My Korean Life #61: Kakao Friends Hongdae Flagship Store [PHOTOS]

Ryan balloons were given out as a promo at the Hongdae store during opening week. They gave one balloon per receipt so some people would ring up items separately in order to get multiple balloons.

Santa Ryan was a Hongdae store exclusive but now they are selling him online on the Kakao Friends website. He is supposedly a 2016 Winter Limited Edition Item, although I've been to the store like four times and every time they had plenty of Santa Ryans. Hoodie Ryan was originally limited to the Gangnam store and he would sell out when restocked, much faster than Santa Ryan. After a hiatus, Hoodie Ryan was released online in a limited run. He then made his way to the flagship stores as a regularly stocked item. 

Ryan is still the most popular character with his merchandise selling out very quickly. When I was at the Hongdae store earlier in the week, all of his body pillows were sold out along with the Apeach ones. When his lamp was released, it would quickly sell out on restocking day. However, the Hongdae flagship store seems to keep a good stock. 

Ryan pens, cell phone cases, figurines, and charging cables used to be very hard to find but not so much anymore. Smaller branch stores have varying availability of popular items but the Ryan items are the most popular.

Ryan is a maneless lion and the leader of the Kakao Friends. He has a short bobtail-like tail and is often mistaken for a bear.

Slippers!

Enjoy a coffee with Ryan

Lamp and waste bin

Blanket with carrying bag

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My Korean Life #60: 순천

Today, I bring you pictures from my trip to 순천 (Suncheon), another destination along the southern coast of South Korea. There are two areas that I'm going to highlight: the Suncheon Bay National Garden and the Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve. The Suncheon Bay National Garden was featured during the Suncheon Bay Garden Expo 2013 and was constructed in order to preserve the bay area. Within the gardens is a station for the SkyCube, a personal rapid transit system. The Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve hosts the biggest colony of reeds in Korea and also attracts a large number of rare birds. It was formerly named the Suncheon Bay Ecological Park and can be viewed from the Yongsan Observatory which is on a mountain near the wetlands.

Map of the Gardens

Wing Sculpture in the Korean Garden

Inside the greenhouses

Dream Bridge

 

Windmill in the Netherlands Garden

Weather was great to take in the fall colors

Suncheon Bay National Garden

The above picture is from the 일품 restaurant near the entrance to the wetlands. The set menu comes with a ton of side dishes as well as a large plate of 꼬막 (cockles). There are small tools connected to the table for opening the cockles. There are other restaurants similar to this one that line the street in front of the wetlands. Normally these restaurants cover the tables in disposable paper or plastic to make clean-up quicker easier. Do note that you have to sit on the floor

The following pictures are from the Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve. There are were ton of people there and the pathways around the reserve were packed. The easiest way to get to the reserve is to drive but many others were taking public buses and taxis. Getting back out of the area is a bit of a challenge. Many people go to the wetland reserve to see the sunset so after sunset there are massive amounts of people trying to get back out of the area. Suncheon is a smaller town and doesn't have that many taxes or buses to begin with. Those with personal cars were also stuck in the parking lots for quite a while as well. When I left, after walking up the street for a few kilometers, finally a taxi came around that wasn't reserved in advance or already full of people. Back at the bus stop near the wetlands entrance, there were at least like 40-50 people lined up...probably more. I recommend making a taxi reservation in advance, driving yourself, or going earlier in the day when it is easier to catch a bus back to town. I suppose you could also ride a bike or walk there and back from town, however it would take a while (~8-9km). [Update: Apparently when I visited there was a festival going on so that's why there were more people than normal]

Near the entrance to the wetlands - there are board walks and paths through the reeds

Mud Flats

View from the top of the Yongsan Observatory

Reeds forever

Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve

As always, stay tuned for more content soon! 

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