Last June, 2023, when me and the wife decided to move to South Korea, this is the neighborhood we stayed in Eunpyeong-gu. My in-laws live in apartment there. My first experience in South Korea, after 37 years., We only stayed about 10 days , until we moved down south to Songtan, near the military air base. I enjoyed this area.
One thing about Eunpyeong-gu that stands out for me is that it has less subway coverage than other districts. You can walk for several blocks without seeing a subway station depending on where you start and which direction you go in. For me, that kind of enhances the experience of being there. It feels somewhat apart from Seoul itself.
Love the idea Mike! Yeah, there are a couple of great hole in the wall restaurants here in the Isu area! They have often stood the test of time and it certainly give much confidence of their quality to survive all these years, especially during Covid. I enjoy exploring Seoul with you for sure! I took a month hiatus from posting on TH-cam and watching videos from those I like to follow, so it's nice to catch up your channel! I liked how you showed us the years of each of the buildings! I'm definitely happy to see winter over, will make it much nicer to make content outside again. Really excited for GTX too! Never heard of this Netflix show you mentioned. The local restaurant looked great, glad you found one after all that searching. Whoa, look at you making a website! I'll definitely check it out!
Thanks, Adam! Yeah, I noticed your absence. I was happy to see you've got the cameras back in hand. I enjoyed that scooter ride along the Han! I'm dreading the coming of summer, but for the next couple of months, I'm going to enjoy the spring weather. Once I get caught up on work, I plan to start hiking two or three times a week until it gets too hot. The Netflix series is called Street Food: Asia. I still haven't watched it, but I've heard so much about the Seoul episode by now that I probably know everything in it. The website is rather empty right now, but I should have the initial set of content done in a couple of weeks. I'm pinging away at it a little here and a little there when I can, and when my head is in the right place for it. Writing is always hit or miss for me. Some days I can sit down and bang out two or three thousand words in an hour, others I can't even get a sentence done.
My district. I love it here, for all the reasons you mentioned. I've lived here for just over a decade, and I was looking forward to walking around some of these areas today until illness overtook me. So I'm bedridden presently, and this is nice.
Kalguksoo looks great. I am going back to Korea and stay for the whole month of April. I was there last October for two weeks and it wasn't enough to do what I wanted to do. This time I am going to skip all the tourist places. Just walk around the city like you are doing and take photos of whatever catches my eye. Photography is one of my hobbies. Look for some good food to try. Do some hiking in and out of Seoul. Check out the cherry blossoms in Seoul and maybe outside of Seoul if not too late.
That sounds like an excellent plan. That's usually how I see a city when I'm traveling. I'll hit a touristy spot or two if there are any I really, really want to see, but then I'm out walking from block to block, snapping photos, dropping into places that grab me. I've stumbled on some great food and interesting experiences that I wouldn't have had otherwise. My wife likes to get on buses or trams and ride them from end to end, hopping off at any point that looks interesting, but I prefer to hoof it.
Great video and exploration Mike! Also the idea to explore hole in the wall restaurants is a great idea, especially since you've been around here for a while! Eunpyeong-gu is one of those areas that has a really relaxing atmosphere to it, and it's great to see a part of it I've never seen before. Definitely want to go walk or bike around there now that the weather is getting nicer! Haha my wife tried Tokping for the first time randomly about 2 years ago without knowing about it and she's been hooked ever since. Definitely an addicting chocolate bar!
Thanks, Matt! And here I thought Tokping was something completely new. I've tried the hazelnut/almond granola variations now and I have to say that the peanut & honey is my favorite. It's got me hooked. My wife is digging them, too. I bought three more today. One of my favorite walks is to head west from Nokbeon Station, then cut south somewhere along the way to end at Hongdae Station. For most of it, you're completely off the subway network even if you stick to the main roads. That's a strange feeling these days to walk so far without seeing a subway entrance. And now that I think about it, I don't know why I always start at Nokbeon. I should probably start at Bulgwang or Yeonsinnae next time.
Nice! If I could send a message to my 20-something self, I'd tell him to spend more time exploring the area while he's living there and less time going back and forth to Itaewon.
How did you find the ages for the buildings you walked past? Is there a real estate register for Seoul that you used? Would be curious about using it myself. Cheers!
I use www.disco.re. It's pretty handy. Click on a property on the map and the construction year will show up at the top of the left side bar below the address. Not all the properties have one, and my understanding is that usually means it was constructed before a certain year in the 60s.
I lived near 연신내 for 2 years and frankly I hated the area so much.. I personally thought the markets and the streets were filthy.. And I believe many seoul citizens do not prefer living in 은평구.. quite surprized that a foreigner would like that area
Last June, 2023, when me and the wife decided to move to South Korea, this is the neighborhood we stayed in Eunpyeong-gu. My in-laws live in apartment there. My first experience in South Korea, after 37 years., We only stayed about 10 days , until we moved down south to Songtan, near the military air base. I enjoyed this area.
One thing about Eunpyeong-gu that stands out for me is that it has less subway coverage than other districts. You can walk for several blocks without seeing a subway station depending on where you start and which direction you go in. For me, that kind of enhances the experience of being there. It feels somewhat apart from Seoul itself.
