Hello, internet world! I recently moved house, but before I did that, I managed to film a very shaky and in-depth tour of our apartment in Seoul. It cost about $700 a month and was what is called a Villa. We now live in a more spacious and cheap situation a little outside of Seoul and couldn’t be happier. Here’s to an exciting 2020 full of blog posts, picture taking, Webtoons, and YouTube videos! Hooray.
I am new to YouTube, so I don’t have many options when it comes to choosing the thumbnail. This snapshot was the least terrifying of them all. I think the idea of sharing my life in video form on the internet is kind of weird but we humans are communication fiends. I really want to share my experiences and use my new hobby to force myself to be more social, explore Korea more, and find creative ways to edit videos!
Thank you for watching/reading/exiting immediately!
Hello, 2020! Thank you for reading my blog in 2019, I hope you will continue to read my sporadic posts about Korea in the new year. Today, I wanted to share some images I took on my last day of being a Seoul resident a few weeks ago. I think I mentioned in previous posts that I have recently moved to Yongin, is a little further south of Seoul. I wanted to make the most of my last day, and I had lots of things on my to-do list. My friend and I explored Hongdae together and embarked on the wonderment that is Ader Error.
Something I really wanted to do in 2019 was start a YouTube channel. I am not sure how it is going to go but I thought I would share my first ever video here on my blog! If you would like to keep up with my travels and how I live in South Korea, you can subscribe to my channel! Who knows what 2020 will bring! Scroll through the images to watch my first, and very awkward, YouTube video!
Brrrr… it’s chilly in this city, I’m pretty sure I saw snow in my bathroom yesterday (not really). When I first came to Korea in 2017, I had no idea how cold things would get come December. This lead to me jumping on my bicycle, racing to the closest Uniqlo from my dormitory, and buying anything that looked like it would keep me warm. Two years later, and I am still wearing the items I bought that day.
I want to help you avoid this shock if you’re planning on coming to Seoul in the cold months of late November, December, and January. This could also be helpful if you’re planning to come to Korea to be an English teacher. Planning your wardrobe for four seasons is hard when you have airline luggage restrictions to consider.
On Looking Good in Winter
Let’s get one thing out of the way, looking cute and stylish is HARD in winter. Once you’ve layered your heat tech and jumpers, you look more like a marshmallow than a fashion icon. Accept it. Be warm. Keep your coat on even though you want to show off your outfit. And don’t let instagram likes dictate the way you dress.
Winter Formula for Getting Dressed:
(Thermal Leggings + Thermal Top + Socks) + Bottom Layer + Jumper + Coat + More Socks + Gloves + Beanie + Scarf – Inappropriate Summer Fabrics + Shoes = You MIGHT be warm today
Basics
Before we get into some the outfits I wore in December, let’s go through my Korean winter essentials. Because I am a foreigner living in Korea, I don’t have a huge wardrobe full of cute outfits. It’s hard to transport an entire wardrobe across the Pacific Ocean. These are the items I can’t live without, so you may be seeing these items recurring throughout the outfits!
1. Cashmere Jumper
2. Warm Scarf
3. Wool Coat / Padding Jacket
4. Knee High Boots / Leather Boots
5. Waterproof Sneakers
6. Heat Tech Leggings, Tops and Singlets
7. WARM Gloves
8. Wool Beanie / Beret
Pro Tip: if you’re planning to move to Korea or any colder climate, the best thing to do is look out for cashmere sales! I picked up my jumper at a huge sale at Vin Prime, a second hand clothing store here in Korea. The quality of your clothes really makes a difference when staying warm, and it doesn’t have to make you broke! My jumper was only $20 and it’s 100% Cashmere.
Outfit #1: Christmas Tree Chic
This first outfit was taken at the beginning of December, hence the bare ankles. I can get away without an extra layer under these pants because they are so WARM, which is why I spent money that was out of my budget to buy them… I paired the pants with some black boots, a cashmere jumper over a t-shirt and a coat. On warmer winter days, you can get away with not wearing any thermal or heat tech layers!
The best investment I made this winter was this pair of green wool structured trousers from COS. They fit me like a glove and are so warm and cosy. I wanted something that looked professional but at the same time would keep me warm. I made this investment back when I thought getting a non-teaching job in Korea was a piece of cake… Also, they look like grass but for your pant legs!
Outfit #2: Incognito Shopping Trip so People don’t Stare at my Foreign Face
I love these grey lambs wool leggings that I bought from the Australian brand Country Road FOUR years ago! They are still keeping me warm. The tote is from a Museum in Singapore, the beanie is from a flea market in Japan and I kind of look like I’m on my way to mug somebody.
This is often how I dress when walking to the supermarket – how MuNdAnee. In my old neighbourhood, I got stared at by every second person who walked past me. That’s excluding the shop sellers. To deter the gazers, I would wear a face mask and a beanie, I think it made people more curious because they would have to double take instead of blatantly stare at me. So perhaps the incognito look backfired, in the end! These are my Adidas sneakers that I bought in summer and they are the coolest sneakers I’ve ever owned.
