Anuj MadanNew Zealand Wine Festival Last year I was invited by the Kiwi Chamber of Commerce to attend their prestigious New Zealand Wine Festival.  Held annually in Seoul and in Busan, it’s a great opportunity to get out and meet other local wine enthusiasts.  The crowd was a little bit older (and considerably more mature) than your typical Itaewon afternoon out, but there were a bunch of people on a mission to get day drunk, too!  Seoul is already sold out, so make sure to get your tickets to the Busan festival ASAP! Anuj MadanKey Wines Available Babich Wines with two Sauvignon Blancs and a P ..read more

The Toronto Seoulcialite team is a HUGE fan of HOMEBOY Seoul.  Tuesday April 17th they hosted their 2nd pop-up in Itaewon at Vatos Urban Tacos’ event space in Seoul: Urban Collective.  We recently interviewed HOMEBOY Seoul founder Matt Lee in advance of this pop-up.  Michael Jun-Hyuk Lee was on hand at the event last week and we’re so excited to tell you all about the experience.  Whether the next HOMEBOY Seoul update is pop-up round 3 or a brick and mortar location, we can’t wait to see more from this young, hungry, talented team!    Homeboy Seoul: Pop-Up Round II Jun-Hyuk Lee Just from lo ..read more

 HOMEBOY Seoul (Part of Expats in Korea: Seoulcialites) Being an expat in Korea, we’re often pigeon-holed into 2 categories: Teacher or Military.  There are so many people doing original and interesting things in Seoul!  In this new series, I’d like to introduce you to some creative people I’ve been lucky to meet.  They may have started their professional journeys as teachers (or even military), but have explored so much more in the land of morning calm: Korea.  Today I’m sharing some love about one of my favourite culinary wonders in Itaewon and how YOU can be part of Homeboy’s next great ad ..read more

You’re Invited! Join The Toronto Seoulcialite @ KIXFF’s Oscars Party WHAT IS KIXFF? KIXFF stands for the Korea International Expat Film Festival which was established in 2015 by director, Kevin Lambert.  It’s mission is to bring films with an “expat-perspective” to Seoul.  It’s the only festival in the world to do so.  It became apparent to the creator of the fest that the experience of the expat, not just in Korea but of those living all over the world, is unique.  Films that come from this point of view deserve to be celebrated. WHY AN OSCAR PARTY? The KIXFF Oscar party is a fund-rai ..read more

Blu Cucina: A Meal That Took Me Back Home When I moved to Seoul this past November I made it a weekly goal to have lunch dates with close and distant family members alike.  Since I’m from the States, it’s a great opportunity to get to spend time with family I so rarely see.  Every week we choose a popular restaurant about which we’ve read a review.  After about a month and a half, one of my Aunties told me we were going to try a place that ended up being my most memorable foodie experience in Seoul: Blu Cucina.  Just on the outskirts of Hongdae, nestled in an underground alley, a 15-seater I ..read more

Photo C/O Manimal Smokehouse Facebook PageHomeboy Seoul Pop-Up In case you missed it, Tuesday January 9th was the latest and greatest (well…only for me thus far) pop-up from the Manimal Team.  From the people who have recently brought us KiKi Chanting, Homeboy Seoul (by Junki, Sanyoon, Mili, and Matt) was a feast of “Asian street food bites with unique cocktails”.  Great eats and drinks were promised and Restaurant Buzz Seoul was truly abuzz with reviews from people who had visited at lunch.  A breath of fresh air from the typical, cringey, #1 Seoul food blogger drivel, Homeboy knocked it ou ..read more

Seoul’s Trick Eye Museum Since moving to Seoul nearly 2 years ago I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the Trick Eye Museum in Hongdae 4 times!  It’s amazing to see how this Seoul tourist attraction has changed even just over the past year.  Dedicated to the user experience, the Trick Eye Museum has made several enhancements and renovations.  If you haven’t visited in a while, definitely go back and check them out! The Trick Eye Museum The Trick Eye Museum still has plenty of photo opps.  Make sure to download the Trick Eye App as it really makes a difference in your photos and videos through ..read more

So Long, Korea! My life here has been incredible, but even in Neverland you’ll find you have your ups and downs.  Last week, to the dismay of many on Facebook, I wrote about the things I hate about living as a foreigner (expat) in Korea.  This week, on a more positive note, I’m sharing just a handful of things (okay, two or three handfuls) I’ll miss about living in Korea.  I had always planned on either staying 1 year or 3 years (for the Olympics).  As someone already commented, 3 years does not a Korea OG make.  This is not a comprehensive list, it’s just the musings of a basic bitch.  It’s ..read more

New York Pizza in Gangnam? Café Kudeta (카페쿠데타) in Apgujeong Rodeo area closed recently, much to my friends’ chagrin.  I work between the Apgujeong and Rodeo subway stations.  Even though we have an hour for lunch, it’s not always enough time to have a Korean meal.  We have grown tired of many of the Western-style restaurants, so imagine our surprise when Itaewon favourite Gino’s Pizza arrived around the corner from school! Gino’s Pizza – First Impressions The first thing that struck me about Gino’s Pizza in Gangnam is that when we walked in all the staff were super laid back and addressed us ..read more

 Zapangi 자판기 In an effort to feel like we were on a proper vacation, Hallie from The Soul of Seoul and Amanda from Seoulody Smiles and I ventured out to Mangwon!  The weather has been amazing.  Between sunny skies and colourful walls all around Mangwon, we had tons of opportunities for tasty eats (Bali in Mangwon) and instagram sweets.  We got to Zapangi just as the doors opened.  There was already a line… Mangwon-dong(망원동) or Mangridan-gil(망리단길) is quickly becoming a hot spot for cute cafes and sickly sweet desserts.  We had seen Zapangi all over instagram and wanted to check out this c ..read more