Day 5 : Namdaemun - KTO Myeongdong - Seoul Plaza - Deoksugung - SM Town Coex Atrium - Bongeunsa Temple - Ewha Woman University

Assalamualaikum~

Hari ke-5 ke Korea. Kita sudah mulai santai karena sebagian besar objek wisata yang ada di itinerary sudah kita kunjungi, kecuali Gyeongju dan Tongyeong yang akhirnya terpaksa kita coret dari itinerary kita. Hari ini pun kita tidak berangkat sepagi biasanya (biasanya maksimal jam 8 udah cus) karena tujuan pertama kami hari ini adalah KTO (Korean Tourism Organization) yang bukanya jam 10.30. Ngapain ke KTO? Mau foto-foto pakai baju tradisional Korea alias Hanbok. Sebagai pecinta drama-drama Korea, pengen juga merasakan sensasi pakai Hanbok layaknya wanita Korea. Hihihi...

Day 5 in Korea. We’re starting to take it easy since we’ve already ticked off most of the attractions in our itinerary, except for Gyeongju and Tongyeong, which we had to eliminate from the plan. Today we didn’t leave as early as usual (usually we’d be out by 8 a.m. at the latest) because our first stop was the KTO (Korean Tourism Organization), which opens at 10:30. Why KTO? To take photos wearing traditional Korean clothes, aka Hanbok! As a K-drama fan, I also wanted to feel what it’s like to wear a Hanbok like a Korean lady. Hehe…

Rencana kami jam 10.30 tet kita sudah harus di sana. Lagi-lagi menurut sumber yang pernah saya baca, antriannya bisa panjang banget kalau kita datang kesiangan dan ada batasnya. Katanya jam 1an gitu sudah tidak bisa ambil antrian lagi. Sekitar jam 9 kita berangkat, karena sebelum ke KTO kita mau foto-foto di gerbang Namdaemun sekalian lihat-lihat di pasar Namdaemun.

Our plan was to be at KTO right at 10:30. According to some sources I read, the line can get really long if you arrive late, and there’s a cutoff—apparently by around 1 p.m. you can’t get in line anymore. So we left around 9 a.m., since before heading to KTO we wanted to take some photos at the Namdaemun Gate and also check out Namdaemun Market.

Oh iya semalem hujan. Jadi sesampainya di stasiun hongdae sepulang dari Nami Island itu hujan. Untung cuma gerimis. Al hasil lari-larianlah kita dari stasiun ke guesthouse. Dan pagi ini suhunya dingin sekali. Saya lihat di accuweather suhunya 22 derajat celcius. Lumayan menggigil. Nggak kebayang kalau pas musim dingin kayak apa. Karena nggak bawa jaket, sayapun pakai baju lapis 2.

It rained last night. Yesterday when we got back to Hongdae Station from Nami Island, it was raining—luckily just a drizzle. So we ended up running from the station to the guesthouse. And this morning it was super chilly. I checked AccuWeather and it said 22°C. Pretty shivery. I can’t even imagine what it’s like in winter! Since I didn’t bring a jacket, I had to layer up with two shirts.

Pasar Namdaemun / Namdaemun Market

Petunjuk Arah : Naik subway turun di stasiun Hoehyeon exit 5

Directions: Take the subway and get off at Hoehyeon Station, Exit 5.

Begitu sampai di stasiun Hoehyeon, aroma semerbak makanan tercium. Apalagi di stasiun bawah tanah, baunya jadi kemana-mana. Hari ini kita nggak sarapan, mulai kehabisan ransum. wkwkwkw. Akhirnya kita mampir di salah satu toko. Temen saya beli wafel, saya beli kimbab.

As soon as we got to Hoehyeon Station, the smell of food was everywhere. Especially in the underground station, the aroma just spreads all around. We hadn’t had breakfast today and were running low on snacks, haha. So we stopped by a shop—my friend got a waffle, and I grabbed some kimbap.

