I woke up at 4:45 am today and after researching how to get to the places we have planned for the day, I went walking and found the larger Daiso near Hongik University Station. It wasn’t open yet so I will have to go back a little later in the day. I got a little lost while exploring so my light morning walk turned into a humid 3-mile jaunt. This will be a great day to be indoors in air conditioning and a controlled environment.

We started this day with a walk to Hongik University Station just two blocks away from the RYSE Hotel and caught the subway to Samseong Station about an hour way to visit COEX mall and Hyundai department store. The fare is less than $2 a person and is so affordable. We arrived at COEX and my son went off on his own. After admiring the huge library in COEX and walking around, we discovered that Hyundai department store is connected to COEX. So convenient! We explored the food court and I decided on bibimbap for lunch. My husband and I took subway to Gwangjang Market (a traditional street market with lots and lots of food) where we had a snack and some soju. Next we caught the subway to Seoul station to shop at Lotte Mart. It is a good thing I decided to wear lightweight/quick-dry joggers because the rain drenched the bottom of my pants. It dried super quickly and I was comfortable enough to go crazy shopping at Lotte Mart. I bought coffee, kochugaru, kochujang, nori, and some snacks. My kind husband hauled the bags of purchases for me all the way back to the hotel.

Our plan for the evening was to enjoy chimaek which means fried chicken and beer. To help us navigate the many options for chimaek, we booked the Authentic Chicken and Beer Exprience tour with Joe from Zenkimchi. Enjoying chicken and beer is a Korean trend. And we got to try traditional-style Korean chicken as well as some more modern/trendy chicken with sweety/spicy sauces and cheese and mochi cakes! Lots of beer was included on this tour and we made friends with April too. I highly recommend Joe and this tour. I have a coupon code for 20% off if you are planning to go to Korea and want to book. Just get in touch with me and I’ll share it with you! (FYI: They also have Ghost Walk, KBBQ, Hike, and Seoul Instagram night tours.) We got back to the hotel around midnight again. On this day, we walked almost 13 miles. Living Hilo Style in Seoul.