Salt Coke Casual Lounge Bar @ Rodeo, Apgujeong, Seoul.

Salt Coke is a relatively new bar on Rodeo in Apgujeong. It's getting increasingly more popular because of the cheap drink prices in an area that is otherwise usually pretty pricey. I stopped in for a few drinks the other day. The bar itself has a trendy feel, it's minimal and mostly white. There's a dj playing on weekends. There's also a few projector screens playing movies, Toy Story was playing on the one by me. Awesome! The music was good and the bar was moderately busy. I think it will get much busier as more people hear about it though.

Cocktails start at 5,000 won and go up to9,000 for Mojitos. In this area you'd usually pay at least double that. They also offer various bottle sets. An Absolute Vodka set is 69,000 won including mixers and a choice of side dishes. So if you want a bar that still feels like Apgujeong without the price tag head here.

 
Salt Coke is located in the middle of rodeo where it turns a corner. You can take the subway to Apgujeong station on line 3 or Gangnam-gu Office on line 7. Here's a map to help you out.

View SaltCoke Lounge Bar in a larger map

Remember to find Seoulsome and like the page on Facebook. Enjoy!

Best Cupcakes Yet @ Royal Cupcake, Cheongdam.

I interrupt the Halloween themed news to bring you my latest love, Royal Cupcake in Cheongdam.

Cupcakes themselves are not a new love for me. I was previously a big fan of Good Ovening Cupcake store but in recent months I've started to notice it going downhill. When I first sampled their offerings, a couple of years back, they were much softer, prettier and even a tad bigger. Now it's a bit hit and miss depending on the day you go. A good day and they're fine but get the wrong day and you could end up with a dry and crumbly cupcake. Not the funnest gambling ever. The decorations have become less and less colorful lately too. I don't know how you feel about this, but I feel pretty passionate about cupcakes and believe a cupcake should not only taste great it should look great too. That's the whole point really, otherwise you might as well just get...well...cake.

I was still going to Good Ovening, playing the cupcake lottery, because...quite frankly...I didn't have a better option! You'll see a lot of imposter cupcakes (cream topped sponge buns, hate those little cheats) in Seoul but the real deal butter-cream type are not that common.

I finally found my answer. Royal Cupcake. The cupcakes are simply put...incredible! The cake part is soft, springy and light. The buttercreams come in a variety of different flavours and are all so smooth you wonder how they do it. Not only are the cupcakes pretty as can be but the store itself is exactly how a cupcake store should be, truely charming. It's very whimsical and girly. Not the place for a guys trip but bring your date or girlfriend here and she'll be smitten, I promise!

Double Choco Fudge Cupcake - Chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge butter-cream.
Miss Cookie Monster Cupcake - Chocolate chip sponge with strawberry butter-cream.

Next on my cupcake hit list - Coconut Panda...too cute to eat?? No, I don't think so.

Halloween 2011 Nights Out Around Seoul, Korea.

As promised I've put together a small list of things that I've heard are happening around Seoul for Halloween 2011.

- For an upscale sophisticated Halloween complete with free flowing Veuve Clicquot Champagne and Canapes you can go to The Apartment bar in Cheongdam on Friday 21st October. Tickets are 70,000 won in advance or 90,000 won on the night. For information of where to buy tickets and the bars exact location see Yelloweenkorea.com 

- Hundreds of foreigners will be taking to the sea on a party boat off the coast of Incheon on Saturday 29th October. The official Facebook page has all the event information. Tickets are 50,000 won and include a coach transfer to the boat but no alcohol. Halloween Cruise and Club Party.

- If you don't fancy the open seas then you can still enjoy all the fun of a party boat. There will be Halloween Party Cruises happening on the same night on the Han River. There's a few different options from 28,000 - 35,000 won. Check out the Han River Halloween Party Cruise page on Facebook. 

'I'm On A Boat!' (This image is not an accurate representation of the actual boat you will be on. Sorry.)

Totally Non-Seoul or Blog Related Stuff A.K.A Distraction!

Hey Ya'll! I have no idea why I just typed that. I'm not even from America, let alone the south of it.

I think it could be because for the last few hours rather than doing something productive, like writing something interesting or at least relevant for this space right here, I have been looking at peopleofwalmart.com

I don't know how I'd never heard of it or seen it before as it seems to be pretty popular. I can tell you there is some funny (also quite weird, disturbing, gross, odd) stuff right there. Some not so much. But some, so so SO much! Or maybe I just have a low grade of humor.

