Today I have a sweet little boutique tucked away on the quiet Northern area of Hongdae to share with you! We discovered it one day on our way to Molly’s Pop’s and immediately I was sucked in by all the cute clothing on display outside!  I am pleased to introduce you to “Star Shine” boutique~ sweet and girly vintage style shopping! ★

Inside I could immediately tell the owner was my kind of girl!  Sweet colors, knits, flowers, hello kitty, and charming patterns all around you!

Everything feels so sweet and like it is one of a kind~ I love it! ★ hand-picked with love

Star Shine is a mixture boutique of select items and customized pieces~  I also recall a few thrifted vintage items mixed in as well, so you never know what you will find inside!  She tends to get new items in every week or two, so it can be hit or miss~ but that is kinda the fun with these sorts of places The owner of the shop was previously a fashion major who decided in 2012 to open up her own shop so she could freely sell what she loved while making accessories and communicating with the customers.

She loves pinks, vintage, print, and cute details~ combined it makes for a very sweet shop!

Adorable fluffy sweater with a lace collar!

My favorites in here are hands down the knits!  She has some made and picks out others, her color and texture choices are the sweetest you will find here in Seoul~  perfect for those brisk spring days here in the city.

inside the store you will notice a lot of little craft supplies~  the owner likes to make a lot of her own accessories and depending on what you want she may be able to make you something special as well!  Her pieces all have a sweet handmade thrift store charm usually!

Earthy mixed with girly sweetness~

I knew I wanted a new sweater and could not decide!  So many cute designs ♥

Pom pom hats and a sweet little leather something really finish off her outfits! I feel like I want to rent a cute little cottage in the forest with heart windows and pick berries or press flowers when I look at her clothing hehe. Hongdae Style is always a bit unique and sweet like this it seems!

cutie pom poms on everything!

Lovely polka dot pink and white stockings!

Star Shine Haul!

So after much debate I finally decided what pretty piece I wanted to buy from Star Shine~

I got this REALLY cute thick knit sweater!  I really love how big and baggy it is on + I love the variation of knit and fun colors!  Currently this is one of my favorite sweaters from Korea ^^  The cost was around 50,000 won, a bit more than I usually am willing to pay, but I found the construction unique and the material nice, thick, and soft so I caved in!

Directions to “Star shine ★ 스타샤인” Cute Clothing Shop in Hongdae

Star shine ★ 스타샤인

서울 특별시 마포구 서교동 331-10

Hours: 12:00 to 10:00 pm (7 days a week)

Price range: clothing ranges from 25,000-50,000 won mostly

If you are coming by the metro, as always Green Line #2 Hongdae Station (aka Hongik University) is the ideal choice!

Star shine ★ 스타샤인 is in a small back street of Hongdae a little bit away from the action, but it is a great area to explore!  Fastest way is to use Exit #8 at Hongdae Station and walk straight down the road.

When you hit the main road of Hongdae you will see the small grass island in the center of the road, the little side street you are going to want to take is just past that!

After a short walk down the small road you should come upon Star Shine on your left!  It should be hard to miss with its nice bright blue sign in English + usually she has lots of clothing out on display in the wooden area!!

Have you visited Star Shine?  Did you find it thanks to this article? What is your favorite thing pictured here? Comment below and share!

At long last the Cherry Blossoms 벚꽃 bloomed in Korea!  They came quite late this year because winter seemed to hang around forever! Korea has many places to view them, but one of our favorites is actually right next door to my apartment, Boramae Park 보라매공원!

The trees are not very thick here, but the crowds are a LOT easier to manage vs someplace like Yoeido park

This is also a nice park for spring picnics under the 벚꽃 blossoms! Weekdays are the best, weekends this park gets PACKED in the Spring and Summer!  Thankfully it is a huge clean park so finding a nice spot is not too hard.  I hear in Japan it is almost impossible this time of year to find space when the blossoms bloom if you want to sit out with a blanket at the park for Hanami.

Today was a special day because Nara wanted to take Milk out for some fresh air!  My apartment does not get any sunshine and I have a very small window, so he wanted him to enjoy the sun a little bit!  This was Milk’s 2nd visit to Borame park, we walked with his carrier open a little and let him sniff around to his hearts content~  he wanted to eat the flowers though ^^; no no no

First reaction~ “wut?”   ♥ Second reaction~ “mmmm dis nice”

Beautiful! ♥

In the back of the park up the hill you will find stone steps leading up to the Boramae Buddhist temple~

isn’t it beautiful? Korean temples are my favorite because they are so detailed and colorful!

All the lanterns were hung for Buddha’s Birthday 석가탄신일 , a really fun holiday here in Korea that happens in early may usually.  You can read all about the celebration HERE it is one of my favorite holidays in Korea ♥ the lanterns looked beautiful among the blossoms this weekend!

continuing uphill past the temple you will find small quiet walkways steadily taking you up the mountain

Up here is the area most of the Ajumma 아줌마 and Ajoshis 아저씨 like to hike and use the free equipment to work out haha.  Koreans love to hike, especially the senior citizens.

As you can see, up here the trees are so beautiful!!! Everyone crowded down on the main walkways of Boramae Park 보라매공원, but if you just walk a bit uphill the crowds are greatly reduced and the trees are even more lovely~  I think lots of people just do not realize this is up here!

Milk’s reaction to all the giant birds squawking in the trees

I had been locked in my room for a few days working on a project deadline, so it was nice to come up the hill and enjoy the air with Nara and Milk a bit + see the blossoms.  I adore cherry blossoms, I wish they bloomed year-round like this.

What do you think Milk? Would you like to come out?

As I have said in previous posts, since Milk was a baby I have tried to carry him outside a little bit to get him used to people and other spaces besides my apartment.  The reason behind this is because when we move back to America I want him to suffer as little stress as possible since he will have to come in and out of the carrier for many hours + stay in a hotel with us for a few weeks.  Also, since he can not walk very well (he has CH) I want him to never run off or freak out from people, he would just hurt himself if he panicked.

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Usually I just carry him to Nara’s house in my purse, but this is his 2nd time in the park which has a lot of smells and noises.  He handled it quite well!!  Having pampered pet cats is kind of a new thing here in Korea, so carrying one around like this was especially strange… it kinda is at home too I know.  When Nara and I return to the states we will have a nice patio for him to enjoy, but for now this was a nice experience for Milk!

