Hot Spots
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Super Fish for Your Stamina, Grilled Eel!!
Have you tried to eat eel before? I don’t know about other countries but here in Korea, eating eel is known for increasing your stamina but also expensive. There are many ways to eat eel but my favorite way is eating it grilled. It is very tasty and chewy. Eels are born in the ocean but migrate to rivers and then go back to the sea to begin the cycle again. That’s why they’re very rare and the meat is very nice, I guess.
The one that we visited for eel was located near our house. I was told that chefs electrocute the eels before they cook them because they’re so strong that they can’t handle them without doing so. Also I found out eel’s blood is toxic. No wonder they don’t eat eel raw or sushi. But trust me. Grilled eel could be tasty enough so you don’t have to think of other ways.
When they served the eel that we ordered, it's nothing but fish that is cut opened.
It turns yellow when it’s ready. And then you can chop it up into bite sizes.
You can’t imagine what it tastes like. Do you think it’s similar to normal fish? Totally wrong. It’s much better, chewier and tastier.
You can dip it in the sauce or wrap it in the ssam(vegetable) adding some garlic and ginger. Do you already feel your energy and stamina refilled?
Please check the information below if you’re interested in visiting the restaurant that we did.
Address : 1521, Yangjaedae-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul
Phone Number : 02-489-0010
Operating Hours : 10:00 ~ 22:00
[Menu and Price]
Eel Gui : KRW 35,000 (1 eel)
Janchi Noodle : KRW 4,000
Rice : KRW 1,000
Doenjang Jigae : KRW 1,000
Food
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Are You Pretty Enough For Olive Young?!
When I saw this shop at first several years ago, I thought there’s another new cosmetics shop launching so I never thought I would have a chance to visit there. Now I can see that it’s everywhere almost like a convenient store. I still don’t go buy at Olive Young except when I get there with my wife. And I’m still confused with its identity, ha.
But I also do know that Korean ladies love this shop. I guess they’ve been targeting girls in Korea since the beginning and did a great job on that. I tried to look it up and found this. “Olive Young is a healthy and beauty drugstore. It opened in 1999 under the management of CJ Systems for Korea’s health and beauty market. Their main slogan is ‘All live young with Olive Young.” That’s brilliant, ha. All live young with Olive Young!
Do you recognize this sign? As I said, we can see this shop almost everywhere these days.
Their display doesn’t seem to be very different from the convenient stores. But I don’t recognize most of the products there.
They look like diets foods, cosmetics, beauty items. See? No wonder, I don’t recognize most of them.
I just found out you can also buy these through their online shopping mall.
Have you heard of K-Beauty? I was told that they’re launching Olive Young in USA so they can be globally popular. They must name it after K-Pop. I guess that most of them are popular among young ladies and they’re really good at catching up with well-being trend in Korea. If you are familiar with those products and you better see them for yourself. I’m not just an Olive Young type guy, ha.
Below is some more information of Olive Young Cheonho branch but as I said, you're going to find one probably near your house or your subway station.
Address : 997, Cheonhodae-ro, Gangdong-gu, Seoul
Location : Underground Enter Six Mall in Cheonho Station, line 5 and 7
Inquiries : 02-6484-6110
Operating Hours : 10:00 ~ 22:30
Homepage : http://www.oliveyoung.co.kr/store/main/main.do
Shopping
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Godang, Another Hanok Coffee Shop!!
This coffee shop is located in Namyangju City which is quite a peaceful area, not far away from Seoul. Do you know Korean Folk Village? When you get to the entrance of this coffee shop, you’re going to be reminded that place. Have a look at those pictures below.
I was told that this coffee shop was introduced in a TV show before because of its unique style. There is a bakery as well so you can grab some bread or rice cake made by their own so you can have it with your coffee. One staff brought us inside and designated our seats. It was one of the houses and we could see several tea tables inside with mostly couples having their coffee.
This is the entrance of the coffee shop. Looks like we’re entering a huge Hanok. This one must be designed from a rich hanok because there are many detached houses inside.
There’s a sign of today’s coffee. It also says there is a 2 hour time limit when the seats are full. And no pets allowed.
Look at that clear sky. I wondered if this hanok has been preserved since the time of Choseon Dynasty or they just rebuilt it to provide coffee since the beginning.
You can have coffee outside as well. I guess it wouldn’t be easy to take seats inside the hanok because they’re always busy. It was lucky for us to have one inside though.
There is a bakery inside the coffee shop. We picked 3 kinds and they were really good. Yeah, I know. I love bread always. No wonder the shop’s full name is Godang Coffee & Bakery.
If you want to try something new to get some fresh air, for meditating, not far from Seoul, then this coffee shop would be a great place. You better drive there because it doesn’t seem very convenient to take the bus or subway to get there. But it is definitely worth driving there on your date.
Please check the below for more information if you’re interested in this coffee shop.
