Korea Day 1: Myeongdong Shopping & My First Soy-Marinated Crab at Odarijip

14 March 2026

HELLO, KOREA!

My first day in Seoul was all about settling in and easing into the trip with a day of shopping in Myeongdong. There was no packed sightseeing schedule, just plenty of wandering, browsing and eating. From a surprisingly delicious convenience-store breakfast to my first taste of soy-marinated crab, the food certainly got the trip off to a good start!

UNEXPECTED MEAL IN KOREA

My first order of business after landing in Korea? Finding something to eat! I was so hungry that I popped into 7-Eleven and picked up a tuna mayo gimbap. Oh boy, it was so good. Generously filled with creamy tuna mayo, it made such a satisfying first bite of the trip. Who knew a convenience-store breakfast could get me this excited?

First bite in Korea: a tuna mayo gimbap from 7-Eleven. I was so hungry after landing, and this hit the spot!

KOREANA HOTEL

After my very satisfying convenience-store breakfast, I bought a ticket from the airport’s ticketing kiosk and took an airport limousine bus into Seoul. There was supposed to be a stop near my hotel, so I thought getting there would be straightforward. Instead, the bus didn’t stop where I expected! There appeared to be road restrictions around the Koreana Hotel area, possibly because of a rally, which left me rather confused on my first morning.

There seemed to be gatherings happening quite regularly near the hotel, including one that looked like an outdoor church service. Seeing such a large crowd was a little intimidating at first, especially when I wasn’t sure what was going on. Thankfully, I couldn’t hear any of it from inside the hotel, so it didn’t affect my rest.

My stay at Koreana Hotel was comfortable, though nothing particularly spectacular. I initially chose this hotel thinking it would be very close to Myeongdong’s main shopping streets, but it took me around 20 minutes to walk there. It was walkable, though farther than I’d expected, while taking the metro for such a short distance felt a little troublesome.

My room at Koreana Hotel, with a little seating area by the window. A comfortable base for my Seoul adventures.

The bathroom comes with a bathtub, which was super good after a day of walking.

Address: 135 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Google Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZvWSTmkETyHBXHf7A

Room Type: Deluxe Queenb

Price: $824.56 (4 nights)

HYODAM KALGUKSU DAKHANMARI MYEONGDONG

Then it was off to Myeongdong for a day of shopping, but first, lunch! I stopped at Hyodam Kalguksu Dakhanmari Myeongdong and ordered the chicken kalguksu, a bowl of noodles in chicken broth.

The soup was so good. Rich, hearty and comforting, it was the kind I couldn’t stop going back for. The noodles had a lovely chewy bite too. Such a satisfying meal to start my shopping day!

I also ordered a potato pancake, but my eyes were clearly bigger than my stomach. It was a little oily for my liking, and I couldn’t finish everything. Between the two dishes, the chicken kalguksu was easily my favourite.

Chicken kalguksu and a golden potato pancake at Hyodam. I really like spring onions too, so those toppings are really a plus for me.

Hyodam Kalguksu Dakhanmari Myeongdong

Address: B1, 12 Myeongdong 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Opening hours: Daily, 10:30 am–10:15 pm

SHOPPING AT MYEONGDONG

With lunch settled, it was time to explore Myeongdong’s shopping streets. Myeongdong felt like a convenient one-stop shopping area, with so many popular Korean brands gathered in one place. The streets were busy and the shops packed closely together. It felt like a bustling shopping hub with stores packed closely together, which is quite different to the leisurely neighbourhood feel of Seongsu, but the convenience made it easy to spend hours browsing.

There were many shops, from skincare and cosmetics shops, to clothes and accessories shops, to character goodies and souvenirs shops. I spent the afternoon wandering from shop to shop, with a little street-food break along the way. Popular shops that I visited and liked include OLive Young, Ready Yound Drugstore, Wiggle Wiggle, Rockfish, Matin Kim, Reclow, Butter, The Barnnet, Emis, Musinsa, Blue Elephany, Sappun, Nyunyu and SPAO. Some of the stores were almost attractions themselves, especially the colourful displays at Wiggle Wiggle!

