Visiting Korea: Day 7 at the War Memorial of Korea & Hongdae

To start off our day, we headed to Samgakji station exit 12 to reach The War Memorial of Korea. The first thing which catches your eye is the Statue of Brothers. On my first visit to Korea, I only managed to visit the outer grounds of the museum. This time we had ample time to explore this memorial, spending about 2.5 hours here learning about Korea's history via the various exhibitions spread over three floors. We also watched two short clips, a 4D simulation of Incheon Landing Operation and another in the Realistic Experience Room (allowing us to experience the soldiers' evacuation during the cold winter).

Just nearby the War Memorial, we came across a restaurant serving budae jjigae (army stew). This is a popular dish and was created in years after the Korean War when food was scarce. Surplus food consisted of mostly ham and hot dogs, and these were mixed with gochujang (red chilli paste) and kimchi to make this delicious and appetizing stew. The price is reasonable too at 7,000 won per portion.

From Samgakji, we took the subway towards Sangsu station. Similar to Hongdae, this area is also filled to the brim with delightful cafes. We window-shopped along the way too as we made our way towards Sangsangmadang building for a short rest. This place has a cinema in the basement, On the same floor, there is a free comic library. Note that the comics are all in Korean though. On the upper floors, workshops are held frequently and indie music is on sale.

From Sangsu station, as you walk to the main area of Hongdae, you will soon spot Hongik University along the main road. Walk about the smaller alleys near the university to spot beautiful murals painted by the university's students.

Soon, we were tired and decided to rest at one of the many unique cafes in the Hongdae area. Fans of Hello Kitty will be happy to find the Hello Kitty cafe here. For us, we are not Hello Kitty fans so we selected a cat cafe instead. The tourist information centre recommended Toms Cat Cafe to us and we decided to head there. Admission is 8,000 won per person and is inclusive of one drink (coffee/chocolate/tea to choose from). Before entering, you have to remove your shoes and change into their slippers and sanitise your hands. There are certain rules to follow here so do read them (available in English) such as no flash when taking photos.