WWIM 11 Seoul

World Wide Instameet 11 (#WWIM11) was held last weekend and I once again had the opportunity to joined to the one in Seoul, hosted by Seoul State of Mind. This time, we roamed around the Changdeok Palace (창덕궁) and pretty much stayed there for about 3 hours or so. Since this is my second instameet, I got to see people that I've met from the previous instameet (see WWIM10 post here) as well as new friends, which is always fun :) One thing in common though, is meeting people who are in transit—whether they're here for just a short trip or staying for a couple of years—just like me. It always fascinates me to listen to other people's life stories. I also got the chance to meet a couple of people, who I follow on instagram, in person and get to know them a little bit better. 

To tell you the truth, instagram has connected me to some of the most wonderful people I've met here in Seoul. We bonded through our passion for photography and it has became a window of opportunity to get to know more about the people behind the camera. It has also has given me multiple chances to collaborate with other artists and they were really fun experiences. Through collaborations, you inspire, be inspired, and push each other to be better. And so with that, friendships were born and I'll be forever thankful for instagram for connecting me to these wonderful people. (p.s. this post is totally not sponsored by instagram. just sharing my experience :p)

Anyways, although it wasn't intentional, I ended up shooting a lot of portrait shots this time and got a set of #architectureandpeople series. Can't wait for the next WWIM! :) 

(Special thanks to Ken for hosting WWIM11)

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Photo by: @seoul_stateofmind @inner.pastiche

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Thank you @seoul_stateofmind, @inner.pastiche, @hannahmuhh, @noahskim, @soozee324, @ej_esq, @joankeem, @ian_mckay, @mikekineman for making each shots an interesting one :)

Colorful Pops

With spring official began yesterday, the weather is finally warming up here in Seoul. We've been blessed with double digits temperature here these past few days, and yesterday was the probably the first time I actually felt hot in a very long time. Really was a perfect day for things like good milkshake or ice cream. If any of you need an idea where to go to get a good ice cream, might wanna check out this place.

So a couple of weeks back, Seoul weather has been pretty cold. I think it's mostly because of the wind, rather the temperature. The 30+ km/ph wind could really makes it feels like -15C. Ugh. After a couple of those days, I was so glad that the temperature suddenly got warmer and the sun decided greet us in Seoul—with no freezing cold winds blowing I might add. And that day turned out to be the day that my friends and I decided on to go Molly's Pops (몰리스팝스), a small popsicle shop in Hongdae/Hapjeong area. I've been seeing pictures of these colorful popsicles on instagram and wanted to know if they taste as good as they look, and they do. The ice cream is not very sweet, but it has distinct flavor one from the other. We ordered different flavors so we can try more than one flavor and everybody liked it. They also have unique flavors, such as Kahlua Makgeolli (Korean rice wine), but I think since it's winter, the selection is less than what they have in the summer time. Gonna go back again next time, maybe when the weather is a little warmer so that I can see what more unique flavors they have in store.

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Gentle Monster Merry Go Round

Passed by Gentle Monster the other day and saw this new installation in their exhibition space. Gentle Monster is probably one of the fascinating shops I've ever been to. They use their space as a shop as well as collaborating with the Quantum Project to host art exhibitions. I don't really know much about the space, but according to their website: 

"The Quantum Project presents a new evolution of commercial space by creating fast space that is redesigned every 25 days through collaborations with an extensive range of artists and brands." 

... and this is their 16th Quantum Project—Merry Go Round. 

"A merry-go-round depicts the nostalgia and novelty of childhood, nestled in the back of our mind. The main stage, surrounded by remains of a broken sculpture, is spinning around and around creating a truly surreal vibe: Candies are overflowing in the objects at the ring of the merry-go-round, presenting you with sweet amusement."

The exhibition will be on display from March 3 to 30. If you happen to be in Hongdae/Hapjeong neighborhood and wanna see something interesting, you should definitely visit this place. And you could get free candies too (yes, you can scoop them yourselves and take them home).

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Daimon Kitchen

Life has been crazy these past few weeks. Good crazy though. I've been doing a lot of things that I enjoy and the only downside is there seems to be not enough time to do everything, including rest I must say. Anyways, been trying to try new restaurants and cafes lately since I'm kinda required to stay mostly indoors these days with the works that I need to get done. So first one up, is Daimon Kitchen (다이몬키친), a ramen restaurant that just opened around Sinchon/Ehwa area. Their ramen, ramen broth, and eggs are pretty good, although I wish they have more meat though :) Also, I went during lunch and they have a set where you get Ramen and a small donburi with a small additional fee. That tastes good too. 

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Les Ephemeres

Les Ephemeres (레제페메르) is hidden in a small alley in Hapjeong (합정). My friend and I was walking around the neighborhood and decided to picked a random place we never been to take a break from all the walking around the neighborhood we did earlier. We actually found the place when we turned to an alley to look at murals on the white wall on the side of the alley but to our surprised there's a cafe entrance at the end of it. Nobody was inside when we walked in, so the place's really quite. Picked a table and started to browse through the menu. They have coffee, tea, wine and beer on their drinks menu so you'll never run out of choices. There're also a good selections of cakes if you feel like having something sweet to go with you drinks. Since both my friend and I are not a coffee drinker, we opted for their tea selections. Can't remember the name of the teas we ordered, but they both were good. When I was taking pictures of the place, I noticed a 'Reserved' sign on the long table at the back of the cafe. Later on, I found out that this place do cater to private/small dinner party as well. Last thing, they have these architectural sketches up on the wall, which I totally adore.