Where the north and south rivers meet to create Seoul’s massive Han River there is a small island called Joan-myeon where the ferry captains used to live. There is a relaxing river walk and some outdoor activities, plus croaking frogs in the cool fall evenings.

We only took a short stroll before I spotted a tiny burger place called Ssom. It was a nice surprise with handmade patties and bread.

We walked until dusk before stopping into popular tofu house. We ordered a wet tofu soup, and aged kimchi with fried tofu. There was a nice sweet Korean liqueur to match the blandness of the tofu and the sour aged kimchi.

Driving out to a place deep in Seoul’s countryside, there was a small restaurant nestled among the browning rice fields of fall, that served wonderful Korean beef and traditional soy bean soup. It’s always a pleasant surprise when the kimchi is handmade and possessing its own special “touch.”  The sun was setting and the last mosquitoes of summer buzzed about in the fragrant mountain air.

Bonus meal: One late night in summer, I finally found a Korean beef rib soup that wasn’t chewy. The meat fell off the bone with a fantastic broth. It’s called 수갈비탕 in Guri.