Date Night in Seoul
Isaac and I once took Mom to see a doc during Hot Docs on a Korean courtship rituals. It included a scene that showed this amazing array of locks in Seoul, all crowded and bunched up in an area that has taken on some sort of romantic significance. Couples write messages neatly onto the padlocks in cute, boxy Korean letters and then lock them onto the fence...FOREVER. Times a gazillion.
The other day, Isaac suggested we walk up Nam San to the N Seoul Tower. We did (huff, huff, 1200 m into the sky later....), then turned a corner...and saw the sea of locks! This is it!
Too bad we didn't bring a lock!
That's ok, because we had a romantic date in a place that so totally appeals to the squealing, Korean teen in me and Tom Cruise was our (tiny, intense) special guest.
We were wandering, looking for a coffee in Hongdae. I looked up into the sky and saw a sign that said, "Cafe Bang Bang." Isaac likes to make fun of the name but I just knew from the cute quotient of the sign that it would be great. And I was right.
The place was EXTREMELY CUTE. When you walk in, teenage attendants take your shoes and put them in a locker. Then they take you to your private cubbyhole. It has a floor-to-ceiling window and is swathed in rose wallpaper with faux Victorian sconces on the wall and a floor cushioned with the kind of vinyl mat you use in grade school gym class. There's a wee table and a flat-screen TV, on which we watched bits of Mission Impossible 3. You can pay 6000W ($6) for "self-serve" treats (popcorn, juice bar, coffee) or order from the menu, which I did, getting a gigantic frozen yogurt pat bing soo (the main ingredient to the BEST DATE EVER).
I keep talking about Cafe Bang Bang wistfully, like, "Wasn't it the best?" Isaac doesn't entirely agree. I think being shut into a miniscule, frou-frou room with tons of sugar, instant coffee and a giant TV is actually pretty close to being his biggest nightmare. But look at the view! I loved it.
The other day, Isaac suggested we walk up Nam San to the N Seoul Tower. We did (huff, huff, 1200 m into the sky later....), then turned a corner...and saw the sea of locks! This is it!
Too bad we didn't bring a lock!
That's ok, because we had a romantic date in a place that so totally appeals to the squealing, Korean teen in me and Tom Cruise was our (tiny, intense) special guest.
We were wandering, looking for a coffee in Hongdae. I looked up into the sky and saw a sign that said, "Cafe Bang Bang." Isaac likes to make fun of the name but I just knew from the cute quotient of the sign that it would be great. And I was right.
The place was EXTREMELY CUTE. When you walk in, teenage attendants take your shoes and put them in a locker. Then they take you to your private cubbyhole. It has a floor-to-ceiling window and is swathed in rose wallpaper with faux Victorian sconces on the wall and a floor cushioned with the kind of vinyl mat you use in grade school gym class. There's a wee table and a flat-screen TV, on which we watched bits of Mission Impossible 3. You can pay 6000W ($6) for "self-serve" treats (popcorn, juice bar, coffee) or order from the menu, which I did, getting a gigantic frozen yogurt pat bing soo (the main ingredient to the BEST DATE EVER).
I keep talking about Cafe Bang Bang wistfully, like, "Wasn't it the best?" Isaac doesn't entirely agree. I think being shut into a miniscule, frou-frou room with tons of sugar, instant coffee and a giant TV is actually pretty close to being his biggest nightmare. But look at the view! I loved it.
posted by Hannah Says Hi at
10:54 AM
1 Comments:
i would have stayed in there foreverrrrrrrrrrr
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