New TWICE Album

Today I tried again to get the new TWICE album. I took the train back to the giant bookstore I visited yesterday. I find myself relying less and less on navigation apps, getting more confident in my own internal pathfinding algorithms. When I arrived, there was already a big display set up with all the different versions of the album. I picked the one I wanted, paid at the counter, and got all the extra goodies that come with a “first day” purchase.

So what do you actually get when you buy a K-pop album?

A CD with the music (pretty useless since I don’t have a CD player - I use streaming services)
A giant poster (I frame these at home)
A 96-page photo book from the album shoot (with space for signatures)
Postcards with handwritten messages from the members (10 total — one for each member and one of the whole group)
A paper topper that doubles as a bookmark from a random member (I got Chaeyoung)
A single photocard, like a collectible trading card (I got Jeongyeon)
A photocard set (10 in total — one for each member and one group photo)

Ilmin Museum of Art

Yesterday, while walking through this area, I saw two museums that seemed worth a visit. I had some time left today, so I stopped by the first one: the Ilmin Museum of Art.
This was the first art museum that didn’t really click with me. I think it had a lot to do with how they presented the information — the wall texts were long (like 500 words each) and focused mostly on the artists’ biographies rather than the art itself. There was also a large political demonstration happening outside, and the sound carried into the galleries, which made it a bit hard to concentrate.
Not a bad museum, just not as engaging as the others I’ve seen so far.

Hangul Day Fair

On my way to the second museum, I passed a fair set up in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square. It was in celebration of Hangul Day, honoring the Korean alphabet. There were all sorts of booths where you could make hats, draw pictures, or try out VR headsets.
One booth let you make a keychain, which I actually wanted to try, but the line was long and full of kids — so I figured it wasn’t really meant for me.

National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

The second stop was the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, a large building at the far end of Gwanghwamun Square. The museum spans three floors, so I went through them in order.

The first floor was a special exhibition about the flag (태극기 - Taegeukgi). It showed how it was made, where it had been used, what came after it, and the symbolism behind it. The order seemed a bit strange — until I realized halfway through that I’d walked through it backwards. Still, I saw some really cool historical flags.

The second floor focused on how different generations of Koreans experienced their formative years. It was an interesting idea, but there was barely any English information, and the place was full of kids running around.

The top floor was where it really came together. It had an extensive exhibition covering Korea’s history from 1900 onward: Japanese colonial rule, the fight for independence, the aftermath of the Korean War, the democracy movement, the 1990s IMF crisis, and the modern era. It came with a detailed (and free) audio guide, which was great.
Unfortunately, I was already drained from all the earlier visits — and getting pretty hungry — so I skimmed through parts of it. I might come back another day, especially since there’s also a terrace with a great view of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

A Date!

After all that, I went back to the hotel to freshen up. Tonight I had a date with a Korean girl I met on Bumble. We’d been chatting for a few days, mixing English and Korean. I really wanted to experience a proper Korean street food tent (포장마차 - Pojangmacha), so we went to a street full of them and picked one that looked good.
We ordered food and drinks and started talking. It was really nice — getting to chat with a local about Korean culture, practice my Korean, and share a meal with someone.

At the end of the night, we said our goodbyes, and I hopped back on the train to the hotel, still a little tipsy but very happy.