Presidential elections come later in the year, but April 11 was a legislative branch election. Schools and public offices across the nation closed on Wednesday to encourage people to hit the polls and cast their votes. I think the final percent who participated was only a little above 50% of the population, but at least some citizens made an effort to get to polling places, and I know at least one Korean teacher who gave up hours of her time to volunteer as an assistant at a voting location.
Expatriates don't vote in these elections, of course, but many of us got the day off work. With spring in the air and the weather warming up finally, a number of us took advantage of the public holiday to get outside and explore the city. My plan was to meet with friends to see an art museum in Seoul. It turned into a busier day than that, not surprisingly.
I had stayed in Seoul the night before, so that saved travel time. I met a couple from church early, and they showed me the way to Publique, one of their favorite bakeries, near the Hapjeong station/Hongdae area. They're considering starting a Western/European restaurant review blog, so they try out a lot of these sorts of places. Flaky, buttery pastries, and light, airy loaves were our breakfast fare. We parted ways from my friend's husband and moved towards the Leeum Samsung art museum, stopping at Passion 5 on the way.
Passion 5 is a 2-story establishment that has a vast boulangerie-pâtisserie section, a gelato shoppe, a hand-made chocolate shop, and a cafe and restaurant. The place is recognized by the large chandelier hanging in a courtyard outside the building. The prices were high, but the quality of the latte I ordered was worth it. I dropped a sugar cube in before taking the picture, but you can see that it's pretty serious foam if it closed over so well. Photography is forbidden inside though, unless it's your own food. Conveniently, I didn't learn this until near the end of our visit, and no one made me delete my pics.
I'm glad we chose the Leeum Art Museum, since it had a tasteful layout, a well-selected permanent collection, and a mix of traditional and modern Korean art. Most of the art museums in Seoul focus on modern and contemporary art. Dani and I don't really enjoy the latter, so it was nice to see some of the older pieces mixed in. I really need to learn more about the symbolism and movements in traditional Korean art. The museum had a 10,000 won (about $9) admission fee, making it more expensive than a lot of the major museums in Seoul. As we were leaving, we noticed an umbrella station for stowing umbrellas outdoors while you explore the museum.
We did a quick stopover in Itaewon for a Turkish kebab, and met up with Dani's husband and another couple in Yeoido, a section of Seoul famous for its cherry blossom festival each spring. Sadly, the cherry blossoms weren't yet in their full glory, but we found enough early bloomers to take a few pictures, and the azaleas seemed to have made an earlier entrance on the spring scene. The weather was amazing in the afternoon, though it had been rather grey and damp in the morning, so we strolled for a while.
Rather than ending the day too early, we got in touch with a third couple and arranged to meet at a brewery in Hongdae called Castle Praha. It's partially underground, and had a bit of a Prancing Pony atmosphere about it, very medieval in its design and decor. In my vastly amateur opinion, the beer was good--we bought a sampler tray--and the cooks did a good job with the sausages, schnitzel, and fish and chips. Many bars serve "beer snacks" that taste somewhere between Bugles and packing peanuts, but this one served popcorn.
Capping off the holiday was a trip a few blocks away to the gourmet ice cream shop, Fell+Cole, where the owner serves homemade ice cream in an oft-changing selection of flavors. Carrot cake, burnt caramel and sea salt, baked banana, honey and lavender, Java the Hutt, and a few varieties with chili pepper in them were among our choices that day. I got the Star Wars-themed one (a coffee and Guinness concoction), delicious!
In spite of all the walking, it turned out to be a very refreshing day. I'm so glad for these occasional public holidays that Korea has. Hope the elections turned out well!
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