A week’s worth of wandering around Seoul.

I spend the week roaming the streets in and around my neighborhood, learning the trains, and getting to know the city, usually with a meal in mind.

One of the things I’m most curious about in my vicinity is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a cultural center designed by Zaha Hadid and SAMOO, a South Korean architecture and engineering firm. As one of my favorite architects, I’m always excited when I can visit one of Hadid’s works, and today si no different. Using the concept of "Metonymic Landscape,” Hadid deduced and integrated historical, cultural, urban, social, and economic aspects of Seoul in order to create a scene of the landscape that forms the complex.

As I reach the large intersection across from the plaza I’m greeted by the rear of a golden statue. She faces the complex, as if returning or taking a last look before exploring the city. A woman stands at her feet in matching tones, readying her phone to take a photo.

In a lower courtyard they’re shooting a film or a commerical. It’s the most activity I see on this warm morning. A man sits before a monitor above the plaza and I stop to watch the action on screen for a moment before leaning over to see how the shot is taking shape below.

I wander into one hall and shop, but decide I don’t want to spend the day indoors and wander through the plaza back towards the street in search of something to eat.

I stumble upon Jungbu Market, a covered market that runs a block long near my hotel. Once again I’m struck by the juxtaposition of old and new, modern and not exactly traditional, but the idea of this market that could have been here for generations.

Wandering through the food stalls I decide against a full meal, but seeing a shaved ice station order a red bean shaved ice to carry with me as I explore the rest of the market.

The next day I decide to take the subway to Sinsa-dong, a more upscale, fashionable neighborhood south of the Han River. En route, I decide to cut through the neighborhood just south of me to get to the metro station and discover a wealth of cafes and restaurants to add to my list of places to try.

It’s a little bit of a walk from the subway station to the densely-packed area of shops and cafes, but I appreciate the quiet of tree-lined streets in the calmer areas of the neighborhood. It’s almost like a palette cleanser before you reach the hipper blocks.

I walk the blocks aimlessly. I feel like I’m on a recon mission rather than really coming to explore. I’m still feeling slightly discombobulated and am dressed too warmly for the season.

I’m intrigued by Jayeondo Sogeumppang, a saltbun bakery, with a small line outside. I join the short queue to place my order to see what the fuss is about. The bread comes out hot, the loaf delicate in my hand. I take a bite and am struck immediately by how salty it is, the taste leavened by the light texture of the bread itself.

Rounding out my visit I reach one of the most densely-packed lanes in the neighborhood. It’s a quiet afternoon and I feel like I should come back on a weekend to see how busy it might actually get, and to indulge in some people watching. On my next trip to Seoul, I decide that this is the neighborhood in which I want to base myself.

The next day I head south from the hotel to the Namsangol Hanok Village, a recreated Korean village with 5 restored hanoks, built between 1392 and 1910. It’s like a Disney version of what a village would be and I wander past the more commercial streets at the base of the hill on which it rests before climbing up to Namsangol Park, where it occupies the northwest corner.

The village is quaint and quiet for the weekday. There are activities strewn about, but no one seems to be manning them today. On one side of a courtyard belonging to one of the homes archery targets are set up and I look around to see if there are bows and arrows available for us. I love archery, even though I’m not very good at it, and can never resist the opportunity to practice. Unfortunately, archery practices appears closed today.

A lot of the buildings are open and I climb up onto various wooden platforms to explore the homes, peeking in to take a look at how Koreans might have furnished their rooms back in the day. From one particular courtyard there are views up the mountain to the N Seoul Tower. I don’t have the time to take the hike up there but add it to my list of possible things to do while I’m in town.

Leaving the Hanok village I explore the park, climbing up to its southern end to visit the Seoul Millennium Time Capsule Square. I walk the path surrounding it before I find the way in and then take a loop around the plaza inside. Created to commemorate the city's 600th anniversary, the capsule contains artefacts representing the cultural, technological, and social developments of Seoul. It is scheduled to be opened in 2394 on Seoul’s 1000th anniversary.

Climbing back down the hill I follow a small stream as it leads to a pool at the base of the park. There’s a few people and families lingering around the grounds, and I wonder what it might be like on the weekends. It seems too tranquil for the activities that are advertised around the village. I wonder if there’s the same sense of fun that accompanied my visit to the Gyeongbokgung Palace.

I have reservations to Legume in the evening. A vegetarian restaurant located on the western edge of Sinsa-dong, it’s been well-reviewed and I look forward to being treated to an elevated tasting of Korean-inspired and influenced food. I’m equally excited to return to Sinsa-dong and to see more of the neighborhood, and so I leave hours before my reservation so I can explore.

If anything, I may like the western parts of the neighborhood more than the parts I had seen the day before. But there are so many little streets and they wind in such a way that around every bend there seems a multitude of ways in which I can go. And each path looks as enticing as the next. I could spend an entire day wandering just this part of Seoul, and I lament that I never have as much time as I’d like to fully see what I might be able to see.

The restaurant is located on the second floor of what appears to be an office building. It takes me a moment to figure out how to get up there. When I do, I’m only the second patron to arrive. I’m seated at the bar and given a towel with which to freshen up. And then the courses begin.

Dinner is fantastic. It’s one of my favorite meals of the year and as I look to place it on my list it sits next to Yellow, a vegan place I had visited in Sydney.

I take the subway back to Myeongdong and walk along the main street back to the hotel. It’s another quiet night and I enjoy the walk; the well-lighted streets, the modern buses that pass next to the three-wheeled delivery tuk tuks parked on the sidewalk waiting to be picked up again in the morning. 🇰🇷