Shop signs in every direction. Time to start exploring Myeongdong!

A whole wall of accessories to browse at Nyunyu.

Sappun, a popular shoes shop in Korea.

Street-food stalls lined up between the shops, ready for whenever shopping turns into snacking.

A colourful tanghulu break, with juicy fruit beneath a crunchy sugar coating.

Bought some lipglosses from Fwee at Olive Young that I had been eyeing.

A pink little lounge with some oversized plush companions keeping the seats warm at Reclow. This is actually a shop selling many reasonably priced sunglasses!

Skincare at Ready Young Pharmacy.

A shelf full of pink bunny plushies at Butter! I love it so much I stood in dilemma at the shelves for a long time. In the end, I exercised a lot of self-control and I did not buy the plushie as I already have many pushies at home.

I did buy a bunny keychain though. Self-control was quite limited on that day.

A pink, game-inspired display with pixel-style characters at Butter. Such a playful little corner!

More shops, more snacks and plenty of people out exploring Myeongdong.

A giant bear and smiling flowers welcoming shoppers to Wiggle Wiggle. Hard to resist stepping inside!

“Wonderful Happiness” at Wiggle Wiggle. A cheerful introduction to the colours waiting inside!

Rainbows, stripes and smiling flowers following me up the stairs at Wiggle Wiggle.

A bear in a cap welcoming shoppers beneath the Wiggle Wiggle sign.

A bedroom straight out of a cartoon, complete with pink curtains and a bright green door.

Browsing the bags and caps in Emis.

A colourful welcome at the HBAF Almond Store. Many people were here to bring home some snacks.

Many shops stayed open into the evening, and having plenty of people around felt reassuring while shopping later. The walk back to my hotel was noticeably quieter, though! For a first day after landing, Myeongdong was an easy place to start. There was no need for a detailed plan; I could simply wander and pop into whatever caught my eye.

DINNER AT ODARIJIP GANJANG GEJANG

Dinner was at Odarijip, where I tried soy-marinated crab, or ganjang gejang, for the very first time. Oh my goodness. It was so good that I still crave it now!

I hadn’t carefully researched where to eat. While casually looking up dinner options, I spotted a photo of DBSK at the restaurant and decided that was reason enough to go. Seeing that photograph on the wall brought me straight back to my secondary school and JC days, fangirling over K-pop stars with friends. Some of us have since lost touch, and I sometimes wonder how they’re doing. I suppose some friendships belong to a particular season of life, but the memories are still fond ones. Quite an unexpected wave of nostalgia over dinner.

Framed photographs of celebrity visits covering the walls at Odarijip. Plenty to look at while waiting for dinner! You are given a slip of paper as queue number when you arrived.

DBSK has also eaten here before!

Back to the crab, though. I had absolutely no idea how to eat it! Thankfully, gloves were provided, and I discreetly took my cue from the Korean diners seated opposite me. You could enjoy the meat straight from the shell, mix rice into the crab shell with the juices, or add the meat and soy marinade to your rice. A little seaweed wrapped around a mouthful was delicious too.

There were so many side dishes that the table felt like a feast. The fluffy steamed eggs were especially good. Between those, the rice and the crab, I was thoroughly full and very happy with my first marinated-crab experience.

My dinner spread at Odarijip, complete with soy-marinated crab, soup, rice and plenty of side dishes.

A closer look at the soy-marinated crab, topped with sesame seeds and sliced chillies.

Odarijip Ganjang Gejang

Address: 2F, 28 Myeongdong 8na-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Opening hours: Daily, 8:10 am–midnight

WITH SHOPPING BAGS IN HAND AND A VERY FULL STOMACH...

I headed back to the hotel to rest. Myeongdong had been an easy place to spend my first day, with plenty to explore without much planning. But the highlight? Definitely the soy-marinated crab. I’d arrived in Korea hungry and was ending the day with a new food craving that would follow me home.

Love,

Shu