A full day of winter fun in Myeongdong
たろしん
5 days ago
Myeongdong is just so convenient, it has everything, so it’s a really fun area for tourists.
No matter how many times you go, you never get bored, and even if you don’t visit for a few months, a lot of shops have changed, it’s a neighborhood that’s always evolving. It’s a bit sad when a favorite place closes, but it still feels fresh and fun every time.
This is a yakiniku chain restaurant around Myeongdong.
The last time we visited, the butcher-style restaurant we went to was so delicious that we really loved it, so we searched it out and went again. It seems to be a chain, we previously went to the one near Seoul Station. This time, we tried finding the location near Myeongdong for the first time.
They don’t have a Japanese menu and they don’t speak Japanese, so I was a bit confused at first, but we managed to order. There were parts where English didn’t quite get through either, so I was worried, but it was totally fine. We went a bit later than usual for lunch, so the restaurant was empty and it felt like we had the place to ourselves.
I wonder if it gets crowded during the evening rush?
They have both samgyeopsal and beef. Since we had beef last time and it was so good, we ordered beef again. I haven’t tried their samgyeopsal, but last time at the Seoul Station location, lots of locals were eating it, so it might be really good.
Once we sat down and finished ordering, banchan started arriving one after another. There isn’t a ton, but it’s just the right amount.
We ordered meat, Naengmyeon, and white rice. The Naengmyeon was refreshing and really delicious too.
If there are too many banchan, you can’t eat the meat…
Clockwise: pickled garlic stems, kimchi, sliced onions with sauce, beef, bracken fern, chili peppers, and in the back right is a refill of sliced onions. We ate two plates of the beef in the upper left. The kimchi was also light and really tasty, maybe it was more like a quick pickle.
The garlic leaves were pleasantly tangy and helped cut through the richness of the meat.
It’s not super cheap, but it ended up being a very satisfying, slightly late lunch. I’m glad we could eat slowly with the place to ourselves. When you travel, meal times get all over the place, so we really appreciate restaurants that stay open and aren’t crowded even after lunchtime.
The restaurant was open, but the staff were on break and napping in their chairs, so I felt a little bad. The inside was also dim, so I wasn’t sure if they were open, but we got to eat delicious meat.
We were full, so we thought about heading back out into Myeongdong, but we were a bit tired, so we went back to the hotel room for a short break. Between travel fatigue and being full, the sleepiness hit… We lay down on the beds, and before we knew it, everyone had fallen asleep. You walk so much on trips, it really takes stamina. In our family, we need to take breaks, so after a quick nap, we got dressed, bundled up, put our hats on properly, and went back out with no bags or anything.
In winter, we went to try the ice skating rink held at City Hall.
They’re open during the day too, but at night, with all the lights from the surrounding buildings and hotels, the atmosphere was amazing. But it was freezing!
During the day it was mostly families with kids, but at night it was packed with young couples, groups of students, and tourists.
The music was blasting, everyone sounded like they were having fun, and with the lighting it was the best!
There are lockers for your belongings, so even if you suddenly feel like skating after shopping, it’s totally fine. The lockers are paid, but not too expensive, which is really appreciated.
First you line up to buy tickets, then you rent skates and a helmet.
When we bought our tickets, the group before us had just started skating, so we killed time around the facilities nearby. When it was our time slot, we lined up to rent skates, and since there are chairs near the lockers, we sat down to put the skates on.
After putting on your skates, there are helmets in various sizes lined up, so you pick one yourself, put it on, and wait in line around the rink until it’s time. The staff were cleaning and smoothing the ice after the previous session.
If the skate size didn’t fit, they would exchange it for you. There were restrooms too, which was reassuring.
I didn’t skate and just took a break, but the people skating were all drenched with sweat inside their helmets!! Some were even skating without wearing a padded jacket.
I’m pretty sure everyone’s T-shirt under their jacket was soaked too! It feels like it could even blow away Korea’s winter cold, lol.
Watching, there were locals too, and people from all kinds of countries enjoying it. Everyone looked so happy, it was really heartwarming.
