In 2019, my two girlfriends and I planned a trip to Melbourne, but one of them got sick and couldn’t join. We were so excited this year to finally realize our girl’s trip plans with 5 days in Seoul, Korea! We had all been to Seoul before, so our main goals of the trip were to shop and eat, and basically plan nothing. I think we would all say it went exactly as “planned.”

L7 Hongdae by Lotte

We chose to stay in Hongdae for our week, given its proximity to nightlife, a shopping area, and lots of restaurants. The L7 hotel ended up being the best location and a great stay! It was two blocks from the train station (we took the train from the airport all the way to Hongdae), and across the street from the main shopping street. The hotel itself was more than adequate, and we really just used it for sleeping, so we didn’t even take advantage of the community space which has a great view. Be aware if you arrive before 3 PM, even if your room is ready, you will need to pay extra to check in early. We arrived at 11 AM and didn’t want to pay extra, so we left our bags at the front desk and went out to explore until we could officially check in that afternoon.

The best thing about Seoul was that despite not planning out any meal or looking up any restaurants beforehand, everything we ate was incredible. I don’t think I can say that about many cities!

Korean BBQ

Our first meal was a random Korean BBQ place along Hongdae Street. I couldn’t even tell you what the restaurant was because I can’t find it on maps, and I don’t speak Korean. Regardless, in my opinion you can’t go wrong with any Korean BBQ you find. Just know that if you’re in the mood for meat and endless delicious sides like bean sprouts (kongnamul muchim) and kimchi, you won’t be disappointed.

Avelop Cafe and Bakery

We stopped into this no-frills, basic coffee and tea cafe on our walk back to the hotel on the first day. The atmosphere is very peaceful, and the food we picked up was great. I chose the waffle with cream cheese on it, and my mouth is watering just typing this.

Premium Jangin Dakgalbi

Our second morning in Seoul, we got facials in Gangnam. Afterwards, we walked around and stumbled upon this restaurant. Dakgalbi is spicy stir-fried chicken, and this place puts melty mozzarella cheese in the middle. We ordered the size for 2 people, and that ended up being plenty of food for us. When we had about 1/3 of our chicken left, we had the server mix rice in so it was like a spicy chicken fried rice. Ask for seaweed on the side if you want to sprinkle that on, but don’t forget they call seaweed “laver” in Korea — unless you want to get a very strange look and exclamation from the server when you use Google Translate to ask for “seaweed”.

Salmon Nigiri from 여우골 홍대서교점

Another completely random place we discovered when I was craving salmon nigiri for dinner one night. We got 2 sets of the 12 piece nigiri, and the wonderful server also gave us two bowls of udon soup and a lesson in how to rub soy sauce soaked ginger on top of the salmon before eating each piece. It. was. divine. Not too long of a line, and a total gem near our hotel. Everything was in Korean so we used Google Translate to (try and) figure out what we were ordering.

Fuhaha Cream Bread

Hands down, this was my favorite find of our entire trip. We went no less than 5 times to enjoy these fluffy, cream filled buns. My two favorite flavors were the salty sweet cream and the strawberry cream. If I could go back in time and have these at my wedding, along with replacing every dessert I’ve ever eaten, I would do it. That’s how serious I am about this place.

Mippeudong

This Japanese restaurant had a long line, but was worth the wait. We ordered a cold, salmon noodle dish with ebi tempura, and an uni/salmon rice dish. I wish I spoke Korean so I could tell you what these dishes were called, but I have a feeling you won’t regret anything you order. The best part was the broth they pour into your rice dish bowl once you’re almost done. You can even ask for more soup and rice when you’re finished.

Angel In Us Coffee (or Angelinus as their sign reads)

This cafe was attached to the L7 hotel, and we stopped here for a small lunch and coffee one morning. The shrimp rose pasta was absolutely delicious, and the vanilla latte was one of my favorites on the trip.

