kimkeyy (heidi)

Hmmm, I don't think I would want to stay in Myeongdong. It's far too crowded. And Hongdae too, there's too much drinking and partying every night. If it were me, I would want to stay in a nice area like Gangnam (some neighborhoods inside the Gangnam district include Apgujeong, Samseong, and Sinsa). Any place inside Gangnam is bound to be very nice, not crowded on the street, and safe, as long as you can find somewhere priced reasonably. I've stayed in many places in Gangnam and I always enjoy the area. Gangnam is far south though and it isn't right next to most tourist areas, which are up north. So my recommendation for a nice place in the north would be Jongno district, which is in the heart of Insadong and some pretty nice shopping streets and tourist attractions and even Gyeongbok Palace.

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Ooooo are you taking a trip!? Enjoy!! I recommend Myeongdong for shopping, even though it's VERY crowded because it's a high-traffic tourist area, but it's a great place to see and eat and shop a lot. There's also the Namdaemun market which is fun to see, or the weekend flea market in Hongdae park where art students sell their work and trinkets (there are also some shops and lots of cafes and food in Hongdae. I spent most of my time in Seoul there). And Yongsan is a great place to shop, especially for electronics. They sell new and used stuff and you can usually barter with them ;) And don't forget to go see Gangnam!! Even if you can't afford to shop there, it's SO fun to look at the fancy stores/cars and rich people, hehe. I like to eat at restaurants or cafes in Gangnam/Apgujeong. And if you're interested, you could visit Itaewon which is the "foreigner district". There are restaurants offering food from around the world and import shops so you can find stuff that you normally can't find in Korea ^^ (though of course, that's usually for people who live there for long periods of time! I don't think you'll need any of that for an 8 day trip!) My favorite restaurant is Coreanos, there's one in Apgujeong and one in Itaewon. It's Korean-Mexican fusion. it's soooo delicious and Amber, Henry, and many other English speaking idols go there very often ;D

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For relaxation, I think it would be a good idea to hike up to Namsan Tower and view the sunset view of Seoul, so you can see some nature and then great views of the city. I also recommend the area around Ewha University. There are some nice shops and cafes, and the University itself is renowned for its archetecture and beautiful design and landscaping. It's quite breathtaking! You could also visit a park and/or walk or bike ride along the Han River, or take a real hike on a mountain or through a forest trail! Or research some temples in the area, I always loved visiting the temples. Very peaceful and traditional, it's a great experience. You could even take a tour of the DMZ and see North Korea. And go to a jjimjilbang/sauna if you're feeling extra adventurous!! XD Aaaand if you have the time/money, you could go to Everland or Lotte World. I had so much fun on my trip to Everland ^^

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I just realized a lot of my recommendations were for nature and hiking, but in Korea I lived in a rural town so mountains and hikes are close to my heart keke ^^ If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask!

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Yeah you can say 아가씨 for a young woman, it is similar to saying "miss", but it is usually only used by older people to younger women. You could also say 아줌마 for an older woman or 할머니 for a grandmother-aged woman.

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For guys, there is a word called 총각 which means something like "bachelor", but to be honest I don't hear it often, I think usually older people use that word. There is also a word for older men (아저씨) or grandfather-aged men (할아버지). But for younger men I might stick with just saying "excuse me" (저기요!) or maybe if you see them often you can say 삼촌 ("uncle"). For older women you see often you could also call them "aunt" (이모).

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But for a kid you could say 꼬마 or for a group of kids you can say 애들아 :)

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For people your own age I would probably only say 저기요/"excuse me" to get their attention ^^; this is the safest option, if you're not sure you should always get someone's attention with 저기요 and don't use any pronoun at all.

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This is probably one of the most difficult sounds in Korean for foreigners to learn >< It's gonna be hard for me to explain through text but I can try ^^;

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의 and 위 are different only because of the 으 and 우 sound. Do you know how those sound different? 우 is plain "ooooooo" with your lips rounded. And 으 is the same as saying "ooo" but instead, with your lips pulled back, not rounded. It kind of feels like you're saying "eww". And then 의 and 위 are made by taking those first sounds and adding an ㅣ ("ee") sound to them. You have to try to combine the first sound and the ㅣ into one syllable, and say them at the same time. It's pretty difficult but you'll understand it in time. 위 sounds like "we" in English, but 의 is probably the farthest sound that Korean has from English, so it's usually the hardest for English speakers to learn.

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And as for 워, it's the same idea where you start with the 우 "ooo" sound and add 어, which sounds kind of close to an "uh" sound (like the u in "fun" in English ^^). So if you combine those two sounds together and try to say them at the same time, it should sound like a short "wo" or "wuh" sound.

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Sorry it's hard to talk about pronunciation in text, but I hope that helps at least a little! If you need me to clarify anything just ask ^^

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hmmmm. for shawols, you should visit shinee's forest and everysing and the popup store. you can even visit the sm building ^^ and you can attend a shinee event if there are any when you go.

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for general tourist places, i like myeongdong even though it's usually too crowded. i also like to visit hongdae during the daytime or nighttime, it's different at both times of the day XD and yongsan!! because shopping there is crazy! i think you can buy anything like clothes and bags but it's mostly for electronics. you can get lots of stuff for cheap and you can usually even haggle :D they sell nice cameras including dslr cameras, and battery packs that charge any device, and games and game systems. i bought a used nintendo ds there for like 50 bucks XD even if you don't wanna buy anything it's fun to look around. but i always get lost at yongsan station.....;_;

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oh and you should go to the namsan tower and place some locks there, and visit some trick eye museums which are really popular now! and if you have the time don't forget to visit everland or lotteworld!! but everland has barely any rollercoasters, just one good one: T-Express. best rollercoaster i've ever been on O.O

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