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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Busan Subway

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

Just like in the Seoul subway system, Busan subway stations are mostly enclosed so you can’t see the trains. You enter through glass elevator style doors once the train has stopped in the station. Busan trains have their own unique seaside themes in the way that they are decorated and in the sounds that they make. We took a few lines that travel above ground for some time with an especially long stretch between Gwangan and Beomeosa. On a sunny day it is really pleasant to watch the city race by as you make your way to your destination.

Gwangan Station on the Busan subway
Home base at Gwangan Station. The stations are not quite as numerous here as they are in Seoul so you have to walk a little more to get to a train unless you are right on a line. I don’t mind.
Sparkling interior of Busan subway car
Like every subway I have seen on this trip, they are sparkling clean and colourful. This is a particularly sunny stretch on the way to Beomeosa Temple.
Fish mosaic tiles in a Busan subway station
Fish tiles in the station
Seagull patterned seats on a Busan subway car
Seagull seats

Sounds of the Busan Subway

Busan stations and trains have cute and interesting sounds from the “bling bling bling” of the door closing signal to the flock of seagulls or boat horns announcing the arrival of a train. The terminal station song is especially cheerful and cute but I can’t quite make out what they are singing (at 3:55). I only had a day or two, but I got quite a few sounds. The last one is clomping up the stairs..you climb a lot of stairs here! The repeated phrase is “발빠짐 주의”. It means “watch your step” in Korean.

Subway sound collage:

Here is a link to an official Busan metro website for info Busan Metro Site. Just like everywhere else in Korea, you can use Navermaps or Kakaomaps apps to get good directions.

If you enjoy subway sounds and want to hear more, have a look at this post from Seoul or this one from Tokyo.

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