this has been a long time coming! sorry. i went to seoul a month ago on a visa run, but also conveniently to visit becky. to be honest, i wasn’t expecting much at first, but i was absolutely blown away by how much i loved the city. i kept gushing about it, but finally stopped because becky was giving me funny looks. :)

it was my first time in an east asian city that wasn’t chinese. and it was surreal. it was so similar to shanghai/taipei/hong kong in some ways and yet walking the streets just felt different. it had the same vibrant, loud, modern but cluttered feel, minus the dirtiness.  streets were equally crowded but seemed more peaceful, because people were more polite and less prone to public fighting/arguing/pushing/shoving. strangely, there were more international brands and stores, but much less foreigners than what i’m used to seeing on the streets of beijing. the thing that struck me the most about walking the streets was that it just felt… freer. i can’t really explain it, but oddly there is a tangible difference in the atmosphere of a place that is, well, free. and i’ll leave it at that before the censors come after me.

and i found a new top 5 favorite food (no, i can’t have just one): ddeokbokki. especially with cheese. who would have thought?!

thank you to becky, the best hostess in the world. <3

the beautiful kyungbok palace

yummy traditional korean meal

parts of seoul remind me of hong kong

the street food is all delicious, but ddeokbokki is the best