market (남대문시장) → Namsan Tunnel 3 (남산산3호터날) → Yonghan Hanshin Apartment (영한한신아파트) → Haebangchon (해방촌) → Itaewon Yongsan-gu Office (이태원 녕산구청) → Hamilton Hotel (해밀톤호텔) → Itaewon Fire Branch (이태원소방파출서) → Hangangjin Station (한강진역) → Beoti Gogae (버티고개) → Songdo Hospital (송도병원앞) → Yaksu Station (약수역) → Dongguk University Station (동대잎구역) → National Theatre of Korea (국립극산) → Namsan North Side Circuit Entry (남산북측순환로입국) → N Seoul Tower (N서울타워)


Option 3: Namsan Sunhwan Shuttle Bus #5 (5번 남산 순환버스)
Running Hours: 0730 -2330 (aka 11.30pm)
Intervals: 15 minutes
Cost: 950 won with cash, 850 with T Money card.

Route: N Seoul Tower (N서울타워) → Namsan Public Library (남산도서관) → Beokbeom Plaza (벅범광장) → Hilton Hotel (힐톤호텔) Namdaemun Market, Accessory Arcade (남대문시장, ) → Entrance to Myeongdong () → Teogyero 3-ga Hanok Village (퇴계로3가하녹마을) → Daehan Cinema (댈한국산) → Teogyero 5-ga (퇴계로5가) Teogyero 6-ga (퇴계로6가) → Gwanghui-dong Crossroads (광희희동사거리) → Chungmu Art Hall, Jungbu Fire Station (충무아트홀, 충무소바서) → Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town (신당동 떡볶이타운) → Sindang-dong Cheongo Station (신당동, 청구역) → Yaksu Station (약수역) → Dongguk University Station (동대잎구역) → National Theatre of Korea (국립극산) → Namsan North Side Circuit Entry (남산북측순환로입국) → N Seoul Tower (N서울타워)


CABLE CAR
Operating Hours: 10.00-2300
How To Get There: Get on the Subway and take Exit 3 at Myeongdong Station (Line 4), when you see Pacific Hotel, go on the road to the RIGHT of it, and walk for 10-15 minutes to the stop.
Price:

I would recommend taking the cable car (especially if you watched Boys Over Flowers) cause it's a different view I believe (:

There are other means of getting there that are less common. But if you wanna go how to get there by Seoul City Bus, or by driving, click here and here individually.

When you get there by bus though, you'll have to walk up this super steep hill up to the Tower (the night view is quite breathtaking actually) itself. Then when you're there, you can just follow the crowd to the look out point. If you're there with your significant other, you can either purchase those love locks and/or love magnets and do your message thing. For the locks, couples write their names on the lock and hang them on the railings of the look out point, they say that its so that the relationship will last. And the magnets is an extra, after writing a message, you get to hang it up in the gift shop (also where you buy the lock and magnets), though the lock I'd recommend buying it BEFORE you go up, but the magnets, they only allow the store bought ones. 

And when inside the tower, you can walk around the shopping area and check out some souvenirs (POSTCARDS! I'd recommend getting them here cause it was a rather difficult task trying to find postcards in the city itself) while being silly like me...

these little deco things are just too cute not to take photos with haha

or go UP the tower (something I didn't do cause I didn't have the money) for an extended view though the open look out point has a good enough view. 

Here's Sun and I (: It was a pretty good night. 

Sorry for the late late LATE updates ): 

I know I apologize a lot, but my time is seriously so limited I barely have time ): 

Drip drop dry.

Just thought I'd swing by to tell you guys that I'm alive.

I'm alive, been exploring a little, not much cause of obligations and stuff.

But definitely have some stuff to talk about! But soon though.

I promise!

Some hauls, some more coffee places, a bit of culture here and there... and

food OH MY GOD foooooooood!

Uhm but yeah. That will be up in time...

For now, excuse my continued absence and I thank you, thank you thank you for your patience!!

See you guys real soon!

