Hello, everyone! We are Creatrip, a group of Korean travel experts.

We proudly present you the latest, useful Korean travel information and tips every day.

Last time, we talked about traveling Seoul by taking the Metro Line 1.

Line 1 is very long and complicated, so we introduced you the spots above Yongsan Station.

Today, let's take a look at the places below Yongsan Station!

1. Noryangjin Station (노량진역)

Rice Cup Street (컵밥거리)

You'll find in Noryangjin that there's so many hagwons here.

It's always been the place where students come to prepare for national exams or civil service exams.

Students are relatively short on cash and money. So they don't really have the leisure to sit down for a good meal.

So「Cup Rice」was the snack developed to become a solution for these students. Cheap and healthy all at once!

The Cup Rice has many ingredients mixed together such as ham, eggs, etc.

Although this Cup Rice was made for students in the beginning, word spread that this snack was excellent, and people started to swarm into Noryangjin to try it out.

And so roadside stalls selling Cup Rice appeared one by one, and this has now become the famous Cup Rice street of today.

Recently, in addition to the cup rice, there are also a variety of other snacks such as rice noodles, fried rice, and muffins, which provide visitors with more choices!

The biggest advantage of Cup Rice Street is that it is really cheap~ 10,000 won and you'll have a full tummy. ^^

Address  : 서울특별시 동작구 노량진1동 148-3

Noryangjin Seafood Market (노량진수산시장)

Want to know what's fresh in this country?

Then I recommend everyone to go to the market to witness yourself～

Sourth Korea is losing its traditional market due to the rise of large-scale retail stores and supermarkets. Still, there are people who prefer going to the traditional market.

One of Korea's largest markets, the Noryangjin seafood market is still popular to Koreans.

Fresh but cheap fish are always available for you there.

Choose the fish or seafood of your choice, get a table and wait. The owner will make good sashimi out of the fish that you chose earlier on the spot!

You'll notice that people are still really warm hearted over here.

Sometimes the owners will personally feed you a fresh sashimi to you when its available!

There's a restaurant on the upper floor of the market. The sashimi you chose will be served to you from the market.

With just a bit more payment you can also get side dishes and soups on the table, and that's gonna make your sashimi even better!

Address : 서울특별시 동작구 노들로 674 노량진 수산물 도매시장

2. Yeongdeungpo Station (영등포역)

Yeongdeungpo Times Square (영등포타임스퀘어)

There's a good place to visit around Yeongdeungpo during the weekend. It's called the "Yeongdeungpo Time Square."

It's a large shopping mall with fashion stores (ZARA, 8 Seconds, etc.), cosmetics (The Face Shop, Misha), and bookstores (Kyobo Bookstore), restaurants, coffee shops and hypermarkets (e mart).

Since there are so many stores, they sell all kinds of things and when you come shopping here, time flies. XD

And the beautiful spiral staircase and spacious hall makes it a perfect place for couples to come for dates.

Location : 서울특별시 영등포구 영중로 15 타임스퀘어

Yeongdeungpo Underground Market (영등포지하상가)

There are many underground shopping malls in Seoul that are developed around the subway.

Among them, Yeongdeungpo Underground Market has attracted many tourists due to its cheap price of clothes.

The quality of the jeans here is much better than that of other underground shopping streets.

It's cheap, but don't worry because the quality isn't cheap. ^^

In addition to clothes, there are also a lot of accessories too (scarves, ear rings, mobile phone cases).

If you don't feel like buying clothes, there's also a lot of souvenirs for your friends!

For winter clothes, I want it to be warm, so I'd rather skip winter buying winter clothes from here. > <

If you want to buy a warm coat, it'd be better to go to Yeongdeungpo Times Square or Shinsegye Department Store.

Address : 서울특별시 영등포구 경인로 843 지하쇼핑센터

3. Guil Station (구일역)

Gocheok Sky Dome (고척 스카이돔)

@ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gocheok_Skydome_outside.JPG

Gocheok Sky Dome is Korea's first Dome shaped baseball park. 

It's currently the home of Nexen team.

