Day 27: I Met 2AM's Changmin! + Forever Rain

I did lots of wandering around today so below is a picture for reference. The black line is the path I took. I started near Hakdong station and the end of the path is the place I stopped along the Han River (I then walked back to Hakdong station afterwards).

I had done all the k-pop stuff near my house that I originally planned so I wasn’t really sure what to do today. I lay in bed for a long time and then got up to go looking for entertainment companies (places where idols train and practice). I wanted to get breakfast at a place near the COEX mall (about 10 minutes away from my house). I started walking and then decided I wanted to try the BTS drink at The Min’s cafe first.

On the way to The Min's I face-timed Erica and she kept me company while I walked. I was still talking to her when I got to the cafe and she was there when I saw Changmin. I went to enter the cafe while face-timing her and then looked in and realized Changmin (from 2AM) was there. I immediately back-tracked out and whispered to Erica ‘crap I think there’s a k-pop idol in there’. Her response was ‘omg go get a husband’ (nice Erica haha). I was worried I would miss him but I was also way too awkward to go in and actually attempt to speak to him. We hung up and then I forced myself to go in. I ordered a five berry drink and went to sit on the opposite side of the cafe. There were a couple of older ladies getting him to sign stuff for them and he kept walking in and out of the store. I didn’t want to miss him without saying hi so I got up and said hello quickly and then asked him if I could take a picture. He was super nice about it and even spoke in English so I didn't confuse myself more.

He signed more stuff for the ladies and then they came over to chat with him. I was debating going over to talk to him, but the ladies were with him for awhile and I wanted to go walking. Seeing him was a nice reminder that idols are regular people too. I wish I could have sat down and talked with him a little, but I also didn't want to bother him.

After I left I immediately face-timed my parents to tell them. I was back near the dolls again so I also showed them those. I’ve been in Korea for a little over 3 weeks now and there are some things that I’m so used to now that I forget whether they are like that in Canada as well. For instance, a lot of restaurants here post pictures of the food they sell all over their windows or they have display cabinets outside with fake meals. I couldn’t remember if that was a Korean thing or if restaurants in Canada do that often too so I checked with my parents (it's just a Korean thing).

We eventually hung up so I could take another picture with the BTS doll (priorities). Another thing I have noticed is that a lot of restaurants and cafes are closed on Sundays. I was talking to someone about it and she said that it was possibly because a new law had recently been implemented stating that the max number of hours a person could work in a week is 52 (my mom had sent me an article about this before I came to Korea and it was cool to be able to talk with her and actually know a bit about the law). She said that smaller cafes and restaurants typically employ only a few people so they have likely hit their 52 hour max by the end of the 6th day of the week.

Since I had gone to the cafe and then to the dolls, I was much farther away from the COEX mall than before. I debated taking a bus there but decided to just walk (it took about an hour). On the way I stumbled across SM Entertainment and SM Cafe. SM is the entertainment company in charge of huge groups like EXO, NCT, Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation, and SHINee. Lots of groups I like!

I went inside to look around the cafe and I’m so glad I did. The decorations were really cool and there was a huge area where albums and props from that albums era were displayed. I didn’t end up buying any food but I did take lots of pictures. There was a cafe and a restaurant on the first floor. The cafe had these cute little cupcakes with hats on them for different groups.

When I was leaving I realized there was also a downstairs ‘market’ part with lots of SM merchandise. I looked around for a bit and then continued on to the COEX mall. By this point it was almost 3 pm but I was still set on making it to the breakfast place.

When I finally got there I found out that it's actually inside a small airport area, not the mall. The entrance looked intimidating and I wasn’t sure if I was actually allowed in so I went to the mall food court instead. I found a place selling bibimbap in a fancy looking cafeteria so I had that for lunch.

One of the things my parents asked me about when I called them today was whether Halloween is a big deal in Korea (like in Canada). I have noticed many stores selling Halloween decorations or even holding Halloween sales. I later asked Sunny about it and he said that it is becoming more popular but it is still not a very big celebration. It is more popular among children who go to foreign schools. They dress up and go trick or treating around classrooms. He said that people don't really go trick or treating at night. Korea has a lot more apartments than houses (I have barely seen any homes) which would make it challenging to go trick or treating. Plus it is harder to decorate the outside of your apartment door. I saw very few people dressed up for it on the 31st.