Outift #3: Horse Rider Takes on Inner City Shopping Centre
This horse riding look is my favourite to wear because of these BOOTS. I got these brown leather boots in a Zara sale last year and I feel like a powerful yet bohemian lady. These are the shoes that make me want to get dressed on cold mornings. I love wearing them with tight jeans so I can show off the whole boot. When I cover them in pant or skirt fabric, the boots don’t get to shine! Again, here is my cashmere jumper that I wear basically everyday, cashmere scarf and my padding jacket. I know Koreans aren’t overly fond of Uniqlo these days but I couldn’t survive winter here without their clothes.
I planned on taking more awkward selfies but then we moved house and life did that thing that it does where you suddenly don’t have time to do things. However, most of my outfits look like the ones you saw above in various combinations. I unintentionally have a capsule wardrobe situation due to aforementioned lack of luggage allowance and general lack of money to buy clothes!
Bonus Outfits from December!
Let’s start with this navy moment I had when I went ice skating.
Here is a Christmas look – I love that I can wear my running shoes with jeans and a coat without looking like a business woman with a long commute??? When I know I’m going to be walking around a lot, I have to whisper ‘not today’ to my beloved brown boots and opt for these.
Hugging my bag in the middle of the street.
Road trip outfit in a highway rest stop bathroom
With my friend at Ader Error in Hongdae.
Who is that crazy lady taking self timer pics of her toilet paper outfit??? With her eyes closed?
I’m really sad looking at this photo because I have since lost this scarf. I was doing a very quick job situation in Gangnam, and I dropped it somewhere. It was my favourite Uniqlo cashmere scarf and I can’t seem to find a replacement as soft (and affordable) as this one. rip scarf 😦
I hope you enjoyed my foray into fashion blogging. The moral of the story is choose warmth over style and comfort over ‘but I want to look cute today’. Let me know what your winter staples are and where you like to shop. Have a great day!
Merry Christmas to the four people who consistently read my blog! I hope you had a great time with loved one(s) and reflected on the year we’ve just had. I have been absent on my blog due to visa struggles and moving house! All of our dilemmas have been solved and we are back to our happy normal life selves. My husband and I recently ventured further south east to Yongin in Gyeonggi Province. We feel so excited to move a little further from Seoul away from the chaos…
Today, we spent our afternoon gliding around City Hall’s ice skating rink in an attempt to enact Frozen 2 on ice. It was my first time strapping into ice skating boots and slipping on ice (I’m Australian, this is all foreign to me, I’ve never even been skiing). I managed to find my rhythm rather quickly thanks to many summers spent rollerblading in my local neighbourhood.
There was ample space for skaters of all varieties: speedsters, grandpas, clusters of friends who all kept falling over, and nervous parents. There was a special section for little kids to learn how to skate and it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. As well as the learning zone, there was a separate rink for kids and parents to fall over in. I also saw some people playing curling and assumed they were Canadian because who plays curling? Does one ‘play curling‘ or simply just ‘curl‘?
In any case, I regretted not wearing a cape for this icy occasion but I’m pretty sure I’m a contender for Disney’s Frozen 2 On Ice Korea Tour 2020. My husband seemed to be a seasoned skater and glided around effortlessly. He’s good at almost everything so it was no surprise that he had skater’s legs and could spin without hesitation!
How to Ice Skate in Seoul:
If you’re visiting Seoul between Jan and Feb, the ice skating fun will be up and running. Just head to City Hall station on line 2 or line 1 and follow the signs! It’s hard to miss. We were lucky to have a sunny blue sky over us as we skated! It costs 1,000 KRW (roughly $1) to skate for 1 hour including skates and a helmet! How cheap! Also, bring a 500 won coin to use the lockers to keep all of your belongings safe (not that anyone would touch them in Korea!)
Apgujeong is one of Seoul’s more affluent neighbourhoods. There is no shortage of designer clothes, expensive schools and plastic surgeons. Today, I spent the morning walking around Apgujeong Rodeo Street (not to go shopping because I’m not a bajillionaire). Instead, I admired all of the amazing buildings in the area that house some of the world’s most expensive designer brands.
As a designer, I looked at these creations in awe. The craftsmanship, the beauty, and the detail were spectacular. With the facades on these buildings, they were worthy of being in every design magazine.
However, when I looked at them as a human, I couldn’t help but feel it was all a bit too… too much. It almost seems like a waste to have all of this design reserved for the filthy rich. It would be great to see more of this incredible creativity distributed around other parts of Seoul. Should this all be centred around one neighbourhood of Seoul? One street for that matter.
City Hall, Lotte Tower, and the DDP are all places that people can enjoy together. They are examples of architecture that enable all walks of life to share the design. Shouldn’t we save our creative energy for everyone to enjoy? I guess not… otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about this. One or two amazing buildings in a street, yes, but for every designer brand to have its own unique facade? Come on, guys! It’s too much! But I did appreciate the cool petrol station.
I had another social day today, this time we were in Gangnam. We started our adventure in a Vietnamese restaurant called ‘Tam Tam’, which had queues of people waiting to be seated. We enjoyed our soupy pho noodles up at a really high table – the waiter literally had to push our chairs in for us because the seats were so high! The food was delish, but we had to be very careful after eating not to roll our ankles whilst trying to come back down to earth. You can see in this pic, the chairs are at the waiter’s hipbone!