We set him down for a bit with the leash to feel the earth and sniff around!  He seemed to enjoy it!

Family time haha! Milk is like “Get me outta here…”

MY SON!

Another flower that is iconic of Spring here in Korea~ 개나리!  You know it is truly spring here when the Cherry blossoms bloom and the hills turn yellow!  진달래꽃 and 개나리 are iconic spring flowers here for the Korean people, perhaps even more than cherry blossoms.

Really peaceful up the hill~ I wanted to lay down and take a nap.

After a little walk through the Cherry Blossoms we found a nice quiet place in the grass away from everyone to relax for a bit on our blanket.

Milk stayed close and just lounged with us or sniffed around.  As you can see I dressed appropriately for the occasion

Of course a stroll outside requires a little bit of Korean street food as a snack!  They have a guy at the Entrance of the park that makes really yummy Hotteok 호떡 , one of my faaaaaavorite treats

진달래꽃 buds about to bloom!

Thank you Boramae Park for yet another peaceful and enjoyable day!  Now that Spring is finally here I expect to be visiting a lot more often before the boiling hot summer begins ^^

Lotus lanterns outside the 관악구 government office.

One thing that I found disappointing about Korea when I first started coming was the city-wide lack of traditional holiday celebrations. Living in Japan I was able to participate in many celebrations, parades, festivals, and occasions to wear traditional clothing, but in Korea even though they always talk about it or promote it abroad…. those things are more behind closed doors or just Calendar holidays that do not bring about anything very exciting or “cultural” for outsiders~ with the exception of Buddha’s Birthday and the beautiful Lotus Lantern Festival held in his honor!

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The first records of the Lotus Lantern Festival in Korea is recorded in the year 866~890.  Since then, depending on the ruling emperor the lantern festival has had a place in and out of Korean history. During Goryuh period of Korea ( approximately years 918∼1392 ) Korea became a Buddhist country, and there were detailed records of the lantern festivities recorded by the Emperor ‘Taejo’ (918~943). The popularity of this  festival was high and low throughout Korea’s history depending on the ruler of Korea during the time period~ In 1975 The day of the festival was announced a national holiday and the lantern festival gained popularity with modern Korea as a festive celebration regardless of your religion.

** click on smaller images in this post for a larger view**

This is a holiday celebrated throughout East Asia in honor of Prince Siddhartha Gautama‘s Birthday~ Gautama Buddha is the spiritual teacher on whose teachings the Buddhist religion is based.

Why so much pink? Pink is considered the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity and is associated with the Great Buddha himself.

Buddah’s Birthday 석가탄신일 (the day of Buddha’s birthday) or 부처님 오신 날 (the day when Buddha arrived) is celebrated according to the Lunar Calendar so the date changes, but it usually falls sometime in April or May.  Once the month arrives you will start to see colorful lanterns from local temples adorn the streets and parks in the surrounding areas, they add a beautiful splash of color to the streets everywhere! The temples themselves become FILLED with lit lanterns, sometimes covering the area overhead like a blanket of colorful lights.

Although Christianity is rapidly growing within Korea and resulting in dwindling numbers of practicing Buddhists (Wikipedia states Buddhism is practiced by about 23% of the country’s population currently)  It is still a national holiday and celebrations/parades/etc are often attended by all religions wishing to enjoy the beautiful lights or keep the tradition alive.

Viewing the lanterns at the Temple in Borame Park. These stay up for a few weeks leading up to the holiday.

I am lucky enough to live next door to to the large Borame Park which has a very nice Buddhist temple inside that is a very short walk uphill.  This temple strung lights all around the park for the weeks leading up to the actual birthday, and at night where absolutely beautiful! I went to the part for a walk almost every night that month, why can’t they just leave these up year-round? (._.) *sigh*  The week before the holiday lots of families came at night to pray, usually the temple is very quite at night~ but for this holiday it gets very lively!

(Full list of Buddhist temples in Korea is up on Wikipedia HERE if you want to find one in your area!)

Aside from going to the temples at night to enjoy the lights, Korea also has a few other thing like culture fairs and lantern parades a week before the birthday!  The parades are a LOT of fun, so try and catch one if you can. This year was my first time attending and it was amazing!

Usually the temples from all around the city march down the street at night with amazing lanterns in beautiful outfits or traditional clothing~ it was so nice to see so many Hanboks! You hardly ever get to see them in my area, but I love them!

Huge lanterns in the shape of things like Buddha, dragons, etc also are moved down the streets (like floats) and the detail is stunning!! It is hard to believe that they are all made of just paper and wire!

This year I attended the Yeon Deung Hwae Lotus Lantern Festival parade which takes place around Dongdaemun leading to the GIANT Jogye-sa Temple.  The and celebration lasts an hour or two, ending at the temple where everyone gathers and offers prayers within the temple and to small shrines set up.  If you miss the actual parade night do not worry, they keep the large lantern floats out on display for the whole week at night… which actually makes it a lot easier to take photos since they are sitting still!

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According to Korean sites, in 1955 near Jogye-sa 조계사 temple, the new lantern festival as we know today ignited. The route of the parade during this time was from Yeo-euido to Jogye temple (in Jongro), but from 1996 the route changed to – From Dongdaemoon stadium to Jogye temple which is the path they still use today. This event has become one of the most participated national street festivals in Korea, you can see giant lanterns and floats of sacred animals to cute Buddhist monk characters to even cartoon characters. Every year the lanterns have gotten more elaborate and creative~ some traditional and some very modern!

Jongno Street is filled with Buddhist shops~ The night of the festival they all stay open late so you can go in and shop or just gaze at the beautiful lanterns for sale.

 Ah I want a giant one for my room so badly, then every day could be my own Lotus Lantern Festival lol

Vendors selling lotus lanterns that light up in many sizes and colors line the streets with little booth or carts so you do can buy one (the price rages from around 8,000 won to 20,000 won depending on the size!) walk with them to the temple as the parade makes it way down the street.

Nara bought me a pretty purple lantern this year for my room! ♥

The night is lit up like a colorful dream world ♥ I wish it was like this all the time!

The floats featured in the parades are made from materials like silk and traditional Korean paper called hanji.

ahhh they even had a Little Prince Lantern!!