PS- For the hauls, I'm thinking of doing a vlog instead. Cause writing about a pair of shoes, trying to describe the detail of the shoe would not do it enough justice... So, expect to see a video soon! (Oh dear. I'm a little nervous though, honestly)

커피! Part One

SORRRRRRYY!

So, my phone is practically dead right now.. Literally. I've been having so many problems with just trying to take pictures it's a little upsetting. So I've been using Sun's phone to take photos and getting the photos from her have been a tad difficult because of conflicting schedules ):

So, here,

사과를 받안줘

Please accept my apology/apple (apology and apple, same word, different context)

Hehe, I learnt that from Boys Over Flowers HEHE

BACK TO THE POINT:

FINALLY!

I've been to a handful of coffee places to be able to start talking about all some of them. I think...

So here's how I'm gonna do the reviews...

1. Coffee taste. 

Rating 1-6. 

1 = too bitter aka I like to call it Starbuck bitter (sorry Starbucks, your coffee isn't my cup. But I like your green teas though! So don't kick me out please?)

6 = Too sweet aka here, take some coffee with the sugar please!

2. Free trade/organic
Where is their coffee from? Is it free trade? Are they encouraging free trade?


3. Service
Service is SO SO SO important. Having worked in retail, being a promoter handing out flyers, and having parents in the food industry, and being a food junkie myself, I appreciate good service. I mean, who doesn't? (Assholes who sit 5 at a table to eat one slice of cheesecake, have 5 glasses of water and ask to split the bill are definitely not included in this mesh because y'all are evil and need to be sent to HumblePieCookingSchool and learn a thing or two about how to be human cause at this rate you're the devil's spawn)
So service very simple:
1 = awful (okay, this is for shop owners who also needa go to HumblePieCookingSchool cause you talk down to your customers and all. What reason? Maybe business is good and you forgot how to care for customers anymore)
2 = Not bad, but more work needs to be put in here. Okay, I'm not a fire breathing dragon (or crazy passive aggressive customers who send complaints the company's way even though in front of the server, I act like everything is dandy). This means there are one or two things that could have been better (maybe it was too slow and there was a huge hold up for no apparent reason or whatever it may be)
3 = Excellent. Nuff said.


4. Price 
1 = Too expensive. With the taste of the coffee, price is too high.
2 = Just nice. Not too expensive
3 = CHEAP ERMERGERD (okay overdramatized here but you get the gist haha) I mean who doesn't like to pay less for something right?


5. Miscellaneous
Extra stuff worth mentioning. Like service? (service in Korea means free stuff. I didn't know what it was til I got here. Koreans are pretty generous with service actually. Surprise!)





Let's start with..

Gridaggum 

They're at a bunch of locations, but at select places.

This specific one was near the City Hall. 

I also saw one in Shinchon (which by the way, you HAVE to check out when you go to Seoul, ESPECIALLY if you love drinking and eating, AND shopping. Their mall is kewl. Hehe. Not that I could shop much anyway but yeah!)

We went there because we heard that their coffee drinks were cheap.

I don't think the price we got was on the list (psst, it was cheaper)

What I noticed was cafe price lists are for sit in customers (though this clearly wasn't suited for sit in)

And to-go is usually bout $1 cheaper depending on where you go

coffee aside, they had a TON of other drinks that looked so yums!

these were our cafe lattes (they're double shots no extra charge woot!)

[check out the drink in the photo behind our coffees. Unlike some places that dramatize their photos of their food, the real thing looks JUST like the photo -]

here's a size reference.

Because they had bigger cups, they usually have 2 shots of espressos in their cups.

Coffee taste: 2. More on the bitter side, but not too bad. I think it's also cause I drank it over a period of like 2 hours? It was a busy busy day and we barely had time to stop and take a drink haha.

Free trade? I've no idea. I really wasn't thinking about it when I was ordering it but tbh, I highly doubt it is :/ You know how usually if a place is free trade, they'd make it super obvious? Not this one I guess. 

