After what seemed like a lifetime of preparation, I finally made a trip back to Korea to see the Country of my birth!
After Mom passed away, I knew that I wanted to know more about Korea and where I came from. I still didn’t have the desire to find my birth family, but I knew traveling to Seoul (and hopefully, Daegu - where I was born) was going to be an emotional experience.
In January of 2019, I enrolled in Korean language classes at Hills Learning Center near Grand Central Station. The first few months of the year were filled with learning Hangeul, pronunciations and trying not to get everything too confused with the Mandarin that was still sitting somewhere in my brain.
After lots of back and forth planning, dates for the trip were chosen - I would fly into Taipei and meet my Dad & Jim for the last weekend of October; which also happened to be Gay Pride in Taiwan & their first Pride post-legalizing same sex marriage & becoming the first Asian Country to do so. Then we’d fly into Seoul the following Tuesday and visit Holt International Children’s Services - where I was adopted from.
Below, you’ll find a day-by-day account of my trip with some photos of each day to scroll through. I hope you enjoy the experience and stories as much as I did!
Thursday, October 24th & Friday, October 25th, 2019
I spent most of Thursday on a flight from JFK to Hong Kong - which wasn’t the most fun way to spend 16+ hours, but at least I was able to catch up on TV & movies I had been wanting to watch (Booksmart, Big Little Lies: Season 2, & the “live action” The Lion Kingˆ). Originally, Jim and I had planned on meeting HKG and spending a few hours there before going into Taipei, but oops - he booked his ticket for the DAY BEFORE I was going to get there. Somehow, I managed to navigate through the airport, customs and find my gate. I also spent some time wandering the airport and browsing the stores - a concept not really understood in Asia. The sales associates followed me around in Balenciaga & Burberry, ready to help & not realizing I could never afford anything in those spaces. I did find the wonderful “The Magic of Hong Kong Disneyland” store in the airport, so that kept me occupied for a bit as I found all sorts of HK exclusive Disney treats for myself and for gifts!
When I finally landed in Taipei, I worked to find my way out through Customs and meet Dad to get to the airport. While in line, I befriended several groups of gay men - who were all in town for Pride weekend, and hoped we might run into each other at some point during the weekend’s festivities. I was able to find my bags & Dad fairly fast and then we were onto the train back to the hotel.
Once I was settled, we walked over to the Raohe Street Night Market to shop and find something to eat. I definitely didn’t feel like eating street meat right out of the gate, but found a fried dough pancake and a sweet snack to take back to the hotel with me. Then it was finally time to wash the plane travel off and rest for my first official day in Taipei!
Saturday, October 26th, 2019
In the morning, Dad & I decided to go out to try and find some breakfast. There was a Louisa Coffee shop just across the street from our hotel, but alas - they didn’t have any non-dairy milks (if only I’d know what a challenge that would be, I would have packed WAY more Lactaid) or chai tea! So, we found ourselves at MOS Burger - where I tried their breakfast sandwich with a fried egg & gravy; almost like a Loco Moco on a burger bun!
We then spent some time in the Tsutaya Bookstore across from MOS Burger & Dad found some great music. He’s always on the hunt to find “traditional” music from whatever Country he’s visiting, especially if it’s an Asian one!
Then it was time to go and meet Jim. We agreed to meet up by the Taipei 101 building, which was lucky as our hotel had a free shuttle bus to the 101 building! We found Jim and explored the perimeter and inside the 101, before meeting up with one of his friends for lunch. We ended up at Curry House Coco for Japanese-style curry, meanwhile Dad abandoned us to go and get sushi at another restaurant; even in Taipei he wants sushi!
After lunch, Jim and I split off from Dad to go and walk around Taipei. We wandered into the Pride festivities - street fair, parade line-up, grabbed lots of free goodies and even ran into a boy dressed at Kat Denning’s character from Two Broke Girls (who knew they were popular in Asia!?). From the street fair, we went to the National Chian Kai-shek Memorial Hall and viewed the monuments and temples. Since Jim had lived in Taipei for years, he was able to give me a bit of a history lesson and basically act as my own personal tour guide.