Di Namdaemun kita cuma lewat aja, lihat-lihat barang juga sambil lalu jadi nggak banyak yang bisa saya ceritakan. Kita ketemu dengan Ahjusshi yang jual pakaian, tiba-tiba nanya "Indonesia?". Kita langsung ngangguk dan langsung dijawab "diskon murah, jangan pergi" dengan fasihnya. Hahahaha... O iya gerbang Namdaemunnya nggak ketemu dan kita cuss ke Myeongdong, berhubung dekat kita jalan kaki.

At Namdaemun, we just passed by, looking around a bit as we walked, so not much to tell. We ran into an Ahjusshi selling clothes who suddenly asked, “Indonesia?” We nodded, and he immediately said, “Cheap discount, don’t go,” in Bahasa really fluently. Hahaha… Oh, and we didn’t even find the Namdaemun Gate, so we headed straight to Myeongdong since it was close enough to walk.

KTO Myeongdong - M Plaza

M Plaza Myeongdong. Credit: visitkorea.or.kr

Petunjuk Arah: Naik subway turun di stasiun Myeongdong exit 8. Dari exit 8, belok kiri ke lorong Tous Les Jours lalu jalan lurus sampai bertemu Toko Outlet dan Book Mark. Pastikan jalan lurus di jalan yang berada di antara 2 toko itu. Jalan lurus sampai bertemu toko Folder dan Nature Republic. Jalan lurus di jalan yang berada di antara 2 toko itu sampai nanti akan bertemu Artbox yang berada di sebelah kiri. Terus jalan nanti akan bertemu bangunan M Plaza di samping toko Top10. KTO berada di lantai 5

Directions: Take the subway and get off at Myeongdong Station, Exit 8. From Exit 8, turn left into the Tous Les Jours alley and walk straight until you reach the Outlet Store and Book Mark. Make sure to keep walking straight on the path between these two stores. Continue straight until you reach Folder and Nature Republic. Walk straight on the path between these two stores until you see Artbox on your left. Keep walking and you’ll see the M Plaza building next to the Top10 store. KTO is on the 5th floor.

Kita sampai di sana pk 10.30, M Plazanya masih belum buka. Akhirnya kita memutuskan untuk keliling-keliling dulu. Kalau kemarin kita mengunjungi Myeongdong malam hari, sekarang merasakan sensasi mengelilingi Myeongdong saat daylight. Sekalian saya cari titipan jepit dan anting temen saya. Di sini banyak toko asesoris macam str*beri yang tentunya asli buatan Korea

We got there at 10:30 a.m., but M Plaza wasn’t open yet. So we decided to walk around a bit. Yesterday we visited Myeongdong at night, so today it was fun to experience it in daylight. I also looked for some hair clips and earrings for my friend. There are lots of accessory shops here, all cute and obviously made in Korea.

Hasil muter-muter di Myeongdong / Here’s what I bought!

O iya ada satu hal yang saya heran. Dari blog yang saya baca, dari pengalaman teman yang saya dengar. Kalau kita keliling Myeongdong pasti bakal dapet sampel kosmetik gratis. Tapi kenapa saya sama temen saya nggak dapet ya? Sebijipun enggak. Mukanya muka kere kali ya, dikasih sampelpun nggak bakalan beli #nangisdipojokan

Oh, there’s one thing that really confused me. From the blogs I read and friends’ experiences, whenever you walk around Myeongdong, you’re supposed to get free cosmetic samples. But why didn’t I get any? Not a single one. Maybe we just looked too broke, so even if they gave us samples, we wouldn’t buy anything #cryinginacorner

Suasana di Myeongdong, dekat Myeongdong Theater / The vibe in Myeongdong, near Myeongdong Theater

Jam 10.30 tet, kita kembali ke M Plaza. Sesampainya di sana, sudah ada 4 orang yang ngantri. Buseeet... orang-orang ini cepet banget. Perasaan M Plazanya juga baru buka. Kita langsung daftar dan mengisi beberapa informasi seperti nama, asal, jumlah yang daftar. Kita nunggu sekitar 30 menitan sebelum giliran kita tiba. Saya lupa berapa lama kita diijinkan pinjam kostumnya, sekitar 10-15 menitan.