All of the local temples come out to march together for the Jogyesa Temple Lotus Lantern Parade in Seoul

Monks giving out free lanterns

The parade leads right into the Jogye-sa Temple where everyone takes group temple photographs and celebrates by offering prayers in the temple or mini shrines set up, dancing, singing, etc.

The Jogye-sa Temple has the most amazing GIANT golden Buddha

 this year was so crowded I could hardly move or take photos without getting bumped everyplace *_* busy!!

Inside the temple they had so many areas of donated lanterns that you could walk inside and enjoy

Surrounded by lanterns! Each “Area” set up inside the temple had a section made up of different lantern colors or shapes.

Main area of the tent had traditional dances and music going on~

and the whole HUGE temple was COMPLETELY covered above with lanterns! Seriously, the area these covered was giant!

So yes, if you plan on visiting Korea you should absolutely try and schedule it around this month!  Even if you can not make the festival, the city is still strung up with beautiful lights at night so it is worth it!

LINKS + INFO ~ Buddha’s Birthday 석가탄신일 + Lotus Lantern Festival

Upcoming Dates for Buddha’s Birthday in South Korea
2012    ~    28 May
2013    ~     17 May
2014    ~     6 May
2015    ~    25 May
2016    ~    14 May

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VisitKorea.com Event listing for 2013

Big thanks to Nara who had his camera with him to snap some of these beautiful photos for me~ Even with all the pushing and low light they still came out super beautiful, I only had my cell phone camera at the time so thank goodness!

Tim Burton arrives for his first visit in Korea ever to promote his show ~ pic via Korea Herald

This year Seoul’s Museum of Art (SeMA) became the FINAL host to the amazing Tim Burton show put together by the MoMA!  The show originally launched in New York during 2009 and was met with amazing success~ currently it holds record for the third most visited show in MoMA ever.  Since then it has been all over the world before making it’s final stop here in Korea!

The show had 862 pieces of his original work on display~ early high school projects, college work, doodles ripped from sketchbooks, concept drawings, you name it! It was like exploring his young mind and watching who he was take form~ you could often see doodles of things that would return in some way years later within his movies!  They had several rooms, including a large one to display dozens of movie props from this films, it seems almost everything he worked on was represented!

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Something extra cool about this show here in Korea~ For the Seoul show, SeMA curators worked with MoMA curators to add approximately 100 new works including a new section devoted to the director’s latest movie “Frankenweenie.”

I personally was very interested to see this exhibit as an artist and fan, so I am really glad I had an opportunity to view it here in Korea at SeMA.  I am an 80′s child and grew up with a lot of his work~ the original Frankenweenie, Beetlejuice, Peewee’s big adventure, and I remember seeing Nightmare before Christmas as a little kid in the theaters and from that moment on it was a favorite of mine.  I am not a die-hard, but I enjoy a lot of his current work and signature style….the artist part of me likes other artists that have a kind of style consistency to the work they do~  even if I do not enjoy a particular movie he has worked on I can always see his stamp someplace in the production or designs and I respect him a lot for that.

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I was also eager to view his early work as a student and see if his set style now was apparent even way back when!

The show ran from December 12, 2012 – April 14, 2013  but due to work we kept putting it off till it was down to the final week of the exhibit *_* Nara was too busy to attend, but thankfully my friend Yuri also wanted to go and we had a free weekday to slip in and attempt to miss the crowds since we were sure it would be PACKED on the weekend.

As soon as we hit the entrance I had a good feeling about this show~

Spring came late this year so while the show was going on all the trees still had no leaves from winter, it kinda worked out perfectly and gave the entrance a neat creepy vibe!  Did you plan that Tim Burton? lol

Even though we came on a weekday it was still really crowded!

Time to grab our tickets!

Tickets ran 12,000 won for this event~ not too bad considering how huge it was

The inside of SeMA was amazing! It did not disappoint!

Really nice creepy entrance to the main show!

Time to enter!  After this hallway photography was not allowed…but I did ninja just a small amount for you guys to see a tiny bit of what it was like because I am naughty lol

Enter!!

The exhibition was divided into three parts~ 

Part 1: Surviving Burbank which covered his early years from 1958 to 1976.

Part 2: Beautifying Burbank which covered the years 1977 to 1984 including his time with Cal Arts and Walt Disney.

Part 3: Beyond Burbank which covered his most productive years from 1985 to the present.

One of his very early projects from High School!

Very early concept doodles for Edward Scissorhands

This random glow room was amazing *_* just like some sort of creepy spinning carousel~  is this a movie prop or from anything?  Yuri and I could not recall, but it was really cool!

Scratch that!  Someone remembered, it is from the Oogie Boogie” song scene in “Nightmare Before Xmas!! Awesome, thank you!!

In one of the exhibit rooms they had a corner roped off to screen a very early Tim Burton feature (I think from the late 80s or very early 90′s) as well as a short live action film  he did that only aired once in 1982 on Disney , “Hansel and Gretel”. It was extremely bizarre, painfully slow, and for some reason the cast was all Japanese and the evil mother was cross dressed and had on like a weird old school Japanese wig that almost looked like sumo hair lmao.

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It was so odd and weird, but still resembled his work complete with appearances of his trademark stripe curling trees~  Super WTF, someone link me if it is online because I could not find it.  Read info about it HERE

The clock was an amazing prop from the movie, I wish I could have snagged a better pic of it~

In the following room they had the original storyboards from the 1982 film on display~ they were very colorful and interesting! I could see what he mentally had in mind for the short film a little better that the budget (or effects at the time maybe) did not execute as well lol  when Hansel and Gretel ate the witch’s house in the movie it was really gross (all this rainbow goo ran out) but in the boards it looked really awesome haha.

Final room in the show was filled with movie props. SO sad I could not at least take photos in this room~ because it had amazing pieces from almost every movie he worked on.  Not large collections, but at least 1-5 cool pieces.  Edward’s outfit, Sweeney Todd’s razor set, figures fro Mars Attacks, Batman’s mask, and many more~

Vincent price is pretty awesome!

outside the exhibition rooms they had plenty of things up to take photos with~

as well as a giant wall of human-sized doodles! Everyone enjoyed taking photos with these characters the most!

Yuri found a new boyfriend!