Jim then took me to the Ximen Ding shopping district and into the Creative Boutique at Ximen Red House. While he pursued new Pride-themed clothing, I stumbled upon a booth with a bunny named “Mochi” with the cutest merchandise! I left with a t-shirt printed with various styles of dumplings, a plush xiao long bao bunny and some toys for Ellie! While we wandered around Ximen Ding, I wanted to pop into the Adidas store to see what kinds of cool streetwear they would have. There I found the coolest hoodie; a collaboration between Korean designer, J-Koo and Adidas Originals, it had a high-low hem with the classic 3-stripe design. I picked it up because it seemed just like the right amount of odd for me & tried it on almost as a joke…but then it looked so cool, I knew I had to buy it!
By dinnertime, Jim was off to meet up with some friends and to enjoy the Pride festivities. I met Dad back at our hotel and we had dinner in the hotel restaurant, Que. Although, it was highly rated, I was disappointed in my pork chop and was craving something sweet. Dad and I headed back to the Raohe Street Night Market to find a treat - hopefully the milk bubble tea shaved ice I had seen the night before. Ugh, they must have moved - I searched and searched but no luck. We just need up with plain shaved iced topped with boba, jelly and syrup! Whomp whomp. Still hungry, I found some egg cakes in the shape of Hello Kitty, Spongebob, My Melody and Doraemon! Tasty and about $2 for 6!
Then it was off to celebrate Pride with the boys at G’Star - the most popular gay bar in Taipei! Oof, the line was LONG…but luckily Lung (Jim’s friend) had connections & I was in past the 3+ block line in minutes! The club was packed (apparently, there are no occupancy guidelines in Taipei) and you could feel the floor move beneath you. There was a moment when I said to a friend “You know what would really get this club excited? If they played some Carly Rae Jepsen!” & the next song came on was “Now That I Found You!”
Since the last trains were at midnight, I attempted to leave the club on time - but it was so crowded it took me almost 15 minutes to squeeze past everyone and make it outside! I then went running down the street, where I made the 2nd to last train and got back to the hotel. Phew!
Sunday, October 27th, 2019
On Sunday morning, Jim wanted to meet up for xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung. Dad was hesitant to go, since he “already been there,” but how can you pass up XLB from DTF IN Taipei!? We even sat at the same table that Dad has been at earlier in the week - which made him seem almost proud that he already knew a spot that we wanted to eat at.
After lunch, Dad wanted to go and visit more temples, so Jim & I set off on our own again. First stop, Sunmerry bakery for some delicious pineapple cake & other treats. Normally, I’m not a fan of pineapples, but these cakes were moist and delicious. I even found one what was a chai tea variety.
Then it was off to the Longshan Temple - which was fascinating to see and watch people remember their loved ones and see what kinds of altars they had setup. From there, we were onto the National Palace Museum to see the famous Jade Cabbage! Who knew that a Country could be so obsessed with a piece of jade!? They were really capitalizing on the tourist market with Jade Cabbage necklaces, pens, magnets, notebooks, replicas, etc. If you could think of it, they probably had it! Unfortunately, the “meat stone” wasn’t there and I didn’t feel like a postcard or magnet could make up for seeing the item in real life. By mid-afternoon, I was ready to sit down and let my feet rest. The Xianjufu Cafe in the Museum seemed like the best place for this and they had a bubble tea pudding!?
Before meeting up with Lung & his family for a traditional dinner at Shin Yeh - Jim & I walked through the night market. It was here that I found heaven - meaning bubble milk tea flavored candy, pineapple cake and mochi! The saleswoman knew she had a sucker when she told e that I could get anything 2 for 1! So, yes, I got 3 bags of candy!
