Annyoung lovelies! As promised, I am writing about my exploration of New York City and my exploits in China town and Korea town(which is really just Korea Street).

I visited last year as well, but I wasn't able to take advantage of NYC's diversity as I wasn't initiated into the world of K-Pop yet. However, this time I did some prior research so I was fully prepared for my quest. Armed with my notes and a generous amount of cash given out by my school, I set out.

So, while I spent the majority of my time in the hotel at the Model UN conference, I did have an afternoon and a morning to myself. The afternoon of our arrival, a friend and I went to China Town, hoping for good food and a chance to practice our Chinese. Originally, I wanted to go straight to the Chinese music store I'd discovered on my first trip there, but I got distracted by shiney-ness. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in the shiny to take pictures, but lets just say the display window was full of waving cats, miscellaneous Japanese products, and good looking snacks.
The New Nam Market has three floors, the below ground floor having household items like tea sets, the second having a grocery with a ton of asian foods (packaged and ingredients), and the third having Asian beauty products and fun odds and ends. I couldn't resist the temptation and ending up buying a good luck waving cat like this one (now resting on my bookcase in an attempt to help me study) and several boxes of red bean paste mochi balls. Seriously, these things are my new favorite snack.

From there we went to the music store, NY Music. A cute store with snacks and the usual tourist gifts also has a good portion of its interior dedicated to Korean and Chinese music and movies. Unfortunately, they didn't have the artists I was looking for (Han Geng, SIGMA, Anthony Neely Aaron Yan, etc), but I did find a Da Mouth CD, U-Kiss and FT Island's Japanese CD+DVDs, and a Super Junior CD for a very good price. When I went to check out, the cashier was busy doing something, so he wasn't looking at my face when I started speaking to him in Chinese. He answered back in the same fashion, but when he turned to take my money, he was pretty surprised. He laughed and told me he'd thought I was Chinese. My Chinese also got complimented when I bought a Taiwanese newspaper. The lady couldn't believe I hadn't studied in China. Score! Any who, guess who I find in the paper I bought on a whim? BIGBANG and DBSK! It was meant to be.

So, on to Korea Street. This time, I went solo, even though it freaked my mom out when I told her later and it was still a lot of fun. However, quick pause to give some tips for anyone visiting NYC and wanting to avoid looking like a tourist:
 

1. Look like you know where you're going. Walk at a good pace and confidently, pushing and weaving when necessary. Cross the street when a lot of other people do, even if the light's red. If you do this, the people trying to get people to go to comedy show will leave you alone. Confidence is the most important thing, even if you're lost.
 

2. Wear earbuds/headphones, either in your ears or around your neck. It's a sign that you're relaxed and know what you're doing or don't have the time or want to listen to advertising.
 

3. Don't carry around a lot of shopping bags. Sure fire tourist sign.
 

Moving on. Carefully copied directions in hand, I ventured onto the subway. Admittedly, its a little confusing at first, but you get the hang of it. Despite this and my directions, I still ended up getting of at the wrong station and getting semi lost. I walked in a circle, or rather square, a few times but eventually found my destination. I probably looked like an idiot standing there smiling brightly and snapping pictures of random signs.

I wandered down the street, trying to read every sign I saw, mouthing the words even though I wasn't sure of the meaning. Then, who do I see? Kim Hyunjoong! And what is he advertising? The ever famous BB Cream!

And lo and behold, the very door I was taking a picture of turned out to be the very store I was looking for. I stepped in, greeted in English by two girls. Kyoro Books is a good size, a small part filled with salon products and the rest full of Korean books. I immediately dived in, unable to understand the titles but ecstatic to be where I was. In addition to the books are traditional crafts, magazines, and other things. I even found Pororo!

I got really excited when I found one wall covered in Korean dramas and DVDs, one the first being You're Beautiful. Unfortunately, they were all region three so I couldn't get it. I almost completely missed the music, which is stuffed on a single bookcase a little into the store. It was slightly chaotic, CDs lying on top of each other in random order. There were so many, from C.N Blue to B.A.P to 2AM to BIGBANG. I can't tell you how long I stood there, trying to make my decision. I think the two Korean girls there thought I was crazy. Just a warning, part of the reason I took so long is because these CDs are UBER expensive, like $26 US dollars and up since they're imported. But I figured, I really want some of these, I'm only here once a year, and it's not my money, so what the heck? I ended up buying SHINee's Sherlock, Onew version, complete with 6 mini photo-books and a free Onew poster (XD); DBSK's Rising Sun, B1A4's It's B1A4 with mini photo-book, and a 2AM poster. There were two magazines I was tempted to buy as well, one with SHINee and one with Yoochun, but I restrained myself. I tried out my Korean by thanking the cashier when he handed me my purchases. I must have said it all right, since he smiled and said the same.

After leaving Kyoro, my stomach announced it was time to find something tasty. I looked around at a couple of the restaurants, but the first few didn't quite fit my budget. Then, I was looking at the menu posted outside one, I noticed one of the meals they offered: japchae. Why did it catch my attention you ask? Because a few month's ago, I watched a video where someone revealed this as his favorite Korean dish. That person was Eunhyuk. I figured Eunhyuk's a pretty good judge of food and since it was a good price, I went in.

The staff were really nice and quick, the only utensils a spoon and chopsticks (which made me happy), and my first few minutes in the restaurant were made better when I got unexpected food. Before I got my japchae, I was given a bowl of soup and a bowl of rice, along with cucumbers, kimchi, and fish in a kind of spicy sauce along with bean sprouts, eggs, and spinach in a vinegary sauce. I totally wasn't expecting it, but hey, I'd been wanting to have a Korean meal since I got into K-pop so I was more than willing to sit back and enjoy the ride. When my japchae came out a little later, I couldn't wait to dig in.

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who visits NYC. The food was absolutely amazing and I even got two orange slices after I finished the japchae. All the food was included in the original price and it ended up being under $12, including tip. It was a little strange being the only person of not of Asian descent in there, but it was pretty cool listening to the Korean floating around and like I said, the food was AMAZING.
Just one more thing to add before I sign out. On my way back to my hotel, I discovered possibly one of the coolest places in Times Square. Right between 42nd and 43rd street on Times Square is a shipping freight car turned food stand called Rickshaw Dumpling Truck. With four different kinds of delicious dumplings, it's a great place to stop by for lunch. It's only $6 for 6 dumplings, or $9 for dumplings and a side. I think I ate here at least once everyday because of the cheap price, the deliciousness of the dumplings and the opportunity to break out my chopsticks.

Thus ends my story. Hope you enjoyed it and feel free to hit me up it you have questions. I'll also hopefully be updating both stories this weekend. So until next time, hope everyone's doing well. Saranghae ^^