Short Getaway to Korea

Hi Blog,

As you know, travelling with a group of friends is one of my wishes, and that also includes travelling with colleagues. Why so? Because, personally, I think being able to travel together is an art; it shows a willingness to bond and to get to know one another.

But sometimes, it has an issue. Is there anyone who wants to do so, especially with me? Haha. When it happens, it is a blessing for me.

But there is a risk when travelling together; it can break the relationship or leave scars during or after the trip. Personally, I take every moment of travelling to get to know a person and determine whether that person is a good travel partner.

Anyway, I will be going to spend four days on a four-day getaway in Korea with my colleagues! I won't divide my four-day trip into four posts and will keep it all in one. By the way, in case you might have missed my previous trips to Korea, if you are keen, you may click on My First Korea Trip (2024) & Korea Trip with my Mother (2025)

Day 0 - Before Reaching

I had to catch the plane in the late evening, so I woke up early to water my plants before I went to work.

I also packed my luggage in advance and had a feeling that I had missed something...

Due to the short time between finishing work and my flight, I had to bring my luggage to work.

Thanks, G, that I could go for a short swim to bathe and change into a new set of clothes to be ready for Day 1.

We took a Grab to the airport. Thanks, G, for agreeing to let me tag along.

Ooo, this is my first time taking a plane from Terminal 2; it looks like a hotel lobby.

Three of us brought the same travel tags, which were given to us by our bosses. What a coincidence!

G also brought her daughter along on this trip.

ML had her own family to see her off.

I have no one to see me off except at the airport.

Woooow. Terminal 2 got a ceiling pool!

It's so beautiful that I can't help taking a picture of it.

It will change to a different scene from time to time.

What a nice group here.

Since we had time, I just followed the ladies to look around the branded goods stores, which I wouldn't enter for any reason.

Yippee! I entered a shop for a good reason!

Salted egg chips, and most importantly, it is the one I can take exclusively in Singapore Airport! Best of all, it is definitely cheaper to get it now than outside the tax-free port.

Capturing the welfie moment of us while waiting for the flight...

And on the plane!

Yippee! Window seat!

This is a full-board plane.

It's the first time I've seen a TV in front of me.

Waiting patiently for the flight to take off, knowing that two strangers were sitting beside me.

This is the reason why I love a window seat; my mind has such a bigger picture that I don't know how to share it with anyone... Like all people, areas, and moments within one window frame, and knowing it is all happening at the same time. We humans' minds are too small to understand how higher-dimensional beings see; so flying above the sky gives that feeling. One day, I will try to illustrate my views and see who will truly understand me.

We were taking a transfer flight in Thailand. I saw a unique beverage—Mango Sticky Rice Milkshake. I wanted to try it, but I didn't have enough time...

Anyway, it's the second time I have to take a full-board plane again.

I could catch up on the drama series again, but I need to sleep...

Day 1 - Korea!!!

We arrived on a rather gloomy morning. I gathered that this month is regarded as winter; I hope the temperatures were not excessively cold.

Oh my, I tried to step out of the airport,t and it was windy and cold! I can appreciate the warmth more.

Is everyone ready to go?

Goodbye, and time to take a train!

It was great to have someone navigate the way when I could just be an observer.

I was thinking, should I not make a long post for this trip? I started to question whether I could just post highlighted photos instead of the journey of the whole trip... Well, it will be a topic for another day. For now, I will keep it as it is.

Hongdae - it is like an escape-hometown to me; similar to how I feel when I return to Lazarus Island.

I thought the weather would be colder, but somehow it wasn't as cold as I expected. Similar weather during my Melbourne trip (2025).

Our Airbnb is located on Hongdae Street and is very convenient.

(Credit Nc) Convenient, but the only issue is that we have to carry our luggage up to the fourth floor.

The Airbnb host permitted us to store our luggage prior to the official check-in time.

The space here appears rather confined. I am curious about how they managed to manoeuvre our large appliances, such as the washing machine or refrigerator. I saw on YouTube that they sent it through the window... What a hassle and cost...

Our first cherry blossom! Wah, it is white.

Korean cherry blossoms are mostly a light pink, almost white, and that's because they mainly grow Yoshino cherry trees.

We saw this organic structure building, named Fwee, on our way to breakfast. Here, they sell mainly makeup products that come in many colours, not for an ugly man like me. Haha

I did nothing, just had a quick check and snapped, but a plus for their building structure, iconic.

(Credit G) G was trying to snap a picture of the breakfast place - Plant Cafe, with her daughter, and I was there to destroy her shoot.

(Credit G) Because I also wanted a shot for myself. Hmm, okay, ugly and skip!

Our full breakfast + lunch meal... Too much for me...

According to ML, she said, this whole park will be filled with blossoms, but err... Where is the bloom?

