Heart and Seoul Travel Log Day 1: We Never Walk Alone

It was foggy when we landed at Incheon yesterday morning. The fog was thick, like Baguio fog in the cool months. And when we stepped out of Incheon Airport, we entered into a freezer. I wish I could say the cold didn’t bother me anyway.*

This apprehension dissipated as soon as we had our first meal: a generous serving of Korean bulalo with the right amount of beef, glass noodles, and green onions. The soup dish isn’t as savoury as our bulalo, but the tanginess of the beef lingers. And the side dishes, especially the cabbage kimchi, have a sweetness that stays long after the next bite. Of course, there’s white rice!

It was a simple meal. Not pompous at all. But filling.

Feeling warm and comforted, our Bangtan Pilgrimage began. It is in every ARMY’s bucket list, and the fact that 2025 is BTS’ comeback year, being in Seoul is where we should be, my ARMY daughter and me. Oh, the lengths we took to make this trip a reality is for another post. What I can assure you is the 100% possibility of making your fangirling dreams come true with commitment and a supportive community.

Our first stop was the Hybe building in Hangang-daero, Yongsan-gu, where a throng of I-ARMYs were waiting for Namjoon and Taehyung’s cars to pass by, expecting a glimpse from either. We didn’t get to see Namjoon wave out to the crowd, though. ARMY’s presence and vibe compensate all the time.

In the afternoon, we headed to Gangnam and walked the street leading to Hyuga Cafe, BTS’ old dorm, then to the old Big Hit building. Next was Hakdong Park, and we capped the day with an early dinner at Yoojung Sikdang, the restaurant where the Tannies ate regularly during their trainee days. We didn’t see the legendary ahjumma who cooked their meals. However, the place looked exactly as it was 12–15 years ago—cramped, but strangely cozy and comfortable.

Ending our day with ssambap, a meal that echoed the past, at a table once shared by seven hungry boys with tired feet and unending hope, in that tiny space, I felt something large: gratitude. For their journey. For ours. For the way music has sewn our lives together across age and generational divides, cultures and beliefs, time, distance, and space.

Yesterday wasn’t just sightseeing. It was remembering. Reconnecting. Retracing. From fog to warmth, from dorms to dreams, from their footsteps to ours, we were never alone.

#BTSFESTA2025

#BangtanPilgrimage #WeNeverWalkAlone #ARMYGlowUp2025

#savedbythebestTravelAndTours

*Written in the morning of 6.11.2025