When I was sixteen, I was overly obsessed with this Korean boy group, TVXQ. Constantly imagining myself being close to them k-pop stars, I vowed to visit South Korea at least once in my life and it turned out to be a dream-come-true after ten years of waiting. (I was a student back then and did not have the permission and enough cash to travel)

After a few years of gambling my life in the working world and this ever so competitive society, I did the best decision to my buddy’s proposal to book the flight to Seoul – The Land of Morning Calm.

We managed to strike the lucky charm and got ourselves a pair of Air Asia X at RM600+ both ways. As we got it way earlier from the travelling date, we spent some time researching on the point of interests in Seoul.

After arriving Incheon International Airport, we were amazed by the architecture. Its modern and humble design caught my eyes and it was very crowded when we arrived at 3:40pm at 8 degree celcius.

Without wasting time, I made my way to “K Book” store situated at the lower ground of Incheon Airport to redeem the local sim card that I have ordered online for my 7 days trip here in Korea. Check out EG SIM, HERE. Also you might want to consider getting the T-Money card for easy access in Seoul. You can basically use T-Money for KTX, metro, mrt, taxi, buses and even 7-eleven in Seoul. Super convenient. Something like our Malaysian Touch n’Go? LOL. Find out more about T-Money card and its coverage of usage, HERE.

We took the KTX to Ewha Women Uni. Station, where our guesthouse situated. Before departing to Seoul, we made a reservation online with Cozybox Guesthouse. Conveniently situated opposite of The Coffeebean & Tealeaf in Daehyun-dong, Seodaemun in Shinchon, Hongdae. You can find bakery, souvenir shops, restaurants that open till late night and Shinchon police station is just right in front. Going down the road for a bout a minute more by walking, you will see a mini shopping street with variety of korean latest fashion, shoes, cute socks and street food too! Do check out Cozybox Guesthouse HERE.

 Here are some of the places we have visited in day one:

1. Dinner at “Dark Han Ma Ri” Restaurant

We were greeted in Mandarin by Ajumma working in the restaurant. It was our first visit (obviously!) so we were introduced to try out their chicken dish in hot pot and later on with rice shimmer to perfection. As you can see from the first pic below, the chicken was well-cooked and perfectly melted our hungry stomach with minced garlic and their complimentary kimchi!

2. Sinchon street market

Throughout our whole Korea trip, shopping in Sinchon was overall the cheapest. It was just few steps away from Cozybox Guesthouse and the variety of fashion, street food is just great. I wouldn’t say it is the best but they do have many beauty products and clothing selling at reasonable price. We were strolling around and did a little shopping here.

3. Dongdaemun

We took a cab to Dongdaemun and it stopped in front of Doota Shopping Mall. One of the many famous malls in Seoul. We went in to have a look. There were many clothing booths located at ground floor, mainly from local designers and their pricing was sky high. I did not manage to secure any but did a while of window shopping. It was really crowded with youngsters or maybe there were just avoiding the strong outdoor wind. Fortunately, there were LINE characters air balloons in front of the mall which garnered a lot flashes of camera. Of cause, we did too. If you are tired of walking already, head to one of the many coffee shops/cafe just nearby Dongdaemun. Don’t forget to check out Gwangjang Market along the way as it is crowned the largest food alley in Seoul! Yummmms!

4. Food Cafe, Sinchon

We were hungry and decided to head to a cafe just across the road from Cozybox Guesthouse. Food Cafe offers variety of Ramyeon and I picked the Cheese Ramyeon. Sounds weird to me but to my surprised, it was so good!

Happy and exhausted. We ended day one with much satisfaction.

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