following in BTS’ footsteps

i’m sure it’ll come as a surprise to no one when i tell you that we had two full days in korea and booked a BTS-themed tour for both of those days.  i made sure to run the ideas past the bean before i bought tickets for anything, and as i’d anticipated they were down for it all.

the first tour was billed as a must-do for all army members.  we were to meet up with our guide at a bus station, and while i’m sure it would have been easy to take a train to get there we caught an uber, which is always the easiest option.  it was an early morning wake-up, and we were downstairs to meet the car around 7:30.

we sent this to the hub as proof of life:

the hotel really lived up to its name, being right in the middle of the city.  we looked up and down the street as we stood in front of it:

i was a little surprised to see several coffee bean & tea leaf stores on our way to the meeting point.  i guess i thought those were just in california.

we arrived at the bus station a little early, and after checking in with our tour guide we took a seat and waited for the rest of our group to arrive.  once everyone was ready to go, we headed downstairs to hop on the bus that would take us to several BTS-related sites around the area.  i thought we were going to be on this one:

but as it turned out, we didn’t have that big of a group and we were on this relic instead.  it looked rather vintage, but it was comfortable and the a/c worked just fine, so i didn’t have any complaints.

our first stop was nodeul island, where the band filmed scenes from the music video for “run.”

the bean wasn’t super thrilled about the cheesy poses the tour guide had us do, but went along with it anyway.

the next stop was the korean folk village, where the band filmed an episode of their variety show “run bts.” the village is an amusement park where visitors can learn about korean traditions and history, and we had about an hour and a half to wander around and check it all out.

we’d arrived before the gates opened for the day, so we wandered around checking out the rows of vending machines and the few souvenir and snack shops out in front.

as we made our way inside we came across these rather…phallic stones.  and you could write out a wish and tie it to the rock.  i thought i heard the guide say that people would come and add their fertility-related wishes, and so i added one about grandchildren.  i’m not really sure what the bean wished for…probably the opposite of mine.

we walked through a little hut and learned about the process of making kimchi, which apparently includes a fermenting period of six months.  the OG way involved the use of clay pots, but technology has modernized it with fridges built specifically for the purpose of making kimchi.  

there was a real cow in there:

it was fun to walk around the park and look at everything.  there were replicas of traditional houses in the different classes to explore, and we came across the BTS filming locations as we wandered.

after that, we headed back into the city and stopped at a park that the band used to hang out during their downtime between training and practices.

the next stop was just down the street, and was a big one for the diehard fans in the group (well, i guess that applies to everyone present).  this is what is known as the “old bighit building” and was formerly the headquarters of the band’s management company.  the building was purchased by a korean actor in the spring with the transaction finalized a few days after we visited.  i suppose that’s why no one was stopping the hordes of fans from leaving their mark on the building.

these convenience stores were on pretty much every corner, much like the 7-11s in japan.

by then, it was lunchtime and we had a reservation at a nearby restaurant where the band would eat almost every day while they were training.  the entire group was really excited for this.

this place is like a living shrine to BTS.  its popularity surged like crazy when army members discovered its importance to the band, and almost every square inch of the place is covered in BTS memorabilia.

this is the lady who owns the restaurant and took care of the boys whenever they came in to eat.  she’s quite beloved by the band, and by extension, army.

not too far from that is another significant spot from the early days of BTS.  this building is the former dormitory where the guys lived until 2018 and now it’s a very popular coffee shop and bakery.

when you first walk in, there’s an art gallery and a small shop where you can purchase works created by army members.

upstairs, you’ll find the bakery and coffee shop along with a really nice seating area to sit, relax and enjoy your treats.  you can also leave notes and drawings on post-its that you stick on the wall.

that was the final stop on our guided tour, and we were given the option of being dropped off at the bus station where we’d gathered or at the big shopping street in myeongdong.  guess which option we chose?

the street was bustling with activity and it was a lot like takeshita street in harajuku.  we had a blast going through all the shops and picking up souvenirs and other fun stuff, and i was starting to realize that while we had arrived in korea with just our carry-on bags…we’d likely be leaving with a new suitcase.  

and the food!  mmm…the street foods we got to try.  it was so much fun to wander from one kiosk to the next, picking up sweet and savory snacks to share.

toasted marshmallow-covered ice cream on a stick:

tanghulu:

cheese coin:

chicken skewer:

mango ice cream wrapped in fresh mochi to order:

grilled cheese on a stick:

mango sticky rice:

and then when the bean suggested finding some sushi, we headed up these stairs:

and i was SO EXCITED when we walked in and found this hello kitty-themed sushi restaurant.

even better:  it was SO CHEAP.

it had been a long, full day and we were pretty wiped out.  i knew we were pretty close to the hotel, but i didn’t want to deal with figuring it all out and so we hopped in another uber and promptly fell into the bed and passed out.  we had another early morning and hey…we needed our beauty sleep.