Compared to all other baseball parks in Korea, it's the most expensive one.

It's an indoor stadium, so what else can we ask for?

Koreans love going to a baseball game on a date.

Even people who don't really like baseball just go to the stadium on a date. It's become a culture actually.

Gocheok Stadium has a lot of food, so you can enjoy food and baseball at once. The food is a bit expensive here, but I do think that it's worth it.

So why not enjoy baseball and try dating at the stadium like Korean people?

Address : 서울특별시 구로구 고척1동 경인로 430

4. Onsu Stadium (온수역)

Hangdong blue arboretum (항동 푸른수목원)

Feel like visiting somewhere pretty for autumn?

Everyone should definitely visit the Hangdong Blue Arboretum!

It's Seoul's first arboretum located in the Guro district, close to the city centre. A very convenient place to visit.

In Hangdong Green Arboretum, there's around 1,700 species of plants and 25 theme gardens,

the most striking part would be the scenery formed by Hangdong Dam and the reed forest.

If you walk through the tall reed forest, you'll arrive at the rose garden.

The reeds and the steel path are the best sceneries here.

Keep walking down the steel path, and you'll have a panoramic view of the whole of Hangdong Green Arboterum.

An endless stretch of pink cosmos is also a sight to enjoy.

It's just like a beautiful painting out here.

Tired of the city life?

Hangdong Green Arboterum is what you need to heal your body and soul.

Address : 서울특별시 구로구 항동 46

5. Bupyeong Station (부평역)

Incheon Bupyeong Underground Market(인천부평지하상가)

Bupyeong Underground Market is the biggest underground market in Korea!

It's made up of 4 underground markets.

The red market is the biggest centre market!

This Market has anything you can think of.

Clothes, cosmetics, shoes, accessories, phone accessories, etc... 

Everything's here, so it's a nice place to go shopping for a lot of different items at once ><

Really, this place is huge... 

Even if you pass by the stores quickly, you'll be spending 2~3 hours here!

My feet were quite sore at the end of the shopping adventure

They say that if you shop around the Incheon Bupyeong Underground Market thorughly, you'll need more than a day@.@

Well, it's just that big!

The biggest underground shopping mall in Korea, try visiting the Incheon Bupyeong Underground Market!

住址: 인천광역시 부평구 부평대로 69

epic(에픽)

Epic is an Italian restaurant located near Bupyeong station and its underground market.

It's almost safe to say that everyone in Bupyeong knows this place! It's a really good Italian restuarant.

The interior is neat and simple, not very large, but can't say that it's small either.

The best menu of epic is the Mare Creama(마레크레마)！

At first glance, it's just a very common cream pasta, but it's actually very special.

When the pasta is finished, you'll find rice crust hidden beneath!

The combination of Italian pasta and rice crust is quite unique, and it feels like the food is made in a Korean traditional casserole.

Address : 인천 부평구 경원대로1363번길 8

6. Incheon Station (인천역)

Songwoldong cartoon village (송월동 동화마을)

The beanstalk of Jack and the Beanstalk, pink palaces like that of the fairy tales! Let's drop by the land of dreams!

A ten minutes walk from Chinatown, you'll see a mural village themed of fairy tales and cartoons from Korea and all over the world.

Songwoldong's cartoon village was once a rich village with a lot of foreigners, especially the Germans, after 1883, when the Incheon port opened its doors.

Now, all the foreigners and young generations have left, leaving behind only the elderly.

To revitalize the village that was once so vivid, young artists from Incheon have come here to decorate the walls to paint their art in the form of fairy tales.

Here, anyone can become a princess or a prince in a fairy tale.

Hansel and Gretel's candy house, the gorgeous palace of Sleeping Beauty, etc. All kinds of murals and sculptures are decorating the village, making this whole town a picture perfect spot for you.

Although it's a fairly new location, it's become the number one dating spot for Koreans in Incheon. Get your selfie stick, tripod and have fun in this fairy tale village of Songwoldong!

