8月15日--8月16日
Seoul, Day 5.
I woke up at 1:30pm in the same clothes from last night. I wasn’t hungover or anything, but I was tired and hungry. My new Parisian friends had woken up and asked me if I wanted to join them for lunch at a restaurant next door to the guesthouse their friends were staying at, and I said sure.
We had galbi with a dipping sauce that reminded me of Filipino adobo as it had a soy sauce and vinegar base, with all of the banchan that our hearts could desire. Included in this banchan were the usual suspects as well as tteokbokki (떡볶이) (sweet and spicy rice cakes) and cabbage with black sesame dressing (that I don’t know the Korean name of ehhe??). It was really nice having a satisfying, filling meal after a night of semi-debauchery.
I only say semi because more debauchery was to be had later that night.
Seoul, Day 5.
I woke up at 1:30pm in the same clothes from last night. I wasn’t hungover or anything, but I was tired and hungry. My new Parisian friends had woken up and asked me if I wanted to join them for lunch at a restaurant next door to the guesthouse their friends were staying at, and I said sure.
We had galbi with a dipping sauce that reminded me of Filipino adobo as it had a soy sauce and vinegar base, with all of the banchan that our hearts could desire. Included in this banchan were the usual suspects as well as tteokbokki (떡볶이) (sweet and spicy rice cakes) and cabbage with black sesame dressing (that I don’t know the Korean name of ehhe??). It was really nice having a satisfying, filling meal after a night of semi-debauchery.
I only say semi because more debauchery was to be had later that night.
Anyways, for Round 2 we decided to go to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as one of my Parisian friends recently fell in love with it (after I told her that it was a Californian company based in Los Angeles, I’m pretty sure she lost some French street cred). I had an Iced Americano, as per usual, but what really intrigued me was the ambiance of the back patio. It faced away from the hustle of the lower pedestrian street and had brick detailing and a nice tree for shade, as well as views of a neighboring Hello Kitty Café and actual Kitty Café (where you go inside and pet kitties while drinking a cappuccino).
Nothing much happened this day besides eating, as later that evening we had chimaek (치맥) with our host and fellow hostel mates. It was fun chatting it up about light-hearted things like teasing our host about his age, to more serious topics like the uncertain future of reunification between North and South Korea. One of the chicken sets we got was bomb, it had a spicy, slightly sweet, soy sauce base with chilies, sesame, and green onions.
We decided that later we were gonna go clubbing again, as it would be my last full evening in Seoul before leaving on the 17th. Before that, however, we met with my Parisian friends’ friends in the guesthouse by the restaurant where we had that galbi. I made some new friends, laughed a lot, and pregamed before leaving. It was a big night, as earlier that day had been Gwanbokjeol (광복절) or Korean Liberation Day, where Korea gained its independence from Japan.
So basically, the clubs and the streets were going to be hectic.
Nothing much happened this day besides eating, as later that evening we had chimaek (치맥) with our host and fellow hostel mates. It was fun chatting it up about light-hearted things like teasing our host about his age, to more serious topics like the uncertain future of reunification between North and South Korea. One of the chicken sets we got was bomb, it had a spicy, slightly sweet, soy sauce base with chilies, sesame, and green onions.
We decided that later we were gonna go clubbing again, as it would be my last full evening in Seoul before leaving on the 17th. Before that, however, we met with my Parisian friends’ friends in the guesthouse by the restaurant where we had that galbi. I made some new friends, laughed a lot, and pregamed before leaving. It was a big night, as earlier that day had been Gwanbokjeol (광복절) or Korean Liberation Day, where Korea gained its independence from Japan.
So basically, the clubs and the streets were going to be hectic.
And they were. We probably left the guesthouse somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00am and walked over to a club called Mama, where with entry we get free entry into two other clubs by the same management called Papa and something else (I forgot…ehhe…). With it came a free beer or shot, and I opted for the shot.
Simply because I didn’t come to play, I came to win. I packed a spare shirt for when the one I was wearing inevitably got wet from all the sweating I would be doing.
On account of me being a freaking dance beast.