If you haven't seen it yourself and haven't already left this page to look at that one, I'll tell you what it is.

It is simply an online collection of photos of people in Wal Mart. To further explain, in case you don't know what Wal Mart is, it's a huge chain of supermarkets in the States. Why is that funny?? I'll just let you take a look and see for yourself.

After laughing at that for a little while I happened upon another funny site I hadn't had the pleasure of knowing about before. Actually I think this site is a lot funnier. Real humor, not stupid childish laughs. It's theoatmeal.com.

Now that I'm thinking about it I feel bad lumping it in with People of Walmart since the humor there takes no talent whatsoever (quite the opposite in fact) and this is an illustrated blog (which clearly takes a great deal of time and effort) An illustrated blog means everything is put it into comic format. My favorite so far (so many yet to look at = hours of procrastination = yey! I'm sorry, forgive me! ) is this one:

This is especially funny to me because I have experienced this first hand when I got my iPhone here in Korea. Minus the part about selling my family. And being a homeless person. Or gargling anything. But you know what I mean!

Anyway I think this site is genius. The guy who does the site is clearly very talented and extremely funny, I'm almost certain there's something to bring a smile to your face so I thought I would go ahead and share, here.

And that has been my evening. Just so productive! I generally dislike Tuesdays, for some reason they always suck for me and I find myself with little motivation to do anything after I get home from work. I think laughing has done me some good and I'm going to bed now a more optimistic, happier soul!

Good night all, I hope one of them brings a smile to your face too!

When you've had a look through them tell me...which is your favourite?

Vogue Fashion's Night Out - Shopping @ Myeongdong, Seoul.

I've been so busy this week with one thing and another. I'm so happy that amongst other things I got to go shopping on Vogue Fashion's Night Out. The night was held here in Seoul in Myeongdong on Wednesday 21st September.

The first ever Fashion's Night Out happened in New York in 2009. When the financial crisis hit people stopped spending money on luxury purchases. The fashion and retail industries were obviously struggling to stay afloat. So Vogue and a few of their friends put together the concept of one night only where champagne flowed freely and shoppers could be privy to great deals and discounts on designer items. Not only that it's also possible to get real life glimpses of celebrities turning out to these events. I know I would go just for a sighting of Lady Gaga or Mary-Kate Olsen! Haha! The idea in essence is that it's a celebration of shopping to remind people just how fabulous things really are and how terrific it feels to buy them.

This year Vogue's Fashion's Night Out has been held in 16 countries around the world from my home country England to Russia, from Turkey to Korea!

It just so happens that I live a short cab ride from the main shopping district of Seoul, Myeongdong.
It also just so happened that a lovely friend of mine and I were planning to do a bit of retail therapy.

The lovely friend.

I somehow managed to exercise some self control for once and didn't buy a lot. I walked away with a new coat and a very fall-esque gold dream catcher style necklace with tan feathers. I mainly spent the evening browsing the stores and sipping Champagne.

Vogue Fashion's Night Out. Seoul. September 21.

Oh and avoiding photographers! If I hadn't gone there straight from work I might have felt more confident under the glare of their HUGGGGGEE lenses. I think they got a few cheeky shots anyway, if felt like they were lurking everywhere ready to pounce and get the shot. If you look at this pic you'll see what I mean, they weren't shy!

Photographers getting up close and personal @ Vogue Fashion's Night Out.

The shops were pretty jam packed and I saw a lot of outfits I loved. There were two girls who really stood out to me though. These were my favourite outfits of the night!

Favourite outfits @ Vogue Fashion's Night Out.

The two girl's worked in the fashion industry so clearly that explains just how chic their looks are. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself to make me feel better about not looking like this! I loved both of these looks. The left girl's outfit stood out from the crowd the most because of the colors. The pink skirt is from the current season at Zara. Her clutch is by Marc Jacobs and honestly was to die for! The girl on the right was also wearing a skirt by Zara. Her jacket was from a Korean retailer that I don't know I'm afraid.

All in all it was a fun night, I wouldn't mind sipping champagne every time I shop. I'll certainly miss it the next time I'm shopping. I think the night definitely does what Vogue intends, reminds you of the joy and fabulousness in shopping. A dangerous thing if you ask me!

