All posts tagged: jongno

MMCA | what’s new in modern art

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Love the art scene in Seoul? I’m with you. I like to prepare, research, gear up and eat well right before heading to a new exhibit at a museum or gallery hopping in this crazy cool city. So when I headed out to see what was new at the MMCA in January, and I expected to be wowed. Just like the time I went before.  the day began Being excitable, and more than a little hungry, I decided the first stop needed to be food. Luckily as I walked down Yulgok-ro, a wonderfully pushy ajumma summoned me into her mandu restaurant where I promptly ordered this beauty : Honestly, I didn’t have much choice. She was very persuasive. Next, I cut through the alleys to get to the MMCA from the back, where I met this beautiful view. I admit, sometimes at modern art museums, you can be thoroughly underwhelmed or even walk away uncomfortable and confused. The first exhibit was a hipster spectacular about food called Activating the City: Urban Gastronomy. They had some information …

Autumn Views | Seoul Fortress Wall

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Time and tide wait for no lady. Even when she’s like, “Can you wait a second, I’m not like…super ready for November.”  Oh, there it goes. There went November.  It’s December! I know that’s a fact, but it seems nuts. November and most of October was a blur. I went out, did things, ate things… lived my life. And now it’s cold and dark when I get off work, so it’s back to blogging I go. I return to blogging season.   Sometime in November, I went on an amazing hike in the wilds of Seoul. It was sometime after I ate pounds and pounds of Halloween candy and was feeling especially awesome guilty. The trail is tough but worth it. There are steep inclines, beautiful scenery and fresh air plopped down just for the taking. I was thrilled to find it on my second attempt after we followed a very knowledgeable and talkative dad guiding his two kids to the trail. We were especially lucky to have such a beautiful, clear day to see far and …

Seochon-dong | Hanoks & Whimsy

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  Situated to the West of Gyeongbokgung, Seochon, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Seoul, is an obvious treasure. It’s name is simply, “west village,” but that doesn’t embody the liveliness and warmth that you can experience here. Seochon hanoks were under threat of massive redevelopment and destruction up until 2008. The concerned took measures to ensure the preservation of the hanoks in this area, like that of Bukchon, the hanok village on the other side of Gyeongbokgung. And we should thank our lucky stars that this beautiful area has been saved and updated so that generations to come can walk through the streets and buy up all the things. Or just look around, that’s okay too. 🙂 In Robert J. Fouser’s book, Hanok, The Korean House, he explains how this area is an example of the neo-traditional style, or the “mixed hanok.” This new genre allows for experimentation and, perhaps more importantly, the expression of the owner’s personality. Like the city of Seoul itself, they appear similar from afar but sparkle with the color of individuality up close. Not to …

OM Restaurant & Bar | A Review

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I would love to say that I’m so dedicated to finding amazing food that I traveled all the way from Gangnam to Samcheongdong JUST to eat Indian food I read about on the internet. Honestly, though, I love Samcheongdong so it doesn’t take much to get me up there. Sure its crazy busy but there are just so many shops and cafes and galleries…it’s basically heaven, exactly what I think about when I think about how much I love Seoul. But, lets talk about OM. First off, it’s a great name. Onomatopoeia is always awesome. The foods not half bad either. We had potato samosas, chicken tandoori and palak paneer. We added some jasmine rice, garlic naan and Phil had a strawberry lassi for kicks and giggles. The samosas were very much right up my alley. Lots of spices inside with the potato and a crispy outside. My only gripe is that there were only two. An order should come with at least three. (Opinions are solely my own. No one is paying me to express …

Candles for a Cause

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I spent the best two hours last Sunday in a candle making class for one in the most adorable of shops in Jongno near Samcheongdong. If you know me well you know that this was basically as good as living a dream for me.  This is one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, parts of Seoul. Just being in the area is a good day for me but I got to actually spend time creating things in a handmade candle and jewelry shop. The best part? It was for charity! For 30,000 won you will be donating proceeds to CATS, Whisker’s Ministop. This is a beautiful organization that homes cats waiting for adoption. It is run by one woman who I quite literally don’t know how she does it all on her own.  She works a full time job, takes care of all her cats in the shelter and is always ready to help with her fosters as well. I took in my little Bacchus from CATS as a foster and fell madly in …

Arario Museum | Jongno

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I visit a lot of museums which allows me to visit some really fascinating worlds. Sometimes, they are amazingly weird and curious things. Sometimes, those things are peculiar and have an oh so unsubtle hint of dread and horror.  All in good fun, though, I’m sure. Arario Museum is a weird and wonderful world.  At times, the weird outweighs the wonderful, like the plastic mold of an artist’s head, hollowed out and filled to the brim with the artist’s real blood. Or the sparkling deer made of glass bubbles, which looks straight from Narnia, until you peek closer and realize that underneath the translucent glass bubbles is a real taxidermy deer attached to the back of another taxidermy deer. But, then there are other things that are fun and spectacular. There is an entire room dedicated to Keith Haring. There are the absurd self portraits of Cindy Sherman, which are every woman’s hilarious nightmare reflected back at us. There is also the building itself, which is dreamlike with its small circular stairwells, exposed brick, beautiful, ivy covered windows …