Korea Day 2: Seoul [[Gyeongbokgung Palace + Tosokchon + Buckchon Hanok Village + Insadong + Myeong Dong Kyoja]]

Gyeongbokgung Palace:
Directions: Line 1, Gyeongbokgung station, exit 5
Changing of Guards: Every hour from 1000-1500

Ticket: 3000won/pax

After day one spent wandering around shopping, we planned day two to be more of a cultural day! We visited Gyeongbokgung Palace in the morning and caught the changing of Guards showcase.

The palace was quite restored and man-made. It seems to be lacking in authenticity IMO. However, it was still quite interesting walking around the compound. All the structure looks identical and thus, we did not take much photos here.

Here's a short clip on the changing of guard:

We spent around two hours in the palace and headed over to the famous Tosokchon Samgyetang for early lunch.

Tosokchon Samyetang (土俗村参鸡汤 or 토속촌):  
Address: 85-1 Chebu-dong, Jongro-gu
Directions: Gyeongbokgung Station, exit 2. Look out for GS25 convenience store after passing by popeyes. Turn left into a small lane at the corner of the store. Turn left again onto Jilhamun-ro 5-gil and go straight. You will be able to see a traditional house.

Tosokchon is famous for its chicken gingseng soup. It was pretty easy to find because you will see many others who are walking towards the same direction finding the shop. :)

When we reach at 11.30am, the shop did not have any queue. However, at about 12pm, patrons start filling up the place and soon it was full house! Do be there early to avoid the long queue!

There are only four choices for the chicken gingseng soup on menu.

Mr Kwek and I ordered both white chicken, one original and one with the extra 100 years ginseng.

Our order arrived fairly fast. The dish consist of a whole chicken filled with rice, in a claypot of gingseng broth. It was near impossible for me to finish the meal on my own! IMO, one claypot of gingseng chicken will be filling enough for two. :)

The meal each came with a small cup of gingseng wine which was sooo good! I actually loved the wine more than the meal itself. :X

Tosokchon chicken gingseng soup tasted okay. IMO, it lacks a little in the gingseng taste, even for the one that we added the extra 100 years gingseng. Also, it was on the slightly higher end in term of pricing. Nice to give it a try when there is no queue.

Buckchon Hanok Village:
Directions: Gyeongbokgung Palace Station, exit 5, walk 10-15 min along the stone wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace to the starting point of Samcheongdong Walkway

Buckchon Hanok Village in Samcheongdong is the only Hanok village that has people residing in. The village comprises of approximately nine hundred hanoks which the yangbans (people from the ruling class) used to live in during the Joseon Dynasty. Today, although not a tourist attraction, it has unfortunately become one, causing headache to many of the residence as the surrounding can become quite noisy.

There are many slopes within the village which makes strolling through the village really tiring! The village was relatively crowded too. Be prepared to be photo bombed! :P

Insadong/Ssamziegil:
Address: 38 Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-gu
Directions: Anguk Station, Exit 6. Go 100m straight, then turn left to Ssamziegil mall.
Opening hours: 1030-2200

We made our way to Insadong after visiting the Buckchon Hanok Village. Insadong is officially my favourite place in Seoul! Love the fusion of cultural and modern art twist in this place! Insadong is lined with antique shops and art galleries; while the mordern Ssamziegil complex within Insadong adds a little modern twist to the place.

Ssamziegil complex is relatively easy to spot as you walk along the Insadong street. The complex holds four levels of mix cultural and modern hadicraft shops with a roof top terrace. On the first floor, easily spotted at a corner of the complex is the famous "poo" bread! Nothing fantastic but good to have during the cold weather: a pipping hot redbean bun in the shape of a poo!

The complex is built sloped up/down in circles connecting the four levels. No stairs climbing required! :) We had a great time squeezing ourselves through the tiny walkway as well, the little craft shops. Got myself a hand-made name bracelet from on of the shops!

We made our way up to the roof top terrace and purchased a lovetag, to be hung on the terrace as a memento.:)

 After leaving the complex, we continued walking down the streets and purchased the famous weird shaped corn-cone ice cream to eat! This is highly recommended to try! The BEST cone ice cream i ever had. The cone is made of a corn chip, shaped into a "J", with ice cream pipped to fill the cone. Love love love this very much!

The shop can be spotted very easily with firstly the long queue and secondly, the odd shaped cones hanging outside the shop!

Myeong Dong:
We left for Myeong Dong in the evening for dinner. Along the way, there were so many street foods! The greedy me just had to get something to munch on our way to our dinner venue. Got a savory-sweet egg bread to share with Mr Kwek. It was so-darn good too! *Highly recommended*

Myeong Dong Kyoja 명동교자:
Address: 25-2 Myeong Dong 2ga, Jung-gu
Direction: Myeong Dong Station, exit 8. Go straight 200m between family mart and tous les jour.

 Kyoja is famous for its dumpling (mandu) and knife-cut noodles (kalguksu). When we arrived at 7pm, the restaurant was full house. We had to queue for approximately half an hour before we got a tiny two sitters to ourselves. We ordered as like the Koreans: one serving of steamed mandu and one bowl of original kalguksu to share.

The meal was very chinese! Too chinese for our liking as a korean delicacy. However, the noodles were really good. Chewy and soft. :)

After dinner, we wandered around Myeong Dong for a little shopping before heading back to our hotel for the night.

Ended the day with freshly bought korean strawberries! Totally living up to it's name, the berries were so so so SWEET! :)

We retired to bed after our sweet snack to prepare for an early start to Nami Island and Petite France the next day! Do stay tune to my next entry. :)

Korea Day 1: Seoul [[Ewha Woman University + N Seoul Tower + Namdaemun]]

Korea Day 3: Seoul [[Nami Island + Petite France + Red Sun Budae-jjigae + Dongdaemum]]

Korea Day 4: Seoul [[Panmunjom JSA + DMZ + 3rd Tunnel Tour+Gwangjang Market]]

Korea Day 5: [[Suwon Hwaseong Fortress+ Folk Village + Walnut cake+ Lotteria + Haha Restaurant Pal Ja Mak Chang]]

Korea Day 6: Busan [[Nampodong Street + Yongdusan Park + Busan Tower + Gwangbok-dong Cultural & Fashion Street + Jagalchi Market + Gwangalli beach]]

Korea Day 7 Finale: Busan [[Haedong Yonggungsa Temple + Haeundae Beach + Gukbap Alley + Gamcheon Culture Village]]

Walk 120 meters towards Hyoja-dong. You will past “popoyes”, then look for GS25 convenience store, turn into the small lane at the corner of this store. Turn left onto Jihamun-ro 5-gil. - See more at: http://www.pigpigscorner.com/2012/10/tosokchon-samgyetang.html#sthash.9zp8zRm3.dpuf

Walk 120 meters towards Hyoja-dong. You will past “popoyes”, then look for GS25 convenience store, turn into the small lane at the corner of this store. Turn left onto Jihamun-ro 5-gil. - See more at: http://www.pigpigscorner.com/2012/10/tosokchon-samgyetang.html#sthash.9zp8zRm3.dpuf

Walk 120 meters towards Hyoja-dong. You will past “popoyes”, then look for GS25 convenience store, turn into the small lane at the corner of this store. Turn left onto Jihamun-ro 5-gil. - See more at: http://www.pigpigscorner.com/2012/10/tosokchon-samgyetang.html#sthash.9zp8zRm3.dpu