These kinds of pet cafés are pretty popular in Korea. The concept is pretty simple: enjoy a cup of coffee while playing with the resident dogs, or bring your own!
I went with my friend Erin, who’d found the place (located in Hongdae) online. It’s called “BAU HOUSE” – a clever play on words from Bauhaus.
I’d read online that the coffee would be pretty expensive, as it essentially acts as your admission fee. One Americano will set you back around $6, but the fun atmosphere is worth it!
The main area of Bau House
The dogs would even walk up on the railing!
Just chillin’!
Two dogs came to vissit after they saw Erin with snacks!
Erin doing “shake a paw!!” with the big dog
Me feeding some of the dogs!
This dog came up to Erin wanting to play fetch!
The resident dogs at Bau House
This dog was a bit strange
…Or maybe he was just too tired!
Loved this little furball!
Erin and I loved this dog – he (or she) looked so regal! He was sitting on that stool so still, calm and composed for at least 20 or 30 minutes ^^
The little guy again!
He was sniffing my camera ^^
A cozy spot under the cash register!
One of the other customers’ dogs; looks like this little guy had enough fun for today!
As my time in Seoul is slowly coming to a close, I’ve been making a bucketlist of activities to do before leaving. Now that I’ve been here for a year, it’s almost like doing the whole “tourist in your own town” thing – and what better of a place to be a tourist than Seoul?
With a raging hangover as part of my last Saturday night in Seoul the night prior, I decided to buck up, get on the bus and go to the Hyundai Department Store in Apgujeong. I’d heard that on the rooftop they have a grass lawn and café, and I wanted to check that out.
So, with a pounding headache and a purse packed with the essentials (camera, laptop, cellphone), I went to take the bus from Sinnonhyeon to Apgujeong.
Hyundai Department Store from outside
After a short 20-minute bus ride, I’d arrived in Apgujeong. While my plan was to go directly to Hyundai Department Store, something else caught my eye. The building right next door said “Gangnam Tourist Information Center Grand Opening” on the front. I didn’t even know that there was a tourist info center in Gangnam, so I decided to make a quick detour and look inside.
The Gangnam Tourist Center; newly-opened on June 26th, 2013
I knew that the 2013 Seoul Summer Sale was currently underway, so I went inside to ask for a coupon book. The girl at the front desk gave me one, plus a free cosmetic sampler and face mask from Etude House (a popular Korean cosmetic chain store). Then she handed me a free bottle of banana milk, which tasted like heaven on such a hot and humid day.
I decided to take a little browse around. It looks like the main purpose of this tourist info branch is to promote medical tourism. Makes sense, since there are so many high quality clinics around Gangnam, largely popular with Asian tourists from China, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Since it was a Sunday afternoon, the medical consultants and interpreters who would normally be manning these booths were away. Not a huge deterrent to me, since my budget for the week doesn’t exactly include plastic surgery!
Also, there’s a KEB currency exchange booth located next to the in-house Tom ‘n’ Tom’s café.
I decided to look around a bit more…
The medical tourism consultation zone
More info on medical tourism in Gangnam
Computers for visitor use, free of charge
Café and seating for visitors
Brochures on Gangnam attractions, and an ad for Hyundai Department Store’s “100-Day Time Letter Service”
Map of Gangnam and its various districts
My swag: coupon book for the 2013 Seoul Summer Sale, a copy of SEOUL Magazine with Mimsie Ladner of Seoul Searching blog on the cover, free cosmetics, and a free banana milk
I realized after I came home though, that there’s a second floor in the center! The main focus there is “hallyu” (the Korean Wave). You can buy K-drama sets, K-pop CDs, get your makeup done, and buy souvenirs.
Here’s a map for both floors:
Gangnam Tourist Information Center – 1F (Photo: Visit Seoul)
Gangnam Tourist Information Center – 2F (Photo: Visit Seoul)
After I’d had enough time looking around at the tourist info center, I made my way next door:
Entrance to Hyundai Department Store
The flagship Hyundai Department Store is directly connected to Apgujeong Station (Line 3). The first floor houses the store’s cosmetic booths. The food court is located on B1. My plan was to grab a snack and head up to the fifth floor Skygarden Café.
