Category Archives: South Korea

Fresh Fish for Breakfast: Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul

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Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul South Korea Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market

On our first full day in Korea, we made a morning visit to the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul. Its official name is Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is Seoul’s oldest and largest indoor seafood market, housing over 700 vendors with fish brought in daily from fishing ports all over Korea. Throughout the day, you can find on display hundreds of edible underwater critters from sea cucumbers to sea bass, including every possible type of seafood of Korean origin as well as plenty of imported seafood. While it attracts plenty of tourists, this is a real wholesale fish market with hundreds of serious buyers and sellers conducting business throughout the day. The major transactions happen in the early morning at the wholesale auctions, which begin around 1:00am and are generally over by dawn. Yes, you have to get up real early Read the Rest…

Five Ways to Enjoy the Traditional Hanok Houses in Seoul South Korea

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hanok houses in Seoul South Korea Bukchon

During our recent trip to South Korea, we fell in love with the look of the traditional hanok houses in Seoul. These traditional Korean houses are built in a specific architectural style designed to maintain balance with the surrounding environment (mountains, lakes, space, land contours) and are constructed using elements such as long curved roofs and alternating ondol and maru flooring that help keep the home warm in the winters and cool in the summers. Once built primarily for the ruling class during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), these simple homes were later associated with lower class families who could not afford more modern housing. Many were torn down or left to decay as most city-dwelling Koreans moved to high-rise apartment complexes. Recently, hanok houses have become very trendy as not only are they historical and beautiful, they are also very eco-friendly and sustainable using natural building materials (wood, clay, paper, stone) Read the Rest…

Our Search for a Cat Cafe in Seoul South Korea

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cat cafe in Seoul cat café in Korea

While in South Korea last week, we visited our first cat café in Seoul. Cat cafés first gained popularity in Japan (although according to Wikipedia the first was opened in Taiwan in 1998) and then spread across Asia. They are now starting to spring up in Europe and other places. These are essentially normal coffee or tea shops, with the exception that they contain a number of cats (typically 10 to 30) that patrons are allowed to pet and play with during their stay. So the price of your latte generally includes as much cat watching and loving as you wish, although in some cafés you have to pay by the hour. The intended purpose of these cafés is to let people who are not allowed to have cats or dogs in their apartments, dorms, or homes come spend some quality time with some furry critters while sipping some coffee. It is Read the Rest…