Seoul, Korea

Above: Sinsadong, Garosu-gil (신사동 가로수길)

Seoul, Korea

Above: Seoul Station (서울역), streets of Myeong-dong (명동)

Seoul, Korea

Above: Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market (노량진수산시장) 

Having visited both Busan's Jagalchi Market (자갈치시장) [blog post on it over here] & Seoul's Noryangjin, I believe it's easily agreeable that Jagalchi's will be preferred from a tourist's perspective. In fact, we already read that Noryangjin can be skipped/may be underwhelming if you're already going/had been to Jagalchi but we still wanted to check it out to 'been there, done that' when in Seoul! Being Korea's leading and largest seafood market, the Jagalchi Market certainly showcased a much wider variety, stretching beyond the large range of seafood to other groceries and food produce as well. For visitors, the highlight of the markets got to be the experience of buying your live seafood and getting them cooked and served at the dinning sections right there and then. While both markets provide such services, for non-korean speakers/locals, Noryanjin can be more of a tourist trap where sellers and restaurant owners were felt to be more forceful by being all 'we know what's best so just let us decide for you'. Just some heads up and I'd say both are surely worth a first visit at the very least! That yummy rockfish soup~~~

Seoul, Korea

Hongdae (홍대) here we go again. For me, as of the Seoul I know, I gotta ♥ Hongdae the most.

Seoul, Korea

Weaving through Insa-dong (인사동) after laughing ourselves silly in some princess Hanbok (those traditional Korean dress) in the Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) earlier that morning. Insa-dong is part overly-touristy with the most cliche and unfashionable souvenirs, part artsy with galleries and the many little vendors selling their own handmade items, part very un-touristy with unpretentious shops selling common essentials etc. It's just unlike the other parts of Seoul by being... very Insa-dong. Victoria marked it as her favourite destination of Seoul this time around while I remembered it as the place where I chanced upon a bell booth and brought back a bell keyring with such a crisp and clear ring. It was 'love at first ring'.