Korea 2011 - Hongdae, the place bursting with life!

Hongdae is one of my most favourite places in Seoul. Hongdae is in short for Hongik Daehakyo, or Hongik University.

It is less commercialized as compared to Myeong Dong, and is a popular spot amongst locals and youths. There are manyyyy things to see in Hongdae, and it homes over hundreds of cafe in just that area!!! I have over 300 photos for the cafes there, and I will be blogging it separately from this post soon.

There are a lot of small shops selling apparel, accessories, gifts, collectibles and there is a free market (flea market) every weekend. There is a great range of food there as well, most popular will be the 고기구이/ barbeque meat restaurants!

Korea 2011 - Myeong Dong, famous for everything n nothing!

Myeong Dong 명동 lies in the heart of Seoul, it is known as a "must-visit" and a heaven for shopping.. I have a second opinion to it though. Yes, it is comprehensive and you can find multiple shops of the same big brands like Etude House, Face Shop, Nature Republic etc, and it won't be hard to find your favourite international brands like Forever21 etc here as well. However, most clothes are more expensive than those you can find elsewhere in Seoul (like Ewha), and because it's a "gold mine" for shoppers, it's even harder to get any discounts or bargains here.

However, it is still a "must-visit" for the city buzz, good food, and overwhelming fashion-candies.

Korea 2011 - Garosugil and Rainbow Cafe

Garosugil 가로수길, or Tree-lined Street in english, is a really nice hideout near the Apgujeong area in Seoul, and can be accessed from the Sinsa subway station.

As the name suggests, this entire street is less than 1 kilometre but filled with many interesting cafes and shops within the short buildings. The whole lane is pretty artistic and each individual store is a compilation of everything nice.

Korea 2011 - Found Gold in Ewha!

Ewha or Ewha Women's University (Ewha Daehakyo/E-dae/이대) is a popular hang out for the young people in Seoul.

It's located just stops away from downtown, also one of the university populated areas. It can be compared to Bugis in Singapore, because there is a university nearby and is almost always crowded with youngsters. hahah.

It is really one of the best shopping areas in Seoul, I say. There are so many things to see there, and IT'S THE PLACE TO FIND CHEAP STUFF! My friends and I went crazy shopping there. haha.

Korea 2011 - Cat Cafes!

Korea has a culture of pets cafe. These cafes keep a dozens of pets in the cafe and for most of them, you have to pay a one off fee (about 8000 won) for entrance, and you are entitled a drink and a 1-2 hours stay there.