Day 8: New Year's Eve in Seoul

I remember day 8 quite clearly because it was New Year's Eve!

We were back in Seoul the night before, and the day's itinerary was...

EWHA's Womans University! 

The university is home to the largest underground in Korea (which I personally think is really cool. Classes are spent like TMNT would lol) 

What I thought was interesting was how they had a special meaning behind what you would think is a misspelling or lacking an apostrophe but the early founders of the college intentionally spelled it as Womans instead of Womn because they thought that every woman is to be respected, hence they chose the word "woman" to avoid lumping the students together under the word "women".

Before you wonder why we went to a university in Seoul, know that the university is actually smack in one of the best shopping streets you can find, filled with shoe shops, accessory shops, clothing shops, cafes and hair salons, which are generally cheaper priced than other streets because they are meant to cater to university students.

 The school’s name “Ewha” was bestowed by Emperor Gojong (the 26th king of the Joseon Dynasty, 1863~1907). The three virtues Ewha promotes are truth, goodness, and beauty (why am I not surprised beauty is a virtue in a Korean uni).

We then had lunch in one of the Korean restaurants in Ewha street (you will be pleased that any restaurant you go into will have really good Korean food)

I decided to get out of my comfort bubble and ordered cold noodles, which I ended up not able to stomach. I made my BF have most of it. I guess I couldn't accept my noodles being cold. I am not exactly adventurous with food, but hey at least I can say I've tried it.

My BF's Bibimbap which I ended up eating most of. Haha.

I read somewhere that coffee in Korean isn't great because they skimp on the coffee beans, but I thought this one was really strong, aka GOOD! I like my coffee strong :-)

We randomly walked into a shoe shop that is underground. It was what I believe was one the of most amazing things I've ever seen in my life. It wasn't like any shoe shop I've ever seen anywhere:

Much like how Bosu-dong was with books, this was the Bosu-dong of shoes.

There were shoes of all styles on the floor, on the walls, on the ceilings, everywhere

The ahjussi inside naturally didn't let me leave without buying any, so I left with a pair of sleek black heels for work. He wanted me to buy 2 (he kept speaking in bits of Mandarin) and offered me "Brunei discount" in the cutest way possible. It was a bit overwhelming with so many shoes to choose from that I didn't know where to start looking so I just started somewhere in the middle. I absolutely loved it.

After that, I went to look for a nail salon to do my miserable nails which were all chipped. They were Christmas nails and technically it was already New Year's so..

We went into a quaint pink nail salon, where we waited for a bit while the lady was done with a customer before me.

Here was where I saw the fattest cat I have ever seen..... 

My BF was really the sweetest and he stayed and waited for me while I had my nails done. :-)

I initially wanted something cute and fancy gel nails with diamonds but you would not believe the price of doing your nails in Korea!

I did my research on Korean nail designs but I was silly enough not to check the prices beforehand! I sure took advantage of the cheap nail services in Brunei.

The design I initially wanted was 100,000 Korean Won! Yes that is around $140 Brunei!

So I just opted for normal gel nails instead...

One-color gel nails was 38,000 Won, while mine (with just two in different color) was another 10,000 won more so it was 48,000 won overall. Pricey but hey, when in Rome right?

I will always pay for the experience :-)

After that, we left Ewha and went back to get ready for our NYE dinner at Peninsula Restaurant in Lotte Hotel, Myeongdong.

I made reservations online about a month ago. Peninsula Restaurant is an Italian restaurant.

Yep, this is the Hall of Fame-ish entrance to Lotte Myeongdong (Lotte Hotel) is in the same building.

Lotte is one of the (if not the) biggest companies in Korea, and has the most famous Korean ambassadors.

This is the closest I could get to my Oppa...

Gosh, I was so happy hahaha I absolutely adore Lee Min Ho!

I opted for the set course, which came with starters, mains (I chose the steak) and dessert. Dinner over wine was lovely, and it was the perfect NYE I wanted. After that, we went shopping in Hyundai Outlet Mall, and waited for the clock to strike midnight at a cafe in Dongdaemun over Cass Beer.