Tiffany & Co inside the Hyundai Department Store
Various international and Korean-brand cosmetics on the first floor
Take the escalators down to B1, where you’ll find the food court
Department store shopping is a popular activity in Korea. Every store has its own food floor, which I’ve noticed is essentially divided up into three sections: the “market” area, made up of different stalls selling fresh food and drinks; the food court, made up of a variety of restaurants (sushi, Japanese curry, noodle soup, Western, etc) where customers order and pay at a centralized cashier booth, then sit down and wait for their number to be called; and the grocery store.
Admittedly, I’ve always been a bit scared of intimidated of ordering up there (yet I will get on a motorcycle sans-helmet with a stranger in a developing country, eat live squid, or fly across the world to live with a family I’ve never met before – yep, weird logic!). So, I just stuck to the food court.
I must say BEWARE: if you are indecisive like me, choosing something from the food court will not be a quick task! From French blueberry cheesecake, to Chinese fried prawns, to traditional Korean snacks, there is truly something for everyone here.
Candied apples at the food court
One of the bakery stalls – the crêpe cake looked pretty good!
Gourmet Korean rice cakes – much more colourful and detailed than average ones!
A more “traditional” stall – they sell different varieties of kimchi, and are a little more loud/agressive in their sales techniques ^^
Gift packs for any occasion. I like the meat one!
Another traditional stall – these guys were selling one of my favourite Korean foods, sweet, chewy rice cakes (tteok).
Making the rice cakes
The sit-down/restaurant area of the food court
More gourmet rice cakes (tteok), with prices to match! This box was about $40, whereas at an average store, they’d probably be about $15-$20
More gourmet rice cakes (tteok). I like the rose one!
Women browsing the international and domestic cheeses section
French cheese!
French cheese!
Gourmet chocolates
Gourmet cooking vinegars
Kitchenwares for sale on the same floor as the food court. To the left are traditional Korean serving bowls. Quite smart, actually – the metal keeps cold food cold, and hot food hot.
Finally, I made a decision: I wanted something sweet, refreshing and preferably a bit cool. Gelato seemed like a good fit, so I chose the mint flavour and made my way up to the fifth floor.
I didn’t take any photos, but the fifth floor actually houses a number of sit-down style restaurants indoors. I thought the Skygarden was the only place on that floor, and was a bit surprised to see otherwise when I got there. It took a while to find too, since the place is set up like a maze and there wasn’t a huge sign saying “SKYGARDEN THIS WAY”.
I found it, though!
Pure bliss! If only it hadn’t been so humid and hot.
I chose a table and went to go buy a coffee from the café. At 4,000w ($4) for an ice coffee, it wasn’t exactly cheap. Although these are Gangnam prices, I suppose.
My mint gelato – so nice!
My little gelato cone
I’m not really sure what these tree things were supposed to be!
Tree decorations
The garden seemed to be really popular with families. Parks, or just general community green spaces are very hard to come by in Seoul. This place is a bit of a hidden oasis.
Art on one of the walls
Lots of chairs to hang out in
My little work station
Father and son kicking a soccer ball
The Skygarden at the Apgujeong Hyundai Department Store is definitely worth a quick visit.
Here are the details:
Directions: Apgujeong station, line #3 (orange line), exit 6. Hyundai Department Store is directly connected to the station. Skygarden is on the 5th floor; food court is in B1.
Hours: 10:30am to 8:00pm; closed one Monday a month (chosen randomly)
Recently, I won a discounted fee for one of the most popular tourist destinations in Korea: the Joint-Security Area (JSA) between North and South Korea on the DMZ.
Despite being commonly referred to as “the most dangerous place on earth”, trips to the DMZ are strikingly popular among tourists visiting South Korea.
Prior to this trip, I’d already been on two tours to different sites along the 38th parallel, separating the communist North from the capitalist South.
(Why are there two Koreas? It’s a long story – check out the video below for a summarized version)
I’d never visited the JSA before, which is arguably the most interesting stop along the border.
