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[siodium]

MERRY CHIMASSS~~~ ☃️🎁🎄

'tis the season of giving so in the spirit of the holidays, i'm giving

✨️UP✨️

[siodium]

I LOVED your review of Buried Stars! It convinced me to get the game and now I'm crying over all the sad endings

waaa i'm glad that you enjoyed it!!! ✨

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KOREA DAY 7: MYEONGDONG AND HONGDAE STREETS 🐈‍⬛

our last full day in korea!! decided to roam around myeongdong and hongdae more bc we didn't have any specific plan. except to have isaac toast for breakfast/lunch. the shrimp sandwich was delicious~

also spotted a kimbap place next to isaac toast and i realised i haven't had kimbap at all during this trip?? so i got one just to check it off my mental to-do list. i had a bit of trouble chewing through the seaweed but otherwise the taste was pretty good.

afterwards we went to a cat cafe (cat playground 고양이놀이터 myeongdong branch) that we saw on our way to isaac toast!! there were so many cute and floofy cats there!! some of them looked so grumpy like i owed them money but that's cute too.

dinner was at a jeon place in hongdae?? unfortunately i didn't catch the name of the restaurant. the seafood jeon was sooo good omg. there was also honey makgeolli on the menu and i wanted to try so i ordered but our server wanted to see both of our IDs even though i was the only one drinking (ban doesn't drink) and ban left her phone in the hotel so she didn't have any form of ID on her. the exchange that ensued was so funny LMAO. it was a comical back and forth of "pls i'm flattered that you think i'm not even 19 years old but i'm actually almost 30" and "no i need to see your ID". in the end i did a google translate of "she doesn't have her phone with her and she won't be drinking" on my phone and the server let us have the alcohol heheh. i'm glad that i didn't have to forgo the drink bc it was actually so tasty (and also hard to find in sg?? i heard).

after dinner, we strolled around hongdae and checked out some of their clothing stores. saw a rly nice skirt but i didn't get it cuz i couldn't justify $80 for the last piece. :/

we wanted to stretch out our last day as much as we could so at around 10 pm when the stores started to close, we went to get a mango cheesecake bingsu at sulbing to share~

ofc couldn't pass up an opportunity to take more pics at a photobooth for the last time on this trip!! we're pros now.

more pics (mostly cattos) + our chaotic return flight day under the cut ↓↓↓

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KOREA DAY 8: LOTTERIA, MADE BY, BACK HOME 🐸

we had a flight at 11 am but we overslept and only woke up at 10 am. 💀 it was not a good idea to leave all the packing to the last minute bc we were at it til 4 am?? ? there was no delay this time so we had to re-book our flight. luckily there was a t'way flight back to sg at 7 pm on the same day. phew almost got stuck in korea lmaoo.

welp after securing our flight tickets, we went to lotteria for lunch. no pics cuz i was kinda hungry bUT THE SHRIMP BURGER WAS SO GOOD. pls come to sg, lotteria sunbaenim.

we had less than 5 hours til check-in and it wasn't a lot of time but we decided to head back to the city area bc there was nothing to do at the airport. that caused another round of chaos LMAO. the trip to the city took about 1.5 hours which meant that we had pretty much only an hour to do whatever we wanted to do. we could only visit one last place due to the time constraint, so we went to check out a stationery store (made by) in hongdae that i bookmarked but we haven't been to. i dropped a good $50 there on cute stationery (and also partly out of stress bc i was upset about losing my hookkahookka studio tortoise keychain bUT it turned out i still had it?? the bead chain got stuck to one of my magnets so i didn't see the keychain when i was packing my suitcase).

what we didn't account for was that the airport railway would take 5000 to 6000 won per trip?? and ban didn't have enough on her transport card for our return trip to the airport. sooo there was a bit of panic at the station trying to find an ATM to withdraw cash to top up her card.

not us almost missing our flight for the second time in a day. @w@ we legit had to run across the airport to make it for check-in.

i've never heard of t'way but it's a korean budget airline?? the plane was so empty though. the entire middle section had like nobody?? and ppl were lying down across the seats trying to sleep??

i seriously considered to go lie down as well until the plane went free falling for like 3 seconds?? ppl were screaming and there was no announcement or anything to address what just happened?? idk after that ban and i were too scared to move out of our seats (i gave up my toilet going plans too) so we just stayed awake together for the rest of the flight watching a studio ghibli movie and some episodes of vanitas no carte (!! it was on my to-watch list for a long time and i finally started it!!). nothing else happened after that though.

anyway we made it back to sg safely!! i joined ban's family (minus her mum) for supper at a ramen place before heading back home to s L E E P.

