10 May 2012
We enjoyed watching Korean dramas and in this visit to Seoul, we planned to visit the shooting locations of some of our favourite dramas. For us, one of the “must-see” places was the shooting location of “The 1st Shop of the Coffee Prince”, featuring my favourite Korean actress Yoon Eun Hye.
The coffee shop is located in the Hongdae area and we took the subway to Hongik University Station and take Exit 4. It was easy to find the location using the directions provided in the internet but it was CLOSED for some renovation! What a disappointment. There goes our plan to have breakfast at this famous coffee shop. The next best thing to do is just to shoot some photos for keepsake.
We took a slow walk back to the Hongik University train station. Our mood was slightly lifted when we spotted a cute Japanese Spitz, running free and doing its business on the way. We had a Japanese Spitz back home.
From the Hongik University Station, we headed towards our next destination, the Beef Bone Soup Restaurant featured in the K-drama “Brilliant Legacy”.
It was located near the Hotel Seokyo. The restaurant chain has many branches and I think this BRANCH may not be the one used for shooting of the drama.
We know this is the restaurant featured in the drama as the uniform of the staff are the same. Dark blue pants and light coloured shirt with blue pin-strips and round yellow smiley badge.
We ate our brunch there and ordered the beef bone soup and rice. We could help ourselves to the kimchi found on the side of the table. The soup was tasty on its own, but we could add gochujang to make it a bit more spicy and saltier. Yummy!
I think the staff is used to K-drama fans coming into the restaurant for a meal and taking photos.
The Hongdae area has many cafes and shops targeted at the young and trendy as there are a few universities in the vicinity. After our lunch, we went for coffee at Coffine Gurunaru, featured as Purple Coffee in the K-drama “49 Days”. This was not the same coffee shop used in the shooting of the drama but is the same chain. Same deco in purple coloured theme.
Tip: Check out this cool one day small group tour, with English speaking guide, that brings you to the latest K-drama filming sites in Seoul without you having to do your own research!
The rest of the day was spent in Dongdaemun and more shopping at night at Myeongdong. Shops in Dongdaemun were mostly housed in tall buildings like Good Morning City, Hello apm, Migliore and Doota. Floor after floor of indoor shopfronts. Most are opened till 4 AM! So you can literally shop till you drop.
Myeongdong featured more variety of stalls, shops and restaurants and is spread out across many streets. Shops closed at about midnight. Personally, I preferred Myeongdong -combing the streets, people watching, trying street food, especially at night and in cool weather.
Acknowledgements:
The following website provided me with useful information on how to get to the K-drama places visited. Thanks.
1. How to get to the Coffee Prince coffee shop. http://www.squidoo.com/coffee-prince-coffee-shop
Direction to Coffee Prince: Take Subway Line 2 to Hongik University, and go out of Exit 4. Turn right into Seven Springs corner and pass the intersection & At the 3-way intersection, turn left & Walk about 100 meters on the road above the playground and walk towards the road on the right side & Walk about 500 meters until you find the coffee shop on the right.
2. How to get to the Brilliant Legacy “Beef Bone Soup Restaurant”. http://littlemisshoo.com/?p=764
Direction to Beef Bone Soup Restaurant in Hongdae: Take Subway Line 2 to Hongik University, and go out of Exit 9. Walk straight for 1-2mins in the direction of Hotel Seokyo. The restaurant is on the ground floor, right at junction before the hotel. See Photo above.
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