There are two skating areas, one is a large space for adults, and the other is a slightly smaller area where kids skate, so it felt reassuring. Still, some people were falling here and there, so it’s better to be careful. The staff also patrol, so it feels relatively safe.
This is the area that people who can’t skate, and kids, can use.
Even if you can’t skate at all, there are hand-held supports like the ones kids use, so children can skate on their own with peace of mind.
The staff all skated so smoothly, they looked really cool. There were also customers who skated smoothly like pros.
Helmets are required, so I think it’s better to go with your hair down rather than tied up.
With this rink, once you enter, you can’t skate continuously the whole time, it’s divided into time slots, so it’s best to plan around your sightseeing schedule.
You get incredibly sweaty after skating, so if you’re staying at a nearby hotel you can go right back, but if you’re not nearby, you’ll cool down quickly afterward and might catch a cold.
Or it might be better to bring a change of clothes.
Since we were staying near Myeongdong, we had everyone take a shower at the hotel right away. I was completely chilled too, so we took turns bathing and warmed up in piping-hot water.
It’s a winter-only kind of activity, and it looked like so much fun!
After all that exercise, everyone except me was really hungry. We wanted to eat gopchang, so we decided to go to Obaltan, a place I’d been wanting to try for a long time. The hotel staff gave us a map, so we thought we’d ask for directions and walk, but since it was already late, they said that if we walked leisurely we might arrive when the restaurant was already closed. It was right near closing time, so at the hotel staff’s suggestion, we had them call a taxi and went by taxi.
The outside of the restaurant was super sparkly with illuminated decorations, it had a very Korea-style vibe.
When we went in, there were people lined up at the register and diners leaving one after another, so I worried we wouldn’t be able to eat. We waited about 5 minutes on the chairs in the entrance waiting area, then they showed us to our table and I felt relieved. We were probably their last customers.
The restaurant was spacious and clean, a gopchang specialty spot. There were lots of office-worker-looking older men and families around. We were the only tourist group.
The tables were spaced out, it wasn’t a noisy, chaotic place, it felt like a restaurant where you could relax and enjoy a meal together.
Beer and gopchang go really well together.
They also gave us a bottle of water, which was nice. The radish kimchi was delicious.
After we sat down and ordered, a big platter of banchan came out right away. It was very stylish, with some unusual vegetables, and felt fresh. It was banchan with a bit of a French twist rather than typical Korean side dishes. I was really happy to get lots of vegetables before the meat. We tried the gopchang dipped in the sesame oil shown in the photo, it was incredibly delicious. But since it’s gopchang, it can feel a bit heavy on your stomach… They cooked everything, the garlic and the gopchang, efficiently for us. But they were so efficient that even though we were still eating the banchan, an auntie came and took it away mid-meal. Since we went late, next time I want to go with a bit more time to spare.
There was soup too, served piping hot and very tasty. At the end, they brought shaved ice with anmitsu as dessert. It was really delicious.
To buy changja, which I was absolutely determined to take home as a souvenir this time, I went to Jungbu Market first thing in the morning. I was worried about whether I’d find it, but the shop was right there as soon as I entered, so I bought it immediately.
I bought 500g of octopus and squid.
The pollock roe was also huge and impressive.
It shows 535g, but they adjust it nicely to the exact amount after subtracting the case weight.
It was heavy and perishable, so I went straight back to the hotel to put it in the fridge.
I was looking forward to eating it after we got home.
While we were rushing around, time flew by and it was almost lunchtime, so it was a little early, but we went to eat Dak Hanmari!
The Original, Original Dak Hanmari
54 Chodong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Opens 11:30
It had a local feel and the vibe was really nice.
Just looking at the photos makes it look delicious!
Boiling away, the chicken was tender and so tasty, with a rich broth!
We were the first to arrive so we got seats, but once it got to lunchtime, so many people working nearby came in one after another, I was glad we went early.
At the end we added udon, and it was so good it disappeared in no time.
There were also mandu inside, so we added extra mandu along with the udon.
It was delicious and we were full.
Be careful, when we tried to pay by card it didn’t work, they only accepted cash!
