Today I have dedicated to k-drama activities. No, this doesn’t mean spending a whole day watching drama (though I totally can, have in the past, and no doubt will in the future), but instead refers to being out and about in Seoul with a slight drama theme to my goings-on.

The main aim of today is to visit this…

For those of you who have read the additional sections of my blog (regarding drama, pop, and language) you will be familiar with the fact that I have a very special place reserved in my Korean world for two actors who are really very responsible for my interest in the language and the music of this country. It so happens that one of them, Doh Kyungsoo, has been chosen for the Korean Film Council’s campaign ‘The Actor Is Present’, a showcase of 100 actors and 100 actresses that best represent the present and future of the Korean film industry.

I am particularly excited because this photo exhibition has been on tour in other countries this year and it just so happens it has landed back on its home shores right at the time I am visiting, and right here in Seoul. And I am determined to see it.

This morning though, on my way to Hapjeong where the exhibition is taking place, I am starting off by visiting Hongdae for breakfast. Specifically I am here for this…

That is an Eggdrop sandwich. Anyone out there who is an avid k-drama watcher will be very familiar with Korea’s love of Product Placement (PPL) in their dramas, in some cases to almost an annoying level (how I despise light-up face masks). However, most are pretty good natured (Maxim coffee sachets “Isn’t this a delicious way to start our work day?” Subway sandwiches “This sandwich is so filling and tasty, what a great choice for lunch!) and some can be downright funny or so delicious-looking that you have to try.

I watched two full seasons of Hospital Playlist and drooled over Eggdrop sandwiches every single episode, and for good reason it turns out, they really are exceptionally tasty! I seemingly managed to locate the smallest branch of this chain in the world though with exactly 2 members of staff and about 27 customers waiting. They appear to make sandwiches fresh, to order, and one by one…cue the 15 minute wait.

I did have fun with the automated ordering machine though – having encountered one of these machines the day before when buying my smoothie. I felt like a total pro knowing to look immediately for the ‘English’ button rather than experience the awkwardness of trying to work out the Korean menu as I did yesterday.    

There was a rather handy open air seating section across the road (with cute plastic dolls for you to sit next to – of course there were). I took a pew and munched happily through my sandwich while watching Gong Yoo pop up on a nearby TV screen advertising banking services (I think).

And for those of you dying to know about the sandwich – I had a basic ham and cheese (and a hash brown) which comes with a coleslaw-type filling and about 5 different sauces layered through the sandwich, making every bite just a little bit different each time. What I wasn’t expecting – the outside of the bread is coated in sugar. Yes. That’s right. Crunchy bits of sugar. This didn’t detract from the sandwich and actually went quite well with the flavour (I am a bit of a sugar fiend though), but I really wasn’t expecting it and was certainly surprised by the coating.

Overall, though a smidge pricy for a sandwich, I would do it again as a treat before I leave.

Fuelled and ready to stroll, I walked down through Hongdae Street, an area that is supposed to be quite hip and happening for young people (mostly at night maybe) due to their being a university located nearby. I checked out the shops as I walked and this is what I noted – 95% of them appeared to be photo booths. It took me a little while to wrap my head around this, but the gist I got is that you walk in (with a bunch of friends I’m sure) and there are lots of dressing up type things lying about inside which you put on (headbands and costume looking apparel) and then you squash yourself into a photo booth picking different backgrounds to be applied to your shots and voilà, you are cool and trendy with your mates!

Once again, this side of Korean culture, I just don’t get, but it is huge. It’s the cutesy, over the top, cartoon-like stuff and behaviour. Still, it’s their thing and that’s fine. I just don’t understand it or where it comes from I guess. Apart from remembering young kids liking the Powerpuff girls about a million years ago in England, I don’t think we have this type of thing or trend there.

Still, I’m not to be deterred. I’m going to at least partake in everything once.

Meet Myeonggru. Yup. He’s coming to live with me and Gary.

And that is my one and only nod to this sort of thing.

(I will admit he’s nice and squishy and I do like that).  

While I could hop on the subway from Hongdae to Hapjeong, I just decide to walk it instead. This is fast becoming my first choice for travelling in Seoul. I like walking to start with. I particularly like seeing all of the individual stores and stalls on the streets, I like listening to the sounds of the language around me, I enjoy watching people’s behaviour and checking out people’s choice of clothes.

And yet another side note – ALL people in Seoul are fashionable. I don’t know if this will be the rest of the case for the country (I’ll let you know), but every single person I see is trendy to the max. That doesn’t mean every person is dressed in super expensive designer labels, it simply means that every person has STYLE. To me, people seem to be incredibly individualistic here with their clothing choices. Even when they wear something simple – t-shirts and trousers – somehow it becomes stylish. Maybe it’s just because of the colour or cut of the shirt, it could be because they’ve teamed it up with a skirt or chinos instead of the usual jeans, or perhaps paired with an unexpectedly brightly-coloured pair of shoes. Whatever it is, everyone looks smart and chic. I saw someone yesterday wearing a blouse and skirt, but additionally had these cut-off leg cuffs going on. It looked like she had taken a pair of bell-bottomed jeans and cut them off at the knee, sewn elastic strips to the top to hold them on to her legs and was wearing them with the skirt. It was one of the oddest things I’d ever seen. I have no idea where she would even get that idea. And yet…somehow it worked.

