Noryangjin Fish Market, Seoul

I think we got scammed here.

We paid 50,000 won for a king crab, 3 scallops, and a few sea shells for free.  The cooking charges including plain water for drinking, few salad leaves and kimchi, cost us 45,000 won. The steep price for the cooking alone made us question the fairness of the pricing here.

We also purchased a big plate full of ready-fried tempura prawns + baby crabs + squids, at 20,000 won.

We arrived at the market early, a little past 10 am on a Monday morning.  We had seafood for our brunch that day.  Luckily the weather was fine.  We took the train and we have to walk for about 500 meters to the market from the train station.

At the market, all the fresh seafood was sold on the ground level, while the second floor was meant for cooking and serving the seafood. We requested for steamed king crab and baked sea shells. The scallops and sea shells were delicious, so fresh with a hint of sea salt flavor. The king crab was impressive, but I think I prefer snow crab better.  I miss the Sankaku fish market, Otaru, Hokkaido.

Despite these the high cooking price, it was a great place to experience the local lifestyle.  Most of the staff here can speak Chinese, so not much of a language problem for me.  This is where you can really see how the locals enjoy their meal.  There's one table not far from us, 2 middle-aged men were drinking soju and eating fish sashimi, I think 1 of the man is drunk, his face was red and he talked and act like a Korean gangster in Kdrama.  That is an experience worth paying for :) 

Hongdae Street, Seoul

After our visit to Starfield Library, we took the train back to our hotel in Myeongdong to take a rest before exploring another district. Initially, we considered taking an Uber back to Myeongdong, but we could not one, likely due to the rain and heavy traffic. After waiting for nearly half an hour, we canceled our Uber and search for the nearest train station.

To our surprise, the train station was conveniently located just a short distance away from the Uber stand. We only needed to turn to the other side of the building, and there it was. That was our first experience riding the train in Seoul, and it was so easy to navigate with seamless connections.

At 5 pm, we took on another train journey from Myeongdong to Hongdae Street. The ride was quite long, and we had to make a transfer at one of the stations.

Hongdae Street offered a fantastic outdoor shopping experience. Unfortunately, the rain restrict our movement, we could only browse the shops briefly. Nevertheless, I managed to purchase one top and 3 skirts in Hongdae district.

Waiting for train at Myeongdong station.

Walking in the rain at Hongdae Street while eating a hot baked potato.

Our vlog, walking in the rain at Hongdae Street, Seoul.

Starfield Library, COEX Mall, Seoul

Next, we hailed an Uber from Gwangjang Market and headed to the Starfield Library, nestled within COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu. This impressive two-story library with 13-meter bookshelves and at least 3 cafes on the 2nd floor. is a sight to behold. 

We reached there around 12:15pm, and we found the place bustling with activity. Many visitors, like us, were eager to snap photos, but I was surprised to see numerous individuals engrossed in reading and studying. I was so surprised, I thought this library is mainly for a photo op but the Korean ready did reads, studied and utilised this library to the max. It changes my perception of libraries as strictly quiet places. At Starfield Library, people were free to indulge in their preferences—whether taking photos, sipping coffee, having cakes, or engaging in actual reading. I would have loved to study here with friends or partners if I were still a student. 

I am fascinated by this library. We ended up spending approximately three hours at the library. Queuing up for the coffee takes time too. The cafes were thriving, especially on rainy like that day. Who could resist a cup of coffee while reading or, in our case, people-watching? Emmett found 1 book that he is interested in - The Art of War - but it was in the Korean language.  Most of the books are in Korean. 

Starfield Library is a must when you visit Seoul, not when you have to rush thou.

Our snack, while people watching.

Our vlog journey to Starfield Library, our Uber ride from Gwangjang until our train rides back to Myeongdong.

Gwangjang Market, Seoul

So we visited the Netflix-famous Gwangjang Market in Seoul in May 2023.

Gwangjang Market also spelled as Kwangjang Market is one of the oldest and largest markets in Seoul selling mostly traditional Korean food.

Since it was raining that morning, we decided to Uber our way there.  But we would have taken the train if we had known that the train station entrance is right in front of the market.  It is so convenient.

We reach there at about 10am, and we have our brunch at one of the restaurants there.  Not sure of the name of the restaurant, but there were photos of the Running Man team having their meal here, so it should be good.

Here’s what we had.  The best one for me is the beef tartare bibimbap.  It was surprisingly good.  My 1st time eating raw beef.

We tried the potato pancake, but it was too oily, and taste something between hashbrowns and cucur sayur. I think our crispy cucur sayur taste better.

I also wanted to try this rice wine, and it was so good, sweet, and had no bitter taste.  I prefer this to the Soju..  Makgeolli raw rice wine is a Korean alcoholic beverage. The milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine has a slight viscosity that tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent.

I also tried the marinade raw crab, I had the spicy type.  This is I don’t really like, I had a stomachache after eating this, not sure because of the raw meat or because of the spiciness.

We spent about 2 hours there. All in all, it was a great experience, thou there are few other foods we wish to try, we were just too full.

The crowd

The raw marinated seafood

We had our brunch here.  See the photos of Running Man team hanging on their signage?

Raw beef bibimbap, surprisingly so good.

Potato pancakes.

Spicy marinated crab

Rice wine

Fruits shop outside of the market.

Japan vs Korea

 *This is solely on my own personal experience.

We have been to Japan 3x and Seoul x1, maybe if I have been to Korea 3x, my opinion would change.

1. The Bakery. The bakery in Japan smells heavenly.  You can smell the fresh pastries from miles away, ok I was exaggerating. But seriously, I spent so much in Japan's bakeries because of their smell and tasted so goood.  I didn’t even stop by any bakery in Korea cause I didn’t smell anything. Japan 1 - Korea 0

2. City Train. Seoul’s train is better.  Lots of entrances, and easy connections. Clear signage and announcements. Japan 1 - Korea 1

3. Food.  Generally, I prefer Japanese food. Korean food is more like an overpriced home-cooked meal. Japan 2 - Korea 1

4. Surprise elements.  Japan offers more surprises for me.  I really felt like an alien/culture shock when I first arrived in Japan.  Which is a great experience for a tourist. So many wow elements.  Japan 3 - Korea 1

5. English speaking. Generally most younger Korean can speak English, and some older ones can speak Mandarin.  So not much language barrier for me. Japan 3 - Korea 2

6. Shopping.  When I travel, I prefer to buy local, especially locally-made leather goods. It was so difficult to find in Korea, and not easy to search online.  In Japan, they highlight more of their locally made product, in Korea, they highlight more LV, Channel, Prade, etc. Japan 4 - Korea 2

7. Pricing.  In short, I trust Japanese prices more.  I feel like somehow I got scammed in Korea, my bargaining skill is not good. Everything is just fixed price in Japan, easy. Japan 5 - Korea 2

8. Street food. This one Seoul wins big time. Myeongdong on a good day feels like a food festival street.  We can hardly find street food in Sapporo.  Japan 5 - Korea 3  (I totally forgot about Dotonbori, Osaka, when I wrote this. Gomenasai)

Seoul, Korea - May 2023

Sapporo, Japan - May 2019