BukChangDong Soondubu

We woke up one morning craving soondubu jjigae (soft tofu stew). Luckily, there was a soondubu restaurant one block from us. We got one beef and one seafood, both equally lovely. Our soup came with two bowls of rice (love the cooked, crispy bits at the bottom), and side dishes. A great find if you love stew!

Other Food

Street Food – The stalls along the streets and sidewalks that serve fish sticks with broth, chicken skewers, fried dumpings, ebi tempura, egg bread, and more were the real hero of the trip. Each item was about $1.50 and such a nice appetizer or late night snack depending on when you pass by. We came back to the same stalls near our hotel many times over our week in Seoul.

Bingsu – Shaved ice dessert

Instant Noodles – One night we just bought instant noodles from the convenience store and ate them in our hotel room, and it was perfect. Not to mention, cheap ($1-$3)!

We spent a lot of time walking along Hongdae Shopping Street, which has a ton of small shops carrying clothing, cosmetics, tech accessories, hair accessories, jewelry, and shoes.

Beauty – Best stores we shopped in for makeup and Korean beauty products were Olive Young (locations everywhere), Chicor (basically a Sephora), and individual brand stores (Too Cool for School, Mac, The Saem, The Face Shop, etc.)

Clothing – I bought 2 beautiful coats from a store called Main along Hongdae Shopping Street that weren’t expensive. Loved the simple clothing store, Miro Miro. We also went to Dongdaemun to check out the Migliore mall and Hello apm. Both have multiple levels of clothing/shoe/bag stalls that you can wander through.

Stationery – As a calligrapher and artist, I am naturally obsessed with paper/pens/stationery. My favorite store was KT&G. The bottom floor has fun, quirky local brands selling paper, planners, stickers, agendas, cards, literally the list goes on and on. And the upper floor has unique homeware. The other stationery store I loved was Object. Multiple floors like KT&G with various local stationery, jewelry, lifestyle brands. These two stores are perfect places to pick up one of a kind gifts.

Jewelry – Favorite jewelry stores were Sigonggan, and multiple stores in Ikseongdong Hanok Village.

As I mentioned, a lot of our days were spent wandering in Hongdae and making impromptu decisions on what to eat and what to see, so keep that in mind if you’re looking at our itinerary below as any basis for your own trip.

Day 1

• Explored Hongdae Shopping Street (went into stores like Too Cool for School, Olive Young, KT&G, and Sigonggan)
• Grabbed a coffee and snack from Avelop Cafe and Bakery
• Ate fish sticks from a street vendor outside Migliore in Dongdaemun
• Shopped in Migliore and Hello apm
• Ate egg bread from a street vendor as a late night snack, shopped in Chicor

Day 2

• Got facials at Muse Clinic in Gangnam
• Lunch at Premium Jangin Dakgalbi
• Went to Homeplus grocery store to buy snacks
• Shopped in the underground train shops
• Went to 여우골 홍대서교점 for Japanese dinner
• Shopped in Hongdae Shopping Street
• Ate fried snacks at street carts

Day 3

• Got Fuhaha Cream Bread
• Walked along Gyeongui Line Forest Park (gorgeous green space!)
• Mippeudong for lunch
• Took a bus to Ewha Womens University (unfortunately, most shops closed during COVID so it wasn’t very lively)
• Shopped in Hyundai Department Store
• Dinner at Chicken Bus (fried chicken)
• Karaoke at Su Noraebang

Day 4

• Brunch at Angelinus
• Took a train to Ikseongdong Hanok Village
• Korean BBQ lunch
• Returned to the hotel for instant noodles from the convenience store and watching a movie in bed

Day 5

• Soondubu jjigae for breakfast
• Took photobooth pictures at one of the MANY photobooth stalls (seriously, they are everywhere!)
• Last day shopping at KT&G, Mac, Gentle Monster, Object
• Random Korean restaurant back in Hongdae for dinner
• Went to a cafe for mango bingsu

This trip was exactly what we wanted it to be, and I can’t wait to go back for the food and to explore more neighborhoods in depth!