As you can guess, my hiking cut-offs and oversized t-shirts make me fit it totally here.

I found my exhibition down a side street with the help of Naver maps and promptly got very excited and a little scared, because now I needed to ask the nice Korean lady inside for a ticket.

Another quick side note (a rant really) – I have found that everything here to do with entertainment (movie tickets, theatre tickets, exhibition tickets) all seem to need to be booked online. The most popular sites I’ve seen here are Interpark (this company makes me seethe with resentment) and Naver. Unfortunately (and I’m just going to come out here now and say it), these companies appear to hate you if you are foreign and have no Korean phone number or type of Korean ID. Everything here wants you to verify yourself to buy things (this avoids ticket scalpers as only the ID person can buy and collect a ticket and some are limited to one ticket per order). While this concept is fine and I have no problem with it, they appear to have no option for if you are foreign and visiting – they provide no way to verify yourself. This means that while the government and country very much like to promote tourists to come and see and do everything Hallyu based (that’s the ‘Korean Wave’ term), when you get here and want to see a concert etc. it suddenly becomes seemingly fecking impossible to do so. Even the Global Interpark website (specifically for foreigners) doesn’t seem to list the identical events on the Korean website (this miffed me totally as I wanted to attend a fan event that was only listed on the Korean version).

Today, given the exhibition I am seeing is free, although they wanted you to book online through Naver to manage numbers (by the way, Naver claims you can verify using a foreign driving licence as ID if you contact them, I sent my details as requested, it’s been over a week and I’ve heard nothing from them) – they are allowing walk-ups.

So here I am, trying out my best attempt at Korean explaining I have not got a Naver ID but would like a ticket. We got there. She wanted my name and email (a small price to pay to see Kyungsoo I feel) and gave me a ticket and then explained all in Korean about the different floors of the presentation (which obviously I didn’t understand at all, but said Thank You all the same).

I really enjoyed the exhibition, the photos are aesthetically pleasing and there is information about the artists’ abilities and works. I was happy to say I recognised a fair few other people showcased, but less than if this had just been a general acting collection (this was specifically for film, not drama, actors).

One of the reasons I am particularly happy to see Doh Kyungsoo recognised within this collection is that there is a little bit of derision that comes when Korean idols decide to step into acting. In case you’re not familiar with the term, an idol generally refers to those working within the k-pop industry, solo or within a group. While idols may indeed be excellent at singing and dancing, this in no way guarantees their ability to act. And in fact, some who have tried have been complete train wrecks. Therefore, there generally tends to be a little scepticism when one tries. However, Kyungsoo is indeed a gifted young man and not only has the most healing voice when it comes to singing, but is also a mesmerising actor with an incredible diverse acting profile. Therefore I am glad he’s received recognition by being named in this list. I would also recommend you to watch the film Swing Kids to see a little of what I am talking about – for the role Kyungsoo had to learn to speak in North Korean dialect and learn to tap dance.

After I’ve strolled the profiles, I watch the two videos showcasing the photo shoots and browsed the photo book collection before having decided I had my fill and went on with my k-drama day quest.

My wanders brought me to this…

After seeing someone else post this up on Instagram, I spent about an hour of detective work scanning Naver maps to work out the exact location of the board just so I could come and see this live.

This is the owner of the voice that made me want to learn Korean. I sat and watched this a fair few times.

It may seem silly, but this was one of the reasons I was excited to come to Korea. For little moments like this. At home, where I am sure I am seen as a bit of an oddity for being able to name a ridiculous amount of Korean actors and actresses and yet wouldn’t know Scarlett Johansson or Henry Cavill if I fell over them (I think these are famous people, I had to literally google ‘famous people’); I finally wanted to be able to walk around and see an advert or something of that ilk and know who I was looking at. To maybe feel a little less of an outcast.

And here I have found what I was searching for. And someone very special at that. So this makes me very happy to sit and watch for 20 minutes.

Back on my feet and headed north of Hongdae to the Gyeongui Railway Forest Park, a lovely relaxing little stroll along what once was a railway line and is now an urban park flanked by coffee shops and eateries, also occasionally featured in dramas.

I also spotted this sign and giggled at the English…can you spot what made me snigger?

Following the park leads me to Gyeongui Line Book Street – don’t get excited, just more urban park, quiet, but also featuring small shipping container-looking shops that seems to showcase art and books. However, nothing enticed me so I just enjoyed the scenery and kept my feet moving and headed for my final destination for the day…

Can you really even call yourself a k-drama fan if you don’t recognise this? (Or at least be able to take a darn good guess given it’s been repainted, it’s not dark, and there’s no atmospheric smoke).

Let me help you out there…

Yup, it’s the Goblin Tunnel. Totally unassuming and if you didn’t come looking for it knowing what it was, it’d just be a tunnel.

And there you have it. Some random wanderings based on my entertainment interests. Are you feeling the need to watch any drama yet? Maybe just a little bit?

Don’t worry if this isn’t your thing, next time we’ll be getting a little more cultured. Promise.