Korea+Kpop Lover: My 4th Korea Trip - THE MOST MEMORABLE 한국 여행 2014년4월 (Korea Holiday, Apr'14)

Hey all!!! I have been back for 3 weeks but the memory of my Korea trip still lingers in my mind! Although it is my 4th trip to Korea, I had quite an experince there! As usual, every trip that i plan to Korea, have a specific objective!

1st trip: Getting to know Korea through Group Travel Tour

2nd trip: Missing Korea + FIRST winter experience + KPOP hunt - this is when I travelled alone and my first WINTER and spent a lot on kpop products

3rd trip: Exploring Korea - went with Yiting. Went to Busan, Tongyeong, Nami Island, Gyeonggi and Seoul

4th trip: Catching up with friends + exploring korea further + new experiences

Let me share what are my new experiences that i had during this latest trip. I was in Korea for about 14 days altogether! ^^

My objectives for this trip is very simple. TO MEET ALL MY FRIENDS IN KOREA FOR THE FIRST TIME. Then to explore the different places which I have missed in my last trips.

So, I started off with BUSAN! And of course I didn't want to revisit those places I have been during my last trip since its my 2nd trip to Busan. So this time, I decided to stay at Haeundae since my last trip I only covered the town area. Still, I never miss going to Nampo-dong to have my favourite Ssat Hotteok and food there! Shopping at Gwangbokro Fashion Street, went up awhile to Yongdusan Park and ate at BIFF! And some other place I went to was Sampo Esplanade, Dongbaek Park, APEC and Gwangalli Beach. Busan was cold! But I enjoyed the weather! The HOTEL WAS SUPERB! I will definitely stay at that hotel again!

Here's the start of my journey meeting my friends! The FIRST person I met was my beloved sis from Gimhae/Busan, 박영선! Known her for about a year! We used to share voice messages and we are very comfortable with each other! Together with her 남친 조성문 we went to Geoje, Oedo, Botania. It is a NEW place for me! Since he drove, it is convenient to get to Geoje. We took a ferry to Oedo, Botania. These 2 peeps are really AWESOME people! I feel very very comfortable with them! It is like I have known them for years!!!!!! ^^

After Busan, I went to DAEGU. Daegu was HUMID! The weather was like Singapore. Anyway, it was my FIRST time to the city. So kind of unsure. Nevertheless, I managed to visit a number of places. I went to Duryu Park, Jungangno Station (Shopping Street), Suseong Land/Lake and Palgongsan.

Then I met Olivia in Daegu. Had dinner together! My first ddakgalbi dinner! And our journey in Daegu was quite an experience with both of us being new to the city! ^^

After Daegu I proceed to SEOUL. HOMESTAY!!!! Staying with a Korean family! Always wanted to try that! Location was good! Convenient to get around! The family is very nice but unfortunately due to my busy schedule I didnt have the chance to hangout and interact more. ㅠㅠ 미안해요 언니 ㅠㅠ

After returning from Japan back to Korea, Seoul, I rented a 1 ROOM APARTMENT (studio apt) at Digital Media City. Place is convenient and easy to get around too! I have always wished to stay alone! Just like in korean drama! hehehehehhe

Met 1 of the Saranger member, Vincent! Hang out and did some activities together. Of course the activities are FIRST time activities. We went to KTV (Noraebang 노래방), cycling @ Hangang Citizen Park, shopping at Sincheon/ Ewha, visit Cat Cafe at Sincheon, went to the BATTING CAGE at Sincheon (always wanted to do it just like in the drama ㅋㅋㅋㅋ) and also visited Hongdae. Thanks buddy for accompanying!!!! ^^

And the next important reason why I must visit Seoul is because of my TOPIK EXAM (34th). Took the exam at Songkyukwan University!

And I met more friends in Seoul!!!!!!

Hangout with my newest and youngest penpal friend, 김도윤! The 2nd Korean friend i met! We went to Gyeongbukgong Palace, climbed to Namsan Tower, Insadong and Myeongdong. A sweet girl who doesn't want to talk to me in Korean but all the way in English. kekekeke when I asked in Korean, she will reply in English! And she gave me sooooooooo much food that I ate it whenever I am hungry and still have to bring home the balances.

The 3rd korean friend I met was my OPPA 오빠 함창식!!!! I met him in Spore last year! He was so kind to meet me on Friday night after his work. I know he was soooo tired since he just came back from business trip. Really appreciated the time! So he brought me to Gwangjang Market (광장 시장) and traditional tea house in Insadong.

The 4th person, my FIRST korean friend, back in 2012, 김지현!!! We were soooo happy to finally meet! We used to send emails to each other when she was studying in Canada. We had a great time catching-up! It is really feels good meeting old friend! ^^

The last person i meet, the one I want to congratulate personally, THE BRIDE, my UNNIE 언니 박소현! I know she is busy preparing for her wedding and I really appreciate the time she set aside to meet me! My FIRST FACEBOOK friend! Hehehehehehe! Meeting her was really awesome! I learned a lot of things from her! She really inspire me and gave me motivation! It just "wow" me! Hehehehehe! And yes! I received my FIRST EVER KOREAN WEDDING CARD! Was so touched!

Some of my friends were asking me these questions:

1) Is it safe to travel alone? - Yes! It is safe to travel to Korea alone. Don't worry. Some simple pre-cautions you have to take note are don't hangout too late at night and go to deserted areas alone at night.

2)How about language barrier? - In Seoul, people do speak English and Mandarin so don't worry. Busan is still manageable. Signboards are available in English. Places like Daegu, Geoje maybe a little hard if you don't speak Korean.

3) How do you communicate to your korean friends in Korea? - We spoke in English! Since I can't speak Korean well, I still couldn't master the courage to speak it. hehehehe.

4) Don't you feel awkward meeting them? Is there anything to talk about? - No! I don't feel awkward at all! In fact, I feel VERY COMFORTABLE! I feel as if I have known them for very long! It doesn't feel like a first meeting at all! We talked sooooooo much! We talked about anything! It is because we have open mind and are not afraid to meet foreigners! ^^

Summary of NEW places visited during my trip:

1) BUSAN: Haeundae Beach, Gwangalli Beach, APEC, Dongbaek Park, Sampo Esplanade, Geoje - Oedo - Botania

2) DAEGU: Duryu Park, Suseong Land/Lake, Jungangno Station, Palgongsan

3) SEOUL: Seoul Public Library, Songkyukwan University, Ewha University, Lotte World, Gwangjang Market, Sinchon/Ewha/Hongdae

4) INCHEON: Chinatown

5) JEONJU: Eyebis spectacle shop, Hanok Village

Summary of NEW activities done during my trip:

1) Meeting all my korean friends!

2) Cycling at Hangang - always wanted to do this!

3) Studied at Seoul Public Library - very curious of their library! hehehehe

4) Visited Cat Cafe - the cats are super duper cute!!!!!!!!

5) Batting Cage - of course i really wanted to do this like i have seen in korean drama!!!!

6) KTV/ Noraebang (노래방) - this is sooooo much cheaper than SG! And songs are sooo up to date! And at Hongdae 1hr/person is only KRW 2,000!!!!!

7) Take an exam in Korea - YES! done! TOPIK exam taken!

8) Attend Language Cast Meetup organised by TTMIK - attended at Hongdae and met really nice koreans there! ^^

Such a longggggggggggggggg note!!!! I just wanted to pin down the beautiful memories and experiences I had! I will definitely go to Korea again! Maybe after 2 years? Currently I don't have any reasons/objectives/aims to visit again. hehehehe