Monday, October 28th, 2019
For our last full day in Taipei, Dad & I met up with Jim for a traditional Taiwanese breakfast. We had so many fried things; dough, pancakes, dumplings, rice roll and some omelettes! Who would have guessed that the small stand would have so many delicious and cheap treats!? I think my favorite was the fried pancake stuffed with chives and clear noodles; but anything with carbs on carbs is good for me.
From there, we popped into Starbucks for coffee and although they didn’t have chai - they did have soy milk! Finally, I could get a drink at a coffee shop. From there we went to Huashan 1914 Creative Park - a recently remodeled outdoor space with shops, restaurants and art installations. Then walking through the area, I tried to go into the Dadaocheng Theater to see what they might be showing or what kinds of theater memorabilia they might have. Sadly, they were closed!
Jim & I then went onto Fort San Domingo & the Tamsui Historical Museum before walking along the Tamsui River Side & the Customs Wharf. There were lots of interesting shops, treats and I finally got a bubble tea at Milk Shop.
Other highlights of the day included walking by where Dad when to kindergarten, tiny egg tarts and dinner with Dad’s co-workers…that is until I got food poisoning from the tiny egg tarts and had to throw up 3 times at dinner! Not the best impression to make…at least they were understanding and helped me find the Taiwanese version of Pepto Bismol.
Tuesday, October 29th, 2019
For our last day in Taipei, I wanted to run some errands and revisit a few places before we headed to Seoul. I took the shuttle back to the Taipei 101 Building, snapped some photos by the Landmark Love sculpture and popped into the Gap store feat. Jolin Tsai on the window. While I wanted a souvenir from Gap in Taiwan, I didn’t see any merchandise that was too different from what I could get in the States.
The highlight of my morning was when I wandered into to the Eslite Bookstore - almost 7 floors of books, music and gifts; great for browsing and gift finding! This also made me realize how much my Mandarin skills have deteriorated over the years…I couldn’t figure out a lot of the text without Dad or Jim to help me translate. After I picked up some gifts, I went back to the hotel to pack up and check-out.
Needing a quick lunch before we headed to the airport, I found myself back at MOS Burger, but this time for their rice burger - basically the fried egg burger I had a few days ago, but on a rice & quinoa bun/patty. And…it came with a side of chicken nuggets! I think Jim knew the way to my heart by suggesting this menu item. It was definitely my kind of fast food joint!
One of Dad’s colleague’s, Ying, picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the airport. Once we found our gate and sent Dad to get a snack, Jim & I walked around TPE and found a Hello Kitty traveling area (thus all the photos)! Of course, there was a Sanrio Gift Gate right nearby and a super cool toy store called Kidzland. I restrained myself from buying anything from either store, with the idea that I would be finding quite a few things to bring home from Seoul.
Finally, boarding time arrived and we got some snacks and settled in for the quick flight to Seoul. Arriving in Seoul at ICN, we were greeted by a giant BLACKPINK poster welcoming us to Korea and then it was off to the taxis. As I tried to use my minimal Korean to give them our hotel address, they took one look at us and all of our bags & they pointed down the ramp and said “Jumbo Taxi.” I was amused by the terminology until we walked up to a big black van that was literally labeled as “JUMBO TAXI.” The ride wasn't bad and we were to the hotel in just under an hour - but starving by the time we arrived. We wandered around by the hotel, Jim went out to meet up with boys and I navigated my way through the self-order kiosk at McDonald’s.
Wednesday, October 30th, 2019
For our first official day in Seoul, we traveled to the opposite side of the city to visit the Olympic Park! Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been mildly obsessed with the Olympics - mostly the Summer Games. I knew that the 1988 Games took place in Seoul; while I was too young to watch the Games at that time, but I knew that it was important. The boycott and the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around battle between Elena Shushunova, Daniela Silivas and Svetlana Boginskya were the key points for me.
(When we took the train out, we ended up taking Line 8 towards the “Moran” station - which only reminded me of Margaret Cho’s Korean name, Moran and how her mom use to shout it at her, making is sound like she was a “moron.”)