Address : 인천광역시 중구 송월동3가 11-154

Shinpo international market (신포 국제 시장)

Currently, the most famous International Market is in Busan, the place which has become such a famous touristic spot. But did you know that Incheon also has an International Market?

In fact, Shinpo International Market was open long before Busan's International Market. (Busan's Market started in the 1950s while Shinpo International Market started in the late 1800s.)

The Shinpo Market is well-known for its three dakgangjeongs (chicken nuggets) : Incheon Shinpo Dakganjeong / Yeongwol Ilmi Dakgangjeong / Sokcho Manseok Dakgangjeong. So naturally, you'll see a long line waiting in front of Shinpo Dakgangjeong even on weekdays.

Though the dakgangjeong is really popular, Shinpo is also known for its other foods, like the unique Chinese food of Shinpo.

Incheon opened its doors quite early, and had a lot of interaction with the Sandong province of China from way back. Actually, the Chinese people that settled down in Shinpo to start there own stores have been the beginning of Shinpo International Market. In the beginning, they were simple vegetable stores, whereas we can find everything here these days.

They say that "if you can't find it in Shinpo, you won't find it anywhere else in the world." That should be an explanation enough to get an idea of what Shinpo is like. The Chinese settlers have been here for ages, and thanks to their influence, we can easily find Chinese food in Shinpo.

Address : 인천광역시 중구 신포동 9-6

7. Gasan Digital Complex Station (가산디지털단지역)

MARIO Outlet (마리오 아울렛)

Mario Outlet in Gasandong of Seoul has 600 brands inside. It's currently the biggest outlet in all of Asia, and all luxury brands, domestic and foreign, can be bought here at a discount of over 20%!

Purchases over 30,000 won can get you a tax refund when you submit your receipt when leaving the country. VAT will be refunded after deducting the handling charges.

Tax Refund documents can be issued directly at the customer services centre in Hall 1 & 3.

MARIO Outlet has all the fashion brands from Korea and abroad.

Equipped with a kids theme park, restaurants and other types of services, it's a good shopping destination for anyone.

Since you can buy almost everything here, I recommend this place for people who like buying everything at once.

Address : 서울특별시 금천구 가산동 60-22

8. Suwon Station (수원역)

Suwon Hwaseong (수원화성)

Hwaseong was built around Suwon in an attempt to fortify the king's power and enrich the country.

At that time, uncommon though it was, the people who built the castle were not forced into labour without payment. On the other hand, they were provided with a certain amount of salary and if they were injured during the process, their living expenses were fully covered until such time that the injured person was recovered. King Jungjo was unique at the time to put in place such a developed welfare system.

The castle being built out of love for the king's father, Hwaseong was chosen as the most artistic building in Korea.

Hwaseong under the moonlight is even more of a scene. Learn the history of Hwaseong during the daytime and comeback in the evening to enjoy its magnificent view under the moonlight!

Address : 경기도 수원시 장안구 연무동 190

Suwon Fried Chicken Street (수원 통닭골목)

Suwon's Fried Chicken Street is the best selling place of fried chicken in all of Gyeonggido. 

This street is filled with chicken restaurants varying in history from 2 years to 45 years. The most popular restaurants are "Jinmijeongye," "Yongseong," and "Janganjeongye." You will have to wait in line if you want to taste their chicken!

Chicken here is cooked differently. Rather than the common method of frying one chicken at each take out order, chickens here are fried in the traditional way in a big black iron pot.

Want to know what Korean traditional chicken tastes like? You'll find it here at its very best. Maybe the portion might be a bit small for some people, but you get a free helping of chicken sticks.

In the summer, a lot of people come here to sit outdoors while enjoying chicken and beer. Ending the day with chicken, beer and fresh gentle breeze wouldn't be bad, would it?

Address : 경기도 수원시 팔달구 팔달로1가

As you can see, taking Metro Line 1, you can visit all these places!

Line 1 is really long and complicated, so today, we've covered the places below Yongsan Station.

Of course, there are many other touristic spots in Seoul other than what we've seen today.

Leave a comment if you have any questions about traveling in Seoul!