Korea Trip (6/22)

Our destination on the 3rd day in Korea was to visit the infamous Nami Island and Petit France. We rode the subway from Euljiro-Ga 1 up to Wangsimni Station and transferred to the Korail to arrive at Gapyeong Station, which is outside Seoul.

We initially got lost while riding the Korail. The map was quite tricky from Mangu Station onwards because there is another line connected to it. We eventually arrived at Gapyeong Station and waited for the local bus.

We rode the Gapyeong bus and dropped by Petit France. Petit France is known as the shooting location for several Korean dramas and series including Secret Garden, My Love from the Star, and Running Man. The houses are very colorful and fancy.

After touring Petit France, we rode the Gapyeong bus again to reach the Nami Island bus stop. We then took the ferry to go to Nami Island. The island was named after General Nami during the Joseon Dynasty. It is well known for its tree lined roads and was featured in the kdrama Winter Sonata.

We ended the day by going back to Myeongdong (using the Gapyeong bus & subway to Euljiro-Ga 1 station), and watching the musical show Cooking Nanta. It is definitely one of the best live performances I have seen. The actors and actresses were very professional in the way they sing, dance, and cook at the same time. It was quite impressive how they can catch all the knives while doing a skit. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed once the show starts so we only took a photo of the stage at the beginning.

Korea Trip (6/21)

The following day after our DMZ tour, we decided to visit the palaces and the Gwanghwamun Square. We rode the subway around 9:00 am. Just as we arrived at Gwanghwamun, we saw a familiar picture hanging outside the building. Guess who?

The famous soccer player and frequent RM guest, Park Ji Sung 

We walked our way to the Gwanghwamun Square where we saw the statue of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-Shin. King Sejong was said to be creator of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. Hangeul was developed to simplify the Chinese writing system, Hanja. Admiral Yi Sun-Shin, on the other hand, is a naval admiral known for defeating Japanese armies. 

Admiral Yi Sun-Shin 

King Sejong the Great

Gwanghwamun Square is located in the middle of  two roads. As we walked past the statue of King Sejong, we saw several empty stalls which were still being set-up. There was one truck which unloaded some art crafts made of paper.

We walked further until we saw a traditional gate to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was almost 10:00 am by then so we witnessed the changing of guards ceremony.

We went to the ticket booth and opted to buy the combination ticket for all 5 palaces. We went inside Gyeongbokgung and had a glimpse of the King's throne.

The palace is big such that there are too many pavilions wherein royalties can relax and enjoy nature. Initially, we planned to wait for the free tour offered in English. However, since the tour will not start until 11am, we just decided to walk inside the palace on our own. We then reached the National Folk Museum of Korea which is connected to the palace.

We entered the museum and saw a tour guide who gave us a free tour of the museum. We were a bit surprised because she started the tour even though we were the only ones who joined the tour. She introduced the 3 parts of the museum clearly, starting from the traditional Korean lifestyle. It was really an educational experience.

Traditional Korean wedding 

Traditional wedding bed 

Heirloom for groom and bride

Rice offered with prayer to goddess of birth when wife gets pregnant

(Eaten together with seaweed after delivery)

Korean children in traditional clothes

Scholars during the ancient times

Healing the sick using acupuncture

Shaman performing rituals 

(when sickness cannot be healed using ordinary means)

Traditional Korean food

Kimchi fermentation

The second part of the museum focused on the 4 seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The tour guide explained to us the ways how people adapt to the changing environment. Afterwards, since there was no longer enough time, we skipped the 3rd part of the museum and went outside.

We stumbled across a food cart selling cinnamon pancakes and waffles. We bought one pancake and one waffle. They were yummy and sweet. 

We then proceeded to Insadong street where we saw the famous Miss Lee Cafe. I have wanted to try their lunch box meal since I saw it on a WGM episode. You literally shake the box to mix the flavour. 

The food is actually bibimbap presented in a lunch box. The taste is ordinary but you get to experience shaking the box :)

After lunch, we went to Chandeokgong Palace and the Secret Garden. We joined the Secret Garden tour and saw several pavilions as well as gate to houses inside.

We returned to Insadong to shop for souvenirs. Unfortunately, it was raining so we stopped by a few shops to cover ourselves for a while and then hurried to Gwangjang market to eat the Korean pancakes and fish cake soup.

Afterwards, we went back to Myeongdong to do some shopping and prepare for the next day. 

Korea Trip (6/19-6/20)

It has been one of my dreams to be able to visit Korea. Thus, when Cebupac offered the piso sale last year, my friend and I didn't think twice and immediately booked a flight bound to Incheon for 6 days. We were really excited about the trip such that we researched a lot of places and talked about them for several weeks. However, as the date becomes nearer, we had second thoughts on whether to push through with the trip or not since both of us just changed jobs. Luckily, we were allowed by our bosses to take a vacation and enjoy the trip. 

