Things I did in Seoul, beauty treatments, and two new hotels I found that I loved
Hello! I've been going to Korea every year for the past 4 years but only for 4-5 days at a time. A few weeks ago, though, I went to Seoul and spent 10 days there by myself. As a 50 year old Korean American woman, here are some things I did, where I stayed, and what I ate:
Hotel:
In the past I've stayed at the Conrad, JW Marriott, Westin, Sofitel, and Novotel Dongdaemun. I've also stayed at this airbnb called Welcome Mistakes which I absolutely loved but it wasn't exactly very convenient for shopping, eating and sightseeing.
This time around, I wanted a kitchen and a washer/dryer, and I found these two hotels: The Botanik Sewoon Myeongdong, and the Pullman Eastpole.
They both have large rooms and units with kitchen and washer/dryer. Both of these hotels' location was super convenient. The rooms were clean and staff was lovely. I would go back to these hotels. One thing to note: the Botanik's surroundings are a little industrial, but you are 3 minutes away on foot from bus and train and you can be in Myeongdong in 5 minutes.
Marketplace:
I've been to Gwangjang market before and had a nasty experience with food vendors there. This time around I went to Mangwon market and Namdaemun market and the difference was night and day. Mangwon was on the smaller side, clean and totally manageable, and food options were great. I had a noodle soup at this hole in the wall restaurant for $2 (3,000 won). Bought some snacks to bring home, etc. It was a more traditional market where locals go to shop.
Namdaemun market was amazing for shopping. I bought bags, pjs, eyeglasses, accessories - I found everything I wanted to buy and even things I didn't know I wanted! Everything was affordable, and food options were excellent. I only walked around in the market but there are these buildings you can go into to buy houseware, bedding, shoes, clothing- you name it, you will find it here. I highly suggest that everyone skip Gwangjang market and try these two markets. I loved my experience there.
Dermatologist and other beauty things:
I had my eyebrows and eyeline done at Amorj in Gangnam and it was great. It's something I've never done before so I didn't know what to expect, but the staff at Amorj looked at my face, made suggestions for shapes, colors, and how dark I should do them, and I am so happy with the result! They are so professional and they REALLY knew what they were doing. They are also very kind and super fun to talk to (I speak Korean) Again this is not something I normally do so I don't have any point of reference but I can recommend them with confidence. I don't know how much it was though, as I went with a friend and she paid for my session. Oh, and if you've never had your eyelines done, I highly recommend it. You'd be surprised at how put together a thin eyeline tatoo can make you look.
The other thing I did was Ultherapy and a laser toning. For this I went to Lee and Jiang Dermatology in Myeongdong. My friend did the due diligence so I just went along with her thinking I'd probably just get a laser toning or a facial, but I ended up splurging on Ultherapy. I paid about $1,600 USD total for Ultherapy and Luca toning. Because this is not something I normally spend a lot of money on, I wasn't sure about spending that much without doing my own research, but I was there already and I was quoted $2,000 for Ultherapy in New York and this place was smack in the middle of Myeongdong so I figured they would at least be decent and their machine would be new. Long story short I am really glad I did it and will probably try to get it done every year. However, I think there might be places that charge less so next time I go I will probably not return to this place. It was fine and they didn't try to upsell or anything, but they were offering free botox to anyone that would leave a good review on Google so take that however you will.
Other than that I did a lot of touristy things - went to Jogyesa (a buddhist temple in Seoul) and it was so beautifully decorated for Buddha's birthday. I went to Bukchon Hanok village and had patbingsu (shaved ice). I ate clam bibimbap at a restaurant called 'A Flower Blossoms on the Rice' in hannamdong and that was new and delicious, though overpriced (it was organic, apparently). I ate a lot of seafood (clams, crabs, grilled fish), and I loved the meals I had in Mangwon and Namdaemun markets. I tried authentic Korean naengmyun for the first time and it wasn't mind blowing like I always imagined, but apparently it's an acquired taste.
And that's it! I am putting this here mostly so I don't forget this trip.