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KOREA DAY 6: GWANGJANG MARKET 🍢

tried various local street food today at one of the largest traditional markets in korea!! there was so much food to eat but so little stomach capacity!!

foods i tried and my thoughts:

mung bean pancake (bindaetteok) - a bit dry but the flavour was nice. a very satisfying savoury snack to have while browsing the other stalls.

sweet fermented rice punch (sikhye) - the initial few sips were rly good but it started to get cloying after a while. 😭 i did finish my drink though.

korean sweet pancake (hotteok) - it tastes like hum ji peng (chinese fried doughnuts) with the sweet filling and i love sweet hum ji peng. ❤️

stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables (japchae) - it was freshly cooked on the spot so it was nice and warm!!

fish-shaped bread (bungeoppang) - already tried these when we visited gyeongbokgung palace but can't get enough of it!! ❤️

tldr i'm a sweet pastry enjoyer LMAO

we stumbled upon a grocery/lifestyle store called 365일장 while walking around the market. got myself a few souvenir magnets of soju and kimchijeon, and a washi tape featuring some of korea's subway stations.

there was also a photobooth in the shop!! ofc we had to take some pics. it was chi and cha's turn to shine this time and omg the pics came out so nice??? i thought they'd be overexposed and/or blurry bUT?? LOOK

major regret not printing ten of these 😭

afterwards we went to goto mall to shop for clothes but it was pretty underwhelming?? the mall was basically an underground bugis street?? would not recommend going there if you're looking for local brands. (unless we went to the wrong place lmaoo)

i didn't rly get a lot of clothes there but i did throw money at the ARTBOX store. there were soo many cute things!! and more chiikawa merch!!

took a break at a cafe!! i got a strawberry yogurt smoothie and an earl grey scone~

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KOREA DAY 5.2: THANKS NATURE CAFE AND HONGDAE 🐏

visited the thanks nature sheep cafe!!! this was one of the places i absolutely had to visit in korea and it did not disappoint.

i mean,, just look at the meeps?? they were so floofy like walking clouds and babeyy aaaaaaaAA 🥺👉👈 meeting the meeps and stirring their wool was definitely a highlight of my trip.

the two sheepies at the cafe were named 하하 (haha) and 호호 (hoho). i can't tell which is which but whoever named them had an ✨exquisite✨ naming sense.

caught in 4k: me being a 怪叔叔 to the meeps. 💀

after we bid farewell to the meeps, we headed over to hongdae and spent the rest of our evening/night there.

we visited animate!! i bought one volume of the chiikawa manga and a chiikawa postcard blind box there. was hoping to get more merch?? but i didn't see anything that i particularly wanted.

there was a bl cafe outside animate. idk the series (wet sand??) that they're featuring though.

found orv manhwa and novels!! there was a rly pretty acrylic standee of yoohankim on display?? i think it was a freebie that came with a limited edition box set of the novel. unfortunately,,, it was not for sale. ㅜㅜ

bl manhwa illustrations + autographs corner!! i recognise like maybe three series LMAO

dinner at kongbul (콩불). i got cold soba noodles which were pretty gud.

bonus: chaotic photobooth experience part one!! く⁠コ⁠:⁠彡 ₊ ˚

(it's actually the second time we took pics at a photobooth but the first machine didn't give us the sped-up video of us derping around sooo)

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KOREA DAY 5.1: GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE 👑

today we explored the royal palace in our pretty hanboks~

the themed hanboks that we got were slightly more expensive to rent compared to the simpler traditional ones but so worth it for the more vibrant colours and intricate embroidery patterns.

i wasn't planning on picking out a dark colourway initially (i actually wanted something light and pastel-y) bUT THEN I SAW THE SKIRT?? and the floral pattern was so pretty?? i just couldn't give it up. the skirt itself was pretty extravagant on its own so i tried to get a matching top that would make the whole outfit work?? and this was the chaotic result. i hope the combination wasn't too gaudy aaaAA

(it would've been nice to have a stylist for thiss!!)

even though it was autumn, the day was pretty warm and sunny (as you can prob tell from how crispy the shadows look).

had a bag of bungeoppang for a snack and jjajangmyeon for lunch!! ban said the noodles were instant?? but still delicious!!