At exactly 10:30, we headed back to M Plaza. When we got there, there were already four people in line. Whoa… people are fast! I thought M Plaza had just opened. We quickly registered, filling out some info like our names, where we’re from, and the number of people registering. We waited for about 30 minutes before it was our turn. I forgot how long we were allowed to borrow the costumes—around 10–15 minutes.

Untuk pilihan bajunya sayangnya cuma sedikit. Tapi namanya juga gretongan, kalo kata orang Jawa mbayar sewu njaluk slamet. wkwkwkw. Yang penting udah merasakan foto pakai Hanbok yang asli  Korea. Saya dapet info dari temen saya yang waktu itu ke KTO Myeondong tapi pas antri banget. Akhirnya dia sewa Hanbok di area Bukchon tapi tepatnya dimana saya kurang tau. Harga sewanya 7.000 - 10.000 won. Yang harga 10.000 won boleh dipakai foto di luar jadi bisa foto berlatar rumah tradisional. Hanboknya yang jelas lebih banyak pilihan dan bagus-bagus.

Unfortunately, the Hanbok selection here was pretty limited. But hey, it’s free so it's worth! The important thing is we got to experience wearing an authentic Korean Hanbok. My friend who went to KTO Myeongdong before told me that the line was super long, so she ended up renting a Hanbok in the Bukchon area instead, though I’m not sure exactly where. Rental prices there range from 7,000 to 10,000 won. The 10,000 won Hanboks can be used for photos outside, so you can get shots with traditional houses in the background. They also have way more choices and nicer designs.

Seoul Plaza

Petunjuk Arah: Naik subway turun di stasiun city hall exit 5

Directions: Take the subway and get off at City Hall Station, Exit 5.

Nah akhirnya jadi juga ke Istana Deoksu setelah percobaan pertama gagal gara-gara lupa bawa integrated ticket. Karena sebelumnya kita sudah lihat upacara pergantian penjaga, sekarang tinggal eksplor bagian dalam istananya saja. O iya sebelum nyebrang ke Istana Deoksu saya sempatkan muter-muter Seoul Plaza, dimana Seoul city hall dan Seoul Metropolitan Library berada. 

Finally, we made it to Deoksu Palace after our first attempt failed because we forgot to bring the integrated ticket. Since we’d already seen the guard-changing ceremony before, now it was time to explore the inside of the palace. Oh, and before crossing over to Deoksu Palace, I took a little walk around Seoul Plaza, where Seoul City Hall and Seoul Metropolitan Library are located.

Deoksugung (Istana Deoksu) / Deoksu Palace
Entah kenapa dari 3 Istana yang saya kunjungi, saya paling suka sama Istana ini. Mungkin karena saya ke sini dalam keadaan rileks, nggak bawa barang bawaan yang berat itu dan tidak terburu-buru. Foto-foto saya di sini juga lebih banyak dan hasilnya lebih bagus (menurut saya lho ya).

For some reason, out of the three palaces I visited, I liked this one the most. Maybe it’s because I came here feeling relaxed, without carrying heavy stuff, and wasn’t in a rush. I also took more photos here, and they turned out way better (at least, in my opinion).

Bagian dalam salah satu bangunan di Istana / The interior of one of the buildings in the palace

Aula Jeonggwanheon, Cafe pertama di Korea / Jeonggwanheon Hall, the first 'café' in Korea

Aula Jeongghanheon merupakan bangunan yang dibangun untuk bersantai (ceila bersantai) di bukit taman belakang istana. Dibangun tahun 1900 oleh arsitek Rusia, bangunan ini merupakan kombinasi antara arsitektur barat dan tradisional ala istana Korea. Pilar tidak dibuat dari batu, melainkan dari kayu. Elemen yang menarik adalah beranda, yang tidak ditemukan pada bangunan tradisional Korea. Raja Gojong biasanya minum kopi bersama diplomat luar negeri di sini, jadi aula ini bisa dianggap sebagai cafe pertama di Korea (diterjemahkan dari http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&art_id=545&lang=en&m=0004003002001)