With American and ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers on the Southern side staring down DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) soldiers on the Northern side, the line on the ground separating these two countries seems more apparent than ever. In other words, tensions are VERY high.
That said, the rules for visiting JSA are understandably strict. For example, even though there are dozens of independent operators offering tours to other DMZ sites (such as tunnels, military museums, and observatories), only a few select government-approved tour agencies are allowed to take visitors to the JSA.
It’s not cheap, either – most JSA tours start at around $77, while other non-JSA DMZ tours can go as low as $33 (like the one I took).
That’s partly the reason I hadn’t signed up for a JSA tour since coming to Seoul (student budget!).
I did do a free DMZ tour as part of the summer Korean culture program I’d attended back in 2011. As well, I opted to go for another tour in the winter of 2012 that visited some other sites I hadn’t seen, mainly because it was offered at an affordable price ($33) through When in Korea (WiNK).
In the case of this JSA tour, offered by the Panmunjom Travel Center, I’d won a facebook draw a few days prior for a discounted fee. Normally, the cost of the tour is $77, but I only had to pay $10. The tour company occasionally uses this promo to fill up empty seats on the bus a few days before the departure.
Anyways, after receiving a facebook message confirming my spot, I sent my passport to the company. Part of visiting the JSA requires having a UN-performed background check (serious, right?). I passed, so come Friday morning I was set to go!
Shortly after arriving at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, we were on our way to the first stop along the tour, Odusan Observatory.
Odusan Observatory
Once hearing that we were visiting an observatory, I got a bit disappointed. Since I’d already visited a few others on the two other tours I went on, I thought it would be a bit boring to see the same place for a second or third time.
However, I’d never been to the Odusan Observatory. In fact, I’d have to say that it’s one of the better ones I’d visited along the DMZ.
Unlike other observatories, there wasn’t any visible North Korean “stuff” in the landscape (ex: propaganda posters, military watchtowers or outposts, etc). However, the mini museum inside the observatory was very interesting.
The view from Odusan Observatory: staring out into North Korea from the South
The focus was on life in North Korea, so they had a replica of a typical North Korean class and living room.
Typical North Korean clothes
A typical/well-off North Korean home (notice the TV set, not something a lot of poor North Koreans can afford)
Our tour even included a Q&A with a North Korean refugee, who was a woman in her 40s or 50s. We sat in the replica classroom and asked her questions about her life back in the DPRK. I asked her what made her decide to leave, and she said (with the help of our tour guide translating) that it was the fact that her sister had already left.
It was a great follow up to the film that we were showed upon arrival, which briefly showed the history of division between the two Koreas and the state of human rights abuses in the Hermit Kingdom.
The observatory’s gift shop was pretty impressive as well, with a lot more DMZ and North Korean products available for purchase than at other tourist sites.
Entrance to Odusan Observatory
North Korean liquors for sale ($15-$50/bottle)
North Korean liquors for sale ($15-$50/bottle)
North Korean liquors on display
North Korean pins and stamps on display
The giftshop was the largest I’d seen on a DMZ tour
South Korean ginseng products
A monument outside the observatory
A statue outside the observatory
After wrapping up our visit at Odusan, we moved onto our next stop.
Imjingak
Now, I’m not going to say much about Imjingak, mainly since I already visited the place on my prior DMZ tour with WiNK. Granted, at that time it was covered in snow and almost devoid of any other visitors; while on this visit there was no snow to be seen and instead just droves of tourists.
I took a look at the pond, which I must’ve missed on my first visit there.
Prayers for unification at Imjingak
Train and tourists
Gift shops and restaurants
Participants on the Ministry of Environment tour
Little pond beneath the symbolic bridge between North and South Korea
Something I didn’t notice on my last tour – this monument is a symbolic ancestral tombstone for all North Korean refugees who cannot visit the remains of their deceased relatives back home – moving.
After snapping some photos, I headed back to the bus, but not without running into Patricja, a Polish friend of mine from the Friends of Invest Korea program I’m in. She was there on a group trip with the Korean Ministry of Environment.