⭐⭐⭐

we didn't rent extra accessories or the traditional silk shoes so it was kinda giving I Isekai'd Into The Late Joseon Dynasty But I Refuse To Wear Anything Other Than Sneakers

after returning the hanboks, we went to 원모어백 (onemorebag) and i dropped $120 on cute things and stationery with no regrets. 🤡 heheh.

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KOREA DAY 4: LOTTE WORLD 🏰

rides conquered:

wild valley - simulated rollercoasters are my fav kind of ride bc i can get the rollercoaster experience™ without fearing for my life.

PUBG battlegrounds world agent - takes you through a series of rooms based on the game. i like the first zone where you are in a tank(?) and it's moving through the battlefield and the floor shakes from explosions and stuff. the interactive shooting experience was great too!! i may not be a marksman but i didn't die.

drunken baskets (spinning teacup ride) - uMM would not recommend going fast... i was so nauseous after the ride LMAO

flume ride (water ride with two rollercoaster drops) - y'ALL THIS ONE WAS FUN BUT SO SCARY?? the boats that we sat on had no safety harness and the only thing keeping ourselves from flying out of the boat was our sheer will!! i could feel like butt lift off the seat every time there was a drop. 💀 definitely took 13 years off my lifespan but worth it.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

shared a pancake platter for lunch!! ↓↓↓

we didn't make it to the aquarium before they closed so we spent the rest of the evening walking around the mall. found a studio ghibli shop there!!

after returning our uniforms, we made our way back to the hotel. it was close to midnight when we got back and we were planning on having kbbq for dinner but the 24/7 place that i found was closed!! so we walked around and found this other place. i ordered squid mouth and the staff had to double check if that was rly what i wanted and i got scared for a second there but it tasted normal?? tasty in a normal way?? nothing weird about it. just gotta watch out for the two bony pincer-looking parts. ban's kimchi fishcake stew was nice too and very comforting in the cold.

bonus: chi got the rollercoaster experience™ too

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KOREA DAY 3: ARRIVAL IN SEOUL 🌧️

we had eggdrop for breakfast (kinda an early lunch too) at the airport while waiting for our flight. the scrambled egg was beautiful~

got kinda hungry after the flight so we bought some walnut-shaped cakes (hodu-gwaja) with red bean and custard fillings. they were so warm and tasty. oqo

also came across a store selling traditional korean rice cakes (tteok) at gongdeok station on our way to the hotel and i had to try some!! we got one that was like angkukueh with peanut filling and a pat-sirutteok (layered rice cake with red beans) that an elderly gentleman recommended. they were not bad. would've liked the angkukueh one more if the skin was thinner.

we were heading out to myeongdong to get me some new shoes bc mine were dying (very sad) when it suddenly started pOURING. so we hid in olive young for a bit until the rain subsisded before heading out again.

i got a pair of beige filas from abc mart!! would recommend shopping for sport shoes there bc the prices were very good. they even had doc martens for sale?? at half the price i bought them for in sg?? wuh

had kalguksu noodles and mandu for dinner at myeongdong kyoja!! the noodles were tasty and i ate the meats~

the only thing i could fit into my stomach afterwards was the famous custard cheese coin pancake aND it was so much better than the one i tried in sg??? the cheese pull was insane!! and there was so much filling!!

vERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE: there were hua cheng and xie lian digital posters at gongdeok station near the exit to our hotel aND?? for that alone i give our hotel (shilla stay mapo) a 69/10. ✨

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KOREA DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN JEJU 🍊

bro,, the flight to seoul was by far the most chaotic one i've ever experienced. can't believe scoot changed our boarding gate without notifying us and we had to rUN through the airport bc we only realised it 5 mins before they closed the gate. and after that the plane couldn't fly bc they couldn't get the anti-collision lights to work so our flight was delayed by 3 hours. >:(( as a result, we had to sacrifice lunch and rush to catch our next flight to jeju.

somehow, we made it to jeju with no other issues. past me did a good job of not booking back-to-back flights. pHew.

had our first hot meal in korea at one of the convenience stores near our hotel!! i had banana milk, tuna mayo triangle gimbap, and shin ramyun. tried mixing the gimbap into the shin ramyun bc i've seen ppl do that and it was nice!! it became something like a spicy porridge. unfortunately, i couldn't finish the ramyun bc the broth was too spicy for me.

btw we were staying at ASTAR hotel LMAO can't escape from work!! tbh it was a nice hotel and the location was pretty good too?? for a short stay.