Jeonggwanheon Hall is a building constructed for relaxing (yes, relaxing!) on the garden hill behind the palace. Built in 1900 by a Russian architect, the structure combines Western architecture with traditional Korean palace style. The pillars are made of wood, not stone. An interesting feature is the veranda, which isn’t found in traditional Korean buildings. King Gojong usually drank coffee here with foreign diplomats, so this hall can be considered Korea’s first café (translated from http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&art_id=545&lang=en&m=0004003002001)

Paeonia Lactiflora / Bunga Peony

Sebelum melanjutkan perjalanan, kita tak lupa ngisi botol minum pakai air tap water. Jangan khawatir dengan kebersihan tap water di Korea. Selama di Korea saya minum dari senemunya tap water dan Alhamdulillah nggak ada masalah. Seperti di Istana Gyeongbok, sebelum cuss jangan lupa foto sama penjaga istananya yaa

Before continuing our journey, we made sure to refill our water bottles with tap water. Don’t worry about the cleanliness of tap water in Korea—during my entire stay, I drank straight from the tap and, Alhamdulillah, had no problems. Just like at Gyeongbok Palace, don’t forget to take a photo with the palace guards before leaving!

Yang tadi dicari nggak ketemu tiba-tiba ketemu, Namdaemun gate atau Sungnyemun Gate / What we were looking for and couldn’t find suddenly appeared—Namdaemun Gate, also known as Sungnyemun Gate!

SM Town Coex Atrium

Petunjuk Arah : Naik subway ke stasiun samsung, exit 6

Directions: Take the subway to Samsung Station, exit 6

Bangunan SM Town ini tidak sengaja kita temukan di perjalanan menuju Bongeunsa. Dari exit 6 kita jalan saja sambil nanya kemana arah menuju Bongeunsa Temple. Sesekali kita akan berhenti dan foto-foto. Saat itu tampaklah bangunan SM Town ini. Otomatis saya girang banget secara kemarin nyari kantornya SM Entertainment nggak ketemu. Ini cukup mengobati kekecewaan saya kemarin.

We stumbled upon the SM Town building on our way to Bongeunsa. From exit 6, we just walked while asking for directions to Bongeunsa Temple. Every now and then, we’d stop to take photos. That’s when we saw the SM Town building. I was super excited because we couldn’t find SM Entertainment’s office yesterday. This totally made up for yesterday’s disappointment.

Kitapun akhirnya masuk. Ya kali aja lagi ada artis SM siapa gitu, ketemu artis yang saya nggak suka juga nggak apa-apa yang penting artis. Hihihi.... Akan saya jelaskan hal yang saya ingat di dalam ya. Yang jelas di sana jual aneka official goodies yang berbau artis SM seperti EXO, SHINee, Suju, DBSK, SNSD,F(X), dll. Tapi jangan ditanya harganya bener-bener selangit. Ada juga tulisan barang ini direkomendasikan sama Suho, yang ngefans sama Suho pasti gemes pengen beli. Ada juga beberapa barang yang ditandatangani sama artis SM.

We finally went inside. Who knows, maybe we’d run into an SM artist—though honestly, even if it’s an artist I’m not that into, it’s still exciting just to see them. Hehe… I’ll share what I remember from inside. Basically, they sell all kinds of official SM merchandise featuring artists like EXO, SHINee, Suju, DBSK, SNSD, F(X), and more. Don’t even ask about the prices—they’re insanely high. Some items even say “recommended by Suho,” which will make any Suho fan go “aww, I want this!” There are also a few items signed by SM artists.

Di sana juga ada bioskopnya. Film yang diputar kalau nggak salah the Wizard of Oz. Yang main Changmin (DBSK), Suho (EXO), Key (SHINee), klo g salah Wendy (Red Velvet) dan Luna (FX). Dan lagi-lagi saya nggak berminat karena pasti mahal. Hihihih... Saya menemukan ada LCD dengan foto-foto artis dan telapak tangan. Penasaran, saya nanya ke petugasnya. Ternyata kita bisa ngetes kecocokan dengan bias alias artis idola saya. Iseng-iseng aja saya coba. Ditanya grup favorit saya : EXO, member favorit : pengen jawab Kris hihihi...tapi akhirnya saya jawab DO. Dan hasil kecocokan saya sama D.O 80%. Err....Okay this is weird. Setelah bilang terima kasih saya langsung cuss karena malu sendiri. Hahahaha... 