After breakfast, we found our way to Seoul Olympic Stadium and more importantly the KSPO Dome, which also served as the Olympic Gymnastics Hall. Unfortunately, the building wasn’t open to the public and I couldn’t find a gift shop anywhere. We walked around the park before finding the World Peace Gate where I made Jim take photos of me trying to jump infront of the gate and get a great shot for the ‘gram! (You can see some of the photos below.)
We then wandered down the Olympic Park Walking Path before heading towards the Lotte World Mall. Inside the mall, we found some great shops - including MINISO and Bandi & Luni’s. I was also on a mission to find the tribute to “Gangnam Style” the K-Pop breakout by Psy - which was a big sculpture of two hands doing the music video’s signature move! Being without Google Maps made things a little challenging, but we finally managed to find it. I tried to convince Dad to take a photo doing the moves infront of the sculpture, but no luck.
After finding the sculpture, we went into the COEX mall and wandered through the shops. By far, the best part was the Starfield Library with it’s flood to ceiling wall of books and a giant iridescent light installation. (Great for photo shoots; which many other tourists were taking part in.) While I wandered around the mall, Dad quickly found a place to sit down and take a nap. Meanwhile, I stumbled upon Kakao Friends and all of their kawaii-cuteness. I managed not to buy anything here, too. (And soon I would find out more about Kakao and who each of the characters were.)
When Dad woke up, we made our way back to the hotel for a break while walking through the Hyundai Department Store - a very fancy shopping center! Post hotel break and refresher, we went to Seogyo-dong and explored in Hongdae; which was right by the hotel. I quickly found a Club Clio, one of my favorite Korean beauty brands and bought a bunch of makeup.
On the way back to the hotel, I found a Coco Tea & Juice - which has non-dairy creamer and located next to it was Egg Drop, a little restaurant that I saw on the Korean Englishman’s YouTube channel and was dying to try!
Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Halloween in Korea! I did wear a Halloween themed t-shirt, but I didn't see a lot of people just randomly dressed up like I might have in NYC. We grabbed treats at Holly’s Coffee in the morning (a delicious earl grey loaf slice) and then headed to the Anguk Station to visit the traditional Korean homes of the Bukchon Hanok Village. It’s hard to believe that people still live in these small, traditional homes along these small alleyways, but they were fascinating to see and pass through.
After wandering around, I tried to find Gaesun Mandu Koong - make that Michelin Star rated mandu! While the line was fairly long, the wait wasn't too bad. The dumplings at Koong looked delicious and two ladies in the window of the restaurant were busy wrapping the two styles of mandu - pork and kimchi. Dad, of course, was intrigued and got up in their personal space to watch them wrap the dumplings. He tried to communicate with them, but their lack of English and his lack of Korean made it a little challenging and amusing. We also shared a plate of Korean pancakes - radish, kimchi, chive, etc. which were crispy and delicious!
Post-dumpling, we made our way to the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art. Their wifi was down, so we gained free admission and wandered around the galleries. I can’t say that anything jumped out at me - like maybe in MoMA, but there were plenty of interesting exhibitions to view and walk through.
From there, it was onto the National Folk Museum & Gyeongbokgung Palace. I should have rented a Hanbok (traditional Korean dress), as that would gain you free admission to any of the National museums and exhibitions. While walking around the Gyeongbokgung Palace, we saw may buildings with the most interesting designs and characters. On the way back to the train, I found a store with a giant “YES! WE ARE A KOREAN BRAND” sign in their window and I had to stop and take a photo before heading back to an ice cream stand with cherry blossom flavored soft serve that I’m still dreaming about).
Before we went back to the hotel, I had to make Jim go with me to the Line Friends store that was across the street. While they had a lot of the same items as the store in Times Square, I managed to find all the non-US items and left with a few plush toys, notebooks and stickers. While Jim made plans for the evening, I continued to shop and wandered into an Olive Young (almost like Korea’s version of Sephora) and finally got a sandwich at Egg Drop. I opted for the bacon, egg & cheese with garlic toast.
