Staying with Miju - CouchSurfing host

I love CouchSurfing.com but I just know this recently before I went to Korea. I wish I knew it before I visited other countries. Couchsurfing is practically free where you could stay a few days or even longer (depending on the host) and exchange cultures and travel stories.

It is practical if:
1- you are on budget
2- you travel alone
3- you have plenty of time

Before I went to Seoul I checked couchsurfing for about a week and send request around 20-30 hosts. Fortunately, Miju replied my request and agreed while the rest rejected me. It was inconvenient because you need longer preparation to arrange/schedule cause your host might be working and have their own stuff to do. Those who don't want the hassle might just book a hostel/guesthouse/hotel.

Miju's mother couldn't speak English but both of her son and daughter speak fluently. She was such a warm person and tried to accommodate me as much as possible. She made me miss my mom even more!!  Miju stays in Nowon-Gu (Nowon station, Line 4/Line 7) which is around 1 hour to Myeongdong by subway.

 Flowers blooming around her house.

 Miju's mom is learning how to sew hanbok (Korean traditional dress)
on weekdays. Since I came on weekend, she couldn't show me her 

hanbok that she has sewn cause she left it at the class.

That was Miju's foot, even her foot couldn't fit.

 She could only show me the socks (yangmal) that

she has finished sewing. It was cute but couldn't fit

my giant feet.

 Her mother made a special fish, egg and vegetables 

dinner for me. The rice was cooked with a few type 

of beans hence the colour. I am totally in love with this

menu cause so many veges to eat!! The drink is bori cha 

(barley tea). I will be slimmer in no time ^^

 In the morning she made tteok guk for breakfast.

She picked some pink flowers (right hand side) at the garden

as table decoration - such an artist! By the way Miju's mom

is left handed. I told her that leftist is ingenious.

Making haemul buchu jeon. 해물부추전

Haemul buchu jeon 해물부추전

haemul - seafood

buchu - chives

jeon - pancake

 The room that I stayed and I slept on the floor with

the purple mattress (right hand side).

 Definitely gonna miss both of them!!

Miju works as a nurse and she is strict with the type

of food that they consume.

Haemul Dwenjang Jjigae 해물된장찌개

Seafood soybean stew. Miju's mom made 

it less salty just the way I like it. I love my kimchi

to be very sour eg 2 years kimchi but I don't like 

salty food. Visit Maangchi website if you want
to make it yoursel.

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Jinny - CS Bangi, Seoul

This time I stayed with Jinny for 5 nights!! - a couchsurfer host. She's fabulous!!

Here's Jinny my CS host. We met her meet-up buddies in a bar near Itaewon.

James from NZ on the left suppose to CS with her but I made it first! hahaha..



Bangi station near her house, exit 4.

And she thought me how to knit and I am now finishing it to wear on 25th December!!

She cooked a 5-minute tuna kimchi chigae and it was delicious!!

Yummy chigae...

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Chuseok with Chi Won's family

Before the relatives visited the family during lunch, me and Chi Won decided to walk along the stream and climbed a small hill behind her home. I was out of breath. Hahah..I know I'm lazy to exercise. The weather was around 13 degree celcius but it was sunny. Yeay!!

Korean don't really wear hanbok anymore except for special occasion like wedding and it is only worn by close family or relatives. The tradition is slowly disappearing among younger generation as Chi Won said. They prefer to wear casual or western attire.

But today me and Chi Won exchanged our culture through our clothes and she agreed to wear my Baju Kurung haha. She is pretty wearing it and she said that it is so comfortable not like hanbok.


My shadow of me and Chi Won near her home. The weather was crisp and cool.

Cosmos flower. Chi Won said that it is a lot during autumn.

Duck along the stream.

Autumn has started.

I like this!

An elementary school behind her home.

Cosmos flower again.


Me climbing the hill this time. Out of breath!!

Just like the FRIM forest reserve except that the forest is dry rather than wet.


A grave.


Me and Chi Won exchanging culture.


Wearing hanbok while exercising. Hahaha.

Chi won's younger brother playing my favourite piece by mozart. It was a romantic song. Chi Won and her brother could play both piano and violin. They have watched the Nodame cantabile drama from Japan hahaha..Chiaki sama and Nodame.


This time Chi Won played a piece by Liszt for me. It was hard!!


