S E O U L (1) : K-Cosmetics Heaven, Myeong-dong [명동]

Here is my first Korea travel post. There will be a total of 6 parts, and I have to tell you it was difficult to limit it to just 6. I took so, so many photos that it took some time to choose and edit. I was thinking what should be up first and figured why not start with Myeong-dong, the K-cosmetics heaven. After all, this is mainly a beauty blog lol. Well, let's get started!

Myeong-dong is a must-visit place for tourists. If you've been there, you'll know that it's super crowded with foreigners and tour groups. Salespeople here usually speak English and Chinese just well enough to handle tourists. If it's your first time in Korea and you're not sure where to go, just head to Myeong-dong. You can literally find everything there, not just cosmetics. There are awesome street food, cafes, fashion stores, and restaurants.

My Korean friends told me that Myeong-dong is for tourists and locals don't really go there. I guess it's just like Times Square in NYC - New Yorkers just hate the crowd and traffic around there. Koreans probably feel the same way about Myeong-dong. However, I could still see quite a number of locals when I was there.

There were so many street food in Myeong-dong, and they were super awesome! Since it was freezing in Korea, the cooked-right-there food was selling like hot cakes. The ajummas and ahjussis were so busy with customers. They couldn't collect money fast enough lol. I loved how you could just eat it right at the stall while it was still hot. My favorite would be the fish stick - the soup was so tasty. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the photo below.

If you see this marinated squid, definitely try one. It was just sooooo good - a bit sweet and savory. Just talking about it makes my mouth waters.

I don't know about you, but that incomplete-looking tree decoration seriously bothers me lol.

You can find any Korean cosmetics brand there. Some brands even have multiple stores in Myeong-dong. I think I saw a couple of Innisfree, Etude House, Nature Republic, etc. Mid-end brands like Laneige and Mamonde usually have only one store, but you can find them in Aritaum (Korean Sephora which have many stores).

Laneige was doing a huge advertising on the newly released Clear-C Advanced Effector, which I couldn't help but getting it. The store was so pretty with all the moving graphic thing on the building.

The smurfs on Espoir store was really cute. Espoir is not a very well-known brand outside of Korea, compared to others. But, their products are pretty popular among locals, especially their lipsticks.

This is another must-try food in Myeong-dong. I didn't really see it anywhere else expect there so I'm not sure if it's exclusive to the area. It's a mochi with strawberry and red bean filling. The strawberry was huge and out-of-this-world sweet! And, look at that packaging - isn't it so cute? It certainly wasn't cheap but one piece was pretty big.

If you love tea, especially green tea, you have to go to O'Sulloc Tea House. They have one of the best green tea rolls ever. It was so soft and fluffy, and the filling was not bland. Make sure to also try their Tangerine-Green Tea ade (not sure what's the name) and other bestselling menus. It was an amazing place to take a rest from a shopping spree in Myeong-dong :)

Have you been to Myeong-dong before? Do you want to go there? Tell me what you think :)