Oh My Janey

5 Favorite Activities in Seoul

Seoul, South Korea, Namsan

Achieving my dream of visiting Korea was almost a decade in the making. When my family had a five-day vacation in the Land of the Morning Calm, I was beyond ecstatic! Finally, I could step foot in my dream country! It was the best five days of my fangirl life, and how I feel about it can’t be put into words. Heck, it has been a year since, and I’ve written countless of posts already. But I still have more to stay. It’s a trip to remember, that’s why I’m always going back to that five days just reminiscing.

It’s difficult to summarize in one post everything I loved about Korea. There are countless things to see and do in Seoul and around Korea. To pick just five things of all the things I loved about it is difficult. But I only had five days and I did have to make a choice. We were in a limited budget and limited time. We had no choice but to make the life-changing decisions!

However, despite of having countless of things to do in Seoul, there are definitely things I would love to do over and over again.  They say that traveling in Seoul is expensive, but there are tons of things you can enjoy and love without burning a hole in your pocket! [Read more…]

Seoul Strangers

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My favorite thing about the strangers I met in Seoul was the fact that they’re all so well-dressed! My friend wasn’t joking when she said that Koreans follow cut-throat fashion! I seriously felt under-dressed. Nevertheless, they’re one of the nicest and friendliest people I’ve encountered in my travels. They always have a smile to give to strangers and they bow whenever your eyes met. I felt so kilig. Heehee.

Since I love kids, I definitely enjoyed oggling at all the pre-school students! It’s amazing how the kids seem so independent. I’m so used to seeing kids here in the Philippines always accompanied by adults wherever they go. So I was amazed at how a class of about 20 students were only guided by a teacher or two. I wished I learned that kind of independence early in my childhood years! (I gained my ~independence~ after college, and I fought hard for it. Haha.) But then again, there’s a sense of security in Seoul that’s quite hard to feel here.

Too bad I didn’t make any friends, though, the way my friends who went to Seoul did! So when I go back, I will make sure that I’ll make a Korean friend. Haha.

Spring Last Year

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My photography teacher back in college advised us to avoid cliche subjects such as flowers. But I can’t. How could I ever resist such photogenic subjects? 🙂

It was spring when we went to Korea last year. And everywhere you look, there were flower boxes and trees brimming with flowers! How could I not take photos of all the pretty flowers?

I have yet to experience winter and fall, and summer is pretty much the only season in my country. But I have this gut feel that Spring has all the potential to be my favorite. It’s like the perfect season to be outdoors. it seems like everyday is just perfect during spring, you know. It’s not too cold and not too hot , too. Perfect season is perfect.

I don’t wish for much but I wish there’s spring in my country. 🙁

IMY, Seoul

It’s been a year since my Korea trip with my family. And everyday, I wonder when I’d be back. To say that I miss Seoul is an understatement because seriously though, I have never been more enchanted with a place.

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I miss the doodles on every store window. I miss the coffee shops in every store corner with the catchiest and most attractive decor I’ve seen. I miss the ₩1000 stores that sell the cutest earrings, hair accessories, and phone cases. I miss odeng and bibimbap and ramyun and pretty much all the food that I tasted for the first time. I miss the lively shopping districts that sell the cutest and most fashionable clothes and shoes but I can’t afford anyway. I miss the walls and gates and every scenery that beg to be photographed. I miss seeing art and youthfulness everywhere.

I just miss the place so freaking much, which is kind of silly since I’ve only been there once for five days. But I promise to be back and if possible, experience every season! Haha. If I’d ever have the money for it anyway. I have tons of photos to share and it’s ridiculous that I’m only sharing it a year later! This lazy blogging at its finest. I actually planned to post these photos last year but real life is so fast and so many other things happened.

The next time I visit Seoul, I promise to take more photos, better ones, less grainy ones. I took thousands of shots but I was too busy taking photos of my family that I realized that I might have missed tons of chances. No regrets, though. I’ll be back anyway. 🙂

Day Five in Seoul (Part 2)

The last day in Seoul continues, as the the memories start to fade. No, not really. I was so sentimental that day that I tried to remember everything. Everything. Haha. It’s actually quite embarrassing that I’m still done blogging about my Korya trip. How busy could I be! I think a part of me is slowing it down. I guess writing about the last day means my Korean trip is officially over, I’m even done writing about it! I don’t know, I just want to keep going back to those five days. But alas, everything has to come to an end, so thus this Korya thing. I can’t keep dragging it on or else I’d really forget the details!

From the Gyeongbokgung Palaca, our next destination is just right across the street: Gwanghwamun Square!

I waited and waited and waited for the soldier to leave so I could take a stupid photo but he wouldn’t. Haha! You can still see the front gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace at the background.

Anyway, my sister and I had a pretty good reason why we wanted to go to the Square, the King Sejong statue is located at Gwanghwamun Square, and if you’re a true Kdrama buff, you’d know that City Hunter and Kim Nana’s first meeting took place at the fountain in the square! Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit because I only learned that during my research on places to visit with the filming sets in mind. Heh.

Like everywhere in Seoul that time, the place is just filled with all these pretty Spring flowers. The place was incredibly pretty mainly because of the fog hanging around in Seoul. It was the first clear day after two straight days of rain so it was still pretty foggy. But I loved the weather as I’ve said in the previous post. The place just looked so cold and gloomy and the atmosphere’s just amazing, okay.

It’s probably our lucky day, too, since we saw another celebrity! This time, it’s an actress and we know her! I’ve seen some of her works, and I may not be the biggest fan but it was still pretty exciting to see her in person! Wanna know who she is? I’ve seen her in Three Dads and One Momand Wonderful Life!

Here’s a photo:

HAHAHA. It was unintentional okay.  [Read more…]

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