Address : 121, Bukhangang-ro, Joan-myeon, Namyangju-si, Kyonggi-do
Inquiries : 031-576-8090
Operating Hours : 11:00 ~ 22:00
Homepage : https://www.godangcnb.com/
[Menu and Price]
Straight Coffee : KRW 7,000
Wondu Coffee : KRW 8,000
Siru Tteok (Rice Cake) : KRW 8,000
Travel
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My Apologies! I Forgot Dak-galbi!!
Dakgalbi is such a popular Korean food so everyone loves it. I should’ve noticed that I didn’t post dakgalbi yet. My bad! Dakgalbi is a spicy stir-fried chicken dish with gochujang sauce and various vegetables. I would say that Korean ladies love it more than guys do because it’s usually quite spicy. And of course men also love to eat dakgalbi while drinking Soju. Also I know that many foreigners love to eat dakgalbi in Korea.
We visited one dakgalbi restaurant located in Namyangju City and ordered their main menu. It was of course dakgalbi and added cheese topping. When you finish your main dakgalbi, you can order a fried rice. And they will serve and cook the fried rice right in front of you. It is also great.
This is the picture of the dakgalbi we ordered with cheese topping. Does it look delicious?
Doesn’t it look spicy already because of the color? It wasn’t very spicy to be honest so I enjoyed myself too.
You can wrap it with the vegetables they serve such as lettuce and perilla leaves.
This is the fried rice that I mentioned above. It doesn’t look so good? It is really really good.
Chuncheon is the famous city for dakgalbi in Korea and as far as I know, it is the city of dakgalbi’s origin. Besides, an annual festival dedicated to dakgalbi is held in Chuncheon so you can visit there if you want a real one. It is still everywhere if you want dakgalbi near your house.
Please check the information below if you’re interested in visiting this place for Dakgal-bi.
Address : 47, Dumul-ro 39beon-gil, Namyangju City, Kyonggi Province
Phone Number : 031-527-3544
Operating Hours : 11:00 ~ 23:00
[Menu and Price]
Otu Dakgalbi : KRW 11,000 (for each)
Cheese Dakgalbi : KRW 14,000 (for each)
Fried Rice : KRW 2,000 (for each)
Budae Jigae : KRW 8,000 (for each)
Food
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I Believe I Can Fly!! Paragliding in Danyang!!
My colleague recommended me to try paragliding this time. Gees, I’m scared of heights. He showed me some pictures of what he experienced and it looked ok in the pictures. To be honest it looks very fun. I’m not sure if I would be excited when I’m just about to fly but I guess it’s worth trying. I believe that once I'm used to it then I might love it because I used to love thrill rides in amusement parks.
This place is in Danyang, Chungbuk Province and I can see that it’s also a very popular and famous region for paragliding because they have mountains everywhere. I might be hesitating right now with a thought that goes like “This is super crazy!” He said that he was repeatedly reminded to wave and smile to the camera. I doubt that I could if it was me, ha.
Look at this spectacular view of Mother Nature. It is awesome.
People started gathering for this. Are they really sure about this??
They’re really flying! They’re like birds in the sky. Still I can’t decide. I don’t know if I really want this or not!!
They also have a coffee shop and bakery on the top of the hill. That is very tempting.
For the adventurous people, this might be your favorite leisure sport. I’ve never experienced paragliding before but one day I will. Why don’t you try that now?
Here’s some more information about this place.
Address : 246-6, Sapyeong-li, Gagok-myeon, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk Province
Phone Number : 1800-3326
Length Of Time : Standard Course 60 Minutes (Moving + Prep + Flight)
Flight Fee : Standard Course KRW 110,000 (For Each)
* Each course has different time and fee. You should check on the homepage.
Homepage : http://www.dypara.com/
Entertainment
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Are You Young Enough For DOOTA Mall?!
One of the largest corporations in Korea, Doosan Company opened a huge shopping mall in 1999 near Dongdaemun and named it Doosan Tower. I remember this because I’m a huge fan of Doosan Bears Baseball Team and my dad used to work at Doosan. And this mall has changed its name to Doota Mall and has become very popular among youngsters.
I just found out that Doota Mall has its duty-free shops for tourists. They’re on 7th to 13th floor with various duty-free shops and according to them they’ve been attracting 20 million visitors each year. You can also get a Doota membership which allows members to accumulate points for discounts and special sales.
There are 2 entrances for Doota Mall. One is for the duty-free shops and the other one is for the normal shopping mall.
The normal shopping mall is from B2 to the 5th floor and the rest to the top is for duty-free shopping.
When I was younger, I used to love to go to Doota mall so I could catch up with the fashion trend but I guess I’m too old for that now, ha.
Hats, shoes, bags and accessories, you can shop tons of different kinds of fashion items here.
Below is some more information including the floor guide if you’re interested in visiting this shopping mall.