Of course you can visit Myeongdong to shop anytime you like! ^^

How To Get To Myeongdong Shopping District.

The easiest way to reach Myeongdong is by subway line 4. Go to Myeongdong station and leave by exit 6. Walk down the street directly on your left and you'll immediately be on the main shopping street.

Myeongdong is the shopping hub of Seoul. The streets here are packed with retailers. There's a lot of western brand stores in this district including H&M, Zara, Mango, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren, Gap and Steve Madden. There are smaller scale outlets of stores like Diesel, Replay, and most cosmetic brands in the department stores Shinsagae and Lotte.

If you have any questions about shopping in Seoul please leave me a message here. Make sure to follow Seoulsome so you can keep up to date with great places in and around Seoul.

East Coast: DMZ North Korea Goseong Unification Observatory

This is probably the best view you can get of North Korea if like me you're too much of a wuss to go in on an organized tour.

As part of our road trip we visited the most northern tip of the east coast. Positioned there is the Goseong Unification Observation Centre. This is mainly an observation platform with a small exhibit about the North and the politics surrounding the divide. It was built in 1983 and from here you can view Mount Geumgangsan and Haegeumgang as well as some nearby islands.

Driving on the road towards the north we passed lots of concrete structures sat either side of the road.

I wasn't too sure what the purpose of them were at first but a little Google search helped me out. They are positioned there so that in the event things turn sour (more sour) between the two countries they can be pushed over onto the road. The two structures will interlock and create a road block to prevent an easy route into South Korea for the North's artillery vehicles.

We passed several of them, all a strange and eerie reminder of the tensions that exist between the two countries. I certainly hope it's never necessary for them to need to be used!

To enter the area you'll need an entrance form and sign to place in your car window.

We weren't aware of that so we reached the checkpoint and had to go back to get it. If you're driving there then watch out for signs to a small place called the 'Tongil Security Park' where you need to stop and get the relevant forms. It's on the left side of the road.

When you pull into the area it's rather unclear where you should go to get the form. There is a tourist information point but when we visited the person working there spoke no English.

There is a building housing small souvenir and snack food stalls. The place to get your form is inside there.

Look for this door. Go in here then walk to the left.

This is where you need to go to get your entry permit.

After we'd gone back and managed to work out where to get the entry permit we headed back along the road to the check point.

Once inside the area there wasn't a great deal you could see from the road. There seemed to be some construction of new roads leading north as though the South is preparing the infrastructure just in case of a sudden reunification. There is also a DMZ museum but we didn't visit that.

We soon arrived at an area where the road ended. There was a distinct lack of signage or directions in English and we really weren't too sure where the unification centre was. Although there wasn't a great deal of people about that day we managed to watch a Korean couple, who we'd spotted getting the forms at the same place as us, head off up a hill. We figured there couldn't be a heck of a lot of other places they were headed to, so we followed them.

Head between the car and the sign. The unification centre is the small white building you can see in the distance.

When we got to the top we had a wander around and took in all the views. The place itself was deserted but seemed to have been designed to cater to crowds of people. I actually read that the centre has had over 28 million visitors which was hard to believe on this particular day.


The observation platform looking towards North Korea.



Road and train track into North Korea.

Soldiers patrolling the beach.

The DMZ beach - deserted. If only you could access it. It looks like the perfect beach for a long stroll.

Inside the building they have a small exhibit about North Korea and from what I could assess the history of the divide. Sadly there is nothing written in English though.

Items from North Korea.

Somebody needs to introduce them to laptops and iMacs.

Mmmmm looks yummy.

"A match for a hundred"

 I found it fascinating to see the items on show and looking towards the north really made me consider the sad reality of the situation with North Korea. Although it wasn't simple to reach it is a great place to have visited and I would highly recommend you pay it a visit if you're able to. 

Leaving the DMZ.

If you don't have a car then the easiest way to visit the unification centre is by an organized tour bus. You can find more information about tours and the Unification centre itself by visiting the official website.

Unification Observatory website.

If you would like to visit as an individual then you can find information of how to get there at the Korea Tourism Organization website.

Information :

Telephone: 033 682 0088

Admission Fee: age 20 and over - 2,000 won; age 19 and under - 1,000 won.

