Fun fact: every time I type Hongdae, my phone tries to change it to “bondage.”

I had dinner with Barb the other night and she asked me what my favorite part of Korea was, and right away I said it was our evening on Hongdae and I tried so hard to summarize that area for her, in between all of the INTERRUPTIONS FROM OUR SUPER ATTENTIVE WAITRESS, oh my god I wanted to scream, “STFU CAN’T YOU SEE SOMEONE IS FINALLY LETTING ME TALK ABOUT MY FUCKING TRIP TO KOREA?!”

God!!

Anyway, this post is about all of the things I wanted to tell Barb about Hongdae but Miss Mary Lynn Rajskub-doppelganger and her “REFILL?!” sidekick made it nearly impossible.

After our afternoon in Samcheondong, we walked back to the hotel, changed, and then set off for the subway that would take us to Hongdae. I refused to leave Korea without experiencing Hongdae at night. It’s not like we could go to bars or whatever (THANKS CHOOCH) but Hongdae is famous for its infinite wealth of street performers, especially being in such a youthful area (it’s right next to Hongik University).

Here we are, waiting for the subway, preparing to be dicks.

Gotta get one last map-check in.

Since it was still early in the evening, we made a pit-stop to Mangwon because I was like, “I WILL DIE IF I DON’T GET TO GO TO ZAPANGI.” And it wasn’t dramatic at all. I have a whole post just for this quirky Instagram-famous cafe, so see your way over there if you’d like to read more about it. But if you’re like, “Nah, mate, I’m good” then I’ll just quickly tell you that “zapangi” means “vending machine” in Korean and you literally walk through a vending machine door to get inside. Also, it’s pronounced “ja-pahng-ee” because there is no “z” sound in Korean so why “they” made the romanization of the word spelled this way is beyond me. Good job, “They.”

Mangwon also has a market so we of course had to peruse it. Henry bought a bottle of makgeolli (traditional Korean rice wine — don’t get it confused with sake though; makgeolli is more milky) and was straight-up giddy about it. “It only cost 1,000 won!” he cried, which is about a dollar. We drank it in the hotel room that night like losers who vacation with their kid and can’t go to bars.

THANKS CHOOCH.

J/K. It would have been weird being there without my partner in giddiness.

By the time we waded our way through the market, it was getting dark so we knew it would be a good time to head to Hongdae.

First, we had to lose Henry. Here’s his face when he realized we weren’t behind him anymore, lol. He was in the middle of chastising us. We just laughed and walked away.

And then we made it to where all of the action was. There were street performers lined up everywhere, each one with their own throng of oglers. We walked down the street and passed singers, dancers, magicians, comedians…there was something for everyone and the vibe was so positive and energetic. How can I even encapsulate something like this into words on a blog post?! It was a dream for any kpop fan for sure because there was no shortage of street dancers emulating beloved kpop choreo. (My favorite was the group of boys who danced to about 8374 BTS songs as well as Block B’s “Her” which I liked prior to this but there was something about seeing these local boys dancing to it in the middle of a street in Hongdae on a Saturday night in March that has really made me pull that song close into my heart.

Here’s a small compilation of videos that Chooch sent me:

🎥: @butt_jam If I lived here, I’d be in Hongdae every Saturday night. Maybe. I’m getting pretty old.

A post shared by Erin Appledale (@ohhonestlyerin) on Mar 31, 2018 at 7:40am PDT

We just don’t have anything here in Pittsburgh like Hongdae which is actually kind of strange because we have several college campuses right near each other in Oakland. But, unless things have changed since the last time I was out and about in Oakland at night, the streets aren’t poppin’ off with street performers and I was constantly looking over my shoulder walking back to my car because I didn’t want to get mugged or raped or organ-harvested. (I had a lot of night classes when I went to Pitt and constantly felt like prey walking through campus at night.)

In Hongdae, the party atmosphere felt joyful and not sleazy and date-rapey. I’m usually crowd-phobic, but no one was aggressive, no one was pushing and shoving, and you know, no one pulled out a gun and started firing at random because this wasn’t America. The people there were mostly in their 20s, but there were also kids with their families as well, so I didn’t feel like a shitty parent dragging their kid to some after-hours club.

Speaking of Chooch, I’mma let him jump in here and tell you about Block Burger.

Hey it’s Chooch, I’m just going to talk about the food that we ate while in Hongdae. We ate at Block Burger, a place we saw the first time we were in Hongdae. Block Burger is a burger place that is based on Lego’s and they had Lego head mugs, and buns in the shape of a Lego brick. The buns all had different flavors: squid ink, sweet pumpkin, and red velvet.

We decided to get sweet pumpkin because it was the only normal sounding one. [ERIN EDIT: I ordered that one because I like pumpkin, and I knew Chooch and his milquetoast palate wouldn’t eat the other two options, so…..] On the bun, we had chicken; our vegetarianism went on vacation, too… The burger was very savory and better than expected. But then, as I thought it couldn’t get any better, an amazing song started playing on the speaker. That song is a song that my cat, Bambi loves. The song is called, “Bambi,” by Jidenna.

The thing is, this restaurant actually had us full for the whole rest of the night! Usually we eat, walk for five to ten minutes, then eat again. This time was different, we ate, then walked around for the whole rest of the day without eating any street food, or any kind of snack.

Daddy didn’t get anything because there wasn’t any XL Unsweetened Teas he could order. That’s fine, though. I didn’t want to hear his loud crunching and chewing, (Especially not with chicken.)

Even the napkin holders were Lego built; you know Henry still didn’t see them, even with the colorful bricks the holder was built with.

This was the juicy, savory chicken we ate on our sweet pumpkin bun. I honestly miss this burger so much; I wish I could go back just to eat this burger. God I love Korean chicken.

OK, Erin back at the keyboard. Not pictured, but there were several carnival games set up and one of them, a balloon game, had GOBLIN DOLLS!! Chooch said he would try to win me one and technically he lost but the guy running it kept throwing darts in between Chooch’s throws so Chooch succeeded in winning me a Goblin through a joint effort. I was so happy!!

Goblin is one of my favorite korean dramas and this doll was won in Hongdae by Chooch so it’s doubly special to me!

(I have to be honest, I didn’t think he would actually give it to me!)

Chooch is so good at impromptu posing. Where does he get that from? Certainly not me. I look the same in every picture: grotesque and surprised.

One of the things I wanted to do before we left was have Chooch’s caricature done. I think caricatures are so fun and I wanted to add a Korean one to the collection. We saw tons of caricature artists in nearly every neighborhood we explored, but when we walked past this guy in Hongdae, I knew he was the one and not just because he kind of looked like my favorite guy on Running Man (Ha-Ha!)

(No seriously, his name is Ha-Ha!)

(Ha-ha!)

(No, that was really me laughing that time.)

Oh Ha-Ha, BE MY LAST LOVE.

Surprisingly, Chooch LOVES having his caricature done and he is so good at diligently sitting there being stared at by the artist and everyone walking past. Not me. I’m like “DON’T LOOK AT ME” which is kind of going against everything a caricature is but if the artist is good, they should be able to figure out what I look like behind the hair-curtain I’m hiding under.

You guys, this was only 10,000 won (roughly $10) and beyond worth it. We have it framed and hanging on our Chooch wall in the living room and it makes me so happy to see it everyday.

This place is a walk-up cocktail window that serves its mixed drinks in IV bags Chooch wanted one and I was like, “Look, Korea is super progressive in a lot of ways but selling booze to a 6th grader is not one of them, buddy.”

Like I said before, just because I threw down over 1,000 words doesn’t mean I’ve even come close to doing it justice. The music was loud and good, the crowd was lively and friendly, and it felt like sneaking into a party that you thought you weren’t cool enough for but then no one makes you feel like you don’t belong there and what a wonderful fucking feeling that is.

Hongdae, more like HongBAE.

Yeah, I went there.

We needed lunch after our long morning of palace-prodding, and we needed it NOW. Luckily, the neighborhood of Samcheondong was a short walk from Gyeongbok Palace and like every other neighborhood in Seoul, its streets are lined with restaurants and cafes. And even with my blurry hunger-vision, I was able to find a place pretty quickly that had something we all wanted (well, at least what Chooch and I wanted; I never bothered to ask Henry HAHAHA).

Korea has a LOT of very trendy, Instagram-aesthetic eateries, and that was really fun when we were looking for cafes, but for the most part when it came to actual meals, we wanted authentic, ahjumma-run kitchens. And Samcheongdong Kimbap was perfect for that.

The menu outside was all in Korean (and some Chinese) so Henry was like, “Erin, please help. I need your help. I know everyone on the Internet thinks I am a Super Capable Man and that you are worthless in every capacity, but I can’t read this menu and you can so please help. Help.”

FUCK YES. Right away I was like, “They have kimchi jjigae*, we’re eating here.” Because I was craving kimchi jjigae all morning!

*(Kimchi stew. It comes in a small bubbling cauldron of Korean majesty and splendor.)

And Chooch really wanted ramyun, so this place was golden.

There was a self-ordering pad on all the tables and I was excited to put my basic hangeul skills to use. I was starting to fill it out by checking off Chooch’s ramyun, and marking down an order of cheese kimbap, when the waitress came over in a hurry and took the pad from me. Not in a rude or shitty way, though! Please don’t misunderstand – she was really friendly. But I think she thought I was struggling and she wanted to help by taking our orders herself. I appreciated that but I was also kind of deflated because I was having fun filling it out on my own!

I can’t remember what Henry ordered. Donkkaseu, maybe? But I got my cheesey kimbap and kimchi jjigae and guess what, no one stared at me and mocked me while I ate it like they did here IN AMERICA several days later. Fucking rednecks.

In a lot of the Korean restaurants, there are free water stations set up so don’t sit there and wait for the waitress to fetch that shit for you. You just go up, grab a metal cup, and fill it up yourself from a water cooler.

We made Henry do this for us, of course. Lol forever.

Also, all the sides (banchan) come with the meal and if one of them runs out, don’t be afraid to ask for more! Sometimes the waitress will already be coming over to refill it for you. Korean restaurants are the best.

Chooch, god love him, was trying to be adventurous with spicy dishes. This kid prefers everything to be bland and plain here at home, so he really took us by surprise by climbing out of his comfort zone and reaching for the gochujang.

A YouTuber probably told him to do it.

Sigh.

But yeah, look at his ramyun-stung lips! For as painful as his face makes it seem, he is still talking about how much he misses that ramyun. Nearly two months later.

Yes, it’s been nearly two months since we’ve been back (and exactly two months since we left Pittsburgh!) and I am still recapping this. SUE ME.

🍜

A post shared by Erin Appledale (@ohhonestlyerin) on Mar 31, 2018 at 1:05am PDT

After stuffing ourselves with Korean homecookin’, we set off for Bukchon Hanok Village, which required us to embark on yet another urban hike. Seoul is like the SanFran of Asia! If you want to read more about Bukchon Hanok Village and eyeball some photos, see your way to this post.

I didn’t take these views for granted, not even for a second. I wanted to just sear the images into my mind in case I never get to go back.

After tooling around the labyrinthine Bukchon streets, we came back down to Samcheondong because of all things there is a Gentle Monster location there and I was on a mission to explore as many as possible.

However, on our way there, we took a wrong turn as usual and wound up on a side street. There were some vintage stores there, one of which was a quirky vintage toy store. Chooch and I left after taking a quick walk aroundandf eventually realized that Henry wasn’t following us.

“Maybe he’s pooping,” I shrugged, because that’s my explanation always whenever Henry can’t be found. So we went back inside and found him in a small back room.

Pooping.

J/K. He was in this small back room, pointing to something on a high shelf, and once Chooch saw what it was, he lost his shit so then it was Chooch in a small back room.

Pooping.

The poop-inducing object was a vintage set of Bambi figures, still in the box. Yes, Bambi, the dumb Disney cartoon that Chooch is oddly obsessed with.

It was only 30,000 won (a little less than $30) so…happy early bithday, sonny boy.

Whoever thought Chooch would find so much Bambi shit in Korea.

Oh, and in case you were wondering if you should load up on street food before visiting Samcheondong, don’t bother because their streets are just as fooded as the best of them! Chooch got tteokkochi which is the same kind of spicy rice cake in tteokbokki, but fried and skewered. Chooch going for the spice again!

I got a green tea hotteok and wanted to cry, not only because the searing, molten filling oozed out and burnt my hand, but because it was such a delicious variation of those delicious little dough pockets and I was so happy that I didn’t have to give Henry a bite because he’s weird and doesn’t like green tea.

You could easily go to Korea and do nothing but eat. Eschew all the sight-seeing and shopping and surgery (hey, people take medical vacations to Seoul!) and just camp out in the markets and I guarantee you will still have the best vacation ever. I’m not a foodie so much, but goddamn Korea, you’re doing it right.

And then finally it was time to enter Gentle Monster and spin around like Julie Andrews on a hilltop. This particular location is known as Bathhouse because, well, it’s literally inside an old Korean bathhouse.

Chooch, crying over those damn sunglasses again. Also, look at his dumb Bambi play set. What a baby.

I told him I liked the blue ones better and then he got all hopeful because he thought that meant I was going to buy him the blue pair instead and I was like, “HAHAH DREAM ON, PRETEEN.” He made some mouthy comment about how my pappap probably would have bought me $250 sunglasses and I laughed and said, “Yeah I got a pair of Versace sunglasses in Italy one year on vacation. I think they cost more than $250 though” and he was so disgusted.

So was Henry!

LOLOL I love rubbing my rich kid childhood in their faces.

(But I mean really though, look how far that got me in life.)

No, this is still Gentle Monster. Can’t you see the sunglasses in the background? Haha.

I was obsessed with how they left some of the old foundation intact. What a genius use of space!

This crank-thing was on the first floor, and when we went upstairs, we saw that it was moving this thing up and down….

Whatever “this thing” is.

This the view from GM’s balcony. I love this picture SO MUCH. I put it on our department’s wiki page and in one of our meetings someone dryly said, “Wow, nice…roofs” and I was like, “YEAH THEY ARE NICE ROOFS. BECAUSE THEY FREAKING KOREAN HANOK ROOFS. GOD!!!!” Ugh, really!!!!

One of my work friends is Korean and HE likes this picture so that’s all that matters. He gets it. He was born with aesthetic.

Chooch, drowning his Gentle Monster tears into his ttkeokochi. He was faking the sad-face for the sake of this photo but he really did want those damn sunglasses, lol.

The sign to the right up there says “mok-yok-tang” which means “baths” in Korean. It’s really cool that they kept the original bathhouse sign DON’T YOU THINK. Also, look how freaking small “Gentle Monster” is. The only way I was able to find it so quickly was because I’ve seen so many YouTube videos (#loser) of it that I knew exactly what to look for, so when I saw thet Bath sign, I yelled a little and scared Henry.

Korea had him on edge.

It was just too extra and his basic blood couldn’t handle it.

If I lived in Seoul, I could see myself spending a lot of time in Samcheondong. It was quaint, maybe less overtly exciting than Myeongdong and Hongdae, but certainly no less charming.

I just want you to know that I started to cry while writing this. Korea, you stole my stupid heart.

I’m skipping ahead a little because I want to keep these pictures in their own post, but after leaving Gyeongbok Palace, we ate lunch and then, GOD FORBID, embarked on another urban hike up into the hills of Samcheongdong where Bukchon Hanok Village is located. “Hanok” is the type of traditional Korean houses that have been around for centuries, and nobles once inhabited these villages. People still live there to this day, as evidenced by the many signs that remind tourists to  keep their jerkiness to a low roar so as not to disturb the residents.

And of course we got some beautiful peeks at the surrounding mountains.

If this looks familiar to you, it’s because it’s a pretty well-known area of Seoul and on pretty much every tourist list you’ll see for South Korea as a whole. It’s literally a maze of alleys with some restaurants and boutiques tucked away so you really have to keep your eyes peeled for the gems.

I just found out that Henry didn’t think Bukchon was “that great” and that maybe he’s “missing something.” YEAH, IT’S CALLED CULTURE AND EYESIGHT. I mean, we were quite literally surrounded by quintessential Korean imagery but OK Hank. I guess he didn’t think it was a good enough place to sit back with a can of Faygo, who knows.

Bukchon is located between Changdeok and Gyeongbok Palaces so you’ll see a lot of Hanbok-clad tourists milling about the streets here too.

I loved it because it literally felt like we were ensconced in history. Chooch thought it was “nice. The ice cream I got there was good. Strawberry something.”

Cool story, bro. Can’t wait to read your travel memoirs.

(Maybe I’m a little salty, but when I was his age, I had A LOT TO SAY about vacations.)

Chooch is smiling here because he was finally fed.

I had to wait patiently for a delivery van to slowly make its way down before I was clear to take this picture.

This street is super iconic and I’ve seen pictures where it’s just straight flooded with people fighting to get their selfies at the top. It wasn’t exactly dead on this Saturday in late March, but the crowds were pleasant and tolerable. That door off to the right held a small museum inside but we weren’t allowed to take photos.

I miss all of Seoul’s steep alleys. :(

In one of them, we stumbled upon Granhand which is a Korean fragrance company. I was really excited because I’ve seen this tiny shop on Joan Kim’s vlogs before and wanted to check it out. Chooch immediately got ejected from the premises because he was eating an ice cream cone, but then was conveniently allowed back in once the salesman realized I was primed and ready to make a purchase. My mom loves candles but I always hesitate to get her one because she literally has like dozens of them in a cabinet, so I was excited to get her a bottle of fragrance spray instead so now she can make her house smell beautiful like Korea (not the sewage-smelling parts of Korea, though). The face the salesman made at the end of the transaction when he told me to have a nice day looked strikingly similar to the face that Craig Owens has been known to make while particularly possessed by adrenaline on stage, so then I was obsessed with him for awhile.

But yeah, if you’re in the market for a candle alternatives, check out Granhand. And if you’re looking for the scent of an inner man, in particular, you’ll want to go with their Lumberjack scent. Sadly, they did not ask Henry for his input while concocting this blend in the lab.

Lumberjack inspo.

Anyway, even though Henry wouldn’t include Bukchon on his Must-Sees of Seoul list, I would certainly go back and recommend it to everyone! I mean shit Henry, Psy even filmed one of his MVs there, so you better get with it.

We woke up early on a Saturday morning and set off for some palace-touring. As I mentioned previously, our hotel was in a great location and we were able to walk to several of the Five Grand Palaces of Seoul! Probably would have been a faster/easier walk if we weren’t following Henry’s lead, but….as Henry said, “WE GOT THERE, DIDN’T WE?!”

Wow, tough guy.

I wanted to start with Gyeongbokdung Palace first but Henry was all, “my way or the highway” or some other Dad-ism, so we went to Changdeokgung Palace first. I know, it’s hard to keep the names straight! But the one that starts with a G is like, the most popular one I guess.

In hindsight though, our crazy walks are something I look back on now and laugh about. I miss it! We saw a lot of crazy shit this way and it reaffirmed that we definitely were better suited sans itinerary. As much as I loved the European adventures I went on as a kid with my family, it was so much better not to be tied down to a group agenda and panicking everyday because you’re close to missing bus call. For this trip, we had a list of things we wanted to do and we played it by ear. Sometimes we didn’t know what we were doing until after we woke up that morning! It was slightly stressful for me at times because I’m an undercover control freak, but I quickly learned to just go with it and maybe that’s why we managed to make it through our Korea pilgrimage with minimal fighting.

Donhwamun Gate, the largest of all palace gates. Get on Donhwamun’s level, other gates. 

According to Wiki, this Palace literally translates to “Prospering Virtue Palace.” It was the second palace to be established after Gyeongbokgung, which is the one I wanted to see first but that’s OK Henry, fuck up the chronological order!

The original palace was built between 1405-1412 but burnt down during the Japanese invasion in 1592 and again in 1623 but each time it was rebuilt, and the reconstruction remained true to its original form. It’s incredibly humbling and sobering to be walking around grounds filled with so much history and tragedy.

Chooch might have a future as a Walmart greeter, you guys.

We got there early enough that it wasn’t flooded with tourists yet. Look at the mountain peeking out back there! I believe that’s part of Mt. Bugaksan. One of the things I didn’t know about Korea until I started marinating in a KOREA 101 bath is that Korea is like, 70% mountains! And almost everywhere you go in Seoul, you can see them. It’s one of the things I loved so much about this city, that no matter how urban and cosmopolitan it feels in one direction, if you pivot another way, you’ve got a mountain looming over you, or a Palace’s ancient presence behind you. Seoul has everything. Seoul IS everything.

Injeongjeon Hall

This is the throne hall, where all The Big Events took place back in the day, like coronations and poisonings probably.

This is the inside of Injeongjeon Hall. I bet lots of scary people have mingled under those chandeliers.

And now please enjoy some gratuitous spring flower shots:

The spring buds were like celebs, man. There were some cherry blossoms that you couldn’t get anywhere near because of the throng of older people with their tripods and huge lenses.

It was so deserted in this area that I was afraid we weren’t supposed to be there. Those trees though.

I was so glad that Chooch got to experience all this history! He was really into it.

This was before ancient Korean spirits possessed Chooch and me and gave us the ability to lacerate Henry’s feelings with our hunger-driven words.

Because, we would never normally be mean to Henry.

Lol.

I had to go for my annual wellness test this morning at work, and when the lab tech was getting ready to take my blood pressure, he said, “Just think about things that make you happy.” And immediately, in my mind, I was walking the peaceful grounds of Changdeokgung again.

Henry just made some disparaging remark about how we’ve been home for over a month and I’m still recapping this trip and I was like, “WELL MAYBE IF YOU WOULD HELP ME…” Sike, I don’t want him helping. His posts will be like, “We went on a train and then ate at a market and went to another market and then ate again and walked a lot. And I think I might have accidentally swore at someone when I was trying to say thank you in Korean.”

But, that would probably be preferable to anyone sick of the Seoul onslaught!

Too bad though because this is my post so there will be a lot more words but maybe I’ll try to keep it under 1,000 for once. 

*********************

Back in Seoul!

A post shared by Erin Appledale (@ohhonestlyerin) on Mar 30, 2018 at 4:09am PDT

We arrived back in Seoul from Busan on a Friday night around 7:30. Here are some photos from that evening!

Before we did anything, we went back to our hotel to drop off our bags before they became permanently affixed to Chooch’s and my backs. We realized that we had never checked out the rooftop garden yet so we did that real quick before heading out. Here’s what the view looked like:

I didn’t notice until now, but you can see the reflection our the hotel’s sign (Atrium) on those windows to the left. I AM SUCH A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER.

I miss this view. I miss you, Jongno-gu. I’d highly recommend staying there to anyone who is thinking of traveling to Seoul because it’s centrally located, within walking distance from numerous palaces, the DDP, Gwangjang Market, and two really accessible subway stations. The Jongno stations also have a huge shopping mall in them. You could get lost in there, honestly, especially if you’re there with Henry. You can by everything from bread to shoes down there, guys. Get on Korea’s (subterranium) level.

Also, it’s an actual shelter because it’s so deep underground.

Our first stop was Gwangjang Market for a piece-meal dinner (something from this stall, something from that stall, something later from a sidewalk stall…).

The food stall cooks must be so accustomed to being recorded and photographed because so many travel and food shows have gone through and then the YouTube vlogging generation swept in and shoved even more cameras in their faces. I know it seems hypocritical as I’m typing this beneath pictures I took in Gwangjang Market! But I just don’t think I could ever be a vlogger. I’d feel like such an asshole walking around with a camera and talking to myself.

Our next Friday night stop was the DDP (we were obsessed with that place) because they were having a Bamdokkaebi Night Market, which was overflowing with food trucks and craft vendors. The vibes were so upbeat and carefree here! Even though it was crowded, everyone was so laidback and chill – it didn’t feel overwhelming or suffocating. There was even a marching band! So festive.

The DDP is crazy amazing to spectate during the day, but it is a must-see at night. I would definitely put it on the recommednation list if any of my imaginary friends were taking a fantasy trip to Seoul.

All the LED roses are stunning at night, obviously! Plus here’s Chooch with his signature “Korea daze” expression. We over-walked that kid, lol.

The one part of the night market that sticks out in my memory is the dog that Chooch was desperately trying to pet on the way out. Some older man had his dog off-leash and that dog was super social and lapping up all the attention he was getting, but he kept getting distracted by other people every time he would start to run to Chooch. Two younger guys were walking by and noticed Chooch’s plight, so they helped lure the dog over to him, and when Chooch was finally successfully in petting the dog, the guys & several other spectators cheered – it was such a heartwarming moment and definitely something that I will always remember.

This cool Last Supper-spoof was in the textile area of Gwangjang Market. I love that the disciples are actually designers!

We continued to stroll around, spectating all the drunken sidewalk revelry, stopping for third dinner at the above food stall, and just trying to take in as much as possible while we were still there. This was when the clock really started to tick for me, and I was hyper-aware that we only had two full days left. It was frustrating because I wanted to start grabbing at everything and clutching it close to my chest, you know? Like, let me double-fist all of these experiences that are still out there before I run out of time because who knows if I will ever get the opportunity to go back. Just, utter panic and behind-the-scenes sadness no matter how hard I tried to live in the moment, because the end was always looming around the corner. LE SIGH.

The next Korea post will be about Changdeokgung Palace! Get stoked for some traditional Korean snaps!