We went to Korea last week. We stayed somewhere in Myeongdong, which is known as a Hallyu shopping district. We arrived around 9 in the evening (Korean time) and took a bus (no. 6015) to our place of residence. Because it was too late already, almost all shops were already closed. Fortunately, we saw a restaurant open till 1am and had our first meal in Korea. The restaurant is called Yoogane and is popular for their dak galbi. We originally planned to order one dish. However, the staff told us that we need to order two dishes since we are two people. Thus, to not complicate things, we agreed and ordered two dishes of chicken galbi fried rice.

Chicken galbi sizzling in pan

Photo taken while my friend mixes the food 

The chicken galbi was stirred in a large pan in front of us. Rice was mixed once the meat was almost cooked. The fried rice tasted good. However, since I couldn't tolerate spicy foods, I kept on drinking water and wiping tissue. My friend was probably astonished. I noticed that she could eat spicy foods really well.

We went back to our place of residence after dinner and prepared for the next day. Our itinerary for the following day is to visit the DMZ between South and North Korea. We booked a tour with Kim USO in advance. Our meet up place was at the USO office which is near Samgakji subway station. We arrived around 7:00 am and rode a bus to DMZ. The bus ride was about 1-1.5 hours from Seoul to our destination (DMZ). We listened to the tour guide who gave us a brief introduction of DMZ. One thing to note was that Korea was once invaded by Japanese. Then in 1945 when World War II occurred, both US and Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Korea was divided into South and North, with the former being under US and the latter under the Soviet Union. The South and the North hold different ideals and had many conflicts during the past years. In fact, the tension between the South and North Korea remains up to this date, with the most current invasion attempt in 2013. 

We visited the JSA building, Freedom House, demarcation line, and Dorasan Station during the morning. An American soldier oriented us about DMZ in the JSA building and then joined us on our way to the Freedom House and demarcation line. We were instructed not to point fingers to anyone or do any other behavior which is not normal. Pictures taken should always face the North in the Freedom House and demarcation line.

Facing north from Freedom House

American soldier just behind the demarcation line

We had vegetarian bibimbap for lunch with unlimited kimchi. I really liked the bibimbap since it was not spicy at all and it was full of vegetables.

After lunch, we went to the Third Infiltration tunnel which was built by North Koreans using dynamites but was eventually discovered by the South. According to the tour guide, the tunnel had three layers of wall wherein water will flood when someone attempts to break the second wall. Camera was not allowed inside the tunnel. The real challenge of the DMZ trip is walking inside this tunnel since we had to go down the tunnel for about 10 mins with the floor steep and slanted, and go up again afterwards. We were quite exhausted by the time we went up and reached the entrance. 

We went back to USO office around 3pm. We also visited the War Memorial Museum which was quite near. Entrance was free to the museum. We then headed to Itaewon market and realized that Itaewon has several pubs. Crowds of people probably hang out here during the night. Since we still had time left, we went to Namdaemun market and Myeongdong. Many shops in Namdaemun were closed by the time we got there. We walked our way to Myeongdong and did some shopping. We ate at Lotteria, a fastfood restaurant in Myeongdong.

Sign of Changes

I had a strange dream the other day. It was not the usual black screen wherein I cannot even remember anything. My dream showed me that after 7 months, I finally went to a salon to cut my hair. I was thinking hard on what specific hairstyle I would like. The hairstylist recommended the straight cut short hair. I was okay with it at first since my hair was too long already and the weather seemed hot. So my hair was trimmed about 4-5 inches short. After a few minutes, I got a new look. It looked rather plain than what I expected, considering that my hair was permed before and now it looked so straight. As I was discussing it with the hairstylist, he suggested adding bangs on my hair, to which I didn't give any response. My hair was cut further and then somehow along the process, it became like a coconut husk which I really hated. I was about to cry, regretting that I even cut my hair. The hairstylist didn't even do a good job cutting my bangs since he did not consider my face proportion to check whether the hairstyle would be suitable or not. I was calling out for another person to fix my hair and even started lecturing the hairstylist about the "right" way to cut my bangs. I woke up from the dream afterwards with a pretty bad mood. Haha!

I knew this was not a usual dream since the "cutting of hair" seemed to have a significant meaning. Thus, I began my research and learned the following: "If you dream that you make a drastic change to your hairstyle, then it means that you are making a drastic, new approach to some issue in your waking life." In my case, I'm not pretty sure which part of my life does this dream apply to. I'm not really stressed about anything. It might be because I have recently changed job and am relocating to a new house.