Family in Korea Day 2: Seoul City Tour / Easter Mass

Seoul City Tour / Easter Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral

Black Saturday, April 7, 2012.

Since we were very the day before (arrived in the apartment around 11:40pm and slept almost 2am), we started the day around 8:30am.  This means we get up, snooze, wash up, eat breakfast, and all the early morning rituals and innate laziness we all have every morning. HAHA!


We are scheduled for just the City Tour taking the Seoul City Tour Bus from Gwanghamun Station Line 5 (Purple Line).  And attend the 8:00pm Easter Sunday Vigil Mass at Myengdong Cathedral celebrated by His Excellency Bishop Lazaro, Archdiocese of Seoul.


But before I will rant about the City Tour, I will talk about our daily trip from Gocheon Area to Seoul Downtown.  Everyday, we travel for around 1hr and 30minutes from home going to downtown area (not considering the specific places) since we live near the Gimpo Airport and as we all know international airports are usually far from the center (except maybe for the Philippines? HAHA).  But thanks for the efficient Airport Railroad (AREX Line), it made our trip easier than you think!


Okay. Back to Seoul City Tour. So we went to Gwanghamun Station, where the famous statue of King Sejong and Admiral Yi is located.  We had sightseeing in the vicinity and took some photos around.  We didn't let the common saying "let's go around first and take photos later" because it usually don't happen anymore.  Just grab all the chances! We also got the opportunity to wear the King's robe for free and took photo together.

King and Queen's robe at Gwanghamun

Afterwards, off to the City Tour bus station. I think the City Tour is worth it if you don't have friends who would accompany you around Seoul since it hits almost all the famous tourist spots in the area already.  Also, it is a good chance to see snapshots of Seoul.  It is like the "hop-on-hop-off" in Singapore where you can go down anywhere and just wait for the next bus to come after 30minutes.  And I suggest you "hop-on" and "hop-off" the bus or else it will be totally boring (But we actually didn't hop-on-hop-off, and I will tell you later). Hence, it is a good activity once you arrive in Korea!


There are 2 kinds of tour buses and they cover different routes and therefore rates are also different.  However, unlike the "hop-on-hop-off" in Singapore where you just have to pay once and you can ride all 3 types of buses.  The courses are City Circulation Course (26 stops. and this is what we took) and the Cheonggye or Palace Course (13 stops). The full day pass ticket is 10,000W for adults and 8,000W for children and it runs from 9am-9pm and 7pm being the last bus that leaves Gwanghamun since its a 2hour course (I'm talking on the City Circulation Course).  There also also a discounts it's good to check the website for their special offers, course route, ticket prices and other specifics. Website: http://en.seoulcitybus.com/

Seoul City Tour Bus. 1st Bus: City Circulation Course. 2nd Bus: Palace Course

Back to the story. We took the bus and had our first stop at Yongsan Station, a famous shop for electronics because my uncle was looking for some gadgets (cameras and external hard drive).  We also had meal in Korea (since breakfast is at home with some packed foods from the Philippines. I even had my Lechon Paksiw, a special meal in our country. HAHA) in the station.  Since we just arrive and they still don't know about the Korean taste (and had an impression of Korean food as spicy), we end up eating in Burger King 

National Museum of Korea

After eating, we waited for the next city tour bus and "hop-on" again then "hop-off" at the famous National Museum of Korea.  We stayed in the Museum for an hour just to see some of the national treasures of the country. It is a 3-floor building with over 300,000 different pieces of exhibit.  If you have to go into the detail, I suggest spend at half-day in the museum to maximize the place.  Since we took the city tour bus, we don't need to go commute going there but for those who want to go there via subway or bus, it is still easy!


Subway: Ichon Station, Seoul Subway Line 4 (Light Blue Line) or Jungang Line (Exit 2)
Bus: #502 or #0018 and get off at National Museum of Korea.

After the museum, we "hop-on" the bus again. Where did we go down next? We didn't go down anymore! HAHA! Why? We were very tired already and my sisters were sleeping in the bus.  So after the 2stopovers, we used the bus like a resting area with sightseeing around Seoul.  Since, the museum stop is just the 7th stop, we just road the bus until the end of the course (26th stop). HAHAHA! Like I said, I don't suggest just riding the bus without "hop-on-hop-off" but we did it because of the circumstances. LOL! And it was all worth it. They were recharged for the Easter Mass at 8pm!

Korean street foods (L-R): Sundae, Toppokki, Sausages, etc.

At around 7:00pm, we already went to Myeongdong to prepare for the Easter Vigil Mass.  Since it will be a long service, we had a snack at a famous street food shop in Myeongdong where they serve Odeng (오뎅), Toppokki (떡뽁이), and Sondae (순대). Yes, this is the first authentic Korean food since the lunch was just at Burger King. HAHA! And it was proven, there "not spicy" and menu food called "delicious toppokki" and still very spicy for my parents.  How much more for my sisters? Try to think about it!

After the meal, we went directly to Myeongdong Cathedral and since we were just in time for the 8:00pm Easter Mass, we don't have seats in the main cathedral anymore and just stayed in the satellite area.  The mass is in Korean! Yes, if you look for a Sunday Mass in Seoul, the best place will be in Myeongdong Cathedral since there are hourly Sunday Mass from 9:00am - 12:00n and from 3:00pm to 7:00pm and last mass at 9:00pm.  However, the only English mass will be at 9:00am and the rest are in Korean.  If you want to hear Filipino Mass, you can go to Hyehwa Catholic Church (Hyehwa Station, Subway Line 4 Exit 1) and hear the 2:00pm Mass in Filipino.

After the Easter Vigil Mass in Myeongdong Cathedral

Since it was the Easter Vigil, the Mass finished at around 10:45pm and it was very cold at 4ºc.  We just had a stopover in 7-11 and went home directly.  It was a perfect first day in Korea and ending it with a memorable Easter Vigil Mass in Myeongdong Cathedral.