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Scavenging For S(e)oul: Recap
At the end of last month The Soul of Seoul Tours hosted our first event under the title of Scavenging For S(e)oul. Teams raced from Gwanghwamun through Jongno along the Cheonggyecheon into Bukchon and Gwangjang Market, down to Dongdaemun and eventually turned up at 3 Alley in Itaewon. The teams were provided with 40 clues that took them to specific locations as well as asked them to look for matchy matchy couples, dyed dogs and ajjussis in hiking gear. From culture and tradition to history and fads, everything was covered. As this was our very first event, initially we were just hoping to get 60 people, or just 15 teams.…
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A Guide to the Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival: Everything To Know
The 2024 Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival in celebration of Buddha’s birthday is back! This spring festival takes place over a few days with events around downtown Seoul from morning into the evening. Colorful lanterns have been strung up around the city in anticipation of the event and then over 100,000 more lanterns will be lit and paraded down the main streets of the capital. The excitement, hope, and love is palpable at this event and all are welcome to attend whether Buddhist or not. This is one of the most beautiful events to see each spring in Korea. Check out my nifty guide to the 2024 Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival…
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Seonyudo Park: One Of The Best Kept Secrets In Seoul
Seonyudo Park sits on an island on the Han River in Seoul, Korea between Hapjeong and Dangsan and is one of the best kept secrets in Seoul. The island, only accessible by foot bridge, walking, or bus, used to house a water treatment plant but in the effort to bring green space back to Seoul, it was released back to nature. Just south of the popular art and live music district known as Hongdae sits Seonyudo Island. There are only a few islands on the Han River that are accessible and this park is one cool one to find. Crossing the bridge from Hapjeong Station to Dangsan Station, I’ve seen…
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Gastro Tour Seoul @ The K-Style Hub
This past week, I was invited by the founder of Gastro Tour Seoul, Veronica Tae-Ahn Kang, to attend a tour at the new K-Style Hub. I’ve of course heard about Gastro for a few years but just hadn’t had the chance to go on a tour so I jumped at the invitation. The K-Style Hub is the new tourist information center downtown and is really modern and chic inside, a great step up from the previous location. The three floors that make up the hub are split into a floor for all the info a tourist could possibly need from culture and history to medical tourism as well. Not only…
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Ansan Mountain In Seoul Is A Cherry Blossom Best Kept Secret
If you’re looking for a beautiful cherry blossom spot in Seoul you might not have heard about, here it is: Ansan Mountain. When the cherry blossoms begin to bloom in Seoul, the city awakens from the winter and it is gorgeous. There are some really popular cherry blossom hot spots to find like Yeouido Island, Seokchon Lake or Namsan Mountain where Namsan Tower/N Seoul Tower sits, but there are also just cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms everywhere you look. It’s actually really common for people to walk out their front doors only to realize that their street was lined with cherry blossom trees all year but they didn’t realize…
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An Amazing Bamboo Forest on Geoje Island
On a recent trip to Geoje Island in Korea for a business meeting, my host took me to a bamboo theme park or the Maengjongjuk Theme Park (맹종죽테마파크). I was pleasantly surprised when we came upon the natural 90,000 square meter bamboo forest on the side of a hill. If you’re looking to enjoy the beautiful nature of Geoje Island, definitely check out this bamboo forest. Get ready to find this bamboo forest on Geoje Island in Korea: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking. Thank you for your support.) Basic Info Address: 700 Geojebuk-ro, Geoje-si, Gyeongsangnam-do…
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Painting With Babies: Art Exploration
At this point with the little one we’ve realized that almost anything will undoubtedly now be a messy endeavor which has caused me to step out of a very clean box I put myself in awhile back. It can be anything really; eating, sitting, sleeping, reading. It doesn’t matter. There’s pee, drool, poo, crumbs, food from breakfast, lunch or/and dinner inevitably stashed away in some fold, crease or in the hair… it never ends. Because everything is already messy, when faced with the prospect of doing an art project I was both excited and daunted. Luckily, a friend who teaches art to little ones made her way over and really…
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Scavenging For S(e)oul
Here is an event you won’t want to miss! Come for some fun. With clues in hand, teams will race to find as many locations as possible from cultural hot spots to traditional architecture and even some friendly local eateries too. They’re all in the mix. How much do you know about Seoul? Come test your knowledge with some great people and if you have the stuff, you can even win some fabulous prizes. The event will kick-off in the famous Gwanghwamun Square and will culminate at Beer O’Clock a local expat owned pizza pub in Sinchon where we will tally the points while you sit back and relax to…
