So I have been living in Seoul for about a year and ten months and someone might think is enough time to know the city like a pro.
Well in fact, I am a total homebody. Meaning I would rather spend my time laying on my bed watching Netflix or reading books on my Kindle with my cat constantly dropping stuffs or meowing unnecessarily.
It is only recently that I really started to get myself 'explore' Seoul in better depth. Not too long ago, the only "hotspots"of Seoul I knew were Hongdae, Itaewon, and Gangnam which are pretty generic.
Don't get me wrong, I love those places. But it is also true that these areas had been seriously touristy-fied and are always full of people 24/7. Me being a homebody, the amount of crowds in those places simply gives me the world's worst headache and nightmare. Minus the crowd, I can say with complete honesty that I enjoy going to one of those areas in Seoul.
But let's face it, when would we ever have Hongdae, Itaewon, and Gangnam empty? Or to be more realistic, at least walkable? Not too often. Well, almost never.
Then my coworker came to the rescue. She is Korean who grew up in Korea and now 'obviously' works in Korea. Basically, she is one of the best to go to when you need some consulting for spotting cool places in Seoul. And she has been crazed over this one area in Itaewon, "Haebangchon" or 해방촌 in Korean. She even advised me to move to 해방촌 as she assumed I would enjoy the place as much as she does, if not more.
To be honest, I was never able to relate to her. My personal experience in Itaewon always kind of sucked. There were literally too many people to walk by and also so many inappropriate hitting-on's going on. My boyfriend and I, for that specific reason, have always avoided the specific area of Seoul at all cost.
And not too long ago, I finally have came to a realization that my notion of the place was a bit off. Well, to be honest, I was almost completely off.
The first place my Itaewon-enthusiast friend took me was this 3-story-bar called "Namsan Chemistry." It is located in the middle of street named "경리단길" and supposedly has the best view of Namsan on its rooftop. I'm saying supposedly because when we got there, their rooftop was closed for the night.
(Namsan Chemistry, using 3-story building for its business. They sell generic American bar food like wings, fries, and pizzas)
Although we were there strictly for the roof top view of Namsan, the interior of the building was artistic enough to console us not being able to go to the top floor.
They are also famous for their tap beer and we did try a few flavors while waiting for the party to arrive. As a person who loves American food, I absolutely adored all the food I was able to eat there - from the bacon cheese fries to hot wings with ranch sauce.
Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of their menu or food as I was infested with the atmosphere of 경리단길 and all the rants and crazy conversations we had being tipsy off of a few beer. Well, let me continue to share the other part of Itaewon exploration in the upcoming second post - hopefully soon.