Outta mah face creepy batman! Sadly it was rainy and freezing outside so I was sloppy and did not dress up themed for this event… major regrets now! Anyway~

On the top floor they also had a decent gift shop filled with Tim Burton items~  art prints, postcards, vinyl figures from his book series, and DVDs mainly.  The DVDs seemed to be quite popular, I think many Koreans were unaware of a lot of his other older films so it was a good chance to buy them.

They had an art book for sale special for the event, but it was extremely disappointing… just a few sketches used on the postcards as well, and they were not particularly interesting so sadly I decided not to buy~ although honestly I was ready to throw down a large sum for a nice book of concepts from this event :/ especially since photos were not allowed and all that. blah.

Stick Boy and Match Girl figures complete with a little matchbox

After we finished we went to go grab some dinner and it got dark.  On our walk back we passed the building and the huge Jack art illuminated through the trees~ it was an amazing surprise!

For those of you who could not make it to the show, I am happy to tell you that MoMA has uploaded a LOT of the original show pieces online so you can view them on the official site HERE

Did you have a chance to see this show in Seoul or in some other part of the world? What was your favorite part?  What is your favorite movie Tim Burton worked on over the years?  Comment below!

So the month of May marks Children’s Day in South Korea! Since the holiday is all about children, many places here have special children’s day items~  yearly I look forward to the goodies Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts Korea put out because they are usually extra cute!

If you remember, last year I featured the Dino Jelly Party Baskin Robbins Korea threw for this holiday

Last year I snagged the adorable Dino Party ice cream truck~ this year I was ready for a new addition to my collection!

Baskin Robbins Korea also releases special lego kits from time to time, especially in March for children’s day!  They always seem to sell out SUPER FAST in my area…the supplies only last maybe 2-3 days max before the kits are all gone, so you have to act quick if you want one!

This year Baskin Robbins decided to go with a Pirate theme and released a new flavor “Treasure chest”!  I have not tried it yet, but apparently it is a melon and banana ice cream with chocolate balls and I believe popping candy.

as well as this adorable pirate ship ice cream cake!

The new lego kit was released this week so we hopped over to go check it out~  aw it is a pink pirate ship!!  MUST HAVE!  They also released it in baby blue, Nara and I opted for the pink of course   Just like with most free gifts at Baskin Robbins in Korea, in order to get the item you have to spend 19,000 won and pay an additional 1,000 won for the item~  The family pack size of ice cream works perfectly with this event!

They also have a kids pop tent/ playhouse item, but we are too big for it D: *sigh*

That evening we had a little ice cream party and Nara set to work building the kit!  He loves legos, so building the lego kits are always his job haha I just watched and ate.

Time to open up the ice cream carton and get started!  These kits are for ages 3+, come with instructions, and are easy enough to put together for small kids~ but still kill a small amount of time!  Good distraction!

The kit came with a bitty treasure map… looks a liiiiittle Korea-ish, doesn’t it?

Yar ~ me pretty ice cream boat!

lol at the car steering wheel… I guess they did not have a stock ship wheel to use in the design.

and all done!!!  How cute is this?  I love getting little goodies like this when I buy things here! My little Baskin Robbins pink pirate ship now has a home on my shelf next to my other little goodies ^^

Have you tried the new treasure chest flavor? Did you get a special lego kit?  Does Baskin Robbins do anything fun like this where you live? Comment below and share with others!

Gundam is a staple in anyone’s childhood that grew up in Asia, of course this included Koreans even though the importing of Japanese entertainment goods was fairly tight due to Korea’s censorship back in the day. With the notion that Japanese anime were too sexual and violent for kids in Korea, a lot of manga were censored and banned.  Despite that, Japanese anime and toys did manage to slip in here over the years and Gundams of course have a special place in Korean boys hearts young and old!

Korea has various hobby shops throughout the city (although most are a bit hidden and random finds for me personally) dedicated to all sorts of kits or hobby paints imported from Japan nowadays, but now finally Seoul has become home to one of the best shops for Gundam fans of all ages- GUNDAM BASE located in the i-park mall of Yongsan right in the heart of the Electronics market district.

The electronics market district has started to seem a bit sparse and run down in recent years with the rise of online shopping, but Bandai-Korea has come in to open a fairly large sparkling wing in the mall complete with a few other expensive hobby shops including Tamiya.

Perhaps this is the start of a new ginormous import hobby zone if things go well?? only time will tell!

For now, the shop sure is magnificent-looking with details you would expect in a tokyo location + fully stocked with kits of every size, shape, color, and price tag!

Gotta love the giant Gundam figure on display when you enter~ perfect photo buddy!

Nara grew up with Gundams in the 80′s and 90′s of course, he was a fan of building the little SD Gundam kits and was very excited to see this store when I found the photos online!

I grew up with some gundam, but my cousin was really into it so the kits and anime always floated in and out of my life.  I love the soundtrack from “endless waltz” and love them visually (I take photos with them whenever I can, nothing is cooler than a giant robot)  but forgive me if I can not dive into fine details with what models are available.

Lets just say, they have a LOT…like a WHOLE LOT and prices seemed extremely fair and did not seem to suffer a horrid mark-up considering they are imports.  I knew they made lots of Gundams, but wow… I had no idea this many existed!

Aside from the flashy GUNDAM BASE exterior complete with the latest Gundam anime playing on screen, they also had glass cases with all sorts of goodies~ check out these uniforms!  I am not sure if you can buy them since I only saw them in the window though….having one of those jackets would be pretty awesome though *_*

Gundam inspired guitars??? WOAH!!

One thing I loved about this location was practically every model for sale or that had been on sale was on display for you to view.  It made picking out models so much easier based on details for the price and seeing just how cool they looked finished VS what was on the box.

Nara was telling me how he felt disappointed countless times when the model in the box did not match up to the flashy cover art. Here at Seoul’s GUNDAM BASE you can see exactly what your gundam will look like once it’s made (correctly) without extra paints added to them.

Nara drools over some of the more detailed Gundam figures with loads of weapons. Robot violence is just so much more fun.

This Gundam even had the little people loading into the cockpit with the ramps and stuff. This model is pretty huge btw!

Under maintenance perhaps? love all the little pieces that open!

Suddenly Nara is 10 years old again and I am hit with the “Mommy buy this for me BECAUSE OF REASONS” face

Samurai Gundam? Pretty awesome!

I freaked out over these lady Gundams!!  I really want to buy one, but both styles they had are sold out and the staff said they did not know if/when they would be getting more T_T anyone know anything about these? One is called “nobel gundam” I hope they are not hard to acquire!