Ended up, the flowering plants along the way have better blooms than the bare trees.

How I wished that Singapore were able to grow such beautiful flowering plants...

As we walked further down, there were white trees!

Only a few of them, so we need to crop the image to make it seem full.

Further down, there are more trees, and the Korean just normalised it and is watching crazy foreigners like us snapping photos.

(Credit G) Snapping pics of the gorgeous scenery with an ugly nerd like me probably won’t make them any better.

Ooo, this cherry tree got a lot of attention, growing behind a house wall. Ooo, it's a cafe - Yeonnamdong Cherry Blossom House 연남동 벚꽃집!

Smart owner for planting a cherry tree in their own yard, which draws potential customers to the business. Just look at the crowds outside the cafe.

Unfortunately, not all the trees in this park are cherry trees. It would be quite a sight if they were.

Helped our two ladies to capture the moment of awe.

As the cherry blossoms were gorgeous, different from the norm.

This is particularly noticeable when the light strikes the bloom.

(Credit G) But the blossom magic disappeared on this nerd.

No matter, let's take a group photo at this popular spot for free and remove any other people from the photo for a perfect shot.

After that, we moved away to a different street as we were heading to our next destination, and saw these less crowded cherry trees blooming in a row!

Lesser crowds but cannot outshine the beautiful blossom.

Let's have another group shot because I don't know how my first take (at the cafe) turned out.

I think... I might not be as good-looking as some people, but I can still enjoy myself and brighten the scene with my smile.

Being able to travel with colleagues as friends is an achievement for me.

(Credit NC) Younger generations' photo style.

Distinct from cherry trees, this large-flowered tree is a Magnolia. It makes a stunning addition to the blossom season.

Something random which I saw – beautiful jellyfish lantern; something for my corridor garden.

One of the places on my to-do list was to visit this stall - 글리밍데이 (Gleaming Day).

So happy to come to this store! I had been waiting for so long to go to a store. Yippee!

A gift store that looks the same as other stores in Korea.

What's special about this gift store is that they focus on selling otter plushies, especially the ones I like! I wish I had some wealthy investors to fund my business plan to sell these otters in Singapore.)

I want to get these otters! These are Japanese version otters, but... They aren't for sale, and judging by the number available, it is a limited stock...

One thing that hits me hard, or I must say, I am disappointed, is this... They are running out of stock of the brown otters! Why, why?

Worst of all... I don't quite like this rather 'cheap' version, whose nostrils look flat rather than round.

While observing their counter, did you notice the brown otters? They seem to be the most popular items. Could you inform me where I might find the original source of these otters? Additionally, why are they so limited or not widely available, even in Japan? Honestly, I was very disappointed... Even my colleagues lost interest when they didn't see the main otter...

They have a sale for the otters' accessories, but I'm not in the mood for it...

You may dress your otter in a costume like this, adding some personality... But sigh...

In the end... I could choose not to buy any, but I really took a long while and travelled a long distance to get here; I won't go empty-handed, so I got myself the remaining otters. The staff provided a special service to groom and iron the otter plushie, to make them appreciated; I hope I can have that feeling. Actually, it serves as a reminder of my love life... All the good ones have been taken; I should not be picky...

These are how they look like. They may not align with my preferences, but they are acceptable.

Feeling down, I just waited for the ladies to enjoy their shopping spree. I don't wish to affect them with my emotions, but I still ranted a bit...

After a short tour around here and there, it's about time to check in. The ladies wanted to record a video of the whole Airbnb.

The entrance.

On the left of the entrance, there is a room, and it will be for ML.

Continue to the right side from the entrance; there is a short gallery walk to the living room.

The living room is impressive, featuring wood elements and warm lighting, creating a welcoming atmosphere. The piano is a nice addition; however, it seems somewhat loud, possibly due to the living room hall's size and ceiling height.

There is a shared toilet located adjacent to the living room and kitchen.

Open kitchen concept

A master bedroom connects to the living room; it will be for G and Nc.

A soft, comfortable bed fills one with imagination.

Ooo, this master bedroom toilet has a bathtub!

Lastly, here is my bedroom these days.

Small room, but it should be enough. At least I get to be alone. Soft bed and one pillow...

After having a good bath and a short rest, we headed out again to visit Hongdae. The first stop was a dessert treat.

Sinful treat.

I went around to have an otter plushie hunt, but I could not find any, then I had fun with these octopus plushies. Aren't they cute?

My sinful treat was to get a Shake Shack mushroom burger for supper!

Burger is my favourite. How I wish it were bigger in size.

Time to try to transfer the photos of Day 1 and upload them to my blog, while tidying and editing the HTML code in preparation for this post. I guess it will be a photo update post since no one bothers to read anyway. Haha.

