I've always known that there is a place here in Singapore that is called "Koreatown" or "Little Korea" so I set out to find it in the Tanjong Pagar area. I can't seem to find it on the map because it wasn't the official name of the place. So, with a quick search over the internet, I learned that the Tanjong Pagar Road is what is known as the stretch of road that is populated by Korean-style shops and restaurants. I wonder what would I find in this place...
I took the TEL MRT Line, otherwise known as the Brown Line to go to the Maxewell station. As soon as I stepped out of the MRT station, I stumbled upon the Tooth Relic Buddha Temple and realized that I had also reached the tip of Chinatown.
From here, I continued my walk along the South Bridge road toward the direction of the Tanjong Pagar road. Along my stroll, I noticed that the Maxwell Food Centre, one of the famous food places, is also nearby. At that moment, I already knew that I would be back in this spot later for my late-night cravings.
A few steps after the Maxwell food center, I reached the intersection of Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Road and found myself amazed by the Jinrikisha Station which is one of the historical landmarks of Singapore.
The architectural style, the lighting, and the way it was positioned in this intersection of the street have made this building an imposing landmark in this spot of the city.
On the side of the building, I found myself entering the so-called Koreatown! From this point, I noticed that the vibe was starting to change as I went further to the Tanjong Pagar Road.
I'm not sure why there are a few more of these cartoon-like frog that are placed in front of the shops. I guess, I'm not knowledgeable enough about Korean pop culture yet.
It was already 8:00 PM but this place felt empty at the moment, I guess the "happenings" will start around 12:00 at midnight?
On this part of Tanjong Pagar Road, I did a right turn going up to Duxton Hill to check out what kind of shops I can find up there.
The area over here at Duxton Hill is mostly Western cuisine, Japanese, and local Singaporean restaurants. The vibe feels more relaxed and solemn which is great if you want to bring a date for a nice chat.
I realized that Koreatown vibe was gone so I turned back to my original route along the Tanjong Pagar Road.
As I turned right towards the end of the road, I stumbled upon this cute-looking statue that serves as the mascot of this Korean restaurant.
I noticed that the cartoonized frog and pig have become mascots of many of the restaurants here. There will be more of it in other shopfront of the next restaurants.
As I walked closer to the end of this stretch, the Korea-themed restaurant designs became more evident and exciting as well. Every restaurant is playing K-Pop songs that I don't even recognize anymore. I like the happy and upbeat vibe in this part of Koreatown, it feels trendy and modern!
One of the shops has proudly staked on the side of the wall the Korean flag along the walkway. I was expecting to see more of this flag in every shop and restaurant but it seems that this is the only one.
And then I saw the biggest cartoonized pig mascot in front of this restaurant.
This marks the end of the stretch of Tanjong Pagar Road which is known locally as Singapore's Koreatown. The things that made this place Koreatown are the Korean BBQ restaurants which smell amazing. the Korean Marts that sell authentic important products, and of course the K-pop songs that I listened to during this walk.
I hope that this place will develop further to showcase more of the Korean culture. I look forward to dining in one of these BBQ places soon!
As I walked back to the Maxwell MRT station, I took more photos of the buildings that had good architectural designs. These are a few more photos of this place.