There’s also a small theater inside. If I’m not mistaken, they were showing The Wizard of Oz with Changmin (DBSK), Suho (EXO), Key (SHINee), and maybe Wendy (Red Velvet) and Luna (F(X)). Again, I wasn’t interested because it’s probably expensive. Hehe… I also found an LCD display with photos of artists and their handprints. Curious, I asked a staff member and it turns out you can test your compatibility with your bias, aka your favorite idol. Just for fun, I tried it. They asked for my favorite group: EXO, favorite member: I wanted to say Kris, hehe… but I ended up choosing D.O. And the result? 80% compatibility with D.O. Err… okay, this is weird. After saying thanks, I immediately left because I was embarrassed. Hahaha… 

O iya di sini juga ada souvenir yang asli keren banget. Jadi kita difoto dengan teknik canggih sehingga foto tadi bisa dicetak menjadi patung 3D. Bukan hanya itu saja, patung kita nanti bisa dibikin lagi gandeng artis favorit kita. Untuk pertama kalinya semenjak menginjakkan kaki di sini, saya penasaran nanya harganya. Kalau nggak salah 80.000 won. Er.... oke ayo kita pergi aja.

Oh yeah, there’s also some really cool souvenirs here. They use high-tech photography so your photo can be turned into a 3D figurine. Not just that, you can even make the figurine hold hands with your favorite artist. For the first time since stepping in, I got curious and asked the price. If I’m not mistaken, it’s 80,000 won. Err… okay, let’s just go.

Bongeunsa Temple

Petunjuk Arah : Dari SM Town Coex Atrium jalan lurus saja. Sampai nemu perempatan belok kiri. Bongeunsa Temple ada di seberang jalan.

Directions: From SM Town Coex Atrium, just walk straight. When you reach the intersection, turn left. Bongeunsa Temple will be across the street.

Kita mulai lapar dan pas juga di perempatan menuju Bongeunsa Temple ada mobil pick up warna biru yang menjual jajanan favorit kita di Korea, tteokpoki dan oden!!! Merapatlah kita di sana. Langsung ambil satu tusuk... dua tusuk... bah enak banget, Yang sedang makan di sana bukan hanya kita tapi ada cowok abg juga, Dia ada kali makan 10 tusuk. Ini doyan apa laper?? Wkkwkwkw...

We were getting hungry, and conveniently at the intersection toward Bongeunsa Temple, there was a blue pickup truck selling our favorite Korean street food: tteokbokki and oden!!! We rushed over. Grabbed one skewer… two skewers… so delicious. And we weren’t the only ones eating there—there was this teenage boy who probably ate like 10 skewers. Was he just a foodie or super hungry?? Hahaha…

Setelah kenyang dan tentunya bayar, kami langsung cuss menuju Bongeunsa Temple. Terkejutlah kita melihat ada tangga bawah tanah khas stasiun subway. Ternyata itu adalah stasiun Bongeunsa. Tahu gitu tadi turun di stasiun ini saja, ngapain turun di stasiun Samsung. Tadi kita jalan lumayan jauh juga. Tapi kalau dipikir-pikir kalau kita turun di stasiun Bongeunsa langsung nggak bakalan ketemu SM Town Atrium kan???

After getting full and, of course, paying, we headed straight to Bongeunsa Temple. We were surprised to see an underground staircase typical of a subway station. Turns out it was Bongeunsa Station. If only we had gotten off here earlier, we wouldn’t have needed to walk so far from Samsung Station. But then again, if we’d gotten off at Bongeunsa Station first, we wouldn’t have stumbled upon SM Town Atrium, right???