Day 2 - Crazy Bloom and Shopping

The next morning, I must be grateful because most people told me that this season would be rainy, but somehow it was a sunny day so far.

Korea is one hour ahead of Singapore. Fortunately, today was Good Friday, a public holiday in Singapore, so I was not disturbed by work messages. I am unsure about the holiday status in Korea.

It was sunny and warm, but the temperature was cooling.

Today I wore my favourite grey hoodie...

...and matching pants. How I wish there were a white version... Should I get a pair in white?

Metro train was rather peaceful, I guess they don't have Good Friday as a public holiday.

We had arrived at Seoul Forest 서울숲 to see some more blooms.

In this Seoul Forest, there are many spots for visitors to sit and chill. In Singapore, it is too hot to enjoy such spots...

One notable distinction is that Korea has better and more unique flowers and plants compared to Singapore. The blooms and colours are truly remarkable.

Insect garden - I wanted to enter there as it is free entry, but I doubt the ladies will be interested. I will visit here again someday.

ML told us there is a Cherry Tree Path, which has a great view of cherry blossoms, and it is beautiful!

We found a quiet corner where...

...we could have a group photo.

(Credit Nc) An ugly nerd also wanted a photo, but nah... I only spoiled the photo.

Just leave the beauty to the cherry blossoms...

...It is especially beautiful when the photo has no people around.

What about the top shot of the cherry trees? Is it breathable?

Hmm, the bloom here isn't full enough, but I can't tell, as we only covered some distance before exploring further.

Do you think my drone shot will help? It works best if the photo is clear and high-quality.

Need to find a full bloom tree for a perfect shot. An ugly nerd only spoils the photo further.

I deeply appreciate the serene moment when cherry blossom petals descend like gentle rain, subtly covering the ground with their delicate pink hue. Too bad, I cannot capture such moments.

Oooo, a pair of butterfly wings! I am a Butterfried man!

Honestly, I felt down after the otter shortage incident... I had another deep, hollow feeling... that most people would dismiss and advise me to stop my negativity... I just don't like the feeling of sinking whenever a good-looking, tall dude (especially in Korea) has his aura sweep through, and it feels like the cherry trees are celebrating and welcoming his presence... Similar feeling when I was in a gym room... Like I was out of place... I understand that I cannot stop having such feelings, but I won't let the feeling linger too long on me; I just accept it and move on.

Let's focus on the present moment. I have colleagues travelling together like friends; what more could I ask for? NC, as the youngest traveller in our group, not ignoring me, is a good sign.

We took a bus to a new place where G was dying to go.

I just tried to enjoy the moment. Fortunately, the cool weather prevented my hoodie from absorbing any odours or sweat.

Best part was that I got to sit at my favourite spot in the mini bus where I can place my short legs comfortably.

(Credit Nc) Let's have a wefie moment.

Ooo, there is a giant Mickey Mouse in a racing suit standing there, welcoming us to Seongsui district.

Mickey Mouse and us. At least it won't make me feel lousy about myself.

On our way to Seongsui Street, what a quiet town. :)

Ooo, Seongsui looked different on Google maps! I checked again, the street on Maps was like ten years ago... Now the street is so different, and it seems very popular! Google Maps has historically lacked detail due to South Korea government restrictions on sharing high-precision mapping data for national security reasons. So it is best to use their domestic apps, like Naver Map or KakaoMap, which provide better, real-time public transit and navigation services.

But there is still someone like me, an eyesore, trying to update the data. I cannot cover every single store here, but I will just share a few cute and interesting ones.

I don't know this brand - Subdued. There was a long queue to get in. What's the hype? I googled. Subdued is an Italian clothing and fashion accessories brand that is popular among teenage girls and young women due to its trendy fashion.

(Credit ML) Ooo, a Japanese cartoon character, ナガノマーケット, "Nagano Market," is a character brand in Seoul. The store features large character art themed around the Japanese illustrator Nagano's popular works like "Chiikawa."

(Credit ML) What a big Chiikawa!

Almost bought this for my sister, but luckily I didn't because it is expensive.

Oooo, I love this one more than Labubu. This one is Julie Yeah, characters from the HeyOne OZAI Spring Garden Party series. They are designer vinyl plush dolls with flocked textures. I'd better not get myself poisoned.

Another famous brand, Nyunyu Wholesale, carries all kinds of jewellery, accessories, bags, clothes, shoes, fragrances, and more that are popular with girls. The prices are low, and the selection is diverse. The layout here looks like a wholesale market.

The streets here are too trendy, and because we came here on a weekend, the crowds were packed; I have to find a place to calm down.

I got something to tickle my taste buds - Pistachio & Raspberry New York Roll. It is good!

The group decided to have some clams at a restaurant, and I just spent time sorting my blog.

Going to Korea, I will never skip Olive Young, and I got myself some facial products even though my face still looks ugly and feels like a volcano.

