The whole neighbourhood (people still live there!) was incredibly serene and quiet.
Later on, we went to the Baek In Je Hanok home too.
After that, we went to Changdeokgung 창덕궁, which is known for its UNESCO-heritage garden (Huwon 후원). The palace itself was meh. And unfortunately, because it was incredibly cold but wasn't snowing, the plants in the garden weren't blooming and there were no pretty snow-covered trees. The tour guide even had to show us laminated pictures of what the place usually looked like in spring/autumn (absolutely gorgeous, by the way), and even winter (it looked like it came straight out of a movie!).
Pro-tip: if you're thinking of going to Huwon, definitely go in spring/autumn or on a snowy winter's day. It's so much more picturesque then.
We had lunch at a small family-run restaurant, where we shared a piping hot dish called Budae jjigae 부대찌개, which can be translated to 'Army Stew'. This dish arose from when American forces were present in South Korea and a key ingredient is spam (see my Snapchat video)!
After that, Michelle then brought me to the Dongdaemun markets! I'd been to Dongdaemun before (Day 13) but only went to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and the shopping mall there. This time, we went to the maze of streets right beside the plaza, which looked more like the wholesale markets in China than proper Korean malls. They sell clothes, shoes, accessories at the markets, all at a very cheap price! I also noticed a lot of men's clothing compared to other shopping places in Seoul, so I'll definitely bring my dad here next time we go back!
I loved the bag that Michelle got at the one street stalls before and she so graciously brought me to the same stall to get the exact same bag in the same colour as her. hee hee. Thanks Michelle (see Snapchat)!
For some reason, the shops all seemed to be packing up when we were there (about 5pm) so we were a tad rushed. Nonetheless, we got socks, and I got a counterfeit portable Mi charger for 10,000W (I checked online after and realised it was fake, but it works well anyway!).
We had to hunt around for this but we finally found, in my opinion, one of the best beauty/cosmetic shops in Dongdaemun: The Mask Shop! Michelle had been there before and was raving about the prices. I got there and I felt like it was a dream. So many shelves and all the products were discounted! Not sure if they were expired or even fake, but it seemed fairly legit so I just went ahead anyway. They had selected products from brands like The Face Shop, Banila Co, Etude House etc. There were so many brands I didn't recognise as well, so I opted to buy those I recognised.
We went back to our dorms, where I had a quick kimbap dinner and crammed the last section of information needed for our last sectional exam and assignment.
Snapchat:
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