By the time I wandered back to the room, Dad was ready to eat. We went on a mission to try and find him some squid without much luck - so many restaurants in Korea are for two and I wasn’t in the mood for squid (or as he would say “squit”). Finally, we found a small restaurant that was completely empty - save for one middle-aged Korean woman. When we arrived and he asked about squid, she happily set a table for us and proceeded to make his meal. She was an all-in-one shop and very sweet. She tried to make conversation with us, but sometimes food is the best universal language as I tried to explain our confusing background and that I was the only Korean one.
Friday, November 1st, 2019
Finally! The day arrived that we would get to go to Holt International Children’s Services and learn more about my adoption. After grabbing breakfast at Tartine (the Seoul outpost of the San Francisco bakery), we took the train 1 stop to Hapjeong and walked to the HQ of Holt in Seoul.
I was already starting to feel emotional when I walked up to the building and saw the little sculpture of an adult and child outside the building. We arrived to the Post-Adoption Service Center and met up with Min-hyun Ryu who took us into a welcome room and talked to us about my adoption story. It was very bittersweet getting to be there, but when she asked about Mom, I couldn’t help but cry a little. Mom really was the reason that my adoption worked out and why she choose me from all the other babies that were also waiting to be adopted.
I was able to sit in a room with Ms. Ryu and review my actual adoption paperwork from my file. The information was printed on thin rice paper from what looked like a typewriter with handwritten notes in Korean. She showed me the details that they had on my birth mother and shared the few things she knew: my birth mother’s mother suggested she go through pre-natal care - which was a big deal with my Mom picking me to come to Nebraska. She gave me a copy of my baby photo, a Korean flag and Holt tote bag. After our chat and file review, Ms. Ryu took us through the Holt buildings where we saw some of the play areas where the adoptees would hang out and the physicians office, where they went through routine check-ups before going to their new homes.
When I was adopted, families didn't need to come to Korea to pick up their children, so we were housed in these buildings - which also acted as an orphanage and temporary home. Now the foster moms bring their children into the buildings for regular play dates with other babies & kids until their adoptive parents come to Korea to pick them up. On the way out, we got to see the welcome center with a large photo of Harry Holt - the founder of Holt International Children’s Services. I was reminded of the Holt Family Picnic I went to as a baby and mentioned that I remembered meeting Grandma (Bertha) Holt, Harry’s wife. Ms. Ryu was impressed - she’d never met anyone who had actually met the Hold Family! I told her I would send a photo to her if I found it back home (which I did & immediately sent to her).
After the emotional morning, we took a stroll down the Gyeongui Line Forest Park and went to Korean BBQ at Ginger Pig; which was recommended to us and right down the street from the hotel. We split up some short rib, bibimbap and kimchi before venturing to City Hall and Seoul Plaza on the hunt for the Seoul Kimchi Festival. Although I’ve been working on my spice tolerance, I still haven’t developed the taste for kimchi (which makes me a very poor Korean) - Jim and Dad certainly enjoyed the Kimchi Festival. They tried quite a few flavors before Dad spotted a palace in the distance and was quickly crossing the street to investigate.
Jim and I wandered through the rest of the Kimchi Festival and learned about how the taste and ingredients vary from coast to coast, the various types of fermentation processes before we went to find Dad. Once we got across the street, we realized that he actually stumbled upon the changing of the guard! So, there we were at Daehanmun at Deoksugung watching the changing take place before exploring around the Palace grounds. There were many interesting buildings along with an iridescent light installation and giant teal interactive sculpture. While wandering through the Deoksugung Palace Stonewall walkway, we almost lost Dad - completely dressed in khaki, he just blended right in with the scenery!
After we left, we found a Dunkin’ right across the street and grabbed some mochi donuts before headed to Sungnyemun Gate (Namdaemun Gate) - one of the original “entry gates” to Seoul! After getting out fill of photos, we headed back to the hotel. Dad & Jim went to find out information about how to get to the DMZ for a potential trip to the North/South Korea border and I went into Butter - a store we passed by that was full of cute things!