Hours: Spring, Fall - 09:00 - 16:00; Summer - 09:00 - 17:30; Winter - 09:00 - 15:30.


As always please feel free to leave me a comment and please follow Seoulsome.

Alternatively or also you can 'like' Seoulsome's Facebook page.

East Coast: Where to Stay.

When visiting the east coast it can be difficult to choose where you want to stay.

There are many independantly run pensions, which are similar to a bed and breakfasts. You can check out some of the pensions online through a google search. Or you can check this list of Gangwon-do Pensions.

If you are looking for somewhere with more facilities or more luxurious then there a number of hotels in the area too.

The Hotel Maremons is located on the east coast of Korea near to the town of Sokcho. The hotel stands on the hill side overlooking the ocean.

© 2009 Dave Kennard

They have a choice of mountain view rooms and sea-view rooms. The hotel facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, sauna and spa pools, a coffee shop, Korean restaurant and 'sky lounge' offering western food with great views over the coastline.

Deluxe sea-view double room at Hotel Maremons.

Double room in Hotel Maremons, Sokcho.

 The rooms are a reasonable size and could sleep three people comfortably. There is one king size bed and a single bed. The room is equipped with a mini-bar, flat screen TV, desktop computer and tea and coffee making facilities. The hotel also provides slippers and bathrobes.

Bathroom in the Hotel Maremons, Sokcho.



'Hi!'

 The bathroom's are clean and nicely fitted. The hotel provides basic toiletries although these are not in individual bottles but bottles that are re-filled. I found this strange especially as this hotel has a 5 star rating in Korea. There is also a hair-dryer in the bathroom.

The sky lounge on the 11th Floor of the Hotel Maremons.

 The hotel's bar is on the 11th floor offering fantastic views of the coastline. They also have a food menu comprising western and Korean dishes. On some nights they run a dinner buffet which is 25,000 won per person. The food here is of mixed quality. The buffet offers a good selection of appetizer dishes, soup and dessert but was lacking in 'protein' for main course. If you are looking for a good meal and value for money I would recommend trying to find another restaurant.

If you are only interested in having a drink then the bar area serves a good selection of cocktails, beer and wine. The cocktails were priced at 8,000 to 9,000 won. Korean beer was 5,500 won. Budweiser beer was 6,500 won.

View from the Hotel Maremons.

Mountain view from the back of the Hotel Maremons.

Room prices start at around 70,000 won per night. A deluxe sea view room during the Chuseok holiday period was 125,00 won including breakfast and all taxes.

Although this hotel offers a good location right by the beach and the town it is by no means a 5 star hotel as it lists. I would say this hotel is more on par with a 3 star. The rooms are fine though and if you visit outside of peak times it's not bad value for money. Check out Hotel Maremons on Agoda for more pictures, reviews and to find the best price.

If you prefer to stay at a something closer to a true 5 star hotel  then I would highly recommend the Sol Beach Resort. Although you will pay at least double the rate (doubles start at 142,000 won a night) at Hotel Maremons this hotel is in another league. It has a private beach with direct access from the hotel's manicured grounds. There are also lots of onsite services including five restaurants, two bars, a karaoke bar, children's club, on-site grocery store, souvenir shops, spa and indoor golf range.

Sol Beach Resort, Gangwon-do, South Korea.

Inside the Sol Beach Resort Hotel.

This resort is located a little further south close to Yangyang. The interior of this hotel is much more luxurious and the service is equal to that you would recieve elsewhere in 5 star hotels.

There are several different room types including condominiums. Some rooms have jacuzzi tubs on the balconies too. The rooms are a good size and the beds are comfortable, well, as comfy as you can find in Korea. (Why are the beds here so bloody hard?)

The resort also has a small 'waterpark' called Aqua World. Don't get too excited though, it's not the kind of waterpark you're thinking of. It just means lots of pools, spa pools, jacuzzis and water jets.

The quality of food in the restaurants here is good and they also offer a buffet dinner. This buffet has a much wider choice although it is priced at 40,000 won per person.

You can see more information about Sol Hotel on Agoda. or Booking.com

For the Hotel Maremons you can find more information and enqire about reservations at the Hotel Maremons website.

If you have any questions about either place don't hesitate to ask me. Wherever you choose to stay I hope you have a fantastic time!