anita in seoul

Mi Do Tuna

Just around the corner from our apartment, we have discovered an all-you-can-eat tuna restaurant. Unlike most people, I do not get excited for sushi AT ALL (very un-asian of me, right?), but I will always try anything once. Verdict: delicious!

The key was to eat as much tuna as possible; as each plate was brought out, the cuts of tuna got better and better. Maybe there is hope yet for me and sushi...

Yes, there is a table under there

First cuts of tuna

Second cut of tuna

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Cheonggyecheon!

It's fun to say, and it's a great urban renewl project right in the center of Seoul. The Cheonggyecheon (gaecheon = "open stream") was a stream created during the Joseon Dynasty for city drainage. Later on after the Korean War, the stream became littered with a large influx of people moving into the city, thus polluting the area. In 1958, in an effort to clean the city up, the stream was filled in with concrete and transformed into an elevated highway. Luckily in 2003, there was a major effort to restore the stream to re-introduce nature back into Seoul.

There is criticism about this project, such as though it brings nature back into the city, it is not the most sustainable. In order to maintain this body of water, water has to be manually pumped in. In any case, it does bring people together, and the residents love gathering here.

My new BFF

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N Seoul Tower

If you are in search for one of the best views of Seoul, you have to go to N Seoul Tower, which is located on Namsan mountain. Built in 1969 and then opened to the public in 1980, it is a communication and observation tower as well as one of the prominent symbols of Seoul. Unfortunately we did not go up the tower (which costs about $8 USD), but we were able to watch the tower as the sun set.

We got there by taxi, and then trecked up the steepest hill.

At the observation deck, romance is in the air. People come here to put locks to symbolize love for their significant other or best friends, similar to Cinque Terre.

My new best friends at the drinking fountain

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Namdaemun Market

Namdaemun Market is an old traditional market located next to Namdaemun ("Great Southern Gate"), the southern gate to the ancient city. It's one of the oldest traditional markets in Seoul, and you can imagine how crazy, bustling, and alive it is. People trade street food, clothes, shoes, handbags, kitchenware, fur coats, you name it. It also an area where people buy wholesale items such as fabrics and various other things.

Of course, I choose to document the food. =)