While Jim went out to dinner, Dad and I wandered back into the Hongdae shopping area and found dinner. Since Dad was still a little apprehensive about eating true Korean food, I found a spot with tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and we split a pork cutlet plate with ramen & eggs! It was still a little spicy for me, but delicious!
After dinner, I wandered into Aland (which would quickly become my favorite streetwear store of the trip & found out that they have a store in Brooklyn too). Dad took a seat while I browsed through their 4 floors of merchandise and tried to limit myself to just a few sweatshirts. I found a great dark bluish-purple sweatshirt with a fuzzy grey monster on it, but they only had a large. Of course, Dad quickly found a medium - but it wasn’t processed yet to sell. Dad bluntly said “Do you want to make money or not?” and suddenly the salesgirl was able to sell it to us!
On the way back to the hotel, Dad and I stopped to get bubble tea, wandered into a store called “Big Kid” filled with cute plush toys and knick-knacks before heading home for the night.
Jim went out to meet up with some boys before flying home back to the States. He stayed out so late that I didn’t get to say goodbye (and almost missed his flight), but I think our time in Korea went well.
Saturday, November 2nd, 2019
As we approached the weekend, I was finally going to meet up with some friends who have been living in South Korea for the last few years. Since I sadly ran out of Lactaid - I was happy to go to the vegan bakery, Bread Blue, which was about a mile from our hotel. Dad & I walked there and I a large potato, black olive and onion galette with an iced soy matcha. I tried to describe to Dad what being “vegan” meant and while it was good for me to eat there and that I could get anything that I wanted.
Once we were full, we walked back to the hotel and stopped in the Kakao Friends flagship store; which was full of cute things! I would later learn that Kakao Friends are from a Korean chat app (similar to Line Friends) and that my favorite “bunny,” Muzi, was actually a yellow radish wearing a bunny hat! And the teddy bear wasn’t a bear, but a lion named Ryan without a mane! Luckily Dad thought they were also cute and bough me a few things, some treats for Rosie (my niece) and some of our cousins’ kids. (Does a 37-year-old need the same things as toddlers? Sure!)
Dad and I went into the AK& Honda shopping center where I found another Club Clio and a crazy good streetwear store called “around the corner.” I got another sweatshirt, an acid dyed long-sleeve t-shirt with kittens, unicorns and bunnies on it and some blind box Animaniacs vinyl. Since it was almost time to meet my friend, Ryn, we made a pit-stop at the hotel to drop off our purchases and head to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Design Gallery.
Somehow, I managed to navigate getting around Seoul without International Data (how I used it all up while I was in Taiwan I’ll never know…), but I found Ryn and we were off to explore Dongdaemun & Jongno-gu. While we walked through the city, Ryn pointed out these little baked breads with a fried egg on top! You know I love a fried egg, so two of these little egg breads for barely $2 was totally worth it! Heungin Jimun was our second “gate” of Seoul - which was a little harder to walk to than the last; we had to cross a pretty busy intersection and walk up a hill.
We took a brief walk through the Pyeounghwa Fashion Plaza and the Dongdaemun Market. While I didn’t buy anything, it was fun looking through all the misc. books and knock-off designer goods on the street. Since Ryn has been teaching English in Korea for a few years, she was a great translator (again the Caucasian person is translating for the Asian people…)! We found a little shop to get soup and I got a bowl of zha jian mian (black bean noodles) before heading back to the hotel for Dad to take a break.
While Dad was resting, Ryn & I were on a mission to find some new nail polish for me. She suggested an Olive Young, but the first one we went to was mostly perfume and no nail polish to be found! Good thing there are plenty of beauty shops in Hongdae! We found an Innisfree - where I found a rich, almost blood red polish. There was a crazy-cool jewelry store full of floor to ceiling earrings, necklaces, hair accessories and clothing on 3 floors. It was almost sensory overload! I found a few pairs of earrings and cute handbag; while Ryn got a few hair pins.
