- Space of BTS / Shilla Duty Free
- Insadong Street
- Ssamziegil
- Insadong Sujebi
- Maru Vegan Cuisine
- Yetchatjip (2nd floor)
Our first proper free day!
We had our free days from 10 thru 14 June. The initial idea was because I had supposed, if there were BTS-related events, it would have fallen sometime between these days. At that point of time, there were no news yet. However, based on previous years, it would have been the Muster meeting (concert) on the weekend. To be safe, I had kept those days flexible, which was lucky since there was indeed an event we didn’t anticipate.
We started the day a bit late since we were tired. We headed off to the BTS event (unplanned), and since it started raining, spent whatever of the day left at walking and shopping at Insadong. (also unplanned since I did not want to trudge through mud in rental hanbok :()
Space of BTS / Shilla Duty Free
When we were already in Seoul or Busan – I can’t remember which, there was an announcement for the “Space of BTS” on Twitter. The event was at Shilla Duty-free – Jangchung-dong (nearest station Dongguk Univ station). This agenda item was unplanned.
To shop here, we had to show our booked flight out of Seoul. Delighted that we met an ARMY (from the US)! Her daughter lives in South Korea, and was showing her BTS places I think!
The mall is located on top of a steep slope, sharing a road / parking lot with the hotel. By the way, there is a shuttle at the bottom of the slope, which would bring people to the shopping mall. We didn’t realise this after we were done. The slope is really steep! 😦
Aside from Space of BTS, you can check out some of the other goods there. Some of the items were on sale, and the prices were really a steal! It’s akin to duty-free shopping at the airport but you have more time so you’re more relaxed.
Insadong Street
There were quite a few people walking about in the evening – I guess for dinner or on the way back home. Not many shoppers. We saw a few tourists here and there. Most of the shops on the main street, happily, were occupied. There were some showrooms, some traditional items and craft / artisan items together with souvenirs for tourists – quite a treat for the eyes! The prices though…
By the way, the shops close pretty early – by 8pm or 8.30pm. So do bear that in mind.
Ssamziegil
Our last stop of the day was Ssamziegil. Imagine a shopping street compressed into a building. That’s what Ssamziegil is. The building itself is pretty interesting. The shops were placed around the building square and a visitor will pass every single shop on a gentle sloped pathway, until they reach the top. Too bad we were there pretty late (it closes at 8.30pm) and couldn’t really fully enjoy the window shopping.
The building gets a 5/5 from me for its accessibility.
I do want to go here again if I could !
Insadong Sujebi
This was our first time trying sujebi (hand pulled dough soup), and I quite like the torn pieces of flour! I’m not much of a noodle eater, but the flour makes it easy for me to have my carbs and soup. I don’t think I’ve seen sujebi being available in any of the Korean restaurants in Singapore.
The restaurant is tucked away in an alley, and may easily be passed over. Do keep a look-out for the big signboard at the entrance of the alley!
Maru Vegan Cuisine
Dinner was at Maru Vegan Cuisine. It’s tucked in a corner of an art gallery building, so it might be easy to miss. They serve vegan version of Korean cuisine. The menu is short, but I think it’s enough…:)
I had kimbap and fried dumplings (shared side dishes), and ramyeon as my main dish. I also had a blended pumpkin puree or shake of sorts. All in all, they cost under 10,000 won per person. Very worth the money, and the food was pretty filling!
Yetchatjip (2nd floor)
The block has two chatjips (traditional korean teahouses). I think Google reviews is a bit confused – it seems to combine both businesses.
The one I tried this day was on the second floor. Rather than “traditional”, the shop, spanning 2nd and 3rd level has a modern cafe feel to it. The windows has some box plants and looked over Insadong street. The menu was pretty short – with a variety of tea and bingsu (korean shaved ice dessert).
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