Seoul, Korea 5/10/2025

I’m hereeeeeeee! I’ve made it to South Korea. I arrived last night around 5 into Incheon airport. After a standard customs experience, I was able to find the express train into Seoul. This would then connect me from Seoul’s main train station to the smaller lines to get me to my hotel. It took about 2 hours to get from landing to checked in. I am staying at a nice hotel in Myeondong, a busy part of Seoul. My hotel has a lovely view overlooking the city, but is far enough away from all the chaos. After dropping off my stuff, the mission to find food began. In all my travels, I haven’t struggled nearly as much to find a place to eat as a solo traveler as I do here in Seoul. I was intentional about saving locations before I came, but even some listed as good for solo diners still turned me away. This is shocking to people who don’t understand Korea and it’s culture. Many meals are meant to be shared and served to groups. It is difficult to have hot pot or Korean bbq for one.

Eventually, I strolled by a restaurant and spotted a man eating alone and decided that would do for my dinner. I have NO idea what I ate, but it was spicy and delicious. I am noticing pretty quickly that the language barrier here will be a bit more of a challenge compared to other asian countries I have visited. Usually in the big cities, I can still find a majority of people who speak English, last night I quickly realized google translate will have to be my best friend here. I always make an effort to learn how to at least say hello (annyeonghaseyo), and thank you (gamsahaminida) in the local language that I visit. I am not going to be able to speak Korean, I know this. But it is so important to be respectful of local cultures and languages when you visit a new place, especially as an American in this political climate. I took a pretty early night after the long day of travel which will hopefully set me up for success to adjusting to the jet lag the next two weeks.

Today, I had my first full day in Korea. I woke up at 4:30 AM (unintentionally), and decided to rot for a few hours and get adjusted before heading out and about. Luckily, that is around noonish in California, so I could check in with friends and family letting them know I have safely made my way in. Around 7:30 I decided to brave the rain and head out to explore. I love seeing cities in these quiet moments before they wake up. I walked about 30 minutes to the Jogno neighborhood of Seoul with the intention of exploring and getting a croissant at Soha Salt Pond, a restaurant I have seen all over tik tok. I knew it was going to be closed until 9 which gave me time to explore the small streets and avenues of this area. I love being in a neighborhood that cars cannot easily access due to its size, and this are is one of those. After wandering and rapidly getting more and more hungry, I saw a line forming at a place called Mil Toast. They apparently opened at 8, I was hungry, and it was also on my saved pins for places to visit. So I made the call to hop in the line as I got rained on until I could get in. It was a really minimilistic looking location with incredible french toast and steamed buns. I ordered their strawberry french toast, which came with a side of cheesecake, which I have no complaints about. I love eating alone and listening to an audiobook or podcast. It provides me the chance to just disconnect from the world and be at peace with myself. It isn’t a skill everyone has, but over time I’ve learned to cherish these moments.

I wandered this neighborhood some more as places started to open up. I saw a little arcade that had a sign stating it was a location the squid games was filmed, so I had to pop in for a picture and some games. Then I made my way back to my hotel to reset for a moment before preparing to head to the Aeogdae neighborhood where I had a glorious hair treatment booked. This was a 18 step Korean scalp treatment. They start by taking a camera to your scalp and quickly show you your head is not as fresh and clean as you anticipated. Then they go through adding oils, steam, suds, and so many other shenanigans to your hair over the course of 2 hours. I saw this all over the internet as I was researching what to do in Korea and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I walked out feeling great with fresh hair and a good coffee, ready to explore whatever is next.

I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Myeondong and its intense shopping scene. I bought some jewelry, skin care, and hair clips, but was wise to wait on buying any clothes until tomorrow. Tomorrow I am getting a color analysis done where an expert will tell me what my ideal color palette is, so I know I will be buying loads of clothes when they tell me what looks best on me. That’s what Korea is for. I wrapped up my evening going to a solo Korean BBQ place called hongojib. It is set up with the intention of solo diners, and I loved it. There is a very good chance I go back before I leave Seoul. I ate my weight in Waygu and drank far too much soju. It was an exceptional first day, even if the rain was a bit of a buzzkill. So I’ll take an earlyish night so I can fully get adjusted to the time change and embrace the excitement of what tomorrow will bring.