October {10/1-10/15} 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚

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Monthly Favorites

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Moods:

Excited, Adventurous, Curious, Overstimulated

The start of October will be a busy month. I will first talk about my favorite cafe and cafe culture in general as I have found one this month. My favorite cafe is called Koriko cafe located in Yeongnam near Hongdae. The cafe is studio Ghibli theme and so when you enter the place is decorated with Ghibli theme items more specifically from Kiki’s delivery service. The food is also a Ghibli theme, hosting both pastries and savory goods that are shaped like the characters from the movie. Now onto cafe culture as a whole. Korea is known for its extravagant cafes; they go above and beyond in terms of their interior as well as the food they serve to match the theme of the place themselves. In my experience cafe hopping no cafes are the same as others so you will always get a unique experience no matter which location you go to + the food is affordable, and you may be able to purchase exclusive cafe merch! I have conjured up a list of the top cafe places I visited in Korea so if you guys want a peek into that feel free to send me a message! 

Now onto visiting historical places! This month it was one of my friends' birthdays who is also a Freeman scholar! On her birthday we visited popular tourist attractions such as Bukchon Hanok Village and Gyeongbokgung Palace to wear traditional clothing called Hanbok which is a total MUST when you visit Korea. Both places offered a look into Korean culture in the olden days as they kept building preservation. This month we also visited fun tourist places as well such as Lotte World and Everland. Lotte World is a bit smaller than Everland, but they have a variety of merchandise that you can purchase and a castle similar to Disneyland to take pics in. They have a nice indoor amusement park, and it was really fun dressing as students as it was a MUST to do in Lotte World. Just note it can be quite busy because it is smaller so queuing for rides took maybe 3+ hours to do. Everland was much bigger which is probably why I preferred it more as there was so much to do and since it is more spread out, waiting in line did not take that long compared to Lotte World. Everland just like Lotte World has tons of merchandise and is known for Panda’s as they hold a Panda exhibit that you can visit. Everland has a lot of different areas with themes that I wish I was able to explore all; some areas include a garden, a zoo, a panda exhibit, a western theme, a space theme, as well as a circus theme. I would love to come back and visit Everland again as there was still so much left to explore. 

Traveling outside of Seoul: Me and my friends took countless trips outside of Seoul. These trips include going to Nami Island to reconnect with nature and to see my friend's skyline to the islands. Going to Pyeongcheong to see BTS Snoop House where the K-pop group BTS hosted their variety show. The commute was super long as me and my friend had to take a bullet train to that side of Korea. It was a fantastic journey though as we were also granted a tour of Pyeongcheong’s mountains and temples. Now for a nightmare story! The journey to Incheon for the K-Link Festival. The K-Link Festival was an event to see your favorite K-pop artist perform for a small price of USD 1! It was located at Inspire Arena in Incheon. All I can say from this moment is that I wish my friends, and I would take a taxi to the location instead of the subway because it was such a stressful transportation day! A lot of weird events happened which included seeing bikes inside subways, a lost tourist man asking for money, and getting stranded at Incheon airport. Even though this moment was crazy I was glad I experienced it because I got to see my favorite artist for the first time for one dollar! A WIN IS A WIN! 

Now to wrap up the first half of October I saw two concerts that being Enhyphen and Seventeen! Refer to my last blog on how to score K-pop tickets. Anyway, both concerts were so much fun, me and my friend were quite nervous during ticketing as both groups are considered very popular both internationally and domestically, luckily, we were able to get tickets! As a Carat I was super excited to see Seventeen as I have been following their music since I was like 9 years old. All I can say is DREAMS do come true!! See you all in the latter half of October. 

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Locations:

Incheon, South Korea

• Incheon International Airport

• Inspire Arena

• Inspire Entertainment

Seoul, South Korea

• Myeong-dong

  • Nine Tree Premier Hotel ||

  • Olive Young

  • 12-Story Daiso

  • Cathedral Church

  • Butter

  • Line Friends

  • Pop Mart

  • Emis

  • Twosome Cafe

  • Poem Cafe

  • Blue Elephant

• Anam-dong

  • Korea University

  • Twosome Cafe

  • Costco

  • Home Plus

• Insa-dong

  • Alive Museum

  • Ssamziegil

  • Poop Cafe

  • Green Lung Plaza

  • National Museum of Contemporary Art

  • Tamburins

  • Jogyesa Temple

  • National Folk Museum of Korea

  • Acorn Cafe

  • Bukchon Hanok Village

  • Gyeongbokgung Palace

  • Cafe Onion

• Iksa-dong

  • Don't Look Up

  • Soha Salt Bread

• Hongdae

  • Pop Mart

  • Sanrio Lovers Cafe

  • Honeybee Manhwa Cafe

  • Running Man's Haha & Jungkook Restaurant

  • Rock-Q Coin Karaoke

  • Rachel's Cafe

  • Meerkat Cafe

  • Colllin Cafe

  • Zero Space

• Seongsu-dong

  • Levi Pop-Up Event

  • Tamburins

  • Dior

  • Dasique

  • Matin Kim

  • Samo Ondoh

  • Emis

  • Stand Oil

  • Fwee

  • Point of View

  • Cafe Onion

  • RM's Sister Cafe

  • Ader Error

  • Rafre Fruit

  • SM Entertainment

  • Cube Entertainment

  • Seoul Forest

  • Kwangya

  • Balbal Vintage

• Dongdaemun

  • Dongdaemun Plaza (DDP)

  • PC cafe

  • Dongmyo Flea Market

  • Dongdaemun Shopping Complex

• Sinchon

  • Yonsei University

  • Sogang University

  • Gabean Cafe

  • Ewha Woman's University

  • Potid

  • Waffle it Up

• Gangnam

  • Coex Mall

  • Coex Aquarium

  • BTS Restaurant

  • Big Hit Building

  • Gangnam Style Statue

  • Starfield Library

  • Bongeunsa Temple

• Yeouido

  • Han River

  • Times Square Mall

  • Kyobo Book Store

• Hannam

  • Starfield Mall

  • Smob

  • Gentle Monster

• Yeonam

  • Overdeep Cafe

  • Koriko Cafe

• Yongsan

  • Hybe Building

  • Namsan Tower

  • National Museum of Korea

  • Jeonjaeng Foundation War Memorial Hall

  • National Hangul Museum

• Itaewon

  • Itaewon Row

  • Leeum Art Museum

• Gwahwamun

  • Kyobo Bookstore

  • King Sejeong The Great Statue

  • Lotteria

  • Seoul History Museum

• Jamsil

  • Jamsil Stadium

  • Lotte World

• Goyang

  • Cafe Pokpo

  • Goyang Stadium

• Nami Island

• Everland

• Apgujeong

  • Stussy

  • Nudake

Pyeongcheong, South Korea

• BTS Snoop House