[Parent-Child Trip to Seoul] Me in my 40s and my 20-year-old daughter sped through Seoul in 1 night, 2 days! Free retouch within 2 months & Myeongdong gourmet lightning-trip Korea report
nAtsuuuuu
11 days ago
From August 18, I took an ultra packed 1-night, 2-day trip to Seoul with my daughter, who had just turned 20! I’m in my 40s, and she’s in her 20s. Now that we’re both adults, this is a real record of a mother-daughter trip where we smartly and efficiently packed in each other’s “want to do” list.
🕒 Our 1-night, 2-day timeline Day 1: Snack (Myeongdong street stall hot dog)
➔ 18:00 Clinic (Aqua Peel + LDM) ➔ Shopping at MimiLine Myeongdong branch
➔ 20:30 Dinner (live octopus & yukhoe)
➔ Take out bread for the next morning
➔ Stay at Oriens Hotel Day 2
: 10:00 Clinic (my daughter’s filler consultation)
➔ 12:00 My eyebrow semi-permanent touch-up (free!)
➔ Lunch (Myungrang Hotdog)
➔ Olive Young hopping
➔ Fly home on an evening flight🌭
Day 1: Arrived in Myeongdong! A beauty-care hop from the evening, and the live octopus dinner we’d been dreaming of A piping-hot welcome at a Myeongdong street stall! The cheese hot dog my daughter wanted most After arriving in Seoul and dropping our luggage at our base for this trip, “Oriens Hotel & Residence Myeongdong,” we headed straight to Myeongdong’s main street.
What my 20-year-old daughter was looking forward to most on this trip was trying a cheese hot dog at an authentic street stall. In the early evening, we ordered right away at a stall that had just started getting a line. In Korea, the style is to have it fried again right in front of you, then coat it generously with sugar, and add ketchup and mustard yourself. The moment she took a bite, the cheese stretched out ridiculously long, and we both burst out laughing! The crispy outside paired with the molten hot cheese was the perfect welcome food that instantly wiped away our travel fatigue.
From 18:00, a luxe “Aqua Peel + LDM” treatment at a Myeongdong clinic
After enjoying our snack, we headed to the beauty clinic in Myeongdong for our 18:00 appointment. To pamper my 40-something skin, I chose the “Aqua Peel” and “LDM (water glow ultrasound)” set. First, the Aqua Peel, using a special tip to gently suction out sebum and dead skin from the pores with a light popping sensation. That alone made the roughness around my nose disappear, smooth as can be! After that, I had LDM applied thoroughly to help lock moisture deeper into the skin. There was zero pain, and right after the treatment, my skin had that plump, glossy glow from within. With absolutely no downtime, you can head straight out for the evening, which is such a lifesaver on a whirlwind trip.
No need to go all the way to Dongdaemun! Hunting for cute goods at “MimiLine Myeongdong branch” With my skin freshly glowing, we headed to the trendy large-scale accessories and variety shop, “MimiLine (Mimiline) Myeongdong branch.”
The Dongdaemun branch is famous, but the Myeongdong branch was the perfect choice for a 1-night, 2-day trip because it cuts travel time dramatically. Inside, it’s packed with cute hair clips, phone cases, and all kinds of trendy little finds. My daughter carefully picked out keychains and small items to attach to her school bag. Shopping while she teaches me what’s actually trending for 20-year-olds, and we go back and forth debating what to buy, is such a happy moment that’s unique to a mother-daughter trip.
From 20:30, we got pulled in by a fateful sign! Live octopus, and yukhoe bibimbap
After shopping, it was 20:30. As we walked by, starving, we spotted a menu sign that immediately caught our eye. It featured, perfectly, the exact dishes we’d been saying “We have to eat this on this trip!” It felt like we were being pulled right in. We ordered “sannakji (live octopus)” that my daughter had admired for ages in videos, and my absolute favorite, “yukhoe (150g),” plus yukhoe bibimbap to go with it. Watching the sannakji wriggle energetically on the plate, we grabbed it with chopsticks, dipped it in sesame oil and salt, and brought it to our mouths. The fresh sensation of the suction cups sticking was so new, my daughter was thrilled! The crunchy bite and the sweetness that comes out the more you chew, it’s the best. For the yukhoe bibimbap, we boldly mixed the rich, silky raw beef with crisp vegetables and rice with gochujang, then took a bite. The savory flavor filled my mouth, and it was so good I couldn’t stop my spoon.