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KOREA DAY 2: MT. HALLASAN, DONGMUN MARKET 🐈

we attempted to hike mt. hallasan on the second day but we didn't even get past the easy zone before turning back LMAO. ok but i never thought i'd be touching a mountain ever so it was an ✨experience✨. the hike wasn't as difficult as i thought it'd be ?? but i did feel my ankles twist a few times so idk.

late lunch (actually almost dinner) at stone island taphouse (스톤아일랜드 탭하우스). the cheesy detroit pizza was so goood!! it was kinda sweet but i like it. oqo it was also a great place to sample alcohols bc they charge per mL that you dispense yourself. yO there was one called 사랑범벅 by artmonster brewery that smelled nutty and had a chocolate-y aftertaste?? amazing. i didn't know alcohol could taste like that. there were some that were rly sour like a lemon juice (didn't rly like those) and some that were rly light and clean-tasting like water (i liked those as well), but the chocolate one was definitely my favourite.

afterwards we visited dongmun traditional market!! tried tteokbokki, korean fried chicken (glazed with a garlic sauce) and ofc hallabong ice-cream and juice. 🍊🍊🍊 would've liked to try the seafood as well but my stomach ran out of space.

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KOREA HAUL PART 2 🍥

it's all chiikawa~ (not a bear btw. maybe a hamster??)

the postcard, keychains, standees, smol stickers, and clear cards were all from blind packs!! kinda want more of the square stickers to decorate my phone case.

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KOREA HAUL PART 1 💸💸💸

this isn't even half?? of the stuff i bought lmao don't ask me how much i spent ok

there were so many cute stationery and lifestyle products in korea!!! super happy to finally get hookka hookka studio goods (the melonpan motif aaaa)!!! and seeing stuff from smol korean artists/brands that i've been following on ig in person was so surreal. absolutely recommend visiting one more bag (near gyeongbokgung palace) if you ever feel like emptying your wallet.

i also had fun customising stuff with iron-on embroidery patches~ excited to use my new bottle/lunch bag (unintentionally inspired by the untitled goose game) at work!!

didn't actually end up buying a lot of makeup stuff?? the foundation i wanted was oos at the olive young we went to. i only got some eyeshadow palettes (the yakgwa one omg) to replace my mouldy one.

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🌶KOREA DAY 5

We went to gwangjang market! I forgot to bring my phone so all pics you see here are thanks to yt!

Biggest Ws:

Fish bread (Bungeoppang)

Hotteok

The fried squid at the tteokbokki place!

The rice drink

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☕️KOREA DAY 4 [Extras]

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🐏KOREA DAY 4 [part 2]

Meep cafe!!! We visited Thanks Nature cafe. The honey toast and coffee I got was pretty good! The meeps were soooo cuuute.....

I was quite worried after realising the area seemed way too small for them - it was just a small 2.5m-ish pen with no grass, only tiled floor and a small wooden 'house' for them to retreat into. Their IG does show them getting baths and going on walks though!

The other aspect that surprised me was that the meeps get swapped pretty often.

When we visited, the meeps were 'Haha and Hoho'. Their IG suggests they often change sheep, but I'm not sure why... I hope they are getting swapped out so they can live happily in a healthy environment!

I am not knowledgeable about sheep care. If anyone reading this knows more about the concerns I listed above, please feel free to add on!

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🌰KOREA DAY 4 [part 1]

We went to the palace and took a ton of nice pictures of me (thank you yt) and a ton of okay pictures of yt (i failed you yt).

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🍒KOREA DAY 3

Lotte world and pancakes! Toxic trait: I think I can make better pancakes than the one we ate. Also the water ride was so fun but it also drenched us AND our rented uniforms that we needed to return unscathed......

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🥟KOREA DAY 2

We went to myeongdong kyoja for dinner and got kalguksuIt and mandu! It was so delicious!