Address : Doosan Tower Bld., 275, Jangchungdan-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Inquiries : 02-3398-3333
Operating Hours : MON-SAT 10:30 ~ 05:00 (Next morning) / SUN 10:30 ~ 24:00
Homepage : http://www.doota-mall.com/en/index.do
7F - 13F: Doota Duty Free
6F: Food & Dessert, Accessories, Stationery
5F: Kids Fashion
4F: Cosmetics, Bags
3F: Womens Fashion, Shoes
2F: Womens Fashion
1F: Designer Fashion
B1: Food Court, Sportswear, Street Fashion
B2: Mens Fashion, Dining
B3-B5: Parking
Shopping
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Once Upon A Time, There Was A Hanok Village!!
As you know, there are so many cities in Korea to travel but Jeonju could be one of the most tempting places for foreigners because of the food and the places. I know it because I used to live in Jeonju city during my military service. I remember that the air and sky was much cleaner than Seoul.
Hanok means Korean traditional house and there’s a village with 7~800 hanoks gathered in the central of Jeonju city. And they make beautiful and unique eastern views. Did you know you can also stay in one of them if you want to experience the beauty of hanok?
There is a huge sign of the village entrance which is carved on the rock. It is so Korean-like, ha.
You can stop by this pavilion if you need to take a break. It has a Korean traditional style as well.
Look at this magnificence of hanoks! There are so many Korean houses gathered in a village. Looks so great.
Looks like everyone’s wearing hanbok, the Korean traditional attire. So am I supposed to wear hanbok when I visit this place? I don’t think so, ha.
Why don’t you make your trip memorable by visiting this place? You’re going to learn about Korean traditional culture for sure. Even I would like to learn that, too. Besides, Jeonju city is really famous for their delicious local foods. You’re going to love most of them.
Please check the below for more information if you’re interested in this place.
Address : 69-1, Gyo-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do
Inquiries : 063-282-1330
Admission : Free
Travel
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The Best Beef Intestines Food, Gopchang-Jeongol!!
Gopchang is one of my favorite types of food and I prefer it to be grilled when I eat gopchang. Gopchang refers to tripes in English and it’s usually expensive since it’s a part of cow. Jeongol means Korean stew or casserole and it’s usually cooked spicy since it’s a Korean typical food.
Although Gopchang-jeongol is mainly based on beef gopchang, other parts of beef tripes are also used to give the dish a better flavor and chewy texture. Gopchang-jeongol is generally eaten at restaurant specializing in gopchang dishes since cooking the dish requires not only special techniques but also very fresh ingredients.
It’s almost cooked already except for vegetables when it’s served. You’re going to feel good when you look at it boiling and being ready to eat.
This is the picture of it when it’s ready to eat. Doesn’t it look so appetizing?
This is the gopchang inside the dish. It is very chewy and delicious. I really like the texture.
When you almost finish the main dish, you can ask them to make Bibimbap with the leftovers. Trust me. You’re going to love it.
Please check the information below if you’re interested in visiting this place for Gopchang-jeongol.
Address : 4th Floor, Lotte Mall, 1050 Tongil-ro, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul
Phone Number : 02-6975-5452
Operating Hours : 11:00 ~ 22:00
[Menu and Price]
Gopchang-jeonggol : KRW 19,000 (one portion)
Bulgogi-jeongol : KRW 16,000 (one portion)
Hanwoo Shabu-shabu : KRW 32,000 (one portion)
Beef Shabu-shabu : KRW 22,000 (one portion)
Food
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Another Theme Park in Daegu, E-World
One of my colleagues from Daegu introduced me a theme park. I always thought that most of theme parks only in Seoul or nearby were the popular ones. But I realized that I was wrong. You might want to go to this theme park which is called E-World if you have a chance to visit Daegu. Only the problem is that Daegu is too far away for me to visit.
This theme park features a waterfall, fountains, lighting displays, and flowers as well as rides and restaurants. It has several plazas characterized by different themes such as Entry Plaza, Central Plaza, Children’s Plaza and Young Town Plaza. It’s open all year round so you can go there any time you want. They also provide a huge parking place. There are 2,500 parking spaces available.
This is the main sign of E-World. It also shows that it’s in Daegu.
This is called Air Race. I looked up some videos for this ride and it was so crazy. I’m not going to ride it. I feel dizzy already, ha.
He said he didn’t even know what it was but he just took a picture of it because it seemed to be very fun while they’re marching on the moving castle.
You can see a tower over there and they call it Daegu Tower. Doesn’t it look exactly the same as N-Tower in Seoul?
This is the view from the cable car. It is beautiful and colorful at night.
Here’s some more information about this place.
Address : 200, Durygongwon-ro, Dalseo-gu, Daegu City
Phone Number : 053-620-0001
Operating Hours : 10:30-19:00 (Weekdays) / 10:30-21:30 (Weekends)
Admission Fees
Admission Ticket – Adults 23,000 KRW / Teenagers 13,000 KRW / Children 12,000 KRW
Free Pass – Adults 42,000 KRW / Teenagers 37,000 KRW / Children 32,000 KRW
Night Pass – Adults 28,000 KRW / Teenagers & Children 26,000 KRW
Entertainment