While I was eating I tried to figure out what to do next. I was kind of close to a place called Seoul Forest that's a huge forest and garden. Yoongi (from BTS) went there for a photo shoot for one of their Love Yourself albums and I thought it would be fun to find the tunnel and look around the forest. It was getting darker out and the walk to the forest was very long so I took the subway.

The park was beautiful! The colours here are so amazing in the fall and it was really nice to just wander around. The park and forest were a lot bigger than I thought they would be and it took awhile for me to find the tunnel, but I found lots of other cool places along the way. I didn’t have a plan for the evening so I just continued to walk

There were several couples taking wedding photos in different areas of the forest. This would definitely be a beautiful place to do that especially during this season.

I looked on my map and noticed I was near a mountain where people recommend going to watch the sunset. Kakao Map said it would only take 45 minutes to walk there and I had an hour before the sun set so it sounded like a great idea.

The walk took me along a huge bridge over the Han River. I walked alongside the traffic in a special walking lane and over a pretty little park area. I also got close to the side of Eungbongsan Mountain which was covered in all sorts of different coloured trees.

When I made it to the area where I was supposed to find the path up to Maebongsan Park it was not where people said it would be, or I just sucked at reading directions properly (more likely). I continued to walk and ended up passing by the apartment area where BTS lives. There were also tons of country embassies around the area.

Hannam the Hill. The apartment village is huge!

I walked past the apartment area and then tried to Google the park/mountain again. By this point the sun had already set and it was getting dark. My map said it would take another 45 minutes to get there and my feet were too tired to do that. I had worn crappy shoes because I thought I was just going out for breakfast when I got dressed that morning, not hiking up a mountain and walking around a forest. I decided to go to the Han River instead. I wanted to see what the area was like from this side of the river. It took awhile to walk there but it was at least in the direction of my place. I bought some rice cakes on the way and snacked on those while I looked for the path to the river.

This side is much less cool than the other side. From the Hannam side there is only a bike path and no park or sitting area. I walked back up to the main road and hopped on a bus to go back to the Gangnam side. I got off near the Han River on the other side and went to a convenience store to grab dinner. Eating ramen by the Han River is something I have seen several times in variety shows and it was something I wanted to try once I got here. (Before I came to Korea there was one day where I was really hesitant about going. I was starting to regret the idea of travelling so far away and I was freaking out about everything that could go wrong. I started watching YouTube videos to distract myself and came across a short series where k-pop idols that are friends but are from different groups meet up to do different activities together. One of the episodes featured Taehyung and an actor eating dinner by the Han River. For some reason this random thing was exactly what I needed to get excited about going to Korea.). I grabbed my ramen (the lady at the convenience store had to help me figure out what hot water machine to use, but she was super nice about it) and I found a nice bench by the river. It was pretty dark by now (7 pm) and it was nice to sit and look at the bridge and city lights.

I walked back home and went past BTS’s new entertainment building on the way.

At midnight I got a notification that BTS’s leader (Namjoon) had dropped his solo mixtape/playlist and a new music video. I immediately went to go check out the M/V (music video) and ended up face-timing my sister 10 minutes later to bawl my eyes out over how beautiful the music video and lyrics were. I then spent the next several hours (until 3 am) listening to the playlist on repeat and freaking out over how amazing the songs were. One of the reasons I love BTS's music is because they are very open about their feelings and thoughts. It's nice to listen to lyrics by someone who isn't afraid to speak about mental health or their struggles. It makes my problems seem a little less terrifying knowing that I am not alone plus it is less intimidating when someone can put some of the similar feelings that I have into words and then make something beautiful of it. I could go on forever about how much I love Namjoon's lyrics and his music but I will leave it at that.

I will make it super easy for everyone and even give you the link (there are english subtitles too!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvb76hBX_Oc

Hope everyone is doing well,

Emily

(October 22, 2018)

Distance walked: 21.5 km

P.S here are some BTS ads I found during my walk. Idols do not make a lot of money (if any) appearing on music shows so they typically try to do lots of endorsements and commercials to make money. BTS are the models for Coca-Cola, Puma, VT cosmetics, and several other big brands.