Chuseok!

Chuseok is one of the major Korean holidays and this year it fell from 9/9 to 9/12 (meaning we had a 4-day weekend!).

On Friday we went on a day trip outside of Seoul to Nami Island. We took the subway to Yongsan Station and from there took the ITX train to Gapyeong (around an hour ride). From there, we walked to the ferry that would take us to the island. My friend Jessica and I actually opted to zip line to the island and it was very cool! (The zip line ticket also let us take the ferry on the way back.) Nami Island had a lot of walking paths, there were art exhibits, and many restaurants in the center of the island. There was also a dog park and we saw many people walking their dogs. The scenery was beautiful and very peaceful, trees lined the walkways and there were many gardens sprinkled around the island. I definitely want to go back during autumn and winter to see the different scenery.

The next day we went to the Blue House and Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Blue House is where Korea’s president lives and since it was Chuseok, it was free admission (along with the palace). We walked through different halls and the presidential residence and also got to see a drum performance on the lawn (there was also tightroping and disc spinning). There was even a mini hike you could do up a small mountain and it gave a great view of NSeoul Tower. Afterwards we ate lunch at a chicken and ginseng soup restaurant and then walked to Gyeongbokgong Palace. The palace grounds were super crowded and many people were wearing hanbok. My friends and I decided to visit the palace again and wear hanbok to take pictures.

To finish off the holiday weekend, we went to the Lotte World Mall and Lotte World Tower on Monday. Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in Korea and the 5th tallest in the world. After buying tickets to the observation deck, we took the elevator up, which took around a minute. The view was amazing, we could even see NSeoul Tower! It honestly reminded me of going to Tokyo Skytree in Japan. Lotte World Mall was nice but just like Coex, was pretty pricy so I didn’t do any shopping (the only thing I bought were manhwa stickers at a bookstore). Trying to find a place to get lunch was a nightmare. Maybe it was because it was a holiday, but finding seats (both in the food court and at sit-down restaurants) took a long time. We finally ate lunch around 2, and just like the rest of the mall, the restaurant was pricier that what I was used to (25,000 won for a plate of pasta).