The theme of this trip is Korean musicals
Buchiko
2 days ago
This time, I challenged myself to Korean musicals for the first time.
The tickets I arranged were for
“Dracula”, “Elisabeth”, and Korea’s first-ever “Frozen”.
I booked them online from Japan, aiming for the on-sale date.
Even though I thought, wow these are pretty pricey, I figured that for a first-time experience, satisfaction matters most, so for the final day’s “Frozen” I bought a VIP seat. (About 20,000 yen!)
Day 1 was “Dracula” 🧛♂️🌹
It was even more incredible than I imagined...!
What surprised me most was the live orchestra, which I was not expecting.
The moment the curtain rose, that rich, powerful sound filled the whole theater, and when it layered with the vocals, my heart literally started racing 🎻
Today’s Dracula was Jeon Dong-seok.
Mina was Cho Jeong-eun.
Dong-seok’s overwhelming presence and sheer vocal power.
You could feel the aching sadness of loving one person for over 400 years, it was completely a love story.
And another discovery was the theater itself.
The venue, LG Arts Center Hall, was designed by Tadao Ando.
Concrete and light, long pathways, and spaces with room to breathe.
At the entrance, I literally caught my breath at how it was staged.
A night of taking in architecture worth seeing, listening to a live orchestra, and being hit with the powerhouse vocals and staging of Korean musicals.
Once you’ve seen this level, Japanese musicals start to feel a bit lacking 💦
In Korea, the fan activity style is to put a favorite actor’s photo print and your ticket into this miniature coffin and take a picture. I lined up and tried it too.
And the next day was “Elisabeth” 👑✨
Even without understanding Korean, I was pulled in by the emotions that came through in the singing and facial expressions, and I was completely transported into the story.
Elisabeth was played by Lee Ji-hye,
“Death” (Tod) was played by Ko Eun-seong,
and Lucheni, who guides the story, was played by Park Eun-tae.
A glittering imperial court world, and the loneliness within it.
Elisabeth’s life, wishing to live as herself, was heartbreaking.
After the show, I got curious about the real lives of Elisabeth and her family, so I immediately did a quick history refresher.
🎭 9/20 “Elisabeth”
Elisabeth | (Lee Ji-hye)
Tod | (Ko Eun-seong)
Lucheni | (Park Eun-tae)
And then, on my last night in Seoul, at Charlotte Theater,
the musical “Frozen”, its first run in Korea ❄️
Because it was the finale of my trip, I chose a VIP seat.
I could feel the actors’ breathing, see the sparkle of the costumes, and catch every delicate expression up close, it truly felt like stepping into the story.
Tonight’s Elsa was Jeong Seon-a.
“Let It Go” transformed the air in the theater in an instant with her overwhelming vocals, it was so powerful it gave me chills.
You could sense the loneliness and inner conflict beneath her calm strength, she was an Elsa that stayed with me deeply, not just beautiful.
Choi Ji-hye as Anna was bright and lovable, yet so straightforward.
Her earnest devotion to her sister grabbed my heart again and again, even though I already knew the story.
Gorgeous sets, magical staging, and above all, a story of love that binds two sisters.
“Frozen” hits differently now that I’m an adult.
Highly recommended!
On days without a musical, I went to Gyeongbokgung Palace for the night viewing.
I missed the reservation slot for foreigners, but I found a note saying you can enter without a reservation if you wear hanbok, so I searched on Creatrip for a rental shop that also lends them out at night and successfully booked.
With Japan’s Silver Week holiday, the shop was full of Japanese customers.
Still, I was really happy, I found a hanbok I loved, and they styled my hair very carefully too.
Not too cold, not too hot, night viewing this time of year is also highly recommended.
The base for my Seoul trip was Dongdaemun.
You can shop late into the night, and in the morning the wholesale shops are open until around noon, basically, you can always find something to do 24 hours a day.
What I explored for the first time on this trip was the wholesale shoe street.
It’s almost strange that I’d walked right past it so many times without noticing.
Since it was open from the morning, I carefully checked every store from one end to the other, and even when I finally found the perfect pair of shoes 👟, I got coldly told they don’t do retail, or when I found a shop that would sell retail, they said no cards 💳. The rules of wholesaling are hard for a beginner to read, but I’m hoping that by coming back, I’ll find favorite shops and more places that will sell retail.
