After my trip in 99, never really had the urge to visit Korea again. and no Thanks to the korean drama wave in 02......with sappy dramas like Winter Sonata! aiyo.......Bae Yong Jun looking men with wavy hair and cheesy specs not exactly enticing. haha.
The only time which made me interested in Korea again was the drama Kim Sam Soon. it was a really cool show and the places which they filmed at make korea look modern and nice. BUT but...still not enough a push factor....until ......the WON DROPPED AGAINST THE SING$$$$$!!! hahaha....ok...sad but its all about economics.....but hey recessison now leh.
From 600won to $1 ....and 950won to $1.....i decided ITS TIME!
So thank goodness there are cheap CX flights at $550nett (ah HK stopover... ^^) and the cherry blossom season.........so excited!
The trip was GREAT!! SK have evolved in a rather big way, i think partly thanks to the 2002 World Cup, the country is definitely more cosmopolitan and in a sense westernised. their culture is still rather deeply rooted but looking at the young people, the lifestyle, Seoul is just like any other globalised nation. tons of cafes everywhere, starbucks, dunkin donuts is almost at every corner and happily - Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf too. in fact seoul is prob a city i have seen the MOST cafes so far.
And what a difference 10yrs make........u now see korean domestic pdts sold proudly everywhere! and trusted and loved by the tourist and vistors from everywhere. ok maybe for their skin care, asian ladies only.....but its amazing, would u even think of buying any korean brand cosmetics 10 yrs ago??? i think NOT. but now, i can say if they keep '"fighting' their brand names can also give the Japan names a run for their money!!
about 75% of the tourist in seoul city were LADIES from Japan, Thailand, HK, China, Taiwan and our small country Spore!!! and everyone was shopping like there is no tomorrow. HAHA!! the reason? the price of the domestic pdts are way way lower than if they were exported! and now with the currency depreciation, u guessed it, ladies are just grabbing and fulfiling every inch of their retail satisfaction. i remember the Etude House store in Dongdaemun - aiyo! one group of thai tourists wiped the whole shop OUT!!!!! i am not kidding. the shelves were empty. and every one was taking like mutiples of the pdts. doesnt help when one of the Thai princesses used the Lip Gloss. most of the korean cosmetics are below S$15, thus making it extremely affordable and the quality is acceptable.
Only thing is the packaging....it is still somehow less superior than Japan.
There wasnt a particular highlight of the trip but all i can say everything was pleasant and nice. transport is efficient, places clean and people well groomed. ah yes! the Flea market on Sat near Hongik Uni was really good! the students sold really nice creative things and the happening buzz was there. i would most definitely go back for this. we nearly missed this cuz it was a staircase away from the main road.
Nami Island was also great. simple place with tall trees but the feel was so nice and relaxing. was kinda shocked that 2 sporean couples were there taking wedding photos! wah! they like didnt even meet there man.....hmmmmmm....
Others would be meeting my long time friend Ray! its been 10 yrs since we know each other. and we have only met each other twice before! but seems we know each other pretty well. she brought us to an authenic rice cake place. it was really small but the sauce was great! best!
and oooh...Park Hyatt ...the room..wow! Sanchon Temple food, Nanta show.......Hyundai Supermarket....love it!
hope to be back!
