Posts in Category: Korea 2025

Lazy day in Seoul

On March 14, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Coffee and Cats

A walk up the old city wall near Dongdaemun to feed cats was not a great success. It was a hot afternoon and they were probably asleep in the shade somewhere. Instead, we stopped at the little 3 story “Cafe Reading Cat” overlooking the west end of Seoul and sipped coffee in the sunshine. Cats are everywhere outdoors in Seoul. People who live here seem to take care of the homeless ones, bringing them food or setting up little shelters for them. If you want to see a post where we found lots of cats up here, check this one.

Cute coffee mug with cat and book at Cafe Reading Cat in Seoul
View of Namsan from Cafe Reading Cat with cats on the building
Plaster cats adorn Cafe Reading Cat coffee shop in Seoul
Cat sculptures along the outside walls
Picture perfect weathered yellow entranceway in Seoul
Picturesque entryway
Gas and electrical meters with rusty pipe along white wall in Seoul
Electrical conduit, gas pipes, water pipes, sewers, valves and gauges: these are the nervous, circulatory and digestive systems of a city. I like seeing how different places have these arranged. I am a utility-tourist

Dinner with Minu

Alleyway flower stand at night in Jongno
On the way to meet Minu for dinner I noticed this old man had set up a flower shop in an alleyway in Jongno. There are many businesses like this that appear after dark and disappear by the next morning.
Bar and restaurant alley in Jongno where we met for BBQ
Lively alleyways behind the main street, full of restaurants and young people just off work. When I first travelled to Asia, I remember being dazzled by all the bright signs and lights everywhere. I am so used to them now that I don’t notice them as much but I really do miss them when I get back home. It’s like when your parents take the Christmas lights down and your house returns to colourless normal.
Modern pork BBQ restaurant in Jongno
무쇠옥, a modern pork BBQ joint. It was very good. Look here for details.
Pork BBQ cooking on hot grill in Jongno BBQ restaurant
This BBQ was not only different thick cuts of pork but also kimchi, bracken fern, minari and bean sprouts, all caramelized on the hotplate and wrapped in lettuce and perilla leafs. There was also ramp jjangachi and rich doenjang jjigae.
Pork BBQ in Jongno
pork BBQ in Jongno
This was one of the best BBQs I have eaten. We ate everything then had a second round of samgyeopsal. Thanks Minu!

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Naengmyeon and Emu Artspace

On March 14, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Pyongyang Naengmyeon

I love naengmyeon. The icy broth and chewy noodles are unlike anything else. Woo Rae Oak has been serving Naengmyeon in Seoul since the 1940s. Noodles, broth, beef, fermented white kimchi and sliced korean pear are arranged in a big bowl. You can sharpen the flavour with mustard and vinegar from the pots on the table. The kimchi here is probably the best I have had on this trip.

There is normally a lineup from the moment the doors open but we were lucky with our timing today and sat down right away. Woo Rae Oak as well as Pildong Myeonok are my two favourites for this dish in Seoul. you can read about Woo Rae Oak in the Michelin Guide.

Pyeongyang naengmyeaon at Woo Rae Oak

Emu Artspace

I have visited Emu Artspace many times and I always leave wishing we had a place like this back home in Toronto. There is a small theatre on both the second and the third floor where they show mostly independent and arthouse films. The main floor is a cafe/bookstore where you can relax with a drink before your film. One floor below is Panta Garage, a live performance space that hosts music shows across all genres. In addition to this, a small wooden stage in the grass behind the building provides an outdoor space for performances in good weather.

It is truly an art “centre”, a place where artists of all kinds can come together under one roof and there is always something going on for lovers of books, music and film.

Emu Artspace at night from outside
Like so many places in Seoul, Emu is off the main road, up a hill, through the dark, around a couple of corners, behind another building, in a place where you would least expect to find it… Finding the place you are looking for in Korea is often a “light at the end of the tunnel” experience!
Emu Artspace coffee counter and lounge area with books
There are house copies of books that you can read while hanging out as well as volumes that you can buy. The books are mostly in Korean. This time I noticed a good selection of Han Kang’s novels.
Emu Artspace coffee lounge area with library
Around the corner towards the back, there are a couple of larger tables where you can read or work.
Woman having tea at Emu Artspace before film
Best ginger tea I have ever had, spicy and sweet made with real cut ginger.
Mickey 17 posters given at Emu Artspace as a gift when seeing the film here.
Many movies come with some free promotional items. These are high quality posters printed on heavy card stock. We saw Mickey 17 tonight, the new film from Bong Joon-Ho.
A Czech man poses outside the Czech Center in Seoul
Right next door is the Czech Center Seoul, a big three story building. I wonder what the Czechs are doing in there?

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Beomeosa Temple 범어사

On March 12, 2025 0 Comments - Korea 2025, Travel

Built on Geumjongsan mountain and established in 678, Beomeosa Temple sits in a picturesque landscape of old forests and mountain streams. Most buildings are covered in exquisite painted images of the Buddha. Massive statues and stone relics have survived through the centuries. Climbing up from the nearest subway station takes about an hour on a steady uphill slope. Today, we exercised body, mind and spirit. This was another afternoon of high bright sun so the colours in the photos are a little washed out. It reminds me of old slide film.

Looking over the lower deck of Beomeosa Temple
3 tier pagoda, ancient treasure of Beomeosa Temple
3 story stone pagoda from the Shilla era between 826 and 836
Details of doorways at Beomeosa
More modern tall pagoda of Beomeosa

The details at this temple are intricate and beautiful with many original paintings on the walls under the rooflines

Paint and roof details at Beomeosa
The forests around the temple are as beautiful as the temple itself, especially in the fall
Woman standing under coloured roofline at Beomeosa
Beomeosa Temple cat relaxing on a roof tile in the sun
A colony of mostly orange cats have made a home here. I think these are two littermates, the brave one warming himself on sunbaked ceramic tile and the shy one peeking over the wall in the shade. Look in the shadows of the top picture…
Beomeosa Temple cat hiding in the shade

Beomeosa Temple also participates in a Temple stay program where visitors can enjoy an extended visit to experience everyday life as the monks do, participate is work prayer and temple meals. My friend also let me know that if you visit the temple between certain hours of the day (I think between 12 and 2pm) you can enjoy a meal of temple food for free. Here is the official website with more information Temple Stay and Other Info.

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