South Korea Trip 2013: 8 Days Busan & Seoul Itinerary

To round off my posts on my South Korea trip in November 2013, I'll do a compilation of all my related posts which works as an itinerary guide for those who want to visit both Busan and Seoul within a week.

My self-guided South Korea trip itinerary is as follows, with KTX being the mode of transportation between the two cities.


Day 1: Busan Nampodong, BIFF Square and Gwangbok Street (Busan)

Day 2: Seoul Chungmuro, Namdaemun and Myeongdong

Day 3: Seoul Edae, Hongdae, D-Cube City and Dongdaemun

Day 4: Seoul N Seoul Tower, Namsangol Hanok Village, Garosugil and Go-To Mall

Day 5: Seoul Gyeongbukgung, Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheongdong, Changdeokgung and Insadong

Day 6: Seoul to Busan (KTX and Busan City Night View Tour Bus)

Day 7: Busan Jagalchi Market, Gukje Market, Haeundae Beach and Seomyeon

Day 8: Busan Pusan Int'l University Street, Oncheonjang and Busan Trick Eye Museum

On a side note, here are some of my previous posts that might interest some of you who are curious to learn more about South Korea before you head over there.

Korean beverages on the streets of South Korea

K-pop album haul and Korean souvenirs

Beauty buys from South Korea

Grocery buys from South Korea

I hope my travel itinerary might have given some ideas to those that will be visiting South Korea in the future. 

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, and I'll be more than willing to share with you whatever knowledge I have! :)

Update: Check out my latest account of my trip to Japan in 2015. Stay tuned for more updates on this trip!

Osaka: Sightseeing, Shopping & Dining Attractions

The author might have missed some places of interest since it was a tight schedule of 4 days in Busan and 4 days in Seoul. Someday she wishes to return and visit many more beautiful places in South Korea.

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K-pop album haul & Korean souvenirs

K-pop album haul from my trip

Finally it's time to showcase the K-pop albums and souvenirs I managed to cart home from South Korea!

I bought JYJ Kim Jaejoong's WWW album for myself, CNBLUE's Re:BLUE album for my first brother, and G-Dragon's Coup D'etat for my youngest brother. Possibly the lightest and slimmest souvenirs, but yet the most expensive ones!

I bought my albums from the Music Korea outlet in Myeongdong. To get there using the subway, stop at Myeongdong Station, and take Exit 6. You'll see a Nature Republic outlet. Enter the outlet and go up one floor. 

Music Korea is just upstairs and they have an extensive range of K-pop albums, both old and new releases.

Korean souvenirs

I also managed to buy some souvenirs for myself and friends back home. I bought a unique key holder from the gift shop at the Namsan Tower observatory deck. There are also plenty of other unique finds here that are not sold at other shops in Seoul. I managed to get a paper cut-out of a hanbok from the gift shop there too. It's going to be a great memorable souvenir to frame up as a remembrance of my maiden trip.

I also managed to get some fridge magnets in Hongdae (not pictured above), as well as a bookmark and postcards from Insadong.

Insadong is a good place to buy cultural souvenirs, but if you are not heading there then you can find them at Namdaemun or Myeongdong too. Insadong has more authentic souvenirs, but prices can be on the pricey side. For a more upscale souvenir hunting spree, try Ssamziegil. I got my cute postcards there from a small stall vendor :)

That's all for my K-pop album haul and Korean souvenirs. If you have yet to, check out my previous posts on Korean beauty buys and Korean grocery buys!

The author is grateful that she managed to get a copy of Jaejoong's WWW album before it was sold out!

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Beauty buys from South Korea

Etude House beauty haul

After arriving in Myeongdong, I finally experienced what everyone was talking about Korean make-up or skincare brands. It's everywhere, and you really can't resist walking into these pretty shops all inviting you to come in. If you are looking for Korean cosmetics, Myeongdong is the place to go!

