Family in Korea Day 6: Seoul Downtown & Namsan Tower

Myeongdong, Namdaemun & Seoul Tower
Wednesday, April 11, 2012.


Back to Seoul. Another day in Seoul.  But this day is just light because we are preparing for a big day the following day at Everland theme park.  And from the apartment we stayed, it is almost 3hours by subway and bus. Yes, it is even farther than by traveling from Seoul to Daejeon via KTX or even just the ordinary Mugunghwa train. ahaha!


So what did we do on this day?  We left house, like I said in my previous post, late. ahaha!  We can't just leave the house early because we are a gang of 8 with kids that we cannot really control.  When tantrums start at the middle of the day, it's more difficult.  So better fully charged than battery empty in the middle of the day!

Myeongdong

Our first stop was in Myeongdong (명동), a very famous shopping area for foreigners.  Some would even say, in terms of places to visit, "you haven't been to Korea if you haven't bump yourself in Myeongdong."  You would see all kinds of boutiques in that place, from apparels to cosmetics to accessories (both cellphone and hair), to food to cultural centers to grocery areas to movie houses, name it! And it's just a walk away.


By the way, I'm quite familiar with Myeongdong because it was my home for 2months. I worked as an intern in Korean National Commission for UNESCO and their office is in the heart of Myeongdong. Literally, in the middle of the shopping area!

Grilled Chicken (닭갈비) Lunch

Some of the establishments and landmarks in Myeongdong are the following: Skin Food. Nature Republic. Tony Moly. Etude House. Body Shop. Inisfree. Aritaum. Lesmo. Lush. Zara. Forever 21. H&M. UNI QLO. Adidas. Kumkang. Artbox. YP Books. Myeongdong Cathedral. Myeongdong Theatre. Nanta Theatre. Hana Bank. Kookmin Bank. Krispy Kreme. Starbucks. Coffee Bean. Cafe Bene. Cafe Pascussi. Krispy Kreme. Dunkin Donut. Hana Bank. Kookmin Bank. Lotte Young Plaza. Lotte Department Store. Lotte Hotel. and many, many, many more.


 We went around Myeongdong for some time and visited different shops and then had our lunch within the area.  This time, we ate the famous Grilled Chicken (닭갈비). My family liked it so much but they still have the same complain "it's spicy". hahaha. So if you come to Korea, please prepare your tongue with all their spicy foods served on your table.  You can request "not spicy" but their "not spicy" may still be "spicy" for you.


After the eating, we continued roaming around the vicinity and visited different boutiques.  For this time, they (the adults) especially visited UniQlo, a Japanese version of Bench & Penshoppe, and Nature Republic, one of the many cosmetic shops in Korea.  While my father, my sisters and I just waited for them outside looking at the people traffic going in and out of Myeongdong.

While waiting for the adults at Myeongdong

Then we went directly to Namdaemun Market (남대문시장), a very famous market for bargaining and souvenirs with very cheap stuffs in this place.  It's just 10min walking tour from Myeongdong.  Travel tip: If you hit Myeongdong, might as well visit Namdaemun Market as well.  It can save you a lot of time, than coming back again here on other days. 

Going to Namdaemun with Bank of Korea at the background

My parents bought Korea t-shirts here as a remembrance of this vacation.  Aside from this place, Dongdaemun Market (동대문시장) is also a good place to shop for souvenirs.  You can drop by this place for shopping.  In our case, we were not able to visit Dongdaemun anymore, except just the bird's eye view when we boarded the Seoul City Tour on our first day of the trip.

Next Stop: Namsan Tower. From Namdaemun Market, we went to Seoul Tower, a 236m 360º observatory tower in the middle of Seoul.  From here, you would see the tall buildings in Seoul and even the distance from your place to different parts in the world. Inside the tower, there are souvenir shops, memorabilia shots (we bought one), and restaurants.  

At Namsan Tower Grounds

Namsan Tower Basement Area

The Memorabilia Photo on Spring Season

Inside the Conservatory

At the base level, you would see the famous "lock of love" padlocks both for love promises and broken love promises.  In this place, you can show you affection to your significant other and make vows to her.  It's very good for couples, both new ones and those who would renew their love promises to each other. We also made our "lock of love" but not as a couple but as a family. I bought the heard and the padlocks at the souvenir shops.  As expected, it would be more expensive than bringing your own padlocks and boards to write your messages.

"Lock of Love"

And for the teddy bear lovers, you can also visit the Teddy Bear museum inside the base level of the observatory (This time, we didn't enter the Teddy Bear Museum, but I've been there. Check out my future soon). 


How about the prices? and how to go here?
Observatory only: 9,000W Adults and 6,000W Children
Teddy Bear Museum only: 8,000W Adults and 5,000 Children
Observatory + Teddy Bear Museum: 14,000W Adults and 9000W Children.
Prices may change without prior notice so please check the website for verifications.


For more information, you can visit the websites below:
Korea Tourism Website for Seoul Tower: http://bit.ly/l9Y50k
N Seoul Tower Official Website: www.nseoultower.co.kr/
Teddy Bear Museum Official Website: www.teddybearmuseum.co.kr


There are also 3 ways to get to the base of the tower. The first one is by taking the cable car (more expensive but more exciting, though haven't tried it even if I visited here for 3x already), the 2nd one is by taking the bus and the 3rd one is by walking (takes longer but more memorable most especially if you are into trekking).  By the way, taxis are not allowed there so you have to choose from the 3 options.


1. Cable Car:
    a. Take the subway going to Myeongdong Station Subway Line 4 (Light Blue Line)
    b. Go out at exit 3 from the station.
    c. Walk through wide road until you reach Shinsaegae Department Store
    d. Turn left in the intersection and walk until you reach the entrance for the Cable Car.
    e. But the ticket from the booth and take the cable car on the fourth floor


Fare: 6,300W for roundtrip and 4,800W for one-way ticket.
Schedule: 10:00am - 10:30pm daily


2. Bus
    a. Take the subway going to Chungmuro Station Subway Line 3 or 4.
    b. Go out at exit 2 and walk for a minute until the bus stop
    c. Take the bus #2 and get off at N Seoul Tower bus stop (last stop)
    d. Walk to the Seoul Tower Plaza.
    e. Take the same bus going back to the downtown area.
    *The bus runs every 6minutes from 8:00am - 12:00am daily.

The Walk from the Namsan Tower to the Station

After the trip to Namsan Tower, we slowly head back home to have a good rest in preparation for the following day's schedule - EVERLAND!  We used the same route going back home. 


That's all for this simple day!