On this evening is when more debauchery had occurred as opposed to the evening before. I spent most of the night dancing with a new male Korean friend who was best friends with my Parisian friends’ friend (I know, I’m sorry). I asked him earlier if he enjoyed dancing and he said he did but that he wouldn’t be doing much of it since he accidentally wore tight pants that night.
Wrong. Fairytales and fallacies, as Korean homeboy literally would not stop dancing and being all flagrant the entire night. He also managed to attract the attention of several thirsty foreign white girls who came to Korea to find their “oppa,” and he (who managed to fit the pretty boy ~*~exotic~*~ look of korean guys while balancing the approachable turn-upward-ness of western guys) didn’t really care one way or the other. He was really just there to dance and have a good time.
Some girls just don’t get it.
We danced together for the majority of the night, except for a moment in which Korean homeboy started dancing all provocatively with another Korean homeboy (???) and then grabbed me and pulled me in the direction of Korean homeboy #2 to dance all provocatively with him (?????)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And then another moment when Korean homeboy #1 lead me to the dance stage where he encouraged me to dance with a different Korean homeboy who so tastefully draped the South Korean flag over his shoulders (Happy Gwangbokjeol). It was a long, fun, and exciting night.
Simply because I didn’t come to play, I came to win. I packed a spare shirt for when the one I was wearing inevitably got wet from all the sweating I would be doing.
On account of me being a freaking dance beast.
On this evening is when more debauchery had occurred as opposed to the evening before. I spent most of the night dancing with a new male Korean friend who was best friends with my Parisian friends’ friend (I know, I’m sorry). I asked him earlier if he enjoyed dancing and he said he did but that he wouldn’t be doing much of it since he accidentally wore tight pants that night.
Wrong. Fairytales and fallacies, as Korean homeboy literally would not stop dancing and being all flagrant the entire night. He also managed to attract the attention of several thirsty foreign white girls who came to Korea to find their “oppa,” and he (who managed to fit the pretty boy ~*~exotic~*~ look of korean guys while balancing the approachable turn-upward-ness of western guys) didn’t really care one way or the other. He was really just there to dance and have a good time.
Some girls just don’t get it.
We danced together for the majority of the night, except for a moment in which Korean homeboy started dancing all provocatively with another Korean homeboy (???) and then grabbed me and pulled me in the direction of Korean homeboy #2 to dance all provocatively with him (?????)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And then another moment when Korean homeboy #1 lead me to the dance stage where he encouraged me to dance with a different Korean homeboy who so tastefully draped the South Korean flag over his shoulders (Happy Gwangbokjeol). It was a long, fun, and exciting night.
It was so long, in fact, that we stayed until security kicked everyone out between 6:00 and 7:00 am.
We left the club in a daze, confused by the sunlight and trying to find breakfast.
Then things got a little dramatic in which I have absolutely no business to discuss.
Nonetheless, I grabbed some green tea from the convenience store to rehydrate and sauntered back to the hostel to get some rest. It was interesting walking back to the hostel early morning Saturday, as I had rarely (if ever) seen Hongdae that empty and quiet. Still, I wanted to go visit a puppy café and do some more touristy things before leaving, and so I needed to get some sleep. Upon waking, I should be petting puppies and doing shameless touristy things like going to a jjimjilbang perhaps? or bike the Han River? who knows? I'm a young adult in Hongdae...the sky's the limit.
We left the club in a daze, confused by the sunlight and trying to find breakfast.
Then things got a little dramatic in which I have absolutely no business to discuss.
Nonetheless, I grabbed some green tea from the convenience store to rehydrate and sauntered back to the hostel to get some rest. It was interesting walking back to the hostel early morning Saturday, as I had rarely (if ever) seen Hongdae that empty and quiet. Still, I wanted to go visit a puppy café and do some more touristy things before leaving, and so I needed to get some sleep. Upon waking, I should be petting puppies and doing shameless touristy things like going to a jjimjilbang perhaps? or bike the Han River? who knows? I'm a young adult in Hongdae...the sky's the limit.