Pintu masuk Bongeunsa Temple / The entrance to Bongeunsa Temple

Boneka biksu unyu yang ada di tempat tersembunyi di sudut Bongeunsa Temple / The cute little monk doll tucked away in a hidden corner of Bongeunsa Temple

Sepulang dari Bongeunsa Temple, kita langsung pulang ke guesthouse mandi lalu tidur. Bangun-bangun udah jam 9an. Ini tidur apa pingsan. Akhirnya setelah makan, kita putuskan untuk jalan-jalan di sekitar guesthouse. Guesthouse kita memang namanya Kimchee Sinchon, tapi lebih dekat dengan stasiun Hongdae daripada stasiun Sinchon. Tau kan Hongdae identik dengan apa? Iyes.... daerah kampus dan tempat gaul di Korea. Kita terlalu sibuk eksplor yang jauh-jauh sampai nggak sempat daerah yang deket.

After coming back from Bongeunsa Temple, we went straight to the guesthouse to shower and crash. Woke up around 9 PM —was that sleeping or passing out? After eating, we decided to stroll around the guesthouse area. Our guesthouse is called Kimchee Sinchon, but it’s actually closer to Hongdae station than Sinchon. You know what Hongdae is famous for, right? Yep… college vibes and the trendy hangout spot in Korea. We were too busy exploring the far places that we didn’t get to check out the nearby area.

Akhirnya hanya dengan pakai daster dan legging, kita jalan-jalan keliling Hongdae. Sayangnya saat itu udah malem banget. Jadi udah banyak tempat umum yang tutup kayak toko kosmet, toko asesoris, dll. Akhirnya kita putuskan untuk menjelajahi area kampus dan pilihan kami jatuh pada Ewha Woman University.

So, just in our Pjs, we went for a stroll around Hongdae. Unfortunately, it was already pretty late, so most public spots like cosmetic stores, accessory shops, etc., were closed. We decided to explore the campus area instead, and our choice landed on Ewha Women’s University.

Maaakk.... yang namanya kampus dimana-mana kalau malam itu seremnya bukan main. Kita nggak ngebayangin mahasiswi Ewha ini kalau pulang malem apa nggak takut ada hantu atau rampok atau apalah. Kita sempet parno juga, gimana kalo ada yang punya niat jahat sama kita, apalagi kita keliatan banget kalau turis. Mana udah sepi lagi nggak keliatan ada yang lewat. Yang ada dipikiran kita cuma pengen ke stasiun subway terdekat dan pulang. Akhirnya kita ketemu sama cewek dan kita langsung nanya stasiun subway terdekat dimana? Ternyata untuk ke stasiun subway terdekat kita bisa lewat bagian dalam kampus.

Oh my... campuses everywhere really do feel creepy at night! We couldn’t stop thinking — how do Ewha students manage if they have to go home late? Aren’t they scared of ghosts, thieves, or whatever might be lurking around? We were honestly a bit paranoid ourselves. What if someone with bad intentions appeared? We clearly looked like tourists, and the place was completely deserted. All we could think of was finding the nearest subway station and getting back safely. Thankfully, we met a girl along the way and asked her where the closest station was — turns out, we could actually reach it by cutting through the campus grounds.

Alhamdulillah setelah masuk ke area kampus, di sana udah mulai ada orang seliweran meskipun nggak banyak. Di sini kita udah nggak parno lagi dan mulai kumat narsisnya. Sayangnya kamera saya nggak bersahabat dengan gelap, jadi kalau malem foto kita kurang bagus. Selama di Korea kita hanya mengandalkan kamera hp Samsung Grand Prime saya.

Sekian cerita hari ke-5 di Korea. Besok akan saya ceritakan pengalaman saya seharian di taman hiburan outdoor terbesar di Korea. Everland!

Alhamdulillah, after entering the campus area, we finally started to see a few people passing by — not many, but enough to make us feel safe again. The paranoia slowly disappeared, and of course… our narcissistic side came back! 😂 Unfortunately, my camera didn’t work well in the dark, so our night photos didn’t turn out great. During our trip in Korea, we only relied on my Samsung Grand Prime phone camera.

That’s all for day 5 in Korea! Tomorrow I’ll share my full-day experience at the largest outdoor amusement park in Korea — Everland! 🎢✨