Gen's Going Global: Study Abroad in S.Korea Part 1: Sinchon
Written By: Gen Nguyen | Read full profile
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This series is gonna go in depth about what I did and what I ate in the different places I visited. Since I spent a majority of my time “studying” in Yonsei University, I'm gonna start off with Sinchon.
Joke of the blog:
What do Koreans call tofu that flirt?
Sinchon is a nice place for young people. There’s shopping, cosmetic stores, kbbq restaurants, and dessert shops. It’s like Bellaire, Texas except with fewer drivers, more pedestrians, more cosmetic shops, more street performers… just more things to do in general.
On the weekdays I’d wake up, attend class in the morning, and then Okra and I would go out and explore with Potato and friends. Kinda like a normal day in college right? You attend class and then forget about it until an exam or quiz comes up. If you couldn’t tell, I wasn’t the best student.
We visited a lot of places, so I’m gonna highlight the best restaurants, dessert shops, and things to do.
Let’s talk about restaurants first since I’m a hoe for food.
1. Dakgalbi Jejakso (달갈비제작소)
I think the translation is “Chicken Factory” but don’t quote me because the only source I have is Google Translate.
The place is AYCE chicken. It's kind of like kbbq where you cook everything in front of you but you have the option of adding noodles, rice, and vegetables. They had a variety of chicken flavors: curry, spicy, chicken. Chicken flavored chicken is just chicken without the sauce.
And don’t get me started on their soda. This place is AYCE INCLUDING DRINKS. I don’t usually drink soda just cause it costs EXTRA money. And remember, your girl is broke. Soda is like toppings on boba. So when I see the chance to get FREE SODA (not really because I paid for it with my meal), I’m gonna jump at it. Grape soda, pineapple soda, lemon soda. I probably refilled my cup more than I refilled for chicken.
This is number one on my favorite chicken restaurants in Seoul. Also cause we didn’t really go out for chicken. It’s Korea, home of kbbq. Of course we’re gonna have kbbq every night. But for a relatively cheap price (₩9000-10000 or $7-9) it definitely filled us up and satiated cravings. We went back like three times.
2. Mom’s Touch
Okay… I lied when I said Dakgalbi Jejakso was my favorite chicken place. Mom’s Touch has the best chicken sandwich. Popeyes who? Chik-fil-A what? Never heard of them. If you think Popeyes chicken sandwich is good then you’re missing out. Or if you like Chik-fil-A then… you must love dry ass chicken.
Seriously, Mom’s Touch has the best chicken sandwich. They’re like the McDonalds of chicken but 10x better and cheaper (about $3 for the burger or $6 for the meal, no tax!). It’s not just chicken and bread. They give you sauce AND the option of different types of green. The burgers looks amazing on the menu! And guess what? What you see is what you get! Their chicken is also juicy and tender and actually tastes like something other than cardboard. I don’t know what cardboard tastes like but I assume it’s Chik-fil-A’s chicken sandwich. It was so good, that I didn’t even take a single photo. I just dived right in, sunk my teeth into the juicy, moist chicken, every single time.
What better way to end the day than with dessert? Literally after every dinner, we went out for dessert, mostly shaved ice since it was HOT AND HUMID.
1. A Twosome Place
Twosome was one of the greatest dessert places. You can find it almost anywhere in Seoul but the one in Sinchon was probably the biggest I’ve seen. They had all kinds of dessert and coffee but like I mentioned before, it was hot and humid in S.Korea and after a long day of walking around, we needed something to cool us off.
Bingsu, or shaved ice, is different from a snowcone. It’s like eating snow. If you’re from Texas or any other state that is unfortunate enough to not experience snow, it’s like eating a cold cloud. It melts in your mouth.
Every time we went to Twosome, we got the Matcha Red Bean Bingsu. It was so good. You’d think that it’d be just the ice with syrup but there was ice cream and cake. CAKE. Even the cake was fluffy. And if you’ve read my Boba is Overrated blog, you’d know that I’m not that into sweets. This dish wasn’t overly sweet; mellow flavors that I could enjoy.