Giant foamcore kit! This guy was almost 5 foot I think!

choices~ choices~ choices! The store was filled with all sorts of people~  boys and girls both young and old!

Several aisles dedicated to Nara’s favorites the SD mini Gundams! These are so cute!

Aw!!  I really want some of these kits, they are cute, badass-looking, and have amazing details.

Hey C-3PO~ What are you doing here?

In the back corner they have a nice basic craft area for model supplies if you need some for your kit! Mr. Hobby paints, decals, Hobby Japan books, and I think they had some of the paint markers as well.   Very nice addition to the store.

Next to that they had a few small tables set up for people to put together models if they could not wait to get home!  Lots of younger boys were there that day with Mom’s trying to help them out haha. A nice fun activity space for little kids to enjoy their hobby.

In the back they had another large area of the store just for other (non-gundam) bandai figures~

Most of what this area had seemed to be what the Korean market would want~ namely loads of One Piece and Dragon Ball…. Koreans really love one piece, pretty much anything with a fun and goofy style seems to catch on here a lot.  I also spotted some “Tiger & Bunny” and “Evangelion” figures in small numbers as well.

“Space ship Yamato” model

80% of what they have stocked is One Piece~ but it was nice to see at least some anime-related figures!

Retro robo!

Another great addition to this giant store was B-Base, an area dedicated to card games! These games are something that is really huge in Japan right now (they have these arcades and games just filled with card games for SO many kids shows now, it is insane and hard to explain..some even work with arcade games) so a little of it is starting to overflow into Korea now that they have really open op the floodgates of Japanese imports lately.

If robots are not really your cup of tea I have great news~ attached to the Bandai Gundam Base in Yongsan is a Bandai Toy Factory for even more Japanese toy import goodies!!

The selection is quite nice~ slightly modest compared to Japan of course, but it seems they are mainly selling items that are officially being sold here as brands/lines vs imports (Note the packaging is all in Korean in this shop).  Many of these items you can buy in larger toy stores here in Korea, however they hardly ever have a nice large area like this.

Lots of craft kits and electronic goodies.

If you love magic girl goodies they have several of the magic items from shows like Puricure~ man they make such amazing girls toys nowadays, I want some so bad!!  The Perfume bottle makes a spray noise, swishes liquid, and you can swap out the color chips. Sadly these are not very cheap, about 30,000 ~ 45,000 won so I keep putting off buying one… about to cave though.

Another show they had a lot of products for was Power Rangers~ More robots of course, but also lots of other toys and role-play items for the show.

You can find capsule toys scattered around Korea in small amounts, but the Bandai Toy Factory has a whole wall of them!  Some seem to be a bit newer vs what I normally see around Seoul.  These toys are always so much fun, the details are usually amazing

 I Park mall~ Hobby Shops in Korea

The whole general area around the store has other toy and hobby shops/kiosks~

one worth mentioning right away is the TAMIYA model shop!  TAMIYA has a lot of car and military models, but they are also quite famous for their model paints!

You can find all sorts of model supplies and very nicely stocked shelves of “TAMIYA Color” paint here!

Tamiya has a large selection of military-related models! Figures, Tanks, Planes etc.  Since i-park mall is right next to the Yongsan Military Base I would assume they get a lot of people into these kinds of models.  Much like Japan, I have noticed Korea has its own share of older Military Otaku as well… may have a lot to do with the required 2 year service all boys have to fulfill.

Tamiya had a whole section for military ships!  Some of the parts on these are so tiny, they must be very hard to build!

Lots of car kits!

Samples of the kits out for you to check out before buying~  I love it when places do that.  Nara remembered having one of these ‘HORIZON’ model as a kid haha this is quite a nostalgic day for him I guess ^^

Boys of all ages really like the Tamiya racing car kits~ these things go SO fast!  If you are a fan of these cars I saw lots of flyers for clubs and racing leagues posted outside the store, nice to see they are coming together!

across the way is a Korean shop “VICTOR” with even more car-related goodies and other “boys toys”

and how about some extra EXTRA fancy toys? These RC planes will set you back a few hundred!

If you enjoy building things and want a unique Korean kit, you should try the vendor selling wooden building models!  They have a lot of traditional Korean buildings and the detail is amazing! Lots of these kits cost 30,000 won or less and make for a fun cultural activity or gift I think.

Aw mini Korean Terminator poster!

If you want a little visual entertainment but to not feel like sitting through an IMAX movie at the Yongsan theater, you can hop on a 4D Rider movie!  I have not tried these in many years, but I always enjoyed them when I was younger ^^

Robot prize machine!

surfs up pikachu! This tank was filled with all sorts of electronic water toys

They also have a few regular toy stores if hobby shops are not your thing! Yay Sylvanian families!!!

Directions to I Park Mall  아이파크몰/ Gundam Base 건담베이스

Hours: 10am – 8pm (Mall hours are 10-10 though)

Yongsan Seoul Location: I Park Mall  서울 용산구 한강로3가 40-999 아이파크몰

Located on the 7th floor with all the other hobby shops

Additional Korea Locations: Daegu and Busan have a Bandai Gundam Base apparently as well

I Park mall 아이파크몰 is now the pink building on the left side of the image with the aqua name label.

I Park mall is one of the larger buildings in the Yongsan Electronics area and fairly easy to find.  If you need lengthy directions to the general area please check out my related post HERE for alternative directions at the bottom.

For those of you already familiar with Seoul’s subway, you will be happy to know you can use 3 different metro stations to get to this shopping center! Yongsan Station Line #1 Dark Blue,  Yongsan Station on the Aqua Jungang Central Line, and Shinyongsan Station on the Blue Line #4

This building is very large and clearly labeled “I-Park” with a large orange E-mart sign on it as well. The IMAX theater for Yongsan is also located in this building, so if you are confused someone should easily be able to point you in the right direction.

 ♥ Links ♥

Gundam Base Korea Official Site

Gundam Base Korea Official Facebook

I Park Mall Official Site

Do you like Gundams? Did you grow up with them?  Do you enjoy model kits of any kind? Ever visit Gundam Base in Yongsan? Comment below and share with everyone!!