Lunch
Again, I’m not going to say much on this subject.
Since those who know me know I’m a shameless foodie, the fact that I don’t have much to say on the subject of a meal will understand that this is not a good thing.
Okay, so I can’t complain – I only paid $10 for the trip.
However, everyone else was paying $77 – and for that price, I’ve gotta say, the meal was pretty horrible.
I’ve eaten a lot of Korean BBQ since abandoning my meat-free days here, and this was pretty bad. The lettuce was limp, and there was enough grease in the table-top bulgogi pan to drown an army.
It was clear that the restaurant survives on business from DMZ tour busses, as it’s in a pretty isolated area, and all of the other diners were being herded to their tables after getting off of their own respective tour busses.
Compared to the restaurant we ate at on the DMZ tour I took with WiNK, this place was not very impressive.
Camp Bonifas
After lunch, we got back on the bus and were off to get our passports checked on the Unification Bridge.
Everything was good to go, so we continued onto Camp Bonifas, which was the military base that we would transfer busses at.
Camp Bonifas is operated by both Korean and American troops.
At this point, we were now officially in the South’s side of the DMZ. We just needed to get onto a UN-approved vehicle for our trip to the JSA.
After meeting our supervisor from the US military, we were on our way to the JSA.
Panmunjom – the Joint Security Area
Finally, we’d arrived at the main attraction of the tour – the JSA.
As mentioned earlier, everything was super strict. Back at Camp Bonifas, one of the tourists had to change out of his shorts and into a pair of pants.
It appeared that I was one of the few tourists that actually took the JSA dress code seriously, but in general they were pretty flexible with it.
The dress code prohibits visitors from wearing: t-shirts, miniskirts, shorts, heels, exercise clothes, slippers, faded jeans, tights, leggings, and trousers. Previously, I thought the reason for this was partly due to safety concerns (ex: a woman wearing heels isn’t exactly in the best position to make a break for it, just in case shots get fired).
According to our tour guide, the dress code exists in case the North decides to feature any of the tourists in state propaganda.
Those who dress “sloppy” make perfect fodder for the North’s favoured depiction of American (or other Western) foreigners.
Additionally, we were instructed not to make any gestures (ex: pointing, waving, etc) towards the North Korean guards. This was for the same reason – those who are shown waiving risk being depicted as “someone wanting to defect to the North” by the DRPK’s propaganda artists.
After being given these briefings, we made our way – single file – to the JSA.
We were quickly shuffled into the Freedom House Military Armistice Commission Building, where one can put one foot “into North Korea”, and one foot into South Korea.
South Korean guards were in the building to keep watch, and much like the British bobbies in London, they’re supposed to keep still in the ready position – a perfect photo opp for tacky tourists like me!
Standing with a South Korean guard
Photos!
The centre table
This building is used for signing official documents and to have UN-monitored meetings. Since it’s half in North Korea, half in South Korea, it makes for a fairly neutral meeting space.
After taking a few photos in the Armistice Commission Building, we moved outside.
I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t as many North Korean guards as I had expected (based on different YouTube videos I’ve watched), but it was still cool to see.
The JSA!
A North Korean guard
Before you can say “bomb threat”, we were shuffled out and back into our tour bus.
From there, were were back on our way to Seoul.
Summary
All in all, it was a good trip.
I liked that they brought a North Korean refugee along with us to answer questions; it was probably a great experience for those who only had a week or two to spend in Korea.
Additionally, I liked that we were back in Seoul by 4:30pm. Everything ran very smoothly.
If you must see the JSA, then yes. The fact that they brought along a North Korean refugee was quite memorable. The tour guide was alright – not fantastic, but not horrible.
If you just want to be able to gaze out into North Korea and buy some North Korean souvenirs, then I’d recommend taking a tour with When in Korea (WiNK).
Though not regularly offered, WiNK’s DMZ trips are affordable and cram a LOT into a one-day tour; around double the sites that the standard DMZ tour operators normally offer.
How can I get an 85%-off travel deal to visit the JSA?
From KD to Kimchi 