On the way back from our super satisfying dinner, we picked up a few breads to-go from a bakery for breakfast on day two, then headed to the hotel. We stayed at “Oriens Hotel,” and the room was spacious, with plenty of space to spread out and organize the goods we bought, so it was really comfortable.
💉 Day 2: My daughter’s clinic consultation, my “free” brow touch-up, and an Olive Young shopping spree
From 10:00, the outcome of my daughter’s filler consultation, and a pro’s honest advice
On the morning of day two, we ate our takeout bread slowly in the room, then headed to the clinic for our 10:00 appointment. This time, my 20-year-old daughter said she wanted to try getting filler (hyaluronic acid) in areas she was concerned about, so I went along with her. During the consultation, once she shared what she wanted, the doctor took a close look at her face and gave unexpectedly straightforward advice, “At your age and with your bone structure, you’re naturally beautiful without forcing anything foreign into your face. If we add more, it’ll start to look unnatural, so I think you should skip it this time.” Not just pushing procedures, but giving sincere words for her benefit, my daughter agreed, and we decided to pass this time. She didn’t get anything done, but hearing a professional opinion directly seemed to clear her mind, and it ended up being a truly valuable consultation. From 12:00, I had my eyebrow semi-permanent touch-up from June (free within 2 months). It was a touch-up (maintenance) for the “eyebrow semi-permanent” I had done when I visited Korea in June. The clinic I go to has an almost too-good-to-be-true system, one free touch-up if it’s within 2 months of the procedure. Since it was mid-August, we were just barely within the 2-month window! They reinforced the areas where the color had faded a bit, and once again, I was super happy with the results. It cuts down my makeup time massively every morning, so for a busy woman in her 40s, it’s the best time-saving investment.
Not tired of it even two days in a row! Lunch at “Myungrang Hotdog”
After our clinic hop, we headed to the super popular chain “Myungrang Hotdog” for lunch. I gave in to my daughter’s enthusiasm, “I want to try a different hot dog than yesterday’s!”, so yes, hot dogs two days in a row (lol). But Myungrang really is on another level. Because the batter includes rice flour, it’s crispy on the outside but surprisingly chewy on the inside! We customized a hearty potato-coated hot dog with honey butter powder and chili sauce exactly how we like it, then took big bites while it was still piping hot. “Yesterday’s street stall one was delicious too, but Myungrang’s chewy texture is amazing!”, it turned into the most satisfying hot dog taste test.
Scoring Japan-sold-out “Kyusoku Jikan (crushed type)” and “WAKEMAKE” on our Olive Young crawl!
To wrap up the trip, we did the classic Korea travel must, hopping between “OLIVE YOUNG (Olive Young)” stores. We hit several locations around the area and successfully grabbed every item we’d been aiming for. Among everything we bought, these were the ones that made us especially happy! WAKEMAKE (WakeMake) eyeshadow palette: a 16-color palette my daughter had decided she absolutely had to buy. It’s packed with perfectly nuanced shades and the color payoff is beautiful, it’s been a huge help for her trendy 20-year-old makeup looks.
Kyusoku Jikan (pressure-point gel sheets, adhesive crushed type): Honestly, this is hard to find in Japan right now because it’s been sold out at drugstores for ages, Lion’s “Kyusoku Jikan pressure-point gel sheets (adhesive crushed type).” I never expected to find it at Olive Young in Korea, I was so excited! When you stick it to the soles of your feet, the bumpy protrusions gently stimulate pressure points, and the fatigue in my feet, swollen from walking nonstop in a 1-night, 2-day trip, melted away surprisingly well. If you spot it, it’s absolutely a hidden gem worth stocking up on.
👩👧 After our 1-night, 2-day whirlwind trip
With baskets full of cosmetics and cute goods, plus newly glowing skin and brows, our 1-night, 2-day whirlwind tour was over in a flash. We flew back to Japan on an evening flight. For me in my 40s, I was thrilled to efficiently get cutting-edge skin care, plus eyebrow maintenance that’s free within 2 months. For my 20-year-old daughter, she was over the moon to compare cheese hot dogs two days in a row, receive a careful consultation at a real Korean clinic, and go on a shopping spree for the trendy items she wanted. These two days of going everywhere together like friends with my grown-up daughter became an irreplaceable treasure for me. Even if you’re too busy to take a long vacation, why not invite your daughter or your best friend next weekend and head out on a 1-night, 2-day Seoul whirlwind trip?
