Seoul Journ (DAY 6) Samcheongdong // Insadong

Ended off the sixth day hanging out at Samcheongdong and Insadong, both of which are located at Anguk station. I love Samcheongdong very much, it is like a much larger haji lane - except prettier and cooler. They have loads of little boutiques and cool looking cafes/restaurants, flea markets selling unique handmade merchandise were also abound.

Most overpriced meal we had the entire trip, I think we got ripped off. We were charged 6000won (about $7.50 SGD) each for rice and side dishes (which weren't a lot??), on top of almost $60-$80 SGD (I can't remember how much it was in won) for pork bugolgi and a plate of pork belly. It was insane. Though it was quite yummy, it was definitely waaaaaay overpriced, big regrets here. 

Still, we tried to make the best of it!

Off to shop around Samcheongdong! 

We stopped by this awesome fro-yo store called Savourex. It was AMAZING. 

I love this so much, I want this now. 

Iconic wall inspired by the one in Berlin (I think?) 

Hahaha stalked a qt as she was on her way home.

Visited Gentle Monster to help our neighbour get a pair of sunglasses he's been hankering after. Gentle Monster is a Korean brand and I think this was it's flagship store (located in the midst of the Hanok Traditional Village). 

The building used to be an old-school bathhouse and though it's been renovated, they retained much of the style such as the tiles and the machinery. 

Loads of expensive glasses, haha. 

We bought a pair for mami as an early birthday present (it was a hefty $332!), I fell in love with this pair but it cost around the same and I couldn't bear to part with the money! 

Went back to Tosokchun for their ginseng chicken because my mum had a mad craving. 

We got home pretty early that night because we were so exhausted! Felt great to just lounge in bed with my.. stuff animal. Hahahaha :3 

Seoul Journ (DAY 6) MMCA

After the hanbok experience, my mum and sister went to chill at a cafe somewhere whilst dad accompanied me to search for the MMCA. It was about a 15mins walk under the hot sun from Anguk station but it was totally worth it!

It was along a quiet road that housed other museums and some galleries. 

Beautiful streets lined with pretty trees :3 

I was ecstatic to find out that there was free entry for college students!   

This was pretty cute, and really important too! Though museums in Singapore are generally quite peaceful as well, I've had experiences where people talked really loudly or just behaved insufferable in general - museum etiquette is so important. 

Love the clean bare spaces. 

Robotics exhibit, exploring humankind's fascination with building a superior class of being. 

This was actually kind of creepy. Contraption of limbs "dancing" to a symphony. 

One of my favourite exhibits: "Xi Jing" is an imaginary world constructed by the artist (unfortunately I forgot his name :< ). It is a common noun that literally means "western capital". But the name also refers to a number of specific cities at various points in history, as well as both a city of life and a realm of death in the literary imagination. The exhibit places "Xi Jing"'s metaphorical contexts back into our contemporary world in order to explore the relationships that people in Asia and beyond have to the world of their real lives. Though some stories may seem absurd, "Xi Jing" reveals the falsities and contradictions of contemporary life and allows us to experience humorous moments in looking back on the condition of our lives. 

Ended my time there on the 5th floor at their digital archives. It only took me about an hour or so to finish exploring because one of the main levels was under construction. Definitely a great experience nevertheless (: