Summer at Haeundae Beach • 해운대해수욕장

When you talk about popular summer beach destinations in South Korea, I'm pretty sure Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장) in Busan (부산) will make it to the list. I've heard that this most famous beach in Busan attracts so many visitors—local and tourists—over the years but I just didn't know how many people until I've seen it for the first time in the summer. When I first started walking into the beach area, it wasn't so bad. All I saw was rows and rows of neatly organized blue umbrellas on the beach and blue towels laid under them for people to rent the space to chill or get away from the sun.

But then right when I walked passed those umbrellas and finally laid my eyes on where the sand meets the waves, it was unreal. There were sooo many people around me!! I haven't seen a beach this crowded my entire life! (But then again, I have to say that I don't go the the beach that often but yes, I've been to some of the busier beaches—like the ones in Bali, for example). It was fascinating to see but also overwhelming at the same time. I mean, wow. There were practically every people from all ages doing all kind of things from swimming, chillin' on the water floating on those bright yellow red donut floats, playing in the sand, watching their kids, to just sitting down on the sand sunbathing while playing with their phones. Just the sheer amount of people was fascinating to me. Anyways, after staying there for a good maybe 10-15 minutes, we decided to leave cos just face it, it was all just too much (for me at least) and the sun was way too hot to just stay there and sunbath. 

 

Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장)

Address: 부산광역시 해운대구 해운대해변로 264
Subway: Haeundae Station. Exit 5.

Check Visit Korea website for more info about beach opening hours, night swimming, and other notices.

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Atto Gyukatsu • 아토 규카츠

Gyukatsu (규카츠) was one of the food that became 'a thing' in Seoul last year. Or at least according to my observations since I encountered quite a number of newly opened gyukatsu places around Seoul and started to see more pictures of it online afterwards. And when one of my favorite restaurant moved away from its original spot and replaced by a gyukatsu restaurant, I felt like it was a perfect time to try it out.

Atto Gyukatsu (아토 규카츠) in Sinchon (신촌) was the first place I got a taste of these delicious deep-fried breaded beef cutlets. I ordered the one person gyukatsu set meal which was served with rice, miso soup, and side dishes. The server gave me instructions on how to cook the meat according to your liking, put wasabi on top of it, dip it in the sauces and all that while putting down the tray in front of me. I followed his instructions and started eating. And man it was good. The meat was tender despite of the crunchy breading and the sauce goes well with the meat and rice. I personally feel the wasabi was unnecessary, but hey, I don't really like spicy food in general so for those who do, it might be better with the wasabi. If you are around Sinchon, this place might be worth a try. The restaurant is actually located in the basement so look out for their entrance (pictured below) and just follow down the stairs to the entrance.

p.s: There's actually another gyukatsu place that I visit quite frequently around here that I'll be sharing soon. Stay tuned! ;)

 

Atto Gyukatsu (아토 규카츠)

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 명물길 38
Tel: 02-363-4588
Hours: 11:00 - 22:30
Break Time: 15:30 - 16:30
Subway: Sinchon Station. Exit 3.

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Off The Ground • 오프더그라운드

This past spring, there has been a good number of new cafes that I came across during my neighborhood exploration walks. Off The Ground (오프더그라운드) was one of them. I was heading towards another place with my cousin but then decided to check this place out cos it's on the way. We stepped into a rather white minimalistic space and I headed to the counter to order our drinks. Chatted up the guy who took my order and turned out, he's the owner of the place and they just opened a week before. So this place is like new, new. The place is not that big, but I feel like this could be a good place to get some work done (on the communal table) or to meet up with a friend if you are looking for a smaller spot to hang out at. And... they also serve non-coffee & tea options which is always a plus point for me. 

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OFF THE GROUND

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 와우산로 39-12
Tel. No: 010.9129.4104
Operation hour: 11:00 - 22:00 (Closed on Mondays)
Subway: Sangsu Station (Line 6) Exit 1

Instagram: @__cafe_offtheground__

 

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Village 11 Factory • 빌라쥬11팩토리

I stumbled upon Village 11 Factory (빌라쥬11팩토리) store last fall on one of my hangouts with @dianahenry08 when she was visiting Seoul. We were walking around Garosu-gil (가로수길) and decided to walked into this store because of their body wash vending machine and their store displays, which we noticed when passing by the entrance. Talk about don't judge a book by its cover, it certainly applies to this place because from the outside, I would never imagined how fun the interior of the store would be. I mean, there are 2 floors, divided into different sections, and each sections have their own themed decorations. And all of them are pretty well designed and executed. 

To be honest, I walked into the store because I was curious. That's about it. Never imagined that I would be walking out of the store purchasing something—which I did ended up doing by the way, thanks to a certain friendly staff that gave me an explanation of their Body Oil Wash and asked me to try washing my hands with their samples. After that, I'm sold. Their Body Oil Wash (which probably is the majority of product displayed all over the store) is probably one of the nicest body wash that I've ever used. It moisturizes my skin without leaving that oily residue plus the scent is really nice. I'm not an expert at product review and describing this kind of things nor somebody who has been using and testing different kinds of body wash (which I'm sure there are better ones out there), but I'm telling you, if you are in the store, at least give it a try. This is probably one of a few products that I got really excited telling my friends about (other than camera equipments, electronics and food stuff). And I actually brought some of my friends to this store on separate occasions, asked them to try it out, and they too liked the product and ended up buying the Body Oil Wash. So at least I'm not that bias ;)

And oh by the way, if you are wondering, this is NOT a sponsored post. I just like it that much.

p.s: check out the video for more shots from this store!

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Watch the video here:

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BookPark • 북파크

I still remember the first time I stumbled upon a picture of a book cafe online. It was a couple of years ago and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Back then, book cafe hasn't became a thing. My association of rows of books wasn't usually paired with a cup of hot chocolate or ice green tea on the side to sip on. The consumption of food and drinks is usually prohibited in libraries and bookstores. And reading books in libraries or bookstores usually involved some level of discomfort caused by standing too long in one of the corners of the bookstore or sitting down for a prolonged period of time on one of those uncomfortable library chairs.

I don't know when the book cafe trend started, but it's definitely a thing in Seoul. I stumbled upon quite a number of book cafes in the city and BookPark (북파크) is one of the recent book cafe that I visited. Located on the 2nd and 3rd floor of Blue Square (블루스퀘어), the place is pretty huge for a bookstore. Other than great selections of books, you can also find Hollys Coffee inside the store, plenty of chairs and tables if you decide you wanna read a book or do some studying, and there's even a balcony area for you to chill at if you want to enjoy the nice weather outside. If you are not into books, there's a section on the third floors that sells accessories, toys, stationeries and other knick knacks that you can browse. And they also have another cafe on this floor (which name I didn't pay attention to) and a sitting area with tables bigger than the one in Hollys Coffee area.

If you're looking for books, definitely check this place out. If not, this is also a great place to meet up with people or to get some work/studying done. Or if you are not into all that, you can always come for their instagrammable tall bookshelf and stairs ;)

p.s: thank you @seoul_stateofmind for bringing me and @_marshellia to this place!

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And oh, started to upload video to my Youtube channel. Subscribe of you wanna see more! :) Here's the first video.

 

BookPark • 북파크

Address: 서울특별시 용산구 이태원로 294
Tel. No: 02-6367-2018
Hours: 10:00 - 23:00
Subway: Hangangjin Station (Line 6) Exit 2

Instagram: @bookpark_

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