Day-Trip To Suwon From Seoul

On my first full day in Korea, I decided to step out of Seoul right away.

I LOVE Seoul, but ever since the pandemic, I've been thinking about continuing my adventures outside the city. I missed it!

I took a long bus to the fortress, entertained by the sights outside the window and my Spotify playlist. It took me around past an hour to get to Suwon, but didn't felt like it.

Random full-length mirror at a train station in Seoul; decided to eat first in this tteokbokki / kimbap place at the train station called Mariya, before taking the long bus to Suwon.

When I got out of the bus, the sun was BEAMING! Air was cool, but sky was so blue--this is what they usually call a lovely day in Kdramas!

Even if this was my first time in Suwon, my first real encounter of the city was years ago, when I missed my train stop because I was too focused on my phone. I hopped out of Suwon Station to backtrack, and I remember clearly receiving messages on my IG Story that I should have explored the area nadin. I took down a mental note that I should go back to Suwon next time for a planned visit, and here we are!

I walked and walked, following my Google Maps to my first destination: A restaurant. I was already starving, but this restaurant is not just any resto.. but also Woo Young Woo's Kimbap place! 

SUWON FUN FACTS

- The capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, where the HQ of Samsung is located

- The only remaining COMPLETELY WALLED city in South Korea

- Hometown of actors Song Kang, Lee Jong Suk, Shinee's Onew, TWICE's Jeongyeon, ASTRO's MJ, Enhypen's Sunoo, and even our favorite fan meeting host in Manila Sam Oh!

Korea buses appreciation, a beautiful sunny day in Suwon:

WOO YOUNG WOO KIMBAP

As usual, I got intimidated by the restaurant's pure Korean menu, but had to brush it off and just entered Kajaguruma. There were a lot of people outside, mostly locals, taking pictures in this filming location. It just shows how the Kdrama Extraordinary Attorney Woo was truly a hit even for Koreans!

Like most Kdrama restos I've visited before, Kajaguruma does not carry kimbap like in Woo Young Woo. Instead, they serve Japanese food like salmon and tempura. I chose the omurice which sounds filling for a long day. It still has bits of meat in it, which I just set aside (I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian), but the food is indeed satisfying. After eating, the person behind the cashier handed me two lollipops as I paid for my bill. 

Took me lots of guts to finally ask a random passerby to please take my picture with the store facade (introvert solo traveling probs lol), and was lucky that the one I asked took so many nice pictures!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kajaguruma/

Geolocation: 37.283714, 127.011540

UNCANNY COUNTER NOODLE SHOP (??)

 (Went to the wrong location akkk*#$%)

For this trip, I have a lot of scheduled meet-ups with Filipino friends who are now Korea residents, including Laira who is a friend from the blog industry.

Since I still had time before Laira and her family arrived in Suwon, I decided to look for another Kdrama location from my list. I found out that several Kdramas were actually filmed in Suwon, including one of my pandemic favorites: The Uncanny Counter! The epic noodle shop where the main characters meet a lot is a cafe in real life.

Later on, I figured out that I went to the wrong cafe ..arghhh! Super magkamukha sila! And what's more unfortunate is that the cafe I was looking for is already permanently CLOSED! :( 

Sharing my personal list of ...

Anagon's List of Kdrama Locations in Suwon:

• Suwon Hwaseong Fortress (Paldalsan) - Twenty Five Twenty One (25 21) Bus Stop - 37.277319, 127.013542 - Suwon Station [수원역], Gyeongbu HSR/Seoul Subway Line 1/Bundang Line, Exit 9 
• Attorney Woo Kimbap Place - https://koreandramaland.com/listings/kajaguruma/  
• Haenggung Mansion [행궁맨션] - Uncanny Counter Noodle Shop (permanently closed) - https://koreandramaland.com/listings/haenggung-mansion-suwon/  
• Jidong Mural Village [지동벽화마을] 37.280396, 127.021493 - Our Beloved Summer - https://koreandramaland.com/listings/jidong-mural-village/  
• KBS Suwon Center - 37.271154, 127.030890 - Youth of May set - https://koreandramaland.com/listings/kbs-suwon-center/ 

WITHIN SUWON'S FORTRESS

Suwon's Hwaseong Fortress is actually HUGE! It was a miracle that I was able to meet up Laira and her fam.

Laira and I talked so much while strolling around. It's so nice to hear the new life of an old friend from the industry. We usually just meet during events when she was still in Manila coz she's handling a lot of brands that I worked with before. Now she has a beautiful family in korea and I am super happy for her!

Stopped to watch this outdoor theater performance, featuring the story of the Suwon fortress:

Suwon is indeed a very artsy city! Would love to explore more next time.

So many steep areas too that require hiking! Will wear better shoes when I visit again:

SUWON FORTRESS FAST FACTS:

- Hwaseong Fortress (literally means the "Brilliant Castle") is a UNESCO World Heritage built by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty in honor of his father Prince Sado. Prince Sado was executed by his own father King Yeongjo for not following orders to commit suicide, so he was locked alive in a rice chest. 👀 

- Suwon was actually targeted to become the capital city after Seoul (but obvs that did not happen)

- As mentioned, Suwon is HUGE it was hard to see everything: from the four main gates, the towers, etc. Next time, will go back on a guided tour to see more while learning about its rich history

- 25 21 Location: While walking around, I saw an arch and had the gut feel to ask for a photo with it. Later on at the bus while heading back to Seoul, I realized that I just took a picture with a 25 21 Kdrama shooting location!

Where this heart breaking scene was filmed:

AN ATTEMPT TO WATCH THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS

After saying good bye to Laira and her family, I decided to go straight to the KSPO Dome in Seoul hoping to catch The Fact Music Awards. I knew I only had 1% chance since tickets were soldout already online, plus I was already late coming all the way from Suwon, but I tried nadin since I had nothing better to do that night.

I was outside the venue for a good hour or so, along with other foreign fans, waiting and waiting till the sun has set. Walking back to the train station, I passed by a park were there was a "live play"--streaming the program on a huge screen while fans of one of the nominated idols were gathered in matching blue hoodies. I checked it out for a while, but not wearing their color made me stood out, so I just went home.

I realized that whenever I travel solo in Korea, eating was my least priority unless it's Kdrama filming location resto or cafe. Ang hirap din kasi mag dine sa Korea when you're alone, plus vegetarian pa ako. But I swore to try better for this trip! 

That night, I once again felt dyahe to go inside a resto so I just went to the nearby GS25 and hoarded whatever food or snack I can eat for dinner and breakfast the next day. Then I started packing everything back in my luggage since I'll be leaving Seoul again in the morning, heading to an exciting city that I was  very much looking forward to for this trip (To be continued).

Finally tried this corn ice cream Jungkook had in the Telepathy Run BTS episode. It's good!

Thank you Laira for the thoughtful gifts!

Packing time again! I realized why I wanted solo rooms now, maliban sa sobrang dami kong gamit for this trip, hindi na dyahe mag ingay every time I need to pack again.