Seoul makes the perfect theater weekend trip for musical theater fans. Seoul Charlotte theater itinerary to see Jekyll and Hyde (Korean language performance) with friends looked something like this. Actually, this was our second time seeing this fantastic musical.
Booking Tickets
We book our tickets through Interpark which has an English language interface. If you don’t have a Korean bank account, you may want to use a bi-lingual Korean concierge service. Also, such companies can help with purchasing tickets, hotels, and more. We usually buy our theater tickets at least a month in advance.
Saturday Seoul Forest and Theater Focus
For this Seoul Charlotte Theater Itinerary, we woke up and had a relaxing morning before meeting our friends. We all decided to catch an express bus to Seoul together rather. We purchased our express bus tickets 3-5 days in advance so that we didn’t get caught off guard. You can do this at the bus terminals. Make sure not to lose your tickets!
Our bus dropped us off at Dongseoul Express Bus Terminal. We choose this arrival point since we planned to visit Seoul Forest on our first day. However, Seoul has a variety of bus terminals to choose from and you need to choose carefully. Make sure you know where you are headed when selecting your arrival terminal. You don’t want to be caught far away from your destination.
Our first stop in Seoul was brunch at @toit_bleu. We all shared a strawberry cream croissant, asparagus Brie toast, sweet pumpkin soup, and avocado salad. Although, we had planned on going to a different location we found on Instagram, we all felt too hungry to wait and stopped at Toit Bleu instead. However, we think that Toit Bleu was the perfect choice.
Next, what was supposed to be 2nd brunch turned into an awesome detour into the handmade fashion world of @eastoklm. Such cool upcycled styles and fusion of modern and traditional. Our friend Lanae has an obsession with finding poorly marked doors in allies and going in to explore. This shop will be moving in June or July (2022). We will try to update the South of Seoul listing with the new info.
Toit Bleu
070-8886-5254
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 성동구 서울숲길 50
Very tasty brunch cafe.
After shopping, we needed more coffee. Therefore, we fueled up on caffeine @allthatcoffee with rich and flavorful espressos. This new Italian-style espresso bar trend in Seoul just makes sense.
East olkm
0507-1375-0201
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
668-140 Seongsu-dong 1(il)-ga Seo
Changing locations in June.
We used our liquid fuel to saunter around Seoul Forest Park and enjoy the green space. Seoul Forest isn’t massive but it’s a fun place to enjoy and you will recognize many of the areas from dramas or Instagram. We all spent about an hour here enjoying the sites before going back out into the city to explore more. You could easily bring a picnic and enjoy a relaxing lunch. Plenty of people do this.
all that coffee
A short interlude to enjoy the art found in storefronts, restaurants, and on the street.
Seoul Forest
02-460-2905
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 성동구 뚝섬로 273
Huge series of connected parks
We left the Seoul Forest to forage for more food. However, we didn’t plan on the fact that the lantern festival and loosening of COVID restrictions would make it close to impossible to find a place to sit down and eat. Restaurant lines were either extensive, the menu sold out, or (eventually) the restaurants closed for break time.
Thankfully, We stumbled upon soup dumplings @baozi.pu. At first, we were sad because they had only one time of dumpling. However, we needed food so we just ordered two of the same thing. Best idea. The dumplings were wonderful.
With a few dumplings in our bellies, we thought we found burgers and a place to sit, but they were on break and only offering drinks, so we grabbed a delicious cinnamon bun @munchiesandgoodies.
Baozi Seoul Forest
0507-1333-9256
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 성동구 왕십리로6길 13
Small Chinese restaurant serving s dumplings and soups.
Then we hit the jackpot of desserts on the next street @mellower_kr. Not our first time at this cafe, but the first time having the lemon meringue croissant, which was magical.
Munchies And Goodies
0507-1369-5294
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 성동구 연무장길 33 1층
This market has fresh, pre-made sandwiches and plates, while also selling homemade baked goods. There are also some organic type products, like natural toothpaste and such.
We eventually needed to say goodbye to Seoul Forest and make our way to Lotte Tower and the surrounding area to check-in to to our hotel and grab dinner before the show. Across the bridge from Lotte Tower, we opted to load up on fresh veggies, mushrooms, and some protein with shabu @sj_nabe.
Mellower
02-499-1112
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 성동구 성수이로7길 39
A hip two-story cafe in Seoul Forest with some unique twists the the usual offerings and a mellow vibe.
We made it to the @charlotte_theater for the main event—Jekyll and Hyde. We saw it with new leads and this performance was even better than the last, which is saying a lot since the first performance was great enough to bring us back again! Not only the vocals, but the acting was also phenomenal. We don’t speak Korean and we still love every musical we see in South Korea. Art overcomes language.
Lotte Tower
Hangul Address
서울 송파구 올림픽로 300
A large tower in the center of a shopping and entertainment complex.
Charlotte Theater
1644-0078
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 송파구 올림픽로 240
A pleasant medium sized theater with excellent shows.
We after partied with amazing gelato from @gelatigelati_official. It’s nice to take a moment to talk about the performance before heading back to the hotel for the night.
Gelati Gelati
02-422-3281
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 송파구 잠실로 209
A fancy gelato chain with very nice gelato. This branch is near Lotte World.
Sunday Hongdae Book Street Focus
Started the day with probably the best bagels we’ve had in Korea. Loulou Bagels in Jamsil is a return visit for us. This bagel shop was an easy walk from our hotels. The perfect way to begin the day.
Then our friends introduced us to some American diner fare @butterfingerpancakes for the real breakfast of the day.
Butter Finger pancakes
02-532-5740
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 서초구 강남대로61길 13
This restaurant serves American style large portion breakfast. Huge portions of pancake varieties. Omelette and other lunch option available. This place opens till 1am!
None of has had been to Hongdae/Mapo-gu in over a year, so we jetted on over. And by jetted we mean sat on a subway and caught up on Instagram and the news.
Burned off the morning carb load with some walking along Book Street and photo shoots.
Gyeongul Book Street Station
After we got enough vitamin D, we had to refuel, so grabbed some Vietnamese from @banhmiphuong_official.
Bahn Mi Phuong
02-3144-1898
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 마포구 성미산로29길 20 1, 2, 3층
This colorful Vietnamese restaurants specializes in bahn mi and does have a few other options to enjoy.
Continued with the Vietnamese theme and grabbed Vietnamese coffee and relaxed for a while.
We had seen @teot_dessert earlier in the day and had to stop by on the way back to Seoul Station. We helped the worker out by grabbing and devouring the last two desserts: a Kahlua dark chocolate tea cake and a lavender lemon cheesecake mousse. So good.
Teot
0507-1337-1214
Copy and paste phone numbers into Naver Maps to get directions
Hangul Address
서울 마포구 동교로41길 4
An elegant dessert shop with expensive and refined treats.
Just waiting for the train home. What a fun weekend! Do we look exhausted as we feel?
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Chad Card holds a Master’s of Arts in Second Language teaching and a Master’s in Near and Middle Eastern Studies. He works for the Department of Defense (DODEA) as an ELA educator. Mr. Card travels extensively in South Korea and internationally. His passion includes studying languages, culture, and diversity.
Brian Rich holds a Master’s in Clinic Social work and a Bachelor’s in English Teaching. Mr. Rich is an experienced social work clinician who transitioned into education and works for the DODEA.
Together, Brian and Chad work as Cultural Liaisons and Content Creators developing travel itineraries focused on arts and culture across South Korea. Their love of learning, culture, and life is evident in all of their work.
