July 3, 2019
Casual exploring day!
Yelp and my local Korean friends had told me that if I had to have one thing in Hongdae (where we were staying), I had to have dalk galbi (chicken grilled ribs) so first thing in the morning, we set out to find this particular dish. And wow, I may have found a new favorite! The dish consists of spiced chicken, with grilled sweet potato, various vegetables, udon noodles, and – the highlight – cheese fondue that the waitress put on the sides of the large dish in front of us. The cheese melted, making a fondue that we could stick the chicken and noodles in. (Highly recommended: 신미경 닭갈비)
After eating our fill, but still low-key wanting more, we wandered the streets of Hongdae. I was impressed with the sheer number of shops that sold… what seemed to be, essentially, the same merchandise. There was an astounding number of shops for phone cases, for jewelry (which is my pitfall… sigh…), and of course, clothes.
My friend and I did some casual shopping and got a few tops ~ Hongdae is known for its fairly cheap street shopping. The general range seemed to be from 15,000 won to 30,000 won. After a few hours of what became mindless shopping, we set off to look for a cafe to rest our feet – and our wallets.
We found a cafe – by recommendation from a friend – that definitely fit what I was personally looking for, although it definitely did not give my wallet a break!
This is 943 King’s Cross, the Harry Potter cafe in Hongdae! From the simple yet fitting decorations and photo hub outside of the cafe to the cute decor of the themed food and drinks, it was everything I had hoped to see in a Harry Potter cafe.
My favorite cake – that we, unfortunately, were too full to buy – was one modeled after Hagrid’s birthday cake for Harry in the first book and film. Instead of “Happy Birthdae Harry”, it read “Happy Birthdae 943”, adding a charming touch to the option of desserts. Not being a fan of coffee due to my sweet tooth, I got a “Blue Wizard’s Ade” which was, essentially, lemonade with a beautiful gradient of colors in pink, purple, blue, and turquoise. Afterward, we explored the other floors of the cafe and was happily surprised to see that each floor had a different theme. My favorite had robes and scarves for all four of the houses for pictures, and there were options to sit at low tables on the “beds”.
And, having been refreshed and recharged… we set off for more shopping 🙂
We headed to Ewha Women’s University, for the shopping streets that bordered the university – 52nd street. It was definitely very similar to Hongdae, in terms of the street vendor-style shops, but as we went along the street, those vendors soon disappeared and the street gave way to the more typical store-style shopping. It was clear from the pedestrians on the streets that it was a college town. It was nice too, for once, not be surrounded only by Koreans.
Last stop of the day! Namsan Tower! In all honesty, we were only heading to Namsan because it had been on every list, ever, that we had looked up about Seoul. My local friends had told me it was overrated – but still, a place that we should go at least once in our lives, for the experience.
Well, now having been to the top of Namsan, I can affirm that it is definitely overrated. Part of the blame falls on my shoulders because we went fairly late. As a result, we had to rush through the observatory – which really did not offer very good photo opportunities because of the reflections – and then run to the cable car going down. In the cable car, we made the mistake of standing on the side that had the absolutely wonderful view of dark treetops. On the other side was the breathtaking night skyline that I could see through the cracks between the people standing there. My evaluation of Namsan? With ample time, and not during the height of tourist summer season, I’m sure it can be a wonderful experience – even a romantic one, as signified by the rows of lockets on the rails of the tower – but for us, it was a rushed, cramped, and rather stressful experience.