Friday, February 26, 2010
I BOUGHT THE GEAR AND MARY SAID "SEEYA" LITTLE DID I KNOW IT WAS "MADE IN KOREA?": On personal privilege. I'm going to Seoul for five days on business in April and will have a free day ahead of my meetings and then a free morning after. Unfortunately, my preferred tourist attraction - the Panmunjom conference rooms at the DMZ -- is closed on the Monday and the tour wouldn't get back in time for my flight on the Friday. Any suggestions from the peanut gallery on things to see? If it matters, I'm staying very near the old Olympic Park and atop the COEX, the ROK equivalent of the Mall of America.
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ReplyDelete<p><span>The Seoul Tower is a great way to see the city at night- and is a nice walk to have before/after dinner. And in Seoul Plaza it's fun to walk around Deoksugung, and maybe catch the changing of the guard. It's centrally located at the City Hall Station, and there's a neighboring art museum worth checking out that has mostly impressionist/modern stuff. And shopping in Insadong can be tourist-trappy at times, but there is an AWESOME tea house tucked away in there- Sin Yetchatjip, which is one of the oldest in Seoul. The tea is pricey, but wonderful- it's a nice oasis in a busy part of town, and is beautiful. And there are talking parrots that are allowed to fly freely, but were surprisingly well-behaved (and speak Korean!)<span>. Are you looking for places to eat too?</span></span>
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Most definitely would love some restaurant recommendations -- I have a couple of dinners/lunches on my own in this and want to take in as much as I can.
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ReplyDelete<span><span>You can’t go wrong with food stalls if you’re an adventurous eater, especially in Kwangchang market. Hongik Sootbul Kalbi</span></span><span> has great kalbi (Korean BBQ). It’s near Hongik University at exit 4 of the Hongdae Station, and the reason it is so good (and busy) is because the guy who owns it is a butcher, and is painstaking about the way the meat is cut. Be prepared to smell like meat and smoke for the rest of the night though- I read somewhere that they’ve started to offer to put your coats in bags to protect it from the smell, which I sort of wish they’d done when I was there- but the food was so good, I still don’t regret it. </span>
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<span>And one of my fondest memories was watching "Ratatouille" in Seoul with my Korean friends, and then going out to </span><span>Baengnyeon Samgyetang restaurant afterwards. My friends, inspired by the movie, wanted to have something that was the best in the city (and something that we could all afford on our student budgets). Samgyetang is usually a summer recipe, and even though it's a hot chicken and gingseng soup, it’s traditionally eaten on the hottest day of the year. The locals consider this the best place around for it, and it is so, so good. To get there, take Line 2 to Hongik University, Exit 6. I'll wrack my brain for some more fine dining options closer to you, but I think those were my favorites.</span><span></span>
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This is all fantastic and I'm reasonably adventerous about this stuff. I don't want fancy-fancy dining, I want the sort of place Anthony Bourdain would want to eat - the BBQ place sounds especially good. It's my own firm, so the budget is an issue, but all of these suggestions sound brilliant. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteOh, if the budget is an issue don't worry about Hongik BBQ (unless your budget is very tight). Last I checked it was 15,000 won per person (with the exchange rate now, I think that comes to $14?) and they give you a lot of food- it's one of the best deals in the city, in my opinion. Beer Oak is also a fun spot, where they grill the chicken over a spit, and you can top it off with a gigantic glass of $2 beer- Bourdain would hate the beer, but love the chicken.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, have a great time and happy travels!
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