JeffieShannie: Seoul & Jeju Day 7: Jeju International Airport, Gimpo, Check in Jenn's Residence Y, Myeongdong, Namsan N Seoul Tower

Day 7
Summary: Jeju International Airport > Gimpo > Check in Jenn's Residence Y > Myeongdong > Namsan N Seoul Tower

Breakfast at the Jeju international airport after returning our rental car to KTKumho office. *Sob sob* we haven't have enough in Jeju... 3 days 3 nights, we managed to cover most of the interesting places at the south and the east. 5 days would be ideal to tour Jeju in our opinion.

Purple sweet potato latte at airport... AGAIN!

1 hour flight, and we were back in Gimpo airport. We headed straight to our homestay at Jenn's Residence Y.

Subway: Jongno-3-ga

Jongno-3-ga can be regarded as the center of Seoul's subway system, serving line 1,3 and 5. It is conveniently seated at the heart of the city and steps from tourist attractions and historical sites. We gonna to stay here for the rest of our trip! *hurray*

Checked into Jenn's residence Y. A bright room with all the necessities in place. 8 minutes walk from Jongno-3-ga, located right beside Ibis Hotel. For the convenient location, I would say that it was a good deal. The cleanliness of the room especially the sink however can be improved. There were some leftover noodles on the sink by the previous occupier. (-_-)''

After settling down, shopping mode ON! We took the subway to Meongdong, the shopping paradise for cosmetics.

Subway: Myeongdong

Once we exit the subway, we headed to the information center to enquire a walking map in Myeongdong. It was much easier to navigate yourself with a map! Remember to get one!

The charm of Myeongdong, crowded with young and old.

If you are a fan of korean skincare and cosmetic products, this is the place that you can do your one-off shopping... All the local beauty brands are housed here - Etude house, The Face Shop, Tony Moly, Innisfree, Holika Holika, Laneige, Natural Republic etc.

If you are unsure of what to buy, you can just asked the salesperson, they can speak fluent Mandarin. Most of the shops gave free samples even before you enter the shop. However I usually returned to them if I didn't buy anything... You will know what I meant after you have done one round of shopping at Meongdong. Some salesgirls are quite hostile (which I don't really like). I encountered a shocking scene where the salesgirl snatched the free samples back from a customer when she didn't want to purchase anything... Seriously?! Free samples are meant to be a marketing tool right?! Why give them away so unwillingly at the same time expecting so much from the customer?!! *shake head*

I have visited skincare & beauty shops at other places in Seoul and their services were definitely much better than what I have experienced in Myeongdong. Nevertheless it is still the best place to shop for skin care and beauty products. You can find all the local brands here, without fail. A reminder for all shoppers, you can asked for tax rebate form if you purchase more than 30,000 won in a particular shop. The tax rebate forms will only be given upon request.

Well shopping aside, Myeongdong is abundant with good food, great cafe and street snacks!

You shouldn't miss Myeongdong Gyoja if you are in Myeongdong, a noodle restaurant that operated for about 40 years! The restaurant is well known for its kalguksu (knife sliced noodles). We heard that there is always a long queue. Fortunately we came at an odd hour and the restaurant was quite empty. We ordered the kalguksu (knife sliced noodle soup) and mandu (steamed dumplings). Didn't wait long for the food to come...

Address: 25-2 Myeongdong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul

Absolutely in love with the texture of the kalguksu noodle and the flavorful broth. The combination was just perfect that I can finished the chewy noodles all by myself (the bowl was gigantic). It could be better if the noodles were served hotter.

Mandu (steamed dumpling) was okay. The dumplings were huge and meaty, filled with juicy minced pork.

Side tract a little, directly opposite of Myeongdong Gyoja you can find M Plaza. Seoul Culture and Tourism Centre is located on the 5th floor. Here you can experience the Hanbok experience for free! You just need to register yourself at the counter and wait for your slot. For my case, the slots were all full when we were there at 3.30pm. Guess you have to be really early in order to secure a slot.

Address: 27, Myeongdong 8-gil, Jungu-gu, Seoul

Shopping could be tiring and in Myeongdong. Don't worry, there are many street snacks awaiting to charge you up!! Here are some interesting street snacks that could be found in Myeongdong.

Tornado potato, Koreans added their own twist and placed a sausage in between.

Egg bread (Gaeran Bbang), sweet bun toasted with a egg. It tasted different from the usual toast and egg we have for breakfast. The bread was sweet and soft, the texture was more like a cake than bread.

Lastly, lemonade, perfect for thirst quenching!

Having enough of food, Jeff suggested to visit Namsan N Seoul Tower. It is within walking distance from Myeongdong. N Seoul Tower is an excellent landmark in Seoul. Built on a 262 meter peak in Namsan Park, the tower reaches to 480 meters above sea level. You will be able to view the entire city and surrounding area up there.

We took the Namsan Oreumi Elevator which transport people to the cable car station. It was quite fun traveling uphill using a transparent elevator~

Transparent elevator

The queue at the cable car ticketing office was scary... It took us almost come to 2 hours before we could board the cable car, on a Saturday evening. Of course cable car is not the only way to get to N Seoul Tower. Other options are city buses, buses or by car.

Selfie while queuing for the cable car

The Namsan cable car ride was a less than 5 minutes ride to N Seoul Tower. You will be able to catch a paranomic view of Seoul on the entire way up.

Some leg exercise before seeing N Seoul Tower. The weather was just awesome.

Hi there!! Finally, after a more than 2 hours journey!!

There were some restaurants and gift shops on the ground floor.

Visitors may also purchase a ticket to the observatory tower, which cost about 5,000 won.

The roof terrace was particularly romantic because of the lover locks bridge apart from the beautiful skyline view. All types of locks can be seen hanging around the terrace as a symbol of everlasting love.