Then, both of them playing a duo with a simpler piece but it was still beautiful to my ears. Chi Won's brother is the violin lead in the orchestra. Awesome!! Both of them are doctors. A family of geniuses but very down to earth.

Then we took the whole picture family:
From top -left : Samuel (Chi won's cousin), Chi Won's father, Chi Won's mother, Chi Won's auntie, Chi won's ex-auntie ( her uncle passed away)
Bottom: Me, Chi Won and David (Chi won's ex-auntie's nephew)

Playing Go - Stop

Then me and Chi Won visited another of her auntie near Gangnam bus terminal cause her grandmother is there. The weird thing is her grandmother can speak Japanese. Yatta!! So I could converse with her and it was really fun cause I can practise my Japanese hahaha. During Chuseok, I have spoken broken korean, broken japanese and almost broken english. Hohoho..

From left: Chi won's younger cousin (studying 5th year in medical), Chi Won, auntie, younger grandmother and grandmother


Me with the family. Peace!!

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Making Songpyeon for Chuseok with Chi Won's family

Tomorrow is Chuseok festival in Korea. It is for the harvest season in October; they wish for good harvest produce for the year. I bugged Chi Won to teach me how to make Seongpyeon hahah. There's a korean saying which is..if you make beautiful Seongpyeon, you will have beautiful children. Chi Won's family said that my first Seongpyeon is pretty. Hahah..so I will have beautiful daughter, but the second seongpyeon and onwards is not pretty so I said that that will be my son. They will be ugly son but rich. Hahaha.

So here are some of our pictures:



Chi Won is kneading the dough for green seongpyeon

The sticky rice flour dough

Mom is making the white seongpyeon dough

Chi Won and her mom

Me..ngehehe.

A picture before we start the hard work..hahaha


Chi Won trying the baju kurung I brought. So tomorrow she will wear baju kurung and I will wear hanbok. Yeahhh...


Chi Won in Baju Kurung.

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Part 2 with Hyewon

Da Yeon

Her daughter likes this cartoon character called ppororo - 뽀로로. It is a penguin with a helmet..hahah. So cute. When we first met, her daughter kissed me on my left cheek. Hye Won was surprised cause her daughter never kiss her. Hahaha..Hye Won said she likes me. I know..I'm likeable..miahaha.

Hye Won is really kind. She has acommodate me with everything from taking a nap and shower at her home, bring me to an awesome restaurant where an 'ahjumma' claimed that she has seen me before (yikesss..is my face that common??) and sending me to Bupyeong subway station. Definitely a very cool penpal. Kamsahamnida Hye Won ssi!

One of the few things that I am thankful for before I come to Korea is learning hangul and survival phrases from KoreanClass101. Their syllabus is marvelous. I think I will try to meet up with them one of these days to say my thanks.

Every time I said 'Anyonghaseyo' or 'Kamsahanmnida', all of them were surprised that I could speak Korean. I said only a little that I know of but they praise me as if I am extremely fluent. Hahaha..aigoo.

So, any of you thinking of doing it roughly in Korea like me..please..please..learn hangul and survival phrases. It would help you tremendously. Believe me, especially when you get lost in translation..haha.

Here are the pictures:


We went to play at the playground nearby Hye Won's house.

She's enjoying it!


"Da yeon naa..get down!"

Later, she tried the swing.

Hyewon left Da Yeon with her mother and we went to his haemul(seafood) restaurant.
I forgot to tell her ahead that I could not eat meat and drink liquor and she had a headache trying to find our lunch and dinner menu. Hye Won ssi, mian he yo!

This is a mix of crab, fish, small octopus and vegetables. Hye Won felt it was so spicy but I said it wasn't. Haha..really! I guess Malaysian food is spicier.


Seawed soup.
Banchan (sorry I forgot its name)

Ooi kimchi (cucumber)

Fish with gochujang. (I didn't eat this cause I was so full - paebullo yo!)


This is the end result - I ate the most of it cause it was goooooood!!


After the dinner, Hye Won sent me to Bupyeong station and I managed to take picture during my transit in Gongdeok station. From Bupyeong to Botigogae station - 1,300 won. It took me 1 hour to reach Botigogae cause I had to transit at two stations and carrying that heavy luggage was like hell. You could bring trolley bag but I think backpack is better and faster to move around though heavier on your body.

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