Gwangjang Market also has more and more shops every time I go, and I love that it’s an easy bus ride from Dongdaemun.
This time, after popping into Starbucks and Olive Young, I checked out hanbok shops here and there.
I almost bought one because an elegant, beautifully made hanbok was 100,000 won for a top and bottom, but I couldn’t picture when I’d ever wear it in Japan, so I gave up.
There were also lovely skirts, dresses, set-ups, and pants that used hanbok-inspired designs, but they were a bit expensive, so I passed on those too.
Still, afterward I really felt how fair Gwangjang Market is, something with the same material and same design that was 60,000 won at Gwangjang Market was quoted at 180,000 won in Namdaemun.
Since Jungbu Market is also very close to Dongdaemun, I went to a seaweed wholesaler that’s been trending on social media.
Then I headed to the street that suddenly turned into “sesame oil street” thanks to social media.
There was a shop that let you sample ice cream drizzled with oil and perilla, and once I stopped, that was it.
I ended up buying lots of sesame oil, perilla, and sesame seeds as souvenirs.
Hotel prices have been going up a lot lately, so in Dongdaemun I’ve been staying in newer hostels.
This time’s place was right near Doota,
with an elevator.
A big lounge.
Ramen and a coffee machine.
Free breakfast.
A toilet with a washlet.
Bookable with free cancellation.
There’s a self-service amenities corner, so you can refill toilet paper and towels yourself whenever you need, no awkwardness.
In September, even during Silver Week, I stayed 4 nights in a family room and it was 12,000 yen per night, but at year-end it’s 24,800 yen per night, literally double!!!
When even hostels reach this price, it’s tough, but location is really important to me, so I always plan early and keep checking prices to try to keep costs down as much as possible.
Lastly, for food, when I’m in Dongdaemun I tend to prioritize shopping and end up missing meals, but this time I managed to go to
Tosokchon after the Gyeongbokgung Palace night viewing.
It had been a long time since I last ate there, but it’s filled with all kinds of ingredients inside, and it really is delicious.
Before another musical, I quickly grabbed a meal at Jojo Kalguksu. I wanted to try the jeon too, but they don’t have a mini size, so I gave up. I feel like if they sold mini sizes, their sales would go up.
In Seongsu, I went for dwaeji-gukbap at Anmok, famous for being listed in the Michelin Guide. I went around 4 pm to avoid the rush, and only waited about 5 minutes. It was also nice that you can refill the side dishes yourself.
Right when the gukbap arrived, I happened to get an urgent work request, so it soaked a bit, but I still enjoyed it.
This one is the extra-meat gukbap.
For breakfast, I had sundubu-jjigae at Soonam Sikdang in Gwangjang Market. It’s a local spot I found after searching everywhere for it last time.
It seems the side dishes vary except for the rolled omelet, so this time I had different banchan than last time. The seasoned eggplant was delicious.
Getting to share a table and chat with locals is also something you can only really do at a local diner.
A set meal at Onjeongya in Ikseon-dong.
I didn’t love the sweet-and-spicy seasoning on the meat 💦
And for some reason, the spicy seasoned meat starts from two servings 😢
The restaurant itself was really lovely, and the staff in the dining area were so nice, so it’s a shame the seasoning just wasn’t for me.
Maybe it’s kind of like Japanese teriyaki?
Another Bossam place I found near Gwangjang Market.
I panicked because they didn’t take cards, but luckily I had just enough cash in my wallet, so I was safe.
For sweets, places like Sulbing are just too big, so I repeated my combo of my favorite convenience store yogurt and a matcha strawberry 🍓 drink I tried for the first time and ended up loving.
I was sure I’d collected tons of solo-dining spot info on Instagram, but I saved too many posts and couldn’t match them up with my location on-site, so I barely used any of it. Next time, I want to organize the info better and enjoy food, cultural experiences, and shopping more effectively!
The theme for my next trip is planned to be Jazz.
Recently, “Chappie” has been helping me research, but even with the paid version it still misleads you a lot, so I want to use it in moderation while enjoying my own style of travel.
Wishing everyone a great trip!
