[Seoul Vacation] Day 02: My first Hanbok experience

The next morning, we woke up early to get ready to have a full day of activities as well as sightseeing. We met up with the guys at City Hall Station to take the subway to Seoul's oldest, traditional and most popular market - Gwangjang Market for breakfast.

I love Bindaetteok – Mung Bean Pancake very much, and it is my MUST-EAT dish in Seoul. The pancake was extra crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I love the soy vinegar onion side sauce which enhanced the taste better for each bite of pancake. Although eating Bindaetteok is pretty greasy, it’s well worth trying when you’re at Gwangjang Market.

If you love Korean food, do not miss Gwangjang Market in Seoul, as it is one of the ultimate places to experience traditional Korean street food and culture all under one delicious roof.

This time, we tried the Viral Korean Coin Bread at Gwangjang Market. This popular Korean street snack is not a bun, but a pancake in the shape of a 10 won coin. 

We picked up 4 different flavors such as Chocolate, Red Bean, Cheese and Custard. I loved the Red Bean the most!

We walked from the market to DongDaeMun Design Plaza (DDP), while eating our coin bread! The walking journey took us 15mins to get there!

It is one of the iconic landmarks of the Korean design industry, whereby the place is a museum, mall, park and even a concert venue all in one!

During our visit at DDP, there was a special Hello Kitty 50th-Anniversary Special Exhibition - A Journey with Sanrio Characters. 

The exhibition is based on the history of Sanrio, the creator of Hello Kitty, and the event showcases the birth of Hello Kitty, along with other popular characters such as My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll and Pompompurin which were also on display.

We settled at Nolboo Restaurant which located along the Jongno district for lunch.

We ordered a special set meal for 4 at ₩78000. The set consisted of Budae Jjigae (Army Stew), a plate of BBQ Pork Belly Slices, and 4 bowls of white rice. 

Not to mention there were free servings of Banchan! We also ordered a Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon) to share among us!

After our lunch, we made our way to have our very first Hanbok Experience at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

We chilled at a Cafe named Sand Presso before heading to the Hanbok Rental place. Both Baby and I shared a sweet bun. It was a rare sight seeing us having a cup of iced tea instead of Beer (Maegju) or Soju!

Dressing up in a traditional Korean hanbok was the first thing on the guys’ must-do list when Baby was planning the trip. We booked our slot via Klook as we only paid less than SGD9 and our Hanbok Rental was located at Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 2. The redemption was a breeze. The process was very easy as we just needed to scan the QR Code at the kiosk. Although the selection was quite limited, the staff were very helpful in choosing the right size of the traditional Hanbok for us.

The complimentary Korean Hairstyling for ladies which was part of the package from Klook was definitely worth it.

After we had changed into our Hanbok, our Hanbok experience began… We made our way to the palace from the rental shop. Visitors are allowed free entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace if they are wearing traditional hanbok clothing!

Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the oldest historic places in Seoul. The palace was built in 1395, and is located at the heart of the Seoul.

We took tons of photos at the palace, and in my opinion it was worth visiting, especially if you came in a Hanbok. There were plenty of beautiful photo spots and I recommend doing it during cooler seasons for a more comfortable experience.

The night tour of Gyeongbokgung Palace is a must-do in Seoul, and the palace is beautiful at night, with all the pagoda buildings and statues lit up dramatically.

Our rental duration was for about 1.5 hours, and when time was up we made our way back to the rental. Our costume was put in a box and taken away immediately for cleaning. As an alternative, I read that there are some museums and palaces in Seoul where you can try a Hanbok on for free to take some pictures. However, I suppose the hanboks would not be pristine clean, so do rent yours at a reputable rental place.

Both Baby and I went on separately from the group to have our own dinner at Isadong, and we settled at an eatery place called ‘Lucky Tiger’. 

We ordered a portion of Jjamppong to share between us. It is a Chinese-style Korean noodle soup with red, spicy seafood broth flavored with gochugaru (chili powder). The portion was huge, and we enjoyed our dinner with soju and beer!

After dinner, we went to a bakery shop to buy some bread to eat as our supper in the hotel room!

Stay tuned for my write up on my experience of our full day DMZ tour!