Found some otters and wanted to buy them, but I don't. Just a photo of them.

I noticed an unusual structure that resembles an alien design. I intended to capture a clearer image, but photographing it alone with my phone is challenging.

The crowd somehow overwhelmed and tired me; even though I wanted to shop around, I decided to return home.

I organised a session of giant Uno, and it was somewhat challenging to coordinate individuals with varying schedules and perspectives to participate.

Day 3 - More Shopping

Early this morning, I woke up to tidy my blog post for a live update with photos. Do you think my blog with just photos will do, or should it be accompanied by captions? Haha, you will tell me, but it's my blog, so I can decide what I like... Maybe I care too much about how others feel or what they prefer... Seldom do I ask myself what I want or how I feel...

Nice weather today. I guess I need to remember why I keep a blog or diary: it’s for me to save my memories and practice writing down my thoughts.

Back to the bus ride again. Sleepy...

We just followed what Naver Maps guided us. This place is... I forgot to write it down.

Interesting building that has a traditional stone wall (damsok) of a hanok (Korean traditional house).

Even along the street. I love the texture. If I were wealthy, I would have one like this or Japanese architecture.

We revisited Maji 마지 for lunch, as the ladies particularly enjoy both the cuisine and the ambience.

I prefer simple dishes that are not deep-fried, contain minimal salt and sugar, and retain a natural flavour.

After a full meal, time for shopping!

Yes! Finally got the egg sandwich I had been hunting for! Previously, I had this at Paris Baguette Boulangerie, but it was no longer on the menu. Now I found it again and decided to grab two for tomorrow to munch on during my flight to Singapore.

(Last year 205 photo) I came across these cute pots in one of the stores, but I didn't get them, and I decided to return there to get them.

But now only one is left... As you know, I prefer to complete the set. At first, I didn't want to get it because the item was incomplete. Until I heard the store owner say that there are three such pots in different colours - red, yellow, and blue. Since I don't have the remaining two and it is quite expensive, I just took the last one.

Back to Insadong: compared to Seongsui, Seongsui has more youngsters, while Insadong has more tourists.

Back to Insadong hipster spot, Ssamziegil.

Trying to take a group photo here, but somehow not everyone knew the rule well, and the group members increased by two.

Okay, this one was part of my shopping list, get a dress for my mother.

Photo from Five Days in Korea with my mother (2025). Did you see that flowery purple dress on the right? Personally, I feel my mother would be suitable for this dress and would look great in it. But she got herself the skirt and a different dress instead. I don't quite like the one that she picked...

Look at the dress selection here. She got herself a pink dress.

She wore it during the 2026 Chinese New Year, but it was somehow not as strong as it should have been.

I went ahead and got this! Look at the colour and that shiny white print—other dresses don’t have it.

A gift for my mother that costs a lot... More than half of the Korean won that I had exchanged for this trip...

Anyway, it was something to make her happy.

And I bought an extra accessory, jade for her dress - the last piece, and it is more beautiful than the others.

Ooo, great, here comes the traditional parade march.

I wonder whether Singapore will have its own cultural march.

Chilling in one of the cafes for some local dessert.

Typical Korea scene

The evening sun was so bright, I felt I was still in Singapore.

First time sweating in cold Korea... I think my fleece jacket can really keep me warm.

We had arrived in Myeongdong and we decided to split up.

I went hunting for my otter plushie, but I cannot buy them all, as they are always in pairs and there is nowhere to get them in a single focused store like Chiikawa or Labubu. Could any wealthy sponsor make this happen in Singapore or even in Korea? :(

But I want to get one back, so I decided to get a hiker other back.

I bought a foldable Korean keyboard, which will assist me in editing HTML code while editing my blog. It is a valuable tool for blog updates.

Happy and crazy shoppers

Our last Korea dinner for our trip was at Vegan Kitchen.

Thanks ML and G, Nc too, for not minding having vegetarian food a few times. Thank you

Tada! Here is my tool to edit my blog when I travel now: a small PC, a small mouse, a foldable keyboard, and an alien bag.

Time to pack our luggage for tomorrow and growing more fat myself...

I got a new hand-carry bag and packed everything into it!

Day 4 - Going Back

Our last day, surprisingly, it rained and was cold.

(Credit G) Thanks Korea, for giving us a warm welcome these days; we can sense the warmth.

Feeling great to have Korean culture to send us off.

Time to go back and ready to work.

Unable to sleep well on the plane because we experienced flight turbulence, which lasted for more than 30 minutes, and it dropped once or twice. Scary experience.

Feeling great to travel with my colleagues as friends. Hope it helps our working relationships, and I know I may be annoying or disappointing many people in any setting... I just have to learn to compromise and be kind to take care of everyone in any setting. Hope I am doing it well.

Jeff