Service: 2. They were not as friendly (I guess cause they had some malfunction at the back) and was a little slow but nothing big to complain about (:

Price: 4! It was SUPER CHEAP. Exceeded the ranking haha.

Misc: double shots... uh, yes please? Plus, they're located in a few areas (: So plus!

NEXT

Beanstore

Apparently the CEO used to work for an NGO

and gives out free coffee to the NGOs nearby (that place is surrounded by NGOs)

they're at the Gyeongbokgung station (though you have to walk a little, really, a little)

Free Trade? YES!

Cafe Latte ^^

Syrup, sugars, and chocolate. 

FRIGGIN TRUFFLES UH YES PLEASEEE

Coffee taste: 3. For those of you who are familiar with Papa Palheta (famous for its CSHH store) in Singapore, then you'll know what I'm talking about. I guess in the US, a comparison that I'm able to make is that to Peet's coffee? I think. Coffee flavor is delishhhh. Not too strong (sugar added according to preference). 

Free trade? You betcha! Place is packed with displays of it!  

Service: 3. Not bad. Served, instead of having your mini UFOs and self pick-ups. It's a small store, so they know who ordered what (: And place had a pretty chill vibe.

Price: 3. A little bit more on the pricey side (sorry I forgot to take photos of it) but it's not at break-a-limb-expensive

Misc: FREE CHOCOLATE! One truffle for one drink. Hells to the ye! but if you take to go, you get 1,000 won back and no truffle. Personally the truffle is worth the stay hehe.

PS- I've to split this up cause it's taking too long to write one full post (I did not anticipate it and I've been busy working) so I'm splitting it up

Vent-(ew)ura.

A tad bit upset from some of the events that took place today.

Wanted to do a rant-and-run. But decided to save it for later.

Meanwhile, here's a parrot dancing to Gangnam style.

YOU KNOW YOU WANNA WATCH IT.

How cute!

The little fella even has a cute little mohawk.

Melted muh heartz. 

Samcheongdong!

Forgive my negligence!

I have been so busy, not necessarily in the way I had initially intended but busy nevertheless!

But yesterday I was lucky enough to have been able to go out to Samcheong-dong for some R&R and to do a little shopping. If you're wondering how to get there, it's really simple, just get on the Subway (Orange Line 3) and get off at Anguk. Exit 1 is where you wanna get off. If you get out and see the Jongno Police Station across the street, you're on the right track. Turn right once you get out the exit and you'll pass and Starbucks at one point (which will be on your right) and Olive Young on the corner. At some point you'll see (on your right) the entrance to the area (it'll be pretty crowded) so follow the crowd and keep walking. As you walk, you'll see street vendors selling little trinkets and things then as you walk, you'll start to see little cafes and small eateries  as the road kinda gets narrower.

As I was starving by the time I got there, I went into the first shop that caught my attention. It was upstairs and I had no idea what it was so I sat down and was given this menu. Then I saw the price and could not stomach it. So I left and I ended up here

Meok-shui-don-na

it had SBS on it so I guessed it was good?

Who knew, it was Toppokki made for sharing. Goddamn. 

But I was fucking hungry and toooo lazy to leave again so here's what I got:

Seafood and Beef Toppoki with Ramyeon, Fish Cake, and Eggs.

I think Emma'd agree wimme on this. 

Sad to say the least, I couldn't finish it completely. Dude, it was made for 2 or more! I finished the important ingredients though haha (like the fish cakes, seafood, meat, as much of the eggs as I could, and the veges). I felt like a boss eating it all on my own though ;) hehe. The couple that sat next to me didn't even finish HALF. Watching their figures maybe?

But of course all of that was followed by some walking around and shopping! Gotta sweat it all out. And sweat I did. Everyone did, in fact. It was hot and humid so of course beads of sweat would at definitely make its way at least to your neck. ANYWAY, enough about sweat.

Most of the things on sale were pretty cheap. 