2. Sulbing (설빙) Korean Dessert Cafe
Katy Asia Town in Houston has basically the same cafe but to those who aren’t from Houston or Texas aren’t fortunate enough to enjoy this. It’s another dessert shop in Seoul that mainly focuses on bingsu. This is where we got our fruit cravings satisfied. The fruit in S.Korea is expensive. A tiny watermelon that you can get at Costco for about $5 for two, is about $7 in S.Korea. A small cup (8 oz) of cut pineapple is about $5.
We ordered anything with fruit. Strawberries are a summer fruit so we TRIED to order strawberry bingsu. But every time we went, they were out of strawberry, so we ended up getting alternatives: grapefruit and mango or honeydew and cheese. Now I know it sounds weird, but the cheese is a little sweet and tangy. It helps cut the sweetness of the syrup.
I like this kind of obscure combination. I also like pineapple on pizza so if you don’t agree with me then this isn’t for you but it’s worth a try.
There’s more to do than just eat. It’s just that I like to try new foods. I’m also not into shopping unless it’s grocery shopping. I know I’m boring, but I like food and I like to cook. But here are some things to do around Sinchon:
1. Underground shops
At Sinchon station, there’s a big shopping mall. I never went in there so I can’t tell you what there is but it’s a shopping mall. Pretty self explanatory. Underneath, before entering the subway, there’s a bunch of shops. There’d be a couple different pop up shops every so often but there’d always be a line up until its last day.
I was lucky enough to encounter a Pokemon/Pikachu pop up shop. I love Pokemon: the original 150 plus up until 3rd gen. I grew up watching and playing it. My favorite is Cyndaquil.
On the last day, I went ham and bought a ton of stuff. Mugs to be exact. I have a bunch of Pikachu mugs which are one of my pride and joys in life.
2. Street performers
Every night, there’s always someone performing on the streets, busking. You’ll find some handsome guy(s) on the street singing Zion T. or Crush or maybe magicians performing tricks. They’re actually pretty entertaining. It’s like stopping to smell the dang roses but instead you’re listening to or watching performances.
There was this one guy who always wore a striped shirt and sang Zion T. songs. Potato and I would fangirl over him cause his voice was nice. But what’s up with Koreans and striped shirts? They’re everywhere.
Near some McDonalds, there was an upright piano that anybody could play on. I kid you not, there was one guy playing River Flows in You by Yiruma. The most basic Asian piano song but also the only song I can play.
Obviously, there were more places I visited, foods I’ve eaten. These are just the few places I frequented and remember most cause I have Snapchat to remind me. I also wanna give a big shout out to McDonalds, Tom n Toms, all the convenience stores, Abiko curry, the banh mi place next to Abiko curry, and the stew shop: Delicious Sundubu Jjigae House.
Go to McDonalds. Their 1955 burger, shrimp burger, shrimp and corn burger, and Shanghai burger are amazing. Just something you can’t get in America. Okra and I ordered McDonalds delivery every night when the convenience stores didn’t have any triangle kimbaps. I honestly don’t know how I didn’t gain any more weight.
Tom n Toms has blue lemonade. Like actual blue colored lemonade. It wasn’t your typical lemonade either. It tasted like a healthier version of Sprite. I’m not too sure about their coffee though. But we always went there right after Potato drank and the morning after, when she was hung over. If you can, they have a store open in Bellaire, Texas. I don’t know if it’s Korea worthy but it’s the closest thing to S.Korea.
I could go on and on about Sinchon, but then this post would be as long as an Asian parent’s lecture. Some regrets I have though are not exploring the campus more, taking pictures of EVERYTHING, and VLOGGING. Plan everything out ahead of time, it’ll save you time and you can explore more. But also, spontaneity is a thing and probably more enjoyable.
Sinchon ✅
Find out what I did in my next adventure where I talk about Myeongdong! Here’s the answer to the joke: A swoon-dubu!
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Part 2 (Coming Soon)
Read my Intro!
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