While some promoters are a little pesky (they pull your hand and try to drag you into their store), some are quite friendly and talk nicely, just enticing you to go in and take a look around. Some offer free gifts (samples mostly), but once you enter, you'll most likely not go out without buying something.

Stepping into Etude House was like stepping into a princess' room. Everything was pink, my favourite colour! :D

I managed to get their masks at a 10+10 promo price of 900 won (approximately RM2.70) each, which comes down to 450 won each pack. Which is really cheap! But be wary though, I went to other Etude House outlets out of Myeongdong too, but they do not have the same offer. I bought mine at the outlet opposite SPAO in Myeongdong, so make sure you make a stop there if you're in the vicinity.

I bought many other stuff from Etude House too, considering I'm not much of a person who spends much on beauty products. I'm more of a skincare person, but they have a good range of skincare apart from make-up too.

I also got a leg mask (leg peeling yo!), hand creams, lip gloss, lip balm, a few products from the moistfull series, as well as a cute cupcake lip colour. I probably spent nearly 100,000 won in Etude House, but that's great because nearly everyone back home gets some really lovely face masks and hand creams! :)

Free samples from Etude House (given after purchase)

I really felt my money was well spent although I blew a huge portion of my shopping budget at Etude House. Look at all the free samples I got after my purchase! It's really nice shopping at Etude House because they really want to make their customers happy and they are always willing to give advice on the products!

Clio, Tony Moly and Innisfree skincare haul

I also bought a few products from Clio (2 face packs), Tony Moly (lip balm and snail lip treatment), and Innisfree (olive cleansing tissue and volcanic clay mask).

I really regret not buying those snail masks from Tony Moly since I thought I had bought a lot from Etude House. After giving most away, I am now regretting not buying more...

I felt Clio was more into make-up products, while Tony Moly was more upscale in their range and prices while Innisfree uses more natural ingredients in their products, with a huge chunk originating from Jeju. Etude House meanwhile focuses on pretty packaging.

Each brand has its strengths and weaknesses but hey, life's all about trial and error eight? I hope to find something I like among the huge chunk of stuff I brought back. Hopefully on my next trip I'll be able to explore more Korean make-up and skincare brands!

If you have yet to, do check out my previous post on my Korean grocery buys!

The author never felt attracted to enter beauty or skincare shops in KL, but in South Korea the calling was just too great to resist!

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Grocery buys from South Korea

Korean groceries

As promised, I'm writing this post to document my grocery buys from my trip to South Korea. I did most of my grocery shopping in Nampodong, Busan since it was my last stop before I fly back home to Kuala Lumpur.

I bought my groceries from a shop nearby my hotel, and I think most of the prices are quite cheap compared to those at convenience stores. I bought some kelp, roasted seaweed to sprinkle on rice, some yukgaejang soup premix, gochujang paste from this neighbourhood grocery store.

I got 2 stone pots (dolsot) and a ramyun pot for 3000 won (approximately RM9) each from a Daiso outlet. I also bought some steel chopsticks and spoons for 500 won (approximately RM1.50) each from a vendor who was clearing his wares in Namdaemun. My cheapest deal by far :)

I also managed to get some icing decorating tubes in different colours from Namdaemun!

Korean snacks

Finally, my snacks haul! I also bought all these from the nearby grocery store, since they have the cheapest prices for Pepero and Market O chocolates.

Peperos were going for 800 won (approximately RM2.40) each and chocolates were between 1500 won to 4000 won. 

Dried seaweed were also going for 500 won (approximately RM1.50) and I shared a box of 40 packs with my travel partners.

Also bought a box of Lotte Chocopie from Daiso which costs 1500 won (approximately RM4.50), much cheaper than in KL! :)

That wraps up my Korean grocery haul and hope to see you soon in my next posts!

Check out more posts on my Korean beauty buys, K-pop album haul and souvenirs, as well as Korean beverages on the streets!

The author has devoured all the snacks within less than a month since returning from South Korea. Time to hunt in the local grocery stores again...

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