Korea (Thread 9)

[Frozen Toes]

Just got back from Seoul. Watched Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys. Hindi na super maginaw. Kaya ko na magminiskirt and no thermals. Brought a couple good coats lang. And hindi na rin naka gloves, scarves, and earmuffs yung mga Koreans. I think average 5 degrees na lang nung weekend.

It was fun. Ate a LOT of street food. Hoddeok talaga favorite ko, so I bought a box of hoddeok mix before going home. Sarap din nung octopus, corndog, kimbap, tempura, sausages, etc etc.

Stayed in Hongdae again for this trip. It's still my favorite part of Seoul kahit medyo malayo sa Myeongdong. Sa JK Guesthouse kami. It's a few steps away from Exit 1 of Hongik Station (Green Line). Great location! Just cross the street, and andun ka na sa very lively university area. And malaki room namin. Dalawa lang kami and we got the family room for about PHP 4,400 per night.

For the first time, nagtry ako ng Yoogane sa may Myeongdong. Ang sarap pala non. Kala ko parang bibimbap lang. Spicyyy and yum! And mura pa. For KRW 12,000 busog na kaming dalawa.

[longing]

So excited for our SoKor trip in 2 weeks.  My family were given multiple entry for 3 years. Yes! We can come back for the other season of Korea. My friends naman were given single entry.
 
We'll be staying in Dongmyo area and IT has been finalized.  

[blue-purple]

^wow congrats, I'm hoping din na maka multiple din ako pag nag apply this year 2nd time ko sa korea if ever. Excited to see Busan haha. tapos next time Jeju naman

[cartman]

Kita ko nga picture mo sis sa FB bigla ako naingit sa street foods, grabe must try talaga mga st.foods dun ang mura pa hehe. Na miss ko yun me sabaw na parang white bituka na nasa stick.yums.

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[oreo08]

I'm planning a family trip this December (with our 16 month old daughter)

baka may masuggest kayo itinerary na child friendly... we wanna visit the COEX aquarium, Lotte (is it worth it?) and Everland. Ano pa ba ok na bisitahin na mageenjoy ang toddler namin? Kung may indoor swimming resort, we wanna visit that too...

is it better to stay in a hotel in Gangnam or Apgujeong if we wanna visit the above places?

[katniss]

oh. my boss applied for a visa and only got single entry considering she has a lot of OECD visas at super well-travelled. oh well di mo talaga masabi ang decision nila. isa lang kasi ata sa mga yun pinaphotocopy nya.

just applied kanina, crossing my fingers for a multiple-entry visa!! pag ika-third time mo na pala sa window 3 ka na rin at kelangan mo na rin ipaphotocopy yung two previous Korean visas mo.

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[jazzlawyer]

hi girls!

my friends and I are going to Korea this coming April. may mga tanong lang sana me baka masasagot niyo:

1. ill be applying visa tomorrow sa korean embassy. ok lang ba na iapply ko din friends ko na wala silang appearance? di sila pwede eh kasi may work sila sa morning.
2. yung mga friends ko na di pwede upon application, pwede sila pumickup ng passport ko pag kuhanan na ng visa? ako naman kasi ang hindi pwede kasi may work me sa afternoon.
3. saan po pwede magpark malapit sa korean embassy? pwede ba sa SM Aura?

share ninyo naman visa experience ninyo.

thank you!

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ yes, pwedeng isang tao lang mag-apply for everyone in your group. Pwede din isa lang mag-claim basta dala yung stub. Just make sure na complete ang documents na dala para just in case me kelangan e mapo-provide nyo.

As for parking, parang malayo na ang SM Aura. Pwede ka siguro dun mag-park then taxi pa-embassy? Sa may C5-McKinley lang ang KR Embassy. I noticed na me mga nagpapark sa may service road mismo sa labas ng embassy. Although limited slots so paunahan na lang. That's why nung nag-apply ako, I asked my husband to just drop me off at the embassy then taxi na ako pauwi. Nung nag-claim naman, me driver ako so nag-waiting lang sya sa may service road while nasa loob ako.

---
On a separate note, me nakasubok na ba sa inyo magpalipat ng multiple entry 3-year visa from old to new passport? Can you share the process of transferring the visa to the new passport? I read kasi before na kelangan ilipat sa new passport yung valid KR visa, unlike sa US visa na dalhin lang ang old passport during travel e ok na. My husband renewed his passport na kasi e until 2016 pa yung KR visa namin so plan ko ipalipat for future travel use.

[jazzlawyer]

^ thank you for the fast response sis! what about sa Venezia? malayo din kaya to? Based sa google maps mckinley hill kasi yung daan ko. yun lang yung alam ko na may parking. im planning to go there as early as 7am tomorrow so i can get an earlier slot. yun nga lang 2 hours waiting time.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ I believe it's still a long walk to/from Venice Piazza.. I suggest since maaga ka, try mo muna sa may labas ng embassy mismo if you can park sa service road. If hindi, you can find parking space from Aura or Venice Piazza or sa mga restos along McKinley then just take a short taxi ride to/from embassy.. let's wait for the other sisses, baka me masuggest silang ibang options.

