BEAUTIFUL SEOUL

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the fortress is pierced with four gates. It was built in the late 1700s with bastions, artillery towers, floodgates, observations towers, command posts, multiple arrow launcher towers, firearm bastions, angle towers, secret gates, beacon towers, bastions, and bunkers for defensive purposes. Its massive walls enclose an area of 130 hectares of land where locals and tourists can learn archery and buy souvenirs and coffee from the small shops. After exploring the walls, we took a rest at a small coffee while watching kids learn the art of bow and arrows. Endless shopping at Dongdaemun Market

From fabrics to accessories, Dongdaemun has every fashionable item you can imagine—from clothes to wedding goods to the latest K-drama merchandise. It is home to the largest suppliers in Korea, a mixture of both traditional and modern stores.

Inside Dongdaemun is the most Instagrammed location in Korea in 2015—the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, where K-drama sensations You Who Came from the Stars, Producer, and She Was Pretty were filmed. Dizzyingly modern, bold, and experimental, the building is also the venue for designrelated shows, exhibits, and conferences. It has an Art Hall, Museum, Design Lab, Design Market, and the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park.

The path into the building is lined with stalls selling quirky and original designs of light fixtures. In it, I found the popular Kakao Friends Store, the most loved cartoon character in Korea. Kakaotalk is the number one messenger in Korea with its own emoticon characters Ryan, Muzi, Con, Neo Frodo, Apeach, Jay-G, and Tube. In the shop are various products from mugs to cellphone cases to character figures, and even pillows and blanket. Shopping Old-School Style

Meanwhile, at the Tongin Market in Jongno-gu, you can shop using Korea’s old coins. In it are traditional items you can’t find in the urban hubs. This market dates back to June 1941 when Korea was under Japanese rule. Now abuzz with 75 stores, it has everything the locals or tourists want costumes or K-pop or K-drama you are after. In fact, there’s more to South Korea than you can see in one visit. I personally haven’t been to the popular Nami Island and, for the K-drama enthusiast I know I am going to be, that’s quite a pity. The 2002 Winter Sonata was filmed there, and it was supposed to have initiated the Korean Wave that would eventually sweep the world off its feet.

I was treated to various teas at the Medical Tour Information booth. I had the ultimate hallyu experience. I met G-Dragon, 2NE1, and Lee Min Ho. Yeah, it’s true, thought it was only digital versions of them. I even took souvenir photos with them at the K-Star Zone. I was soon led into a dark hallway, the Korean Food Exhibition Hall, where I learned everything about traditional