CutiCuti: South Korea Day 7 - Bukchon Hanok Village & Samcheongdong

Assalamualaikum. 안녕! 

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Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Phew! Finally an update of my Summer Holiday with The Ladies. Things got pretty hectic at the cafe last week. Short of manpower was the reason behind all the chaotic. Managing a cafe is never easy. Well at least I have a job to make ends meet. And of course extra tu boleh bawa berjalan suka ria. 

Shoot! Lets continue with the update. After visiting Changdeok Palace, we headed to Bukchon Hanok Village. Just a few minutes of walking from the palace it is. But enough to drained our energy out. The many cute & attractive cafes along the way to Bukchon made us even thirstier. Walking on a summer day, drenched with sweat certainly the strongest excuse for another tea time session.

And so we stopped at one of the cafe with this huge banner displaying patbingsu in front of their shop. For the Koreans, Patbingsu rhymes with summer heat...and we; the tripping tourists include ourselves.

It only took us less than 5 minutes of walking from the palace to the street home of these cute cafes. We can't resist the temptation to gives Patbingsu another shot that day; after the one we had at Petite France. Dasar! 

Soothing interior indeed. How I wish my hometown could have concept-cafe like this! The ones that are prettily decorated here (my beloved Kota Kinabalu city) always scared the tight-budget people like me. Reason why we opted for kedai kopi cokia instead. 

I told Ms G...if I were to put that bear as a deco at the cafe; I bet it won't last a day. Mesti akan ada comot sana sini. Or some part of his body will go missing. Or worst, the bear disappeared. 

Our travel map, saved inside my phone. Definitely an ultimate guide for us because I don't favour the idea to search for the place we wanted to go only when we're there. Time is gold when I travel; so I said many times. I prefer completing my itinerary prior my holiday. That includes hostel we're staying, transportations, directions etc etc. Call me not adventurous but that's the way I travel. Playing safe most of the time unless we got last minute change on the itinerary while we're already there...yang tu memang boleh tolerate. Or when time isn't the hindrance. Well, I don't always go by the book all the time.

Referring picture #4, here's where one should turn left to enter the Bukchon Village at the red bricks building; Donmi Yaggug. 약국 (Yaggug) stands for Drugstore or in English; it's Pharmacy. 

Hilly neighbourhood of Bukchon. It is a traditional village composed of many alleys. Korean traditional house; Hanok is preserved in order to show a 600-year old urban environment. 

Was traditionally a residential quarter for the high-ranking government officials & nobility during the Joseon Dynasty. Considering this is a real residential area, voice should be kept down to respect the residents.

Namsangol Village is a museum of Traditional Houses moved from its original places but most of hanoks in Bukchon belong to private owners. Golongan bangsawan pada masa dulu & hartawan pada masa sekarang. 

If u want to experience living in a hanok, there are few hanoks that have been transformed into a guesthouse. Just be prepare to pay for a slightly more than the usual rate. 

Amidst the hustle bustle city...still stand this traditional village.

Alhamdulillah for I did the research of this house's location prior coming. Too many 'lost stories' have I read from bloggers in their quest searching for this house. Hence the research beforehand. And we found it without getting lost. *bangga kembang hidung* Buat preparation macam kambing; siang malam berchenta with naver map demi Sanggojae (Gae In's house in Personal Taste; a Korean drama). 

The most searched house in Bukchon; I supposed. 

Right door or the main door is for the owner...whilst the left; for the maid. 

Building wall made solely from woods. Super creative. 

View of Samcheongdong from Bukchon Village.

Maximizing the use of rooftop. Bukti kukuh. Pretty house on rooftop in many of K-dramas aren't just props. The houses are there for real. Well, some might be built just for filming purposes. The one we saw was a cafe. I wonder sitting there during the sunset; sipping my cuppa & enjoying the breezy air. Tenang!

Rumah orang ada² kali ni. Siap ada warning ok! Kau mampu?

It means; The House (집). 

We walked along the streets in Bukchon...willingly letting ourselves drown into the peacefulness of the surrounding. Didn't realize we arrived at Samcheongdong after the magnificent view from the top of Bukchon.

And who says shops located further up shouldn't be decorated? In Seoul, isolated location or slightly hidden from the other stores don't necessarily means they're not favoured.

Just look how creative they can be. Strategy in marketing. Obviously, this stairs will lead u to Wine, Coffee shop.

Koreans & their waffle + coffee.

Because my beloved Jonghyun of CNBLUE; posed here once. The exact position. I was trying to imitate how he posed including tangan di poket seluar...but yeah, major failed it was. 

Again, tourists tripping tourist.

Ms G snapped this...how come I didn't see this. 

We strolled along Samcheongdong...admiring its many super cute adorable cafes. Really worth our last day in Seoul lah this walking! We saw too many cute stuffs. Despite the scorching sun in the afternoon it was indeed a rather calm evening walk for us. 

Hatta kedai jual susu pun deco cantik gila! Ouh I wanna have these kinda things in KK!

Exiting Samcheongdong...and later lead us to this road. Security check is needed as that road lead to Cheongwadae (Korean Blue House); South Korean head of state's executive office & official residence. Samcheongdong is adjacent to Cheongwadae's vicinity. 

 

Another entrance to Gyeongbuk Palace that will lead visitor to the Folk Museum from here. Goodbye for now, I will visit u in Dec. Insha Allah.

We walked back to Insadong, which is just opposite the street. Gonna spend our last night in Seoul wisely. And beautifully; simply to make sure the ladies enjoyed their holiday in Seoul...with me; as their cokia guide. Will update about our last night's activity later. 

When it comes to cuteness & creativeness...leave it to the Koreans & Japanese.

NOTE: If u're looking for a hanok stay, u can get more info here.

eryantierdabdulkarim