[merian]

^May free internal shuttle within Mckinley Hills. So if you park within the area, pwede sakay ka nalang ng shuttle papunta sa embassy. Tas pabalik shuttle din ulet. May designated stops naman yung internal shuttle.

[jazzlawyer]

Hi sisses!

I was there kanina and it went smoothly. I went there around 6:30am. I was able to park in front of the embassy. I was 8th sa lineup kaso first sa window. kasi yung mga applicants before me di nila naayos ng mabuti yung docs nila. iba kulang kulang photocopy yung iba di pa nakapaste yung photo. I really suggest to prepare everything before going in para smooth lahat pag dating sa loob. pinapasok kami 8:30am. tapos nag bukas yung windows at 9:00am. napansin ko dumami tao mga bandang 7:30am kaya it pays talaga to be early. after wala pa atang 10 mins finish na ako.

antay na lang me 3 days for releasing of docs.excited sa cherry blossom!

[u8mypinkcookies]

^^ my first trip there was mid-June. Pa-summer palang and mainit na. Mukha ngang mainit pa lalo pag August.

[gorgeousmama]

we're going to korea this november. autumn pa rin ba by that time or winter na? maganda pa rin ang kulay ng leaves?

Gorgeousmama, pa-pm din po ng tips and kung saan makakabili ng mga trench coats please....

sis sonia,

just talked to korean neighbor, she recommended lots of fruits and malls,
ang hirap intindiin kasi medyo hirap pa syang mg english, but she told me before my travel sked
i should see her and she will write so many helpful tips in korean , ngpapaturo din ako ng mga
korean words sa kanya,,,

will pm you the helpful tips she wll share and pati na rin sa thread

[unwantedP]

my mom wants to go here this coming April for cherry blossoms, kaso ang mahal na ng flight, 466USD cheapest ng PAL. i guess wala nadin seat sale or travel expo for next month no?

Hindi ko magawa ng maayos yung itinerary, please comment mga sis
Tried backreading sa Thread 5,8,9 lang. Here's the draft:

Day 1:
ETA 6am
Breakfast then visit 1 palace - What palace yung recommended? yun may changing of guards?
Ok sana yun Changdeokgung Palace since may secret garden kaso di daw siya masyadong ok for Spring. Best for Autumn.

Afternoon after lunch/check-in:
Petite France
Nami Island
Shopping at (Myeongdong or Dongdaemun)? May time pa kaya after Nami Island?

Day 2:
9AM: Trick Eye
Hongdae - shopping + Hello Kitty Cafe
Lunch
Ewha Women's University - shopping
4:30PM: Kyeong-Wha Station, Jinhae - cherry blossoms
6:30PM: Yeojwa Stream (near Jinhae, cherry blossoms) - best at night
Shopping at (Myeongdong or Dongdaemun)?
*near lang ba yung Jinhae sa Hongdae?

Day 3:
DMZ and JSA
Option 1: N Seoul Tower (sa mismong N Seoul Tower ba yung Love Locks?)
Option 2: Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain
which is better sa 2 options? Pagod daw after DMZ/JSA kaya no shopping here.

Not sure if will include Jeju Island pa. Family trip kasi. parang mas better if kasama yun friends/bf sa Jeju hehe. 5D4N ata kami.

[shopaholic_in_rehab]

to those who already went there mainit ba talaga dun pag August second week parang summer ng pinas din ba??    super na excite kasi ako last time and nagbook ako agad2 for august kasi bday treat ko e. sabi nila hottest month daw yung august kainis..

been to korea twice. isang august 3rd week and last week ng october. august is so hot. mainit talaga. october naman was super lamig pawinter na kasi. siyempre masarap mamasyal pag malamig di ka papawisan. freshness lagi sa photo. if for shopping naman, wala kang mabibili na damit pag october kasi puro pang winter mga tinda na sadly hindi mo magagamit sa pinas.

were planning to go back for 2 more seasons, spring and winter para maexperience ko lahat ng season don. sayang din kasi yung 3yr multiple na binigay sakin.  i so love korea hinding hindi talaga ko magsasawa sa lugar nato. ang sarap balik balikan.

[u8mypinkcookies]

^^ Gyeongbokgung palace. Maabutan mo pa naman yung Myeongdong market since until midnight yun. Malayo yung Jinhae, 3 hours from Seoul ata. Gusto rin namin puntahan sa trip namin this April kaso kulang sa oras. Yes, love locks nasa may baba lang ng N Tower.

[diamondsinthesky]

Guys, what are we supposed to put sa #12 (national identity number) sa visa application? NA ba ito sa case natin?

[katniss]

^^until midnight nga Myeongdong pero parang mga hanggang 10 or 11 lang shops, basta di sya umaabot ng 12, ang dami na sarado. better to comeback at an earlier time para mas maenjoy mo sis unwantedP.

^yup NA lang ang ilalagay. 

just got my visa earlier. one year multiple entry lang but still thankful. hmm makes me wanna search for tix for autumn this year. 2 wks na lang hello korya uli! im excited again like it's my first time. hihi

[u8mypinkcookies]

^ my cousin applied last week, one year multiple entry din. Once palang sya pumunta dun. While kami eh third time na, single entry di ko gets ano tuloy qualifications for a multiple entry visa.