Those pink ones remind me of the ones I had at Soka.

interesting name. Koreans really have a quirky sense of humor when it comes to setting up shop names

The shoes were on sale approx 20,000-30,000 on sale. Didn't bother looking at the non sale items.

I usually do not (or pretty much can't so why bother) roll that way.

My last stop was this vintage store to pick up some stuff I couldn't pay for the night before (we dropped by for a few seconds and I picked out a dress and a skirt) 

most of their stuff in the vintage store was 10,000 ₩ aka approx USD9/RM30

Seriously in love with this place.

In the end, my hauls for the day were:

a ton of jewelry I was too lazy to take photos of 

vintage skirt and dress 

from Retro Vintage

& these beauties from I ♥ Flat

They remind me of my late grandma. 

She only wore these kinds of shoes.

Here are some other shots of the shoes I thought you'd appreciate..

the insoles are pretty soft +1

the sole is pretty sturdy looking. When I wear them the bottom of my feet feel protected +1

not bad for 25,000₩ won't you say?

okay. Let's sum it all up.

My advice from this trip:

1. BRING CASH! This applies to whenever you leave your hotel room (ESPECIALLY if you're going shopping at places that isn't a mall). I mean unless money is no biggy and you don't mind getting charged at least an extra 10% with every purchase. Then in that case, don't. But realistically speaking, why pay that extra when you can pay for whats on the price tag alone?

2. When it comes to food, unless you have a pitless cove for a stomach, I'd suggest bringing a friend. As mentioned with the toppokki, I had to eat it all by myself and was not able to devour all the yummy desserts that tempted me and called my name like mermaids at sea. Pretty much everything except the chicken skewers (which I could not try cause broke as fuck and not hungry partially cause of the thin wallet) were made for sharing

3. Food aside, here's why bringing a friend/another person would be good: One, as mentioned above, sharing, less binging, more variety. Two, second opinions when it comes to shopping cause dude, most of the things there are so cheap/on sale that you literally wanna buy everything and it'll make you go broke in 5 seconds, not even kidding. Lucky for me, I had a small wallet, aka small-ass-budget so I had to control my own spending. Three, the photo taking! If, like me, you're vain (nothing wrong with that) and enjoy being in front of the camera, then your friend would do much much help. Vice versa. Win. Mother-fcukin-WIN. 

4. This point is quite important so remember this well: There is a small drink stall next to the restaurant Flora. You won't miss it. It has fruits in a cup on display and it's pretty red/pinkish on the inside. Take note of this place. You do not. I repeat DO NOT wanna buy anything from there. Heres why: I paid almost USD4 for a tea that didn't even have milk, honey OR sugar in it. I was not offered any condiments and the sad pathetic part of it all was when I asked for some milk, she told me that she'll only put in a little after showing me a sour face and then pretending to be confused. Trust me, you're not missing out on much if you're opting out of this place. With the money you're paying for "traditional Korean tea" (it was stuff you can make at home cause all you need to do is add hot water), you could probably save that money, add a couple more dollars for a sit in nice ice cold cuppa or shaved ice in an AC-ed (or heated depending on the season you're in) cafe that's round the corner. Seriously, refrain from that stall! You're not missing out on much.

5. When you reach Flora, you'll think you're at the end. But you're not. So cross the street, keep walking (follow the crowd) and go up to the Bukchon village (especially during sunset you don't wanna miss the view) and just slow walk. Its really chill and you get to people watch from an elevated view. It's like watching a live dollhouse! 

Like the escaping teddy...

I promise. 

And if you're feeling hungry by then, there's a ton of restaurants/cafes for you to pick from too!

Alright, I feel like I've regurgitated too much. Hope you took at least one thing away from this! :)

Watch out for my next post! I sense a coffee one coming! :) YAY!

I'm out. 

Sneak Peak of What's Next?

Here's a sneak peak of what's to come next (well, maybe in time when more research is done? Not sure. Trying to weigh in every side post progressions)...

This is possibly one of my favorite topics and I'm pretty sure many of you will be able to chip in your comments too...

The next anticipated topic is...