Ever wonder how so many Koreans have such pretty photos?  Even online shop photos on places like G-market always look so lovely and professional, right??  Well this is all thanks to the numerous rental photo studios throughout Korea 렌탈 스튜디오!

Korean Photography Rental Studios are a bit different from portrait & ID studios because they are usually a building of several rooms with settings that you can photograph in!

Some photo studios are set up like cute little cafes, others are like frilly bedrooms, trendy living rooms, pure white spaces, etc! The goal is to give you a nice subtle, natural, or fun background for you to be photographed in complete with props if needed!

Specialized studios for babies and weddings are also very popular, but they tend to cost a bit more.

Typically at these places you will RSVP the rooms you want ahead of time online and note how long you need them for since you are charged by the hour!  Prices can range from 15000-to over 55,000 won per hour depending on the studio.

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For a group sometimes a small surcharge is added as well~ I have been told they usually add something like 5,000 per head if more than 3 people want to use the room for photos.

The studios have photographers on staff you can reserve (most will have a handful with portfolios on the website for you to pick from) OR  you can opt to just rent equipment they have at the location such as cameras, lighting, flashes, backdrops, etc and come with your own camera or hired photographer.  It is actually extremely clever if you need to take photos, but lack enough space or expensive lighting to do so!

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photoshop services, printing, & background-less product photography are often available for additional costs.

My lovely friend Haenuli is a lolita dress designer here in Korea and uses these rooms when she releases a new line of clothing every few months.  I was so amazed by how pretty her photos always looked and asked her just how Korean shops always have these photos!!

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Where are these softly lit rooms with breezy windows I always see!? Surely it must cost a ton and be difficult!  She laughed and said “No, these are just  렌탈 스튜디오 Rental Studios~ Korea has many of them!” and told me the prices were in fact reasonable enough that people would go in for photos with friends as well!

Ah I was intrigued~ I want to take pretty photos too!!!

Last month Haenuli contacted me to let me know that she had arranged another Seoul lolita meetup for foreign Lolitas like her last event, only this time we would all meet at a studio for photos!! Count me in~

I was ready to have my first 렌탈 스튜디오 experience in all its beautiful flawlessly Photoshopped glory!!

The studio she selected was “Nemo Studio | 네모 스튜디오“  located around Hongdae! Nemo is a “Natural Light Studio | 자연광 스튜디오 ” which *shockingly* means it has lots of open windows with natural light coming in so it relies on artificial light less, if at all.

I learned that Koreans prefer Natural Light Studios a lot, mainly because of the serene and pure feeling it gives the photo results vs something that looked a bit more studio staged.  MANY online shops here use these studios as well because they feel the natural light gives a more honest result of the product colors so customers prefer it.  Interesting!

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Because of this + the fact you need a certain location and large windows built for these studios, “Natural Light” Korean photo studios often cost a bit more here VS Artificial light studios!

For this event we rented two Natural Light 자연광 rooms for two hours (25000 won per room per hour) plus hired two of her photographer friends she had worked with in the past to take the photos.  Some lighting was provided at Nemo Studio, I think it was included in the cost and made my skin look amazing!

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The advantage of hiring your own photographer or having a friend take the photos is you can get a lot more final photos for your money if you know them well so Haenuli always uses her own photographers ^^

Sadly I showed up an hour late because I got totally lost!!! Nothing like being a foreigner and roaming around a street several times dressed up in a poofy lolita dress… ^^;;  Because I was late I missed one session of group photos, darn! My cord clashed with everyone’s anyway~ they look like they are ready for a lovely tea party and I looked like I rolled in from Shibuya! (-_-;)

It was great to meet lovely Olivia and Christina (who is actually a cuteinkorea.com reader & adorable! hey hun!!)

Anyway, I finally arrived and everyone was already busy taking photos so I jumped right in!   I wanted to share the photos with you all, although it feels so vain posting so many of myself (*_*;) I am not very photogenic at all… I have features that 9/10 times look goofy in a photo, but the photographers did such a lovely job!  When they showed them to me I was like “ahh who is that person??” lol it was a fun experience for sure, I would like to do it again in Hanbok and some casual photos with Nara soon!

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Thank you to the talented photographers WOOYA 홍정환 and Young Geun Oh 오영근

By 홍정환

By 오영근 ♥

Hey bear~ it’s over goodbye!

xoxoxo~!

After the shoot we met up with the rest of the girls and went with the photographers to get some fried chicken (lol of course) and they snapped a casual shot! Sneaky boys <3 hehe

Time for some lunch and a few more casual snaps!!

I got to see some of the photos they took before they could edit them and they all looked amazing!  Such talented and kind guys!!!  I am so glad they could take our photos, they really are pros!

If you need professional photographers in Korea, the two who took my photos are…

WOOYA 홍정환  He shot the standing and portrait shots in this post mainly! “Wooya” is a Wedding and Fashion photographer that has a graceful and elegant touch in his portfolio.

+

Young Geun Oh 오영근   Shot the gorgeous bed, and soft pose window shots!  He is a Fashion and advertorial photographer + speaks a smidgen of English! His portfolio reflects his slightly sultry yet beautiful style

Here are some handy Korean Vocabulary words for this post!

Photographer – 포토 그래퍼

Rental studio – 렌탈 스튜디오

Baby Photography Studio -  베이비스튜디오

Wedding Photography Studio – 웨딩 스튜디오

Self studio (portraits) – 셀프 스튜디오

Natural Light - 자연광

Artificial Light – 인공광

Cute Photography Studios in Korea

Korea has TONS of photography rental studios for every occasion!  If you know of an extra cute one, discover one listed that has close, or wish to share your experience with a studio here please comment below and share with other readers!  For now, here are a few I have come across on naver that I want to visit sometime!

Studio Sharp #

펑 Studio (D-room is all pink!)

Studio Jey

Nemo Studio

Keep in mind with Korean Photo Studios you almost always need to make a reservation on the website and make a deposit through a bank transfer~ so being fluent in Korean or having a Korean friend help you is a must.

In part 2 of this post I will continue with our Lolita teaparty at the Princess cafe in Hongdae where we met up with more of the girls, new Korean theme cafe~ yay!! Coming soon!!

So as of this month, Cute in Korea is officially 1 year old! The last year went by so quickly, and I think a lot of it was thanks to this site because it kept me busy!!

