A picture tour of Insa-dong, Seoul
I’m going to give you a little (daytime) picture tour of this artistic and historic neighbourhood in the old city centre of Seoul. There is amazingly an abundance of lovely things to see here in Insadong, from handicraft ateliers, art galleries, antique shops, museums, to traditional restaurants, tea houses and yummylicious food street vendors.
During our first night in the city, we had our Bulgogi dinner and our first try at rice wine here at Insa-dong. The evenings here are always busy, the main street turns into a mecca for street food lovers. Eat all you want and eat it anywhere =).
During daytime, the place is filled with shoppers and people who are looking for the arty, classic and cultural flavour of Korea.
Let us begin the picture tour!
There are many Korean cuisine restaurants in Insa-dong. It is a lively place throughout the day and into the night. The dumpling is a favourite dish here I noticed.
,+10-20127.jpg)
Some family owned restaurants post pictures of the matron and chef of the house outside their establishment. Maybe this gives weight to the quality of the restaurant.
Pottery, ceramics, porcelain for sale...
The secret to enjoying Insadong is by getting lost in the narrow alleyways. Get off the main street and explore the backstreets and see lovely nooks and crannies such as this:
,+10-201210.jpg)
Of course, if you fancy some Korean traditional garb -- hanbok, they have them here also.
,+10-201211.jpg)
Insadong is also famous for its tea houses. I first bumped into the Old Tea Shop and was right away smitten by its awesome funky classroom set-up interior. However, there was only 1 guest there, a couple, and I was not in the mood to sit inside a tea house with very little activity going on (I ended up at Dawon tea house after an hour of wandering), so I just took pictures inside.
,+10-20129.jpg)
I however did some small chat with the personnel manning the Old Tea Shop about the dried jujube (it is a date fruit) sitting in the corner of the room. He told me its alright to eat it. It is a snack. So I did, it tasted sweet. See below:
,+10-20128.jpg)
A herbal and tea shop:
A shop selling all sorts of hand-made traditional Korean paper called hanji. Paper is an important material in house construction and interior design in Korea. They use this paper not only for writing but for covering the walls of their traditional homes, just like in the hanok house we stayed in Bukchon Hanok Village.
Another tea house that has a tea retail shop that I found was O'Solluc. I found it too modern that is why I did not opt to drink my tea here, but they have beautiful tea gift sets complete with the tea porcelain and/or ceramics.
,+10-201213.jpg)
The Insa Art Plaza, an arts and crafts shopping mall in Insadong. Of course there are food vendors here as well.
This is the main street of Insadong, big and busy... the real meat and joy of this place though are in its back alleys.
And I bought some street food -- grilled squid.
,+10-201212.jpg)
For basic information, Insa-dong is located a block away from Gyeongbokgung Palace, just across the street from Samcheong-dong and Bukchon Hanok Village. The nearest tram and bus station is Anguk.
Travel Period: October 2012
Destination: Insa-dong, Jungno-gu (Seould Old City Centre), South Korea
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
During our first night in the city, we had our Bulgogi dinner and our first try at rice wine here at Insa-dong. The evenings here are always busy, the main street turns into a mecca for street food lovers. Eat all you want and eat it anywhere =).
During daytime, the place is filled with shoppers and people who are looking for the arty, classic and cultural flavour of Korea.
Let us begin the picture tour!
There are many Korean cuisine restaurants in Insa-dong. It is a lively place throughout the day and into the night. The dumpling is a favourite dish here I noticed.
,+10-20127.jpg)
Some family owned restaurants post pictures of the matron and chef of the house outside their establishment. Maybe this gives weight to the quality of the restaurant.
Pottery, ceramics, porcelain for sale...
The secret to enjoying Insadong is by getting lost in the narrow alleyways. Get off the main street and explore the backstreets and see lovely nooks and crannies such as this:
,+10-201210.jpg)
Of course, if you fancy some Korean traditional garb -- hanbok, they have them here also.
,+10-201211.jpg)
Insadong is also famous for its tea houses. I first bumped into the Old Tea Shop and was right away smitten by its awesome funky classroom set-up interior. However, there was only 1 guest there, a couple, and I was not in the mood to sit inside a tea house with very little activity going on (I ended up at Dawon tea house after an hour of wandering), so I just took pictures inside.
,+10-20129.jpg)
I however did some small chat with the personnel manning the Old Tea Shop about the dried jujube (it is a date fruit) sitting in the corner of the room. He told me its alright to eat it. It is a snack. So I did, it tasted sweet. See below:
,+10-20128.jpg)
A herbal and tea shop:
A shop selling all sorts of hand-made traditional Korean paper called hanji. Paper is an important material in house construction and interior design in Korea. They use this paper not only for writing but for covering the walls of their traditional homes, just like in the hanok house we stayed in Bukchon Hanok Village.
Another tea house that has a tea retail shop that I found was O'Solluc. I found it too modern that is why I did not opt to drink my tea here, but they have beautiful tea gift sets complete with the tea porcelain and/or ceramics.
,+10-201213.jpg)
The Insa Art Plaza, an arts and crafts shopping mall in Insadong. Of course there are food vendors here as well.
This is the main street of Insadong, big and busy... the real meat and joy of this place though are in its back alleys.
And I bought some street food -- grilled squid.
,+10-201212.jpg)
For basic information, Insa-dong is located a block away from Gyeongbokgung Palace, just across the street from Samcheong-dong and Bukchon Hanok Village. The nearest tram and bus station is Anguk.
Travel Period: October 2012
Destination: Insa-dong, Jungno-gu (Seould Old City Centre), South Korea
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
