Making our way through the village, our gaze fell upon a Baskin Robbins and Madang collaboration set within a hanok, yet another museum (the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul), an O-Sulloc outpost, and even a Blue Bottle location.
We opted to browse nearby shops instead, where I surrendered my first bill of Korean won for a mini knitted tote intended for my coworker.
A few steps away was the storefront of Wonder Cookies, appearing precisely in the configuration shown online by Hanbit Cho.
The front of the store housed two areas: a vestibule with baking-related replicas (countertop oven, cookbook, cookies, etc.) on display and a compact seating area with benches and backless chairs. Past this section were the product display shelves, labelled "Pop-Up, "Cookie", and "Order" respectively. It was presumed that "Pop-Up" items were introduced on a rotational basis, while "Cookie" indicated fixed selections.
Frankly, their fist-sized appearances had deterred my appetite slightly, as I would be sampling them solo. Since the cashier could not guarantee against potential cross-contamination with the peanut-containing doughs, my browsing partner erred on the side of caution. The cookies would largely be reserved for my consumption, while a slice of Basque Cheesecake was shared.
Wonder Cookies' signature Citron Grapefruit Ade and Plum Ade set us back 5,500 KRW and 5,900 KRW respectively. Meanwhile, the cookies rang in at 5,900 KRW each and the Basque Cheesecake at 7,400 KRW. Visually pleasing cafés are hardly budget-friendly, though one could confirm that Korea was charging a hefty markup from North American prices on all items except the Basque cheesecake, which is usually priced between five to seven dollars before tax.
We then gathered our belongings and propelled ourselves back into the mayhem of political protests.
The idea of obtaining a caricature hadn't crossed my mind until the Instagram algorithm sent short-form travel videos my way. The concept of Acorn Caricature was novel: Visitors could receive a caricature of themselves in just five minutes starting from 7,000 KRW. Demanding minimal commitment of time and cost, it was quickly added to my agenda without refusal by my browsing partner.
The canvas was slipped into a clear cover followed by a paper bag to enable transport. From there, we took to perusing a handful of shops in the vicinity.
We resolved to call an Uber Taxi to quicken the process, but ultimately sunset hour due to traffic.
With the reduction in natural illumination, I would have expected brighter lampposts - if not a greater number of lampposts to combat the hazards resulting from darkness and stone steps. It was truly astounding to me that Korean parents allowed toddlers to waddle and roam around about the ledge of stone stairs. Most North American children would have tripped and fallen down, prompting parents to sue. In sheer contrast was the survival instinct of local children, who seemed to know to turn back before venturing into zones of danger.
Perpetually never hangry, my browsing declared abstinence from food until our eventual return to the hotel.
(Spoiler: We never found them at the right time again.)