After we’d wrapped up our shopping, we went to relax at the hotel before meeting up with Ryn’s friend, YJ, for dinner. I was still on a kick of trying to get Dad to eat more Korean food, so we feel that Korean fried chicken would be it! We went to BBQ Chicken & Beer (which is also in NYC) and ordered a half order of sweet soy with a half order of the spicy sesame. We also got a plate of chicken nuggets which were topped with thinly sliced green onions - a new Korean delicacy and they were delicious! Ryn even convinced Dad to try a soju shot in a glass of beer! (I didn’t grow up around anyone who drank, so I’m always amused when I see Dad drinking any kind of alcohol!)
After dinner, Dad was ready to go home and to bed. We split up and walkthrough the Hongdae Playground - where students like to “pre-game” and where we watched some street performers sing and dance.
We wrapped up our Saturday night by heading to a karaoke joint - or noraebang as they’re known in Korea. We got a little private room and knock out some of the best Britney, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and High School Musical jams! While I couldn’t compete with Ryn’s vocal training, I think I surpassed everyone when they realized how old I actually am! (Being young at heart and having Asian genes is always a plus!)
Sunday, November 3rd, 2019
For Sunday morning, we planned to meet my friend, Michelle - who’s been in Seoul for a few years working at a Korean beauty company, to visit the Namsan Seoul Tower. Well, nothing went as planned as Dad & I missed the actual way to get to the top of the mountain and went on a 2+ mile hike up the side of the mountain! So, needless to say, we were a little late to meet up with Michelle, Ryn and her friend. Since we had a few people who were scared of heights - Michelle, Dad and I ventured to the top of the N Seoul Tower.
Inside the Tower, there were markers telling you the distance to other major cities and a Hello Kitty gift shop! At the base of the Tower, there were tall trees decorated with locks of various colors. People had written all sorts of love messages on them and hung them on the trees. We didn’t buy a lock, but Michelle & I taught Dad how to make a little heart with his fingers and took a few photos by them.
After learning our lesson with our hike up the mountain, we got in line to take the Namsan Cable Car down the mountain. The view was spectacular and it was very cool to see Seoul from that angle. We took a quick trip to Myeong-dong to find more Korean food to try out; chicken galbi at Yoogane! Everyone was hungry, so we ordered two dishes - a garlic soy chicken dish and a spicier kimchi chicken dish with a “ring” of melted cheese! Myeong-dong was full of little shops and food stalls, so even though we just finished lunch - Dad kept picking up items to eat from sweet potatoes to fresh juice to squid on a stick. Meanwhile, I discovered Honey Butter Almond and Friends and their AMAZING milk bubble tea almonds! I couldn’t believe how much they tasted just like milk tea! Yes, I bought 3 bags - including some cookies & cream ones.
Soon it was time for Ryn to catch her train back home, so Michelle & I went to the Stylenada Pink Hotel - a beautiful Korean beauty store that was transformed into a little bit of an Instagram fodder shop. Speaking of Instagram, Michelle then took us to Urban Space where they served brightly colored drinks and had a giant ball pit with floaties that were just dying to be photographed! Each of us got a drink and then Michelle & I jumped in the pool. Dad was a little hesitant at first, but then I heard Michelle say “He’s getting in!” and there was Dad, wading into the ball pit!
We made our way back to Hongdae and stopped by the soon-to-be-closing Forever 21 to see if there were any great deals to find - but everything was really picked over! We parted ways, as Michelle needed to get home and I went in search of dinner.
Monday, November 4th, 2019
Although Dad was done with being in Asia (he’d been in China since Sept., then Taiwan before Korea), I couldn’t believe that it was already our last full day in Seoul! We made our way to Itaewon to find the Passion5 bakery - which had been describe to me as a “fancy” Tous les Jours! Challenging, as Lactaid was not a thing in Korea - but I managed to find some non-dairy based treats to try out. Then we walked to Old Ferry Donut - as Michelle & Ryn both recommended it. I chose an apple cinnamon donut, which was stuffed with baked apple filling and delicious!