Although it wasn't a party or a big event, it was the best NYE I've had so far and I wouldn't have had traded it for anything! #introvertconfessions

xxx

Day 7: Strolling in Busan

I know its been weeks since my last update, but my home wifi was down for that long because someone knocked my house telephone pole down... And Telbru needed weeks to order the pole in (?)

Anyway, Day 7 was spent in Busan.

We could take the next train back so we weren't too worried about rushing for the train back to Seoul. We spent the day in Busan and only went to Seoul Station at about 5 PM to catch the train back.

It was still December so the Christmas decorations were still up!

 Streets of Busan

 The streets near our hotel and BIFF Square had these statues all over, making it feel really artistic and hipster all around!

 I tried this yummy fish cake (sooo many varieties to choose from) while in Lotte Mall

with Brown Bear outside the LINE store. I bought a really cute iPhone case that I am using now :-)

We then made our way to discover BIFF Square which is the Busan International Film Festival Square. Much like the name suggests, it is the venue for the festival that takes place annually.

When we were there, it was a street lined with street food and shops everywhere, much like Myeongdong.

 I don't know what this is called, but it was jelly with sweet dip and peanut powder

 Entrance arch of BIFF Square

 I randomly made a stop at this street food stall, and boy am I glad I did. It was very simply named e "beef sushi" so I placed an order for it. The beef slices were so thin that they cooked it like that with the 'pistol' as seen above.

 Tips(?) and photos with who I assume are famous people

 Ta-da. BOY was it AMAZING I can still remember how heavenly it tasted. Who knew something so simple would leave such an everlasting impression? The beef was ohhhhh so tender, I really would love nothing but to have another bite now!!

After strolling around BIFF Square eating and shopping, my BF took me to find the Bosu-dong Book Street, which was something I read off the internet.

We did quite the walk to find the street, but eventually we found it. It was a tiny alley leading into the most lovely sight:

 books..

books.. 

 books here, there and everywhere!

 books on the ceilings, books on the floors, books on the shelves

 even old school tapes!

 and records!

 and MORE BOOKS!!!

The above picture was taken at a cafe inside a bookstore, where the couples were all snapping selfies away.

 I felt nothing but soooooo much joy to be surrounded by so many books. Most if not all of the books are preloved, which to me, just adds character. Unfortunately, after spending a lot of time there, I left empty-handed because most of the books were in hangul. There were a couple of English books but I think it was less than 10% of the Street. Nevertheless, I do recommend the street if you're an avid book lover. I appreciated just being there.

Bosu-dong Book Street was formed after the independence of Korea (August 15) as a residential area in the empty place where the previous Gukje Market was demolished. People started selling the books Japanese left behind, and later on, when it became a private area, book sellers moved to the current place to sell their books. [source]

How to get there:

1) Toseong Station (Busan Subway Line 1), Exit 1.
Take a right at the corner of Busan Bank and walk along the street until the Bosu Four-way intersection (sageori).
The book street will be located on the left. 

2) Jagalchi Station (Busan Subway Line 1), Exit 3.
Take a right immediately and then walk straight for about 620m.
Cross the main road, Daecheong-ro, and the book street is straight ahead.

Took these two shots of the plants by the street because they looked so much like vegetables.. guess which?

My BF amongst his species

We spent Day 2 in Busan basically just discovering BIFF Square and searching for the Bodusong Book Street, instead of visiting the temple or going to Taejongdae because it was so cold (Taejongdae is by the sea). I would love to return to Busan again one day, spend more time there and do all of those things and more.

After that, we went to Seoul Station to purchase our tickets back to Seoul. We were lucky enough to get seats, but we had to be seated separately, which wasn't so bad because there was wifi on the train, which meant I could watch shows and I spend the ride listening to music. 

We got back to Seoul around 9PM, and we settled on eating nearby our apartment in Dongdaemun. We had really delicious beef ribs soup (yes!) just a couple of blocks down across the street.

 pork dumplings because pork dumplings

scrumptious beef ribs soup that I miss so much!

xxx