Milk is also 1 year old as well~ look how tiny he used to be, just like the blog *_* ehehe ♥

I first came up with the idea of doing some sort of cute Korea blog long before I moved here~ but at the time I could not get my thoughts properly collected and I found it hard to know what exactly to write about here when I was still learning how to get around myself!   I longed so much for a blog like mine online, and finally after living here frustrated for a year and going through lots of effort to explore on my own and dig around Naver for fun stuff, I decided that if I was going through all this time to find cute places online or on foot that I might as well share it with everyone else

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I wanted to share complete info or better yet NEW info, not the same things I always found on English sites  and  present them in a tone geared towards people who are enthusiastic about “Kawaii” cute things such as myself.

Over the last year this site slowly has taken over as my main focus here~ although it is “work” and a little tedious,  I LOVE sharing everything I post. I found myself really digging into lots of new things to share with everyone else, and naturally as the result I learned so much as well!

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Nara has also been an immeasurable amount of help in researching things buried in the Korean internet and helping me communicate with shops so I learn a bit more about the things I show you, cuteinkorea.com would not be nearly as awesome without his support and help!!

Thank you for reading along and enjoying my adventures here in Korea. I am only doing what I like, so the fact it is enjoyable to others from all over the world just makes me feel really wonderful.  I always say I have lots to post, but seriously… I have about 3,000+ photos for things I STILL need to share here~  I simply can’t work fast enough even though it does not seem like much work, this has almost become a full-time job for me lately lol! I could do this all day though, I wish it was a real job!

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Blogging about Korea is one of those labor of love things for me, so until I stop having fun, or at least until I feel I have covered everything that really should be covered to do here in Korea, I would love to keep working on this blog as long as it takes and continue sharing with all of you~ my lovely readers! Even when I move back to the USA I will still have lots to keep blogging about that is backlogged + I come here at least once if not twice a year to visit ^^

Every single one of you I have had the pleasure to meet in person at events or on the street has been so sweet,  it is a similar feeling I have when I a meet fans of my artwork… I just feel happy that the people that gain some enjoyment from what I do are awesome people, you know?! Thank you, and if you ever see Nara and I around Seoul please do come say “Hi” even if I am a bit awkward!

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Those of you I talk to in the comments and on twitter, facebook, etc are also always so sweet too!  Thank you for all the comments you leave,  I know I always ask for people to leave them and I feel kinda lame asking when I do, but they really do motivate me to keep posting and editing~ I guess its kinda shallow, but I really just love reading them and it means more to me VS a traffic counter.  When someone leaves a comment that they visited Korea and my information helped them out it makes me feel like my efforts meant something a bit more than just eye candy..you know?

So yes, thank you everyone for your comments, enthusiasm, & support! I hope you will continue to enjoy our posts as long as we are able to share with you!

Take a bite!

xoxox

앨리 & 나라

Cute in Korea ~ First Birthday Fanart Contest WINNERS!

Now, on to the fanart contest!  First off, WOW.. OK ALL MY READERS ARE AMAZINGLY TALENTED!  I kinda threw the contest out there worried I would get one or two submissions on smudged line paper since you know… its a blog so who knows how many people that enjoy drawing actually read here!  We received over 40 entries after the contest was announced, Nara and I had so much fun checking them out as they arrived!  To everyone that submitted, thank you for taking the time and effort to draw us something so beautiful <3every single piece was so much fun to see!  We had a hard time picking the winners… really, not just saying that!  I have like a handful I want to just give prizes to if only my wallet would allow me, but that would not be much of a contest if everyone won I guess lol

Goodies from the prize packs we will be sending out!!

In the end we still could not pick one, so instead of one prize I decided to ditty it up into 3! I picked my favorite, Nara picked his, and I had you guys pick a favorite by liking the posts on the Cute in Korea facebook fanpage!

Bitty Hanbok princess bunnies! Cute prize? ^^

Elle’s Pick

Nara’s Pick

AngelaRenee / USA  /   http://angelarenee.deviantart.com

Nara’s favorite was Angela’s piece as soon as he saw it! He loved the style and sparkle-shimmer-tactic rendering on the faces + the little milk ribbon! So pretty!  Lots of small details too, check out all that cuteness at the bottom and the skirt pattern <3 love!

Cute in Korea Reader’s Pick

Wiola Wiaderska / Poland  /  https://www.facebook.com/wwcrew

And finally, everyone’s winner by vote is Wiola’s adorable youtube animation!! I derped out totally forgot to add her submission with the other entries since it was a video, but even though she was added several days after the contest started she still won by a whole ton of votes!! I can see why and agree with you guys *_* it is adorable, thank you for the sweet piece!!

 I wish I could give a prize out to everyone, for real! Nara had to stop be from buying “runner up” gifts because I just could not stop the urge to send out more! Click on any image to open up lightbox and scroll through the other amazing submissions!  I want to print it all on my wall! Enjoy and to everyone that submitted something, thank you again~ all of your work is stunning and each had its own unique style and charm to it!

2nd place runner up ^ I love her style!!

Last fall we had two movies called “Ted / 테드” come out at the exact same time in Korea.  One was a kids animation and the other was an adult comedy…. I wonder how many people here went into the wrong theater lol.  This wall is around Hongdae and always filled with posters or crazy amounts of leftover tape.

Cute Japanese Izakaya place~ Most of the writing is just about food/ things you can order lol. Tasty Yakitori!

Oppa’s Gangnam Style ! Seoul was covered in these posters before the single came out!

I am in love with this *__* want to steal it….

I have not been inside “Austin Powers” yet, I wonder if it looks fun on the inside or is just another plain bar with a goofy name here in Seoul XD  I get tricked a lot!

How about a giant Korean Mario?

K-pop stars promoting the new Mario Kart <3

Really interesting ad for Big Bang at Gangnam station~ it was like a clear screen showing animation in front of the special items & cds.

I think it goes without saying that I love this billboard lol

Aw thanks Korea!!

Awesome new BBQ restaurant that opened by my house ripping off an old animation cover.  Note the guy in the corner training by grilling his knuckles lmao

Ran into these guys promoting Madagascar 3 on my way to class at Edae last summer! Had to snap a pic and grab one of the promo fans they were passing out for Nara since he animated for Madagascar 2 ^^

random amazing display down in Changwon!

Today lets have a classic Korean snack review: “Home run ball 홈런볼” by HT~  a favorite here since 1981!!