Our teacher fashioned some makeshift chopstick holders out of napkins! So gorgeous!
This is a hill that my friend kindly escorted me down. It was so steep and I was in heeled boots, not a great combo!!
After lunch, we moved onto a cafe nearby! Two of my friends had flavourless tea and had to send them back. I don’t remember the name of the cafe so I can’t tell you. Despite their drinks being a disappointment, we sat here for hours and had a good quality chat. The cafes in Gangnam are so cosy in the wintertime. You can sit there for hours without being guilted into leaving or buying another drink.
How To:
If you’re wanting to explore the cafes and restaurants in Gangnam, go to Gangnam station on line 2, take exit 11, kep walking straight and head right up the small alleyways! There are an endless range of food and shopping options!
Today, I went to the incredible second-hand bookstore ‘서울책보고’ along with my friends from Korean class! They have a variety of both Korean and English books. If you are living in Seoul and struggling to buy books to read in English, this might be a great option for you. Bonus points: it has beautiful arched shelves that lead you through a tunnel along the entire store!
As an expat in Korea, it’s hard to get my hands on English novels, so I picked up 3 to keep me going next year on public transport. I’m not sure that it is wise to buy more books a week before moving house, but I am still in the store so I may not end up buying them all (edit: I didn’t). Keep scrolling through the images to see the directions on how to get there!
How to Get There
1, Ogeum-ro, 14, Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Bus Jamsil Naru Station (about 608m walk after getting off)-342, 3318, 3412, 4318, 16
Here is an iPad drawing from me to you. I think I need to face the fact that I am not an illustrator and need to learn better techniques. I shall have to add ‘digital drawing’ to my long list of things to improve upon on!
This is a drawing from a picture my mum took at my uncle’s farm. Ooft, that was a mouthful! I love the colours from the original picture and the cat’s pose! Here’s to creative growth in 2020!
I always seem to think that the work I do will miraculously get better overnight and I will suddenly be able to pay my rent as an artist! I know that art is a long game and isn’t something to rush. I’m still 23 years old and have a lot more improving to do. I guess the rapid pace of social media and artists online can make you feel like you’re falling behind before you’ve even gotten out of bed in the morning.
I need to remember that a lot of the people I admire have been crafting their work for years, possibly even before social media came around. I can’t be hard on myself because the things I am writing, drawing, photographing and thinking are all better versions of what I was doing 1 year ago and even 5 years ago. It can be a bit disconcerting when you see teenagers on YouTube buying houses while I struggle to even get a job as a designer, something I studied for 5 years! But, we won’t go down the rabbit hole of feeling like we’re lagging behind, it’s not a race!
To any artist’s reading this; your work is great because it is uniquely yours. Keep fine-tuning it, making mistakes, showing it to people, taking feedback and trying again. The important thing is to remember the feeling you have while doing that thing you love so much! Here’s to never losing that little light inside of you that allows you to create something without needing to eat or sleep – even if you end up hating it! Our work is always better in retrospect, just like our memories!
Have a great night/day/morning/workout/presentation/spelling test!
The cat in my drawing resembles ‘Cat’ from Breakfast at TIffany’s. Perhaps it’s just the ginger hair.
Good morning, Jo So Ko fan(s)! For today’s post, I thought I would post pictures from our family trip to Busan this past August. Looking at these photos is bringing me a bit of warmth on this cold winter’s day!
This was a special trip for us despite it being a quick weekend getaway (we declared that we were getting married to my now in-laws). The weather was incredible, the food was fresh and I loved driving around Busan. Well, I loved being a passenger, I don’t think I would have liked being the one behind the wheel in Busan. The roads there are more like slippery waterslides without rules.
I was a happy passenger looking at the amazing bridges from the back seat!
I fell in love with this house that was next to our accommodation. Although I think it’s just because I love emerald green!
Waveon Coffee
This was a great cafe and I highly recommend it if you’re a chill traveller like us and just want to sit down for a few hours by the ocean. The coffee was delish and we were able to take our orders into our own little hut and isolate ourselves from the other chill travellers. There was also a hammock which smelled rather sweaty but I wasn’t about to say no to a hammock party in the sun. Oh, and isn’t my husband so cute? He was my boyfriend when we took these pictures!
After lazing in the sun, we ended up at a beach (of course I don’t remember the name). It was so weird being restricted to such a small swimming section. As an Australian, it was kind of a novelty.
Let’s look at some foooood!
Agui-zzim(아귀찜, steamed monkfish smothered in spicy sauce)Makchang(막창구이, Entrail or Intestine BBQ)Mul-hoe(물회, Cold raw fish soup)
This was my second visit to Busan and it was great to see even more of such a beautiful city. I hope next time we can spend more than a weekend there. If you have written a post about Busan, let me know so I can bookmark ideas for our next trip!
This is my eighth day of posting a daily blog and I am loving it. I feel like I finally have the creative juice to write the things I wanted to when I was working full time!
Have a great day and come back tomorrow for another post!
