Day 24 | Seoul (Paju)

Tuesday 5 November, 2024

Missed the last post? Check it out here

Today we are heading to the town of Paju to meet our awesome 한국어 선생님 (Korean teacher) Jenny. The train takes about an hour to get there and we meet her at the station.

We take a quick drive to a scenic area in Paju, where the view is beautiful and orange leaves are falling from the trees.

We stop by Red Bridge Bakery for coffee, which has the most amazing bread.

We spend ages trying to decide what to get and settle for a mix of sweet and savoury breads.

The view is spectacular. You could spend the whole day just sitting here.

Afterwards we head for a walk around Majang Lake (마장하수).

There is a long suspension bridge (출렁다리) that crosses over the lake.

As you walk across, the bridge starts swinging.

You can see through the flooring as some of it is glassed bottomed or meshed so if you’re afraid of heights it can be a little daunting.

There is a trail that takes you around the entire lake. It takes about an hour to do the full loop so we walk for about 10 minutes then turn back.

It’s not too crowded but there are still a decent amount of people visiting for a Tuesday. You can imagine how busy it would be on the weekend.

Our next stop is Heyri Art Valley.

The area is home to a bunch of museums, galleries and activities for both kids and adults.

We are visiting the Museum of Modern History of Korea.

The place is fascinating and tells you of the history of South Korea dating right back to the 1910s.

They have reconstructed old shops, homes, businesses, schools and other places of interest.

We spend a good hour there but you could probably spend longer there.

It looks like the type of place many school excursions would take place.

Afterwards, we exchange gifts with Jenny. It’s her birthday this week so we have bought her an Akubra hat. She gives us a 한극어 book to help with our Korean studies and lots of local snacks and fruit.

We head home on the 2200 bus to Hapjeong, which takes about an hour.

As soon as we get home we head down to the Han River for a run. There were plans to go this morning but it was only 5°c and after living in 40°c heat for the past five years we have become wusses in cold weather. The next few days will be even colder.

It’s pretty cold tonight, probably below 10°c, so we head out for some 비빔국수 (bibim guksu) for dinner.

A quick scout around the area afterwards, we end up at Dessert 39 for some crepe cake, which is something neither of us has tried before. Pretty good!

Tomorrow we will finally get a sleep in with no real plans! We stay up watching 흑백요리사 (Black and White Chef) which is a popular new Netflix series taking off in Korea and worldwide. Think of it like 피시컬 백 (Physical: 100) but for chefs 🧑🏻‍🍳

Next post: Day 25 | Seoul (Bakery Day)