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Funny Stories From Dating A Korean Man
When you watch Korean dramas or get into K-pop, you might start to think that Korean men are really romantic. The stories in dramas have made women the world over swoon and it seems now women are literally traveling to Korea to find love. It’s easy to start to believe that Koreans in general are super romantic. Did you know, for example, that there are 15 couple related unofficial holidays in Korea? With pictures that flood the internet of couple dressed in couple’s clothing and the Hallyu Wave that has swept the world, Korean men are now romanticized but should you fall for this storyline? They say Korean men are…
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Every Single Day: Nothing Of It & An Interview
The Korean indie band Every Single Day has released their 6th full length album titled Nothing Of It. Nothing Of It features new songs and also some old favorites that have been re-done or collaborated on. “Tick Tock”, originally from the drama Pasta, the first drama the band wrote and produced music for back in 2010, was reworked with the female vocal styling’s of Lee Sang Yu (이상유) of Rocket Tree (로켓트리). When discussing how they chose the songs to pull from their past, Sung Nam explained that “on the original Pasta OST we thought “Tick Tock” didn’t sound as good as it could so that’s why we chose to give it a make-over on…
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Crazy Multiply Art Collective: Malaise in Seoul
The Crazy Multiply Art Collective was at it again this past weekend with an intriguing show titled Malaise. While I had previously been a curator and worked with the ever impressive Amy Smith for Crazy Multiply, I had decided to take some time off as my schedule has been filled with lots of baby time. The babe wouldn’t stop me from supporting the lovely, now, foursome that has taken the reigns though. Current curators for the collective include Amy Smith, Unmaru, Kaleena Carter, and Miss Baik and boy did they put on a show. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase…
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Bongeunsa Temple: The Must See Korean Temple In Gangnam
Bongeunsa Temple (봉은사) is definitely one of the most popular Korean temples in Seoul along with Jogyesa temple. The popular temple sits in the ritzy Gangnam-gu area and tourists from near and far stop by as it’s an easy temple to find while out and about. While most of Korea’s Buddhist temples are set up in mountains entailing at least a short walk or hike into a forest, Bongeunsa is one of a few temples in Seoul that sprawls over an expanse that sits just beyond a major thoroughfare, though of course it wasn’t planned to be that way. While I would direct tourists to take the time to hike…
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Korean Temples: Art, Architecture, and History by Dale Quarrington
If you’ve ever wanted more information about some statue, artistic work or just the architecture of a Buddhist temple you passed along the way in Korea, chances are you stumbled upon Dale Quarrington’s website. It’s one of the few sites with such information available in English. Dale Quarrington recently published his second book on the religious sites that have captured his curiosity and intrigue while living in South Korea. Much like his website, the book aims to provide information little known to English speaking foreigners and hopefully will give people the oomph to get up and out and see the religious relics and sites that have caught his attention. For…
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Housewarming Parties In Korea: A Gifting Guide
When my husband and I moved a couple years back, I decided it was high time we had a housewarming party or a jipdeuri (집들이) in Korean. We invited friends and on the day of the get-together I was confused when my husband said we had to go get this food or that drink. Had I under prepared? Wouldn’t our friends be bringing food and it’s Korea, so probably drinks, or flowers and plants? As Emily Post had taught me, guests, though it’s not a rule, often bring drinks, say a bottle of wine, perhaps some bread and the odd plant or two. No, this is not the case in…
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A Baby’s First Birthday in Korea: How To Prepare a Doljanchi
Celebrating the first birthday of a child is a joyous occasion in any culture. The American and Korean cultures are quite different in how they celebrate birthdays, especially the first, so I jumped in head first with my Korean husband to learn more about the Korean dol and doljabi. If you’re wondering what a Korean first birthday party is like, get ready to learn about a doljanchi, how you can find out what your child will be in the future, and more. From Hanboks to rice cakes and the other things you’ll need to prepare for your baby’s first birthday Korean style. Feel free to skip around. Here’s what you…
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My Top Ten Adventures of 2015!
Much like 2014, not all of the adventures I undertook this year involved traveling yet this year managed to be extremely adventurous and full of first time experiences. I love looking back at my year and appreciating everything that I’ve done. It’s always fun to reminisce and be thankful for the experiences, events, people and more that I have had, gone to and met. I hope that everyone takes the time to recall their year as we near the end and I hope that everyone has at least a few moments to smile upon and be grateful for. Here are my top ten adventures of 2015! (This post contains affiliate…
