In the middle of modern day Korea, lies a village that was left behind.. left behind in terms of style but the heart keeps progressing over time. Bukchon Hanok Village is one of the places one shouldn't miss in Seoul. Located near the Gyeongbokgung Palace, these traditional houses are called 'hanoks' and all use identical roofings, bricks and tiles. Some have transformed into restaurants and guest houses but some residents still prefer to live in their community that is now a popular tourist spot. Tourists were advised to keep the silence while sight-seeing so as not to disturb the home owners. Although these houses represent a portion of the Joseon culture, people living here are now modernized. Bukchon Hanok is even a wi-fi hotspot village.

The N Seoul Tower is the highest point of Seoul. It is also known as the Namsan Tower since it is located at the top of Namsan Mountain. It is one of the most sought after tourist destination in South Korea as it is where you can see the 360° panoramic view of its capital city. It was supposedly on the first day of our 6D5N trip. After we checked into our rooms in Kimchee Downtown Guesthouse, we had a quick rest and went straight to Myeongdong via subway. When we went out the train station, it was raining cats and dogs in the area. It was freaking cold and the streets were so gloomy. We didn't bring umbrellas and our clothes were not enough for the cold weather. We waited for the rain to subside in a shelter but no luck so went back to the guesthouse instead.

The weather was perfect on our second attempt. The Myeongdong streets were lively and as I have captured below, the tower was peeking out from one of the streets.



From Myeongdong train station, we walked towards the Namsan cable car station for about 10-15 minutes. It lifted us up to the foot of the tower. I was so happy because trekking was not required.



The car was made of crystal clear glass and the view was spectacular. It was just a short cable car ride so I savored every moment instead of taking too many selfies while we're moving up.



Here's my first glance upon exit from the cable car station at the peak of the Namsan Mountain. The wide wooden stairs add a minimal rustic feel on the entrance. 



Finally.. we're closer to the tower. It was so tall, we weren't able to capture the entire tower in one photo. There were also skilled photographers that can take and print your picture with the best angle for a certain amount. It is not just a communications and broadcasting tower, there are museums, restaurants and observatories inside.



Even the decks were filled with hundreds of thousands of colorful love locks and promises. I'm really in love with this place.

Before leaving, we've found this corner so fresh, relaxing and romantic. The entire view was perfect. For sure, I will forever treasure this amazing moment.

After our Nami Island day tour, we still had an hour to visit Petite France. Actually, while we were preparing our itinerary, Radney asked me to choose between Garden of the Morning Calm and Petite France. The former is the oldest private garden in Korea while the latter is a French-inspired cultural village. I've chosen the latter just for a simple reason, it was one of My Love From Another Star's shooting location, one of my favorite Korean romantic-comedy series starring Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun. Aside from that, I wanted to see these colorful French-inspired cultural village situated on top of a hill.

We just really had a quick tour inside this village. I took snaps in a hurry because I wanted to explore the entire place but we only had less than an hour remaining before the next bus schedule. The buildings were colorful and it reminds me so much of McKinley Hill in Taguig, Philippines, it also features colorful buildings but Italian-inspired. 

Petite France was so chic and romantic. The string of lights and the light poles, I can imagine it so dreamy at night.


I seriously wanted to take home these items. LOL! I fell in love with these vintage cookwares displayed on the floor. They'll be perfect to be displayed on white kitchen cabinets.



I took a picture of this room with Jun Hi Hyun's poster. It's because she slept here in the sofa in one of her scenes.



This is my favorite spot.. overlooking Nami covered in light fog.



Does it look like I'm in France? I haven't been to any place in Europe. But who knows, maybe I'm about to blog it someday.. ❤

Nami Island a.k.a. Namiseom Island or Naminara Republic became a popular tourist destination because it is where the most memorable scene from Korean romance series 'Winter Sonata' was filmed. That was the only thing I know about the place when we went there maybe because I just go with the flow with our itinerary and never really did some research about it. I've watched from some travel shows that featured the island covered with snow during winter season and it was very beautiful and all-white. The tourists were fashionably wearing winter clothes, some were building snowman, some were enjoying the skiing activities. Maybe next time I can try those but our scheduled trip to South Korea was spring season, still, I was very excited to see and feel the island's natural theme, the wonderful colors of spring. :)

Nami Island is located outside Seoul but faster to reach via ITX (Intercity Train eXpress), we took the train up to Gapyeong Station. The season of spring was still so cold but manageable upon wearing a jacket. We went to the island on a Thursday morning, a lot of tourists also went the same day, some were foreigners like us but mostly were Koreans. We started walking on the island while eating ice cream. The roads were not paved but soiled. The leaves from different tree varieties paint the entire island with green, pink, orange and brown. The little squirrels welcomed us, they were very playful and not afraid of people, they even ate some biscuits we left on the ground.

Here's the Gapyeong Terminal. I took the picture while I was on the bus stop, waiting for the bus that will bring us to Nami's ferry terminal.


The ferry that took us to Nami Island can accommodate a lot of passengers and flags of different countries surround it. I prefer to stand outside to feel the fresh air and catch the morning view.




Pink blossoms and red leaves made a perfect background (except for the photobombers! Well we can't avoid them.. :p)


 The Pine Tree Lane.. the aisle with a string of white lanterns...



We had our lunch at Nammoon Restaurant, it is the premier Korean restaurant in Nami.



We took a nap while waiting for the next bus schedule.. our next stop will be Petite France. :)

I often hear about Goryeo and Joseon dynasty whenever I watch Korean period dramas. These kingdoms exist before the modern-day Korea and were ruled by a King. Most of the Korean drama stories revolve on these dynasties especially King Taejo, the founder of Goryeo. Of course, kings and queens wore the most colorful hanboks and live on their grandiose palaces and I can't help but be curious on how and where the series were filmed with the old setting.

Now I understand why it's like easy for them to create bunch of period dramas because there's a lot of palaces in Korea that are well-preserved and huge. And not just as filming location, these palaces are now tourist attractions too. During our second day in Korea, we explored the two huge palaces in the middle of the modern-day Seoul, the Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces.

Before we enter Gyeongbokgung, we witnessed the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony at the entrance. The guards wore their costumes in bright blue and red. After the parade, we were allowed to roam inside the palace. The place was huge, too much walking caused painful muscles on my legs. We enjoyed taking pictures of the walls, roofs, arches, doors and all the corners. There was even a view of the mountain on the horizon.

The palace's back garden is the most amazing thing I've ever seen, with a large pond and a pavilion in the middle that reflects through the water. It was so beautiful and perfect that I've even made it my computer's wallpaper. On one of the exits near the pavilion, we went out to see the Presidential Blue House. It was well-guarded so we took the picture from afar.

We were already tired when we went to Changdeokgung that we were no longer that amazed with the palace because Gyeongbokgung is much more bigger. However, in Changdeokgung we were able to rest under the maple trees. The abundance of pink azaleas and few remaining cherry blossoms in its garden made the place even more beautiful.


Gyeongbokgung Palace









Changdeokgung Palace