No, not Stewie/Family Guy :( 
COFFEE!

HEHE. I, am a bit crazy on coffee. 

I've been consuming coffee  since the tender age of 9. I think that wasn't too good of an idea cause I heard that coffee stunts your growth? Damnit. Kid couldn't help herself you know? Thanks to the many humble beginnings of Nescafe and those damn ads that made them look like they're the best thing that ever happened to mankind. 

But I think especially in my final year in college, I found myself to be consuming more and more morning coffee to aid me in staying alert/awake throughout the crazy day of academics (sigh, I wish I was going back to academia right now though, to be honest). I don't think the coffee kick went away? Cause ever since I got here I began needing my cuppa every single day. When I go out, most of the time I'd get a cafe latte. Preferably iced during the day cause of the crazy heat. So yeah, I'd pretty much stop at any place to get myself a coffee fix on the go. I've had some pretty pleasant tasting ones, while others were a little off my preference. But nevertheless! I heed to the saying "one man's meat is another man's poison" (not to say that it is poison per se. But just saying that some of em were not my cup of... tea coffee). So I will make either a long ass post about the coffees I've had or separate ones... I still haven't decided. But uhm, just a heads up... When I talk about the coffee, I will refer to them in cafe latte preferences (sometimes Americanos), but if there's something you wanna suggest I try, please drop me a comment and let me know ;) I will start checking my comment section regularly to see what you guys have in mind :)  

xoxo.

So, Who Am I?

To answer that question, my name is Kimberley :)

(I actually have the right side of my head shaved, and red hair that fades oh-too-quickly)

I'm a recent graduate of Soka University of America (c/o 2013! woohoo!). A school I'm absolutely proud of.

(meet Kuni, a good friend, alumni, and one of the coolest, most talented dudes I know)

&

I am currently on a traveller's status in South Korea, but looking for a job :)




Meet Seon Mi Jin. Or, as we like to call her, Seon (pronounced as Sun)

(that's the two of us at a by a lake)

I'm currently staying with her and her family till employment is bestowed upon me :) Her family has been absolutely generous in welcoming me and taking tremendous care of me. I'm so spoilt *tears of gratitude*

Seon is also (for now) my translator, and tour guide. She was also the one who inspired me to start this blog. So, BIG FAT CHEERS for this amazing lady! (Psst! She also travels 2 hours to work a 9-to-5 at an NGO with no pay and tutors English while she job hunts. Absolutely admirable!)

But anyway, enough with the small talk.

So, what's the purpose of this blog? 

Well, I figured, since I'm here, living with a Korean family and all... I thought it'd be a good idea to explore foods, places, and things that usually aren't addressed in traveller books/guides (or sometimes just to help answer some questions/concerns a foreigner may have when visiting). I hope I do not come off to you as offensive "oh- I-*technically*-live-in-Korea-now-so-I-know-EVERYTHING-so-move-aside-bitch". It's nothing like that. To be quite frank, I know not much about this country. All I have are some friends, and a thirst for exploration. So, as a promise to myself, I told myself that I'd explore this place on my own terms (at my own pace). Everything from food, to places, entertainment, etc. (Hidden things, or things that aren't mentioned due to cultural differences) And in doing so, I'd also like to share the information from the experience learnt. What to do, where to go, how to get there, etc. So, I hope you'll be joining me as I dive into this completely new environment :)

As a promise, I'll do my very bestest to stay up-to-date with the posts. I can't promise that I'll have posts consistently but I'll do my utmost to keep this post updated at least once every 2 weeks. If, for some reason I'm absent, please forgive me. For I might be busy exploring/learning/job hunting. So for the next two months (at least), please drop by, leave comments, suggestions, questions and I will do my best in seeking the answers out to help both you and I :) Remember, I'm learning as I go, so I ask for your patience and understanding (if I mention things that you already know, leave me comments/suggestions on what I missed out/can work on but all I ask is that you be nice, okay? No one likes to be belittled, whether in person or on the internet)