"Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion." -Leigh Hunt
As long as I've been in South Korea, I've been begging my family to come to visit me here. Well, after 2.5 years, I finally had my peps come. You better believe I made sure they had a time they'd never forget. With only eight days to see South Korea, I tried my best to pick and choose what's iconic about Jeju and Seoul, which cannot be experienced anywhere else. After a 16-hour journey, my aunt and best friend had adventures awaiting them. They came during the week of Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), but I had to work 3 of those eight days. I made us an itinerary to ensure that we utilize as much time as possible.
After we picked up the rental, we went back to the Airbnb for a home-cooked breakfast and relaxation. I tried to get them to watch Train to Busan, but they weren't feeling it.๐๐ As it is the rainy season, I didn't allow the rain to stop our plans. We went to Cheongjeyeon Falls, Jusangjeolli Cliff, and Seogwipo Olle Market. Then we stopped to have dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant.
Since I had to work and knew I would get home late; I had my crockpot going so that we would have a home-cooked meal once I got home. After that, we went to Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market, looked around the market AND got to see all the excellent food from the street trucks. That was my first time going to the night market and will need to make another trip over there. After the market, we walked around the area towards Tapdong Park and back through the underground shopping center. Once we got back to the area of Airbnb, I took them out to the convenience store so we could get some Soju and chat it up as the locals do.๐ We tried three different flavors. I don't even like Soju at all ๐คฆ๐ฝ♀️.
Day 3:
Everyone knows if they visit me, I'm taking them to Love Land. Well, except for my brother๐. I'm not sure if my aunt was shocked or not, but my best friend and I enjoyed it. I think if my aunt were around the same age as my best friend and I, she would have been wildin' out too. My friends James and YunHa opened my brother and me to this Japanese Ramen Noodle place, so I had to share the wealth and take them there. They enjoyed every bit of it. I planned for us to go to a Norabang (Karaoke room), but my aunt wasn't feeling it; so, we did what we all like best...BOWLING!๐ณ It was fun, but somehow it turned out competitive. My aunt was coming for me, and my best friend thought I was downplaying her game...๐คท๐ฝ♀️ 
*sigh* This day (meaning after work) started horribly. We had car issues for the second time. I had planned for us to have some hot Korean Chicken, but it got cold waiting for the rental company to exchange the vehicle. In Korea, you'd see a lot of "Chicken & Beer" spots. It's literally just chicken and beer with some radishes and corn on the side. My favorite is called Nene's Chicken. Once I got back to the Airbnb, we had chicken...but in beer, with real sides (cause we're Southern folks and that's what we do). After the food calmed my nerves, my best friend wanted to be adventurous๐, so we headed into the city. We took the bus, as I wanted them to have the experience of riding the bus and have to 1) hang on for dear life, 2) be packed in like sardines, and/or 3) having the bus driving closing the door on you while barely getting on or off the bus.๐Best Fran got a nose piercing... THE END!๐๐ด Wait... we made a late night run to E-Mart.๐ฌ
Day 5:
I'M FINALLY OFF FOR CHUSEOK๐ฉ. I was so tired that morning, my aunt prepared breakfast while I slept. I can't even tell you how many hours if sleep I had this far. After breakfast, we transported some of the goods I brought to the AirBnB back to my apartment, then headed to the Eastside of the island. Seongsan Ilchulbong was a first for me. I googled how strenuous the hike would be...boyyyyyy those people lied on the internet. We (and some other folks) were looking like we had been out of shape for some time. We were breathing all hard and stopping every chance we got. BUT we made it to the top. It rained on our way over, stayed cloudy on our hike up, then the sun wanted to pop out on our hike down. My aunt said we deserved DUNKIN DONUTS for a job well done!๐๐ฉ I also got us fried marshmallow ice cream. It was pretty good too. Once we left there, he headed on over to U-Do Island. With the strong winds, the ferry ride was a little rough. The weather wasn't the greatest, and since there weren't a lot of visitors, the island looked deserted. We walked to certain areas for about 40 minutes. I was disappointed (pretty sure they were too), but hey, they can say they visit U-Do Island. After the island, we headed back into the city for some Korean BBQ. We went to my favorite pork spot and got them making wraps. Though I don't like Kimchi, I grilled some Kimchi for them to taste, since that what my Kimchi eating friends do when we go out. ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐Next stop.........SEOUL!
It's Chuseok. Somehow, I forgot that places are closed on the holiday....so we did some rearranging of the itinerary and MADE IT WORK. We got some lunch at Seoul Station then headed towards the Jamsil area. I took them to see Lotte World Tower, the Olympic Park, and Hanseong Baekje Park. It was such a pretty day to be outside. After, we headed for Myeongdong, Sungnyemun Gate, and Namdaemun Market. In Myeongdong, I had them trying different street foods. I don't know what it is about mandu/๋ง๋ (Korean Dumplings), but it hits the spot and never fails. Ho ddeok is also a delicious treat. We closed the night out at Siloam Sauna (Korean bathhouse) ...IT WAS NEEDED! We all passed out in the sleeping rooms and almost missed out a time-frame to leave.
Day 7:
BLACK. WOMEN. IN. KOREA.That was our motto for the day. We had matching shirts to represent — #Melaninted. I took them to Itaewon for breakfast at The Original Pancake House, as well as a little sightseeing. Afterward, we bused over to City Hall for our AirBnB Experience. I found One Off, My Name Jewelry on AirBnB Experience, where we got to make a necklace of our name in Hanguel(ํ๊ธ). It was a first for us all, and we loved it. Jounghye is very professional and excellent at what she does. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. After we finished our necklaces, we headed on over to Gyeongbuk Palace and the Hanok Village and wore Hanboks (ํ๋ณต). As long as I've been here, this was my first time, and I thought we looked fabulous in the traditional Korean dress. As it was getting late, I had almost forgotten about Namsan Tower. We walked through a rally on Gwanghwamun Square, along the Cheonggyecheon Stream, and up an elevator to wait in line for about 45 minutes for the cable car to get to Namsan Tower. It was late, so the view wasn't that spectacular...BUT we did it to check it off the list. As it was the final night, we headed towards Hongdae (College Town) for some Monster Pizza. We stopped at this random bar for drinks. I don't know if it was just me, but we all looked dead tired in that bar๐ญ๐ญ๐. I was 'ret to go after pizza. Ohhh, they got to experience getting passed up by taxis for being foreigners๐ฌ๐....so we had to move quickly for one of the last buses, making it back after 01:45.๐ด
๐คฆ๐ฝ♀️๐How did we all miss our alarms? Everyone was moving so fast; I got left. (Not really though) I went to go throw the trash out and came back to my luggage and no family. Lolz. I ran a bit to catch up with them in front of the train station. ๐ Something told me to put the earliest and latest train options on the itinerary. I know how we do. Lolz. As they had to fly back to the US and I had to fly back to Jeju, we had to say our goodbyes on the metro. I really enjoyed their time and company. If there were enough time in the world, there would be so much more to show them.
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