Hanbok Village, Jogyesa Temple, Family connections

Today we got up at 930 and headed out to Hanbok Village. This village is one of the few traditional villages left in Korea and is still a residential area today. Previously a village for noble families, during the Japanese occupation though they attempted to completely wipe out traditional Korean homes in Seoul a wealthy businessman at the time bought this area and converted it into smaller traditional homes for rent in order to keep the culture alive. Today it is still traditional houses even being featured on Korea’s national postcard.  

After some light exploration of Hanbok Village we took a quick walk to our next landmark Jogyesa Temple. Jogyesa is a Buddhist temple and is the largest and most popular in Seoul and most likely in Korea. Unlike most Buddhist temples in Korea Jogyesa is located right in downtown Seoul and still has extensive grounds with daily prayers. The walls of the main temple itself is lined with the tale of the Buddha’s life and has three giant gold statues of Buddhas inside.  

We then went to lunch where i had some hand cut spicy noodles which were absolutely delicious.  

After me and Sarah went to meet a family friend in Seongsu which is a former factory district but is now turned into many shops and restaurants. on our way there i saw probably the most beautiful underground subway station ever with an indoor garden. After, we met up with her grandfather’s family friend who he served in the Korean war with in Seongsu. We went to probably the biggest and most organizer Olive Young I have been to and NYUNYU which was one of the nicest wholesales I’ve been to as of yet as well. We then went to a Japanese style restaurant where I had some of the best udon miso soup ever. I also was able to try sashimi for the first time which was very interesting. We then went to a very cute cafe and had some drinks and cakes. We then headed home to do some skincare and prep for the next day.  

Signing off until next time!