As we walked to the train, I saw a building that was covered in Broadway posters - AIDA, The Bodyguard and Phantom! None of the shows were playing while we were there, but it was still cool to see. Next, we tried to navigate our way to the National Museum of Korea via cab. Luckily, one we got out at the wrong museum the lovely barista at Starbucks wrote down directions for our cab in Korean! We made it to the museum to only find out that they were closed on Mondays! Oops.
Since we couldn't go into the Museum, I made Dad go with me to K-Star Road - like the Hollywood Walk of Fame for K-Pop stars! While I’m still a K-Pop novice, I knew enough to find BTS, KARA, Blackpink and 2NE1! Of course, I had to pose next to the BTS statue and then we found an advertisement for an artist’s exhibition with “CHEN” in bold letters - so naturally, I made Dad pose next to it before taking a photo of my own.
Gangnam is known as being like NYC’s 5th Avenue, so we wandered past some of the designer shops and I convinced Dad to go into Burberry with me. Of course, the found the one sales associate who spoke English and had him follow us around. I tried to explain why I was in Korea - but he apparently had not heard of International adoption?
On the way back to the train, we passed a COS and & other stories; which were more in my price range! I found a great pair of black boots on sale, so I’m definitely going to need a new bag to get everything home with me! While we were walking around, Dad spotted a sign for an “International Food Market” in Itaewon, so we were off to find it. I think we were both expecting a street fair - but it was just a street lined with restaurants that served various cuisines. Since we didn’t want to sit down for a meal, we went into McDonald’s where I got an egg bulgogi burger!
After eating, we headed back to Hongdae and into Uniqlo. Dad always likes their clothes, so it was easy to convince him to get a few things to update his wardrobe there. He headed back to the hotel, so I went into Wonderplace to look for more great streetwear and picked up another sandwich at Egg Drop.
Tuesday, November 5th, 2019
For our final day in Seoul, I wanted to go to Aoitori Bakery - where they sold soft buns filled with yakisoba! While Dad didn’t really understand what the big deal was, if you know my eating habits at all, then you’d understand why noodles inside of bread was something I HAD to eat! I also got a green tea cookie before we headed back to the hotel to pack up.
While Dad was getting ready, I went back to Kakao Friends for one last shopping experience. I put all my last-minute gifts into my suitcases (yes, I did get an additional bag to carry on) and we waited for our JUMBO TAXI to Incheon International Airport. The ride took just less than an hour and it was time to say goodbye to Dad until Christmastime.
My first mission once getting past security was to find the Gentle Monster kiosk in the duty free shops! I had been looking at their sunglasses for awhile online and Michelle nicely pointed out that I should wait to buy them duty free! New sunglasses in hand, I went in search of food at the Ourhome Food Empire. Once I was there, I found a Korean stall - Son Soo Heon, that service bulgogi with a side of cold buckwheat noodles!
As it was almost time for boarding my flight to Hong Kong, I made sure to stop by the Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and pickup a treat for the flight. After a few hours, I arrived at HKG and went back to the Magic of Hong Kong Disneyland store. Now, since I had watched Toy Story 4 on the flight to Taipei - I was in search of Forky, Bunny and Ducky mercy! And wouldn’t you know, they were putting out Tsum Tsums of them all!? (Yes, I bought them. No, I have no shame about it.)
Before I knew it, it was time to board my flight back to NYC! I thought I was fully prepped for the long flight back, but for some reason I had a lot of challenges trying to sleep. I watched plenty of TV & movies (Legally Blond, Fiddler - a documentary about Fiddler on the Roof, The Favorite, A Star is Born), ate all the meals…but hardly slept about 6 hours of the approx. 15+ hour flight. It was almost surreal being back in NYC and the States, but it was also good to be home.
In short, I had a great time in Taipei & Seoul! I hope to return to Korea soon, so I can go to Daegu (where I was born) and visit some of the other cities and towns surrounding Seoul.