Getting a room in Eunpyeong is a great travel tip. Thank you!
You're welcome!
Thanks Mike. Always enjoy your strolls through local neighborhoods.
I'm glad you like them. Thanks for let me know!
Love the idea Mike! Yeah, there are a couple of great hole in the wall restaurants here in the Isu area! They have often stood the test of time and it certainly give much confidence of their quality to survive all these years, especially during Covid. I enjoy exploring Seoul with you for sure! I took a month hiatus from posting on TH-cam and watching videos from those I like to follow, so it's nice to catch up your channel! I liked how you showed us the years of each of the buildings! I'm definitely happy to see winter over, will make it much nicer to make content outside again. Really excited for GTX too! Never heard of this Netflix show you mentioned. The local restaurant looked great, glad you found one after all that searching. Whoa, look at you making a website! I'll definitely check it out!
Thanks, Adam! Yeah, I noticed your absence. I was happy to see you've got the cameras back in hand. I enjoyed that scooter ride along the Han!
I'm dreading the coming of summer, but for the next couple of months, I'm going to enjoy the spring weather. Once I get caught up on work, I plan to start hiking two or three times a week until it gets too hot.
The Netflix series is called Street Food: Asia. I still haven't watched it, but I've heard so much about the Seoul episode by now that I probably know everything in it.
The website is rather empty right now, but I should have the initial set of content done in a couple of weeks. I'm pinging away at it a little here and a little there when I can, and when my head is in the right place for it. Writing is always hit or miss for me. Some days I can sit down and bang out two or three thousand words in an hour, others I can't even get a sentence done.
My district. I love it here, for all the reasons you mentioned. I've lived here for just over a decade, and I was looking forward to walking around some of these areas today until illness overtook me. So I'm bedridden presently, and this is nice.
I'll be heading that way to film again before too long. Get well!
Kalguksoo looks great. I am going back to Korea and stay for the whole month of April. I was there last October for two weeks and it wasn't enough to do what I wanted to do. This time I am going to skip all the tourist places. Just walk around the city like you are doing and take photos of whatever catches my eye. Photography is one of my hobbies. Look for some good food to try. Do some hiking in and out of Seoul. Check out the cherry blossoms in Seoul and maybe outside of Seoul if not too late.
That sounds like an excellent plan. That's usually how I see a city when I'm traveling. I'll hit a touristy spot or two if there are any I really, really want to see, but then I'm out walking from block to block, snapping photos, dropping into places that grab me. I've stumbled on some great food and interesting experiences that I wouldn't have had otherwise. My wife likes to get on buses or trams and ride them from end to end, hopping off at any point that looks interesting, but I prefer to hoof it.
Great video and exploration Mike! Also the idea to explore hole in the wall restaurants is a great idea, especially since you've been around here for a while! Eunpyeong-gu is one of those areas that has a really relaxing atmosphere to it, and it's great to see a part of it I've never seen before. Definitely want to go walk or bike around there now that the weather is getting nicer! Haha my wife tried Tokping for the first time randomly about 2 years ago without knowing about it and she's been hooked ever since. Definitely an addicting chocolate bar!
Thanks, Matt! And here I thought Tokping was something completely new. I've tried the hazelnut/almond granola variations now and I have to say that the peanut & honey is my favorite. It's got me hooked. My wife is digging them, too. I bought three more today.
One of my favorite walks is to head west from Nokbeon Station, then cut south somewhere along the way to end at Hongdae Station. For most of it, you're completely off the subway network even if you stick to the main roads. That's a strange feeling these days to walk so far without seeing a subway entrance. And now that I think about it, I don't know why I always start at Nokbeon. I should probably start at Bulgwang or Yeonsinnae next time.
@@MikeFromKorea oh great thanks for the recommendation! Will add that to the list of places to check out.
Hi Mike I’m enjoying your video. I will look for your other videos too. A new subscriber from Boston area!
Awesome! Thank you!
I stayed in eunpyeong for 6 weeks back in 2000. Nice to see this video to see the changes. Planning on going back soon.
Very cool. Sometimes when I tell even Koreans I lived out there, they're like "where's that?"
I really liked this area. It's on my Airbnb list for my 3-month trip to Korea starting in December. It got an extra point with this review from Mike.
Nice! If I could send a message to my 20-something self, I'd tell him to spend more time exploring the area while he's living there and less time going back and forth to Itaewon.
사골 베이스 칼국수로는 연희동칼국수 추천~
Mike! i love your video
Thank you!
Eunpyung gu has Bukhansan national park!!!!!!!
How did you find the ages for the buildings you walked past? Is there a real estate register for Seoul that you used? Would be curious about using it myself. Cheers!
I use www.disco.re. It's pretty handy. Click on a property on the map and the construction year will show up at the top of the left side bar below the address. Not all the properties have one, and my understanding is that usually means it was constructed before a certain year in the 60s.
@@MikeFromKorea much appreciated!
I lived near 연신내 for 2 years and frankly I hated the area so much.. I personally thought the markets and the streets were filthy.. And I believe many seoul citizens do not prefer living in 은평구.. quite surprized that a foreigner would like that area