DAY 3 IN SEOUL: The Westin Josun

Woke up to a cold day in Seoul.  Outside temperature, around the freezing point.  First, breakfast in Aria.

Went walking today, but not outside.  Mainly a short way in the cold to the Lotte Department Store basement.  Otoro and toro sashimi.

Never seen so much fat in a tuna.  Got to try it before we leave.  Abalone.

Wagyu beef,

Shrimp.

Kim chee.  I've noticed in particular that this dish as served was very recently pickled.

The typical $100 basket of fruits.

I don't exactly know what most of the following are.  For example, whatever this is, had a long line.

Must have a hundred of these selling booths.

Well, this must be something close to a croissant to the right.

And this is a crab roll.

Large cookies

Pizza, I think,

Other stuff.

Matcha cone.

Heard of jelly roll.  These must be similar.

Bakery.

Next to one of those luxury products booth was a live horse.

For dinner we went to Ninth Gate. That photo just below is when I dined here in 2013.  Here is what Google AI said of this restaurant.

The Ninth Gate (Restaurant)

 

Located inside The Westin Josun Seoul, this restaurant is historically significant as the first Western-style restaurant in South Korea to specialize in French cuisine. 

• Concept: Originally a pioneer for French dining in the country, it has evolved into a contemporary American-style bar and restaurant.
• Ambiance: It is known for its views of the Hwangudan Altar, a historic site where Korean emperors performed rites to heaven.
• Recognition: It is featured in the MICHELIN Guide Seoul for its sophisticated wine selection and classic dishes. 

This is also where a miracle occurred.  They found my long lost bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label.

I asked if they still had the JW Blue Label in this hotel and they essentially said no.  

Ninth Gate.

View as you walk into the restaurant.

We have free drinks in the Executive Lounge, so it seemed to be a waste to order anything here.  Especially as a bottle of beer started at $20 and red wine was at least $35/glass.  But I nevertheless had a Korean shoju on ice, for $18.

The deal was $135/person for five dishes, starting, for me, a sea bream carpaccio.  Beautiful and okay to consume, too.  Incidentally, about that cost, a typical steak here costs around $150, so that price was incredibly attractive, especially as you could also include steak as one of the choices.

Then a bowl of French Onion Soup.  Uninspiring.

Caesar Salad.  A little better,

We shared rack of lamb and filet of beef.

They were both excellent.  Dessert of raspberry panna cotta.

Very good.  We then went to our Executive Lounge for drinks and more food.  I was just stuffed, so just had a Jameson whisky on rocks and a glass of champagne.  Only walked 2420 steps today.

I asked Google AI about weather condition tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday,  when we leave for Tokyo,

 The weather in Seoul is expected to worsen with a significant drop in temperatures and continued cold conditions through Wednesday morning, January 21, 2026

. 

• Today (Monday, Jan 19): High of 32°F and a low of 12°F, with current sunny conditions. Winds are from the northwest around 11 mph.
• Tuesday, Jan 20: Sunny with a high near 25°F and a low of 10°F.
• Wednesday, Jan 21: Sunny with a high near 21°F and a low of 9°F.

To close, a little history of the Westin Josun Hotel.

• It is 112 years old,  The first building in 1912 was the birth of the Chosun Hotel.

• 
  It was the first modern luxury hotel on the Korean Peninsula.
• Had 72 rooms.
• Became a must-visit destination for world VIPs.
• Built where Emperor Gojong in 1897 picked a spiritual place to hold a memorial service in the sky, decided by feng shui experts.
• To do this, he had to break down Nambyul Palace, and what remains is Hwang Gung-woo.

• 
  There still remain portions of the original building, over which the current hotel was built in 1970.  Still called the Chosun Hotel, Westin Chosun was a renaming in 1979. Major renovations were made in 2008, with guest rooms modernized in 2011.
• Why is this restaurant called Ninth Gate?
• Historically, the Forest Wall of Seoul originally had eight gates.
• This ninth gate is the path to Heaven.

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