on holiday in Korea!

My best friend, Amanda, and her husband, Davis came to visit Korea for a week to see me and celebrate Christmas together! We had busy week of shopping, eating, seeing the sights, and enjoying being together. Get ready for lots and lots of pictures!

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Last Saturday, I took the subway from Seoul out to Incheon International Airport to meet them. 

It was pretty easy to find them at the airport, and for that I was grateful! After we met up, we took the subway back to my apartment in Gaepo-dong.

Here we are! Tired, but happy!

For their first meal in Korea, we had bibimbap (rice with vegetables, seaweed, squid, and egg), kimchi (fermented cabbage with red pepper paste), and soju (Korean distilled alcohol). Off to a great start!

On Sunday, their first full day here, we met up with my friend Park for lunch in Itaewon. We had the most delicious bulgogi and kimchi pancake!

We went to Jongno-gu to see the statues of Admiral Yi Sunshin and King Sejong, and to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace.

  
And here we are at Gyeongbokgung Palace! 

We spent the next day shopping for Christmas presents (and much more) in Dongdaemun. I took them to my favorite mandu (dumpling) place in Dongdaemun, which of course changed their lives for the better.

On Tuesday, we went shopping at Namdaemun Market with Park! This market was HUGE...it went on for blocks and blocks, above ground and underground, in tents and stalls and buildings. There was food, jewelry, clothes, housewares, alcohol, crafts, ceramics, and so much more! Amazing! 

Davis and Amanda enjoyed some street food at Namdaemun.

We went to Insadong and Ssamziegil, which are touristy shopping zones with lots of fun stuff to look at. We stopped to see the "love tags" in Ssamziegil. So cute!

On Christmas Eve, we went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant with Park and then had drinks and went to norebang (karaoke room) with Park and his friend Soojung. The karaoke room was so much fun! You rent a room by the hour, and the room has a screen to display the song lyrics, two microphones, and a tambourine. This was a first for Davis, Amanda, and me, but Park and Soojung were already pros. I got some videos of our "performance", and they were pretty hilarious to watch the next morning!

On Christmas Day, we opened our stockings and our Christmas gifts. Davis and Amanda had brought their stockings and gifts, and my mom had sent my stocking and gifts for me along with them (thanks Momma!). We had a nice breakfast, and I Skyped with my family on Christmas Eve their time at home.

For Christmas dinner that night, we went to Wang Thai in Itaewon with my friends Mihee and Christie (who I met at the Seoul Sisters Meetups!), and Park. It was so fun for me to see my friends meet my friends! We had a great time!

After dinner, we met up with my friend Sunny, who I met at Western, and we went all together to a bar called Prost that was also in Itaewon. It was a great time with great friends!

The next day, I took Davis and Amanda to Tongin Market to try some Korean foods that they hadn't had yet. Everything that we got was so delicious! This market is one of my favorite places I've been in Korea so far.

We went for a walk at Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs through Jongno-gu. Here we are standing in the middle of it!

(Just a side note: the subway was really packed this week, probably because people had some time off of work for Christmas! This was one of the busier days.)

That evening, we went to Gangnam Station to shop in the underground shopping center and get pictures of the "Gangnam Style" murals in the station. 

At Gangnam Station!

On Friday, we took a day trip to Jeonju in central Korea! There is a service that provides a free shuttle bus trip from Seoul to Jeonju and back for people with a foreign passport. The price was right!

Jeonju is well-known for its hanok village with houses built in the style of traditional Korean architecture. Davis compared the village to Leavenworth in Washington State, and I think that was a pretty fitting comparison!

Jeonju is also well-known for its bibimbap, but we had a hard time finding any! After wandering around for a while, we finally stopped at this little galbi and bibimbap restaurant.

This was the menu we were working with. Good thing I have learned to sound out the Korean alphabet! And good thing the waiter spoke a little English ;)

Korean food comes with a lot of side dishes...look how pretty they are!

Prepping the galbi (grilled marinated beef).

We went for a little hike to the top of a hill that overlooks Jeonju. This site was called Omokdae; from here we had a great view of the village and the rest of the city!

  

This is a 600 year old gingko tree!

Namcheonggyo Bridge in Jeonju.

Nambu Market in Jeonju.

A palace (does anyone happen to know the name?) in Jeonju.

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I am so happy and thankful that Davis and Amanda were able to come here to visit me. We had a great time and made lots of good memories together! It was so special to have them with me on Christmas and to be able to explore another part of the world with them. Happy Christmas, everyone!