Because of the impending typhoon I stayed close to home in Itaewon.
I did venture out to check out Magpie Brewing Company for a while. Here I'm drinking a Pale Ale with mozzarella sticks-not very Korean, but quite delicious. After a few hours of napping and watching some episodes of the Italian crime series season four of Gomorrah, I ventured out into the entertainment district that was very active despite the rain and wind.
Bar Dresser has become a regular stopping off point for a night cap,a gin tonic is pictured here, before going home. It is run by a couple of young women who make craft cocktails and bake desserts. One, Clara, used to live in Vancouver, Canada for 10 years. Oddly enough it looks like they do not have a web presence, perhaps relying on word of mouth-there were always other customers there.
Lion in front of the famous Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon.
The Leeum Samsung Museum was located about twenty minutes walking from Itaewon, so I walked there on a mostly clear Sunday late morning. The museum was pretty impressive with works from famous western artists like Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon, Mark Rothko, Joseph Beuys, and Andy Warhol to established contemporary artists, including Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and Andreas Gursky. There were also permanent collections of traditional Korean art.
Namsangol Hanok Village is a traditional style village museum that is somewhat over run with signage, which detracts a bit from the charm.
Here are some spam family packs for sale-a popular food product much like other places that had American military bases such as Okinawa and Hawaii.
I was looking for a light lunch since most Korean food is best eaten family style sharing a number of dishes so I went with dumplings here. However, they were much larger than expected-I should have went with the spicy tofu mussel soup which look like a smaller portion. Live and learn.
One of my favorite Korean dishes is bibimbap so I found a place on the main strip, Busan Galbi, in Itaewon that served it. Yakiniku (Korean BBQ) is too much for one person-it's a meal better shared with others. This really hit the spot, however, the kimchi wasn't very hot, but the broth was nice and garlicky.
Last night I forgot to get photos in the main entertainment district, so here are some photos on a much less busy Sunday night.
So back to the first bar I went to on this trip as my last bar, but I can't read the name of the bar...
It has a nice view and I decided that I was bloated from dinner and beer-so soju (15% alcohol usually made from rice or potatoes) was the drink of choice.
Then again the convenience store below has the same view for a much lower price...
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