Home Run Balls are what I would call a Korean Nostalgia Snack since they have been around since the 80′s and is still  always stocked in stores and very popular for kids to buy. Ask any Korean about this snack and they will usually have fond memories of eating it as a child~ in fact, the packaging has even stayed almost exactly the same since it launched. When Nara and I first started dating this was one of the first Korean snacks he brought home for me because knowing it was a “must” along with 칸쵸 which I will feature in a future post ^^

So what are these balls exactly? Home run ball is a sweet little finger snack filled with a smooth filling in a soft, yet still snack-ish crisp mini puff pastry… think like a “Koala yummy” mixed with a cream puff.

The original Home Run Ball puffs are filled with chocolate and come in a shiny yellow-green bag with the iconic batting boy in the corner.  A nostalgic snack package for many Koreans!

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The filling is a nice creamy Coco +nut blend (I’m guessing hazelnut) and the portion of filling to pastry puff is nicely balanced.  I enjoy this flavor a lot because I just love hazelnut/nutella anything and you can really taste a dash of that in the filling which makes it a little more interesting vs just normal chocolate. If you get an older batch they can be a little bit dry, but they are great for just mini snacking.

Recently the original mascot from 1981 has received a modern upgrade! He looks cooler, but I kind of miss the old 80′s one~ I believe they are just using him on any new flavors they introduce though, because I still see the classic mascot being used on the original chocolate packages.

 Aside from the original choco Home Run Ball, occasionally you can find a new flavor on the shelf! I managed to find several after scoping out various shops, but this is the first time I have ever seen so many at once~ maybe they are testing the market?  Like with many special/new flavors here in Korea, try then when you see them~ because they may not last for long! Koreans tend to stick to the classic stuff they know, so it is rare a new flavor sells well enough to be a Korean snack mainstay here for the long-term.

Fun Tidbit: Koreans online often refer to the filling hole in each ball as the ball’s “butt hole 똥고” lmao!

In 2012 they launched caramel, strawberry, and fresh cream on the shelves as special flavors~  Caramel seems to be quite popular with Koreans online and can still be ordered through some shops, but “fresh cream” seems to have already disappeared… at least for me personally, I have not spotted it in a few months now

While I was digging around for info I also found some images of old Home Run Ball 홈런볼 bags showing they sold  Dark, Banana, and Cheese flavored Korean home run balls at some point in the past! I would love to try the “Dark” flavor since I usually love double chocolate or dark chocolate editions of snacks, but the price on the bag is only 700₩ so it is probably a bit older haha they cost about 1400₩ nowadays!

The other two flavors seem be from 2007 and 2009 according to the dates visible.

This week I managed to find boxes of the flavors Fresh Cream, Strawberry, Caramel, and original Choco of course!

초코 홈런볼, 딸기 홈런볼, 카라멜 홈런볼, and 생크림 홈런볼~ Time for a taste test!

Choco Home Run Ball – The original and classic flavor for everyone. My favorite~ nice chocolate cream plopped in a little mini soft puff snack.

Strawberry Home Run Ball- nice and very sweet creamy strawberry chocolate flavor.

Caramel Home Run Ball – The caramel filling is actually not really sticky caramel like what is shown on the packaging, its actually milk-caramel flavored soft chocolate. The taste of the filling is true to the flavor and is nice and sweet. I did not like this one very much, but Nara loved it. (Possibly discontinued 2013)

Fresh cream Home Run Ball -very sweet milky-milk taste to the chocolate,if you have had any “whipped cream” flavored things (like the whipped cream flavored vodka by Pinnacle) you will recognize the flavoring used. Its not overly sweet or vanilla flavored like I expected,  just very milky flavored smooth chocolate. Koreans really love milk and yogurt flavors not quite for me personally. (Possibly discontinued 2013)

Update! I originally wrote this post in 2012, now in 2013 they have launched another new flavor~ yay!  This new Home Run Ball is filled with “Lowfat Milk” flavored chocolate…. eh?” I think this was created to possibly replace the “Fresh Cream” ones from last year which honestly tasted a little odd.

I like it a LOT better vs last years “Fresh Cream”, it is just a nice subtle sweet milk taste compared to the old sickly sweet one!! Seems like a lot of Koreans like it as well because it I found lots of positive blog reviews on it here and they have been stocking them a lot in the stores~ at least in my area of Seoul! I want to snack on these with an ice cream shake haha

Last one and my favorite of them all is the choux pastry ice cream Home Run Ball !!

We started seeing these around 2012 in our local mini stop’s ice cream freezer among the other yummy Korean ice cream goodies and became hooked.  This is packaged in a similar way to the original snack, but instead of a few dozen tiny puffs, you get two larger frozen choux puffs filled with yummy ice cream~

♥ 슈 홈런볼 2 per pack so you can share wish someone… lol if you want!

These treats are a little softer and more like an actual proper puff VS the original snack which can be a bit stale in texture and sparsely filled.  Each pack gives you two large Home Run Balls stuffed full of ice cream~ the flavor is a bit like a milk +vanilla + maybe custard cream flavor and is really yummy.

I enjoy 슈 홈런볼 a lot because the ice cream inside is always soft and plus the pastry is nice and a little squishy usually ♥  Actually Baskin Robbins Korea makes a similar filled ice cream choux treat~but those are so dry and the filling is frozen rock hard, Nara and I both prefer these even though they are cheaper lol!

Apparently some baseball fans say eating Home Run balls and watching the game is good luck for your baseball team. . but that could be something the company spread ^^;

since they are a classic Korean snack they are very easy to find in Korean (or general) Asian grocery stores back in the USA~ so we would eat them every so often before we moved.  The ones you buy here in Korea are much better though, maybe because they are a bit more “fresh”? That being said, these go stale SUPER fast so you have to eat them in one sitting of you open a pack~ no saving more for another day.

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Because this snack is so loved, Koreans online have actually taken to recreating fancy versions of “Home Run Ball” by properly baking pastries and using Ghana chocolates which is one of the more famous (or maybe just nicer accessible) chocolate brands in Korea.  You can see some Korean bloggers attempt to make yummy home-made  Home Run Balls HERE and HERE!  I want to try this someday *_*

Have you had the Korean snack Home Run Ball 홈런볼 before? What other Korean Snacks do you like?  Which is your favorite?  Share below!!