Korea Trip Day 8 [ 한국여행 - 여덟째날 ]

Went on a historical experience today. But before we officially go on the historical journey, we had to get our stomach filled. 

Random walked passed this Korean restaurant and decided to went in for our brunch. 

The entrance of the restaurant

We ordered a stir fried spicy octopus and chicken [ 쭈&닭철판볶음 ]. The food was served shortly after we had ordered our food. 

The side dishes [ 반찬 ] from the restaurant 

Five-grain [ 오곡밥 ] rice was served instead of white rice

Stir fried spicy octopus and chicken [ 쭈&닭철판볶음 ]

The Stir fried spicy octopus and chicken [ 쭈&닭철판볶음 ] was rather sweet at the first taste and it started to get spicy as you continued to eat. The octopus was chewy and not too hard as it was not overcooked and the chicken was rather sweet and spicy at the same time after absorbing the sauce into the meat, and yet the meat is at the same time. 
The boss of the shop was helpful and kept on coming over to our table to ensure that the food was not overcooked or burnt. He even added our rice into the sauce and told us to eat it that way so that the rice will be tastier. He add in sesame oil and seaweed to the rice and keep on saying: delicious.

Set off to  Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] after lunch. 

Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] which is also known as the village of traditional houses. The Korean traditional houses known as Hanok [ 한옥 ] have been restored to preserve the original atmosphere of that area. 
Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] consists of a collection of 5 Hanok [ 한옥 ] which were recovered from different parts of the city and relocated to Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ]. Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] allows you to experience the Joseon dynasty citizenry and activities, from royalty to commoners. 

Main gate of Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] 

One of the Hanok [ 한옥 ]

A place where kimchi is stored 

Kitchen utensils

Pots for storing Kimchi

You can easily spend about 2 hours at Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] by visiting the different classes of Hanok [ 한옥 ]. There are also furniture being placed in the different rooms to let you have a better understanding of daily life during the Joseon dynasty. 

After touring the Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ], you go also take part in the traditional Korean activities or games such as archery, Korean traditional dance and music and much more. During the weekends, Korean traditional marriage ceremony are shown at the Bak Yeong Hyo's residence and the ceremony is usually held at noon or 1pm. So do stay and watch the ceremony if you are visiting Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] during weekend. 

How to go to Namsangol Hanok Village [ 남산골한옥마을 ] :

Chungmuro Station ( 충무로 역 ), Line 3 or 4 [ 3/4호선 ] Exit 4 [ 4번 출구 ]

Other Information

Admission : Free

Closed on every Tuesday

Opening Hours : 

April - Oct : 9am - 9pm

Nov - Mar : 9am - 8pm

Final photo before setting off for Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ]

Let's move on to the next stop : Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ]

Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ] is the main and the largest of the five grand palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. It was built in 1395 ( 3 years after the Joseon Dynasty was found ) and served as the home for the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. 

The palace continued to serve as the main palace until Japanese invasions of Korea ( 1952 - 1598 ), when all of the palaces were damaged. The palace was abandoned for 2 centuries and was only restored and reconstructed under the leadership of Price Regent Heungseon [ 흥선대원군 ] during the reign of King Gojong [ 고종 광무제 ]. 

Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ] flourished for several decades until the Japanese once again demolished the palaces during the Japanese occupation ( 1910 - 1945 ). 

Heungnyemun, The second inner gate of Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ]

The Korean government has been putting in effort since 1990, trying to restore and rebuild the building that were destroyed during the Japanese occupation. Although only about 40% of the buildings have been restored, but there are still lot of beautiful things to see in the palace. 

Geunjeongjeon [ 근정전 ] ( Imperial Throne Hall )

Geunjeongjeon [ 근정전 ] interior

Gyeonghoeru [ 경회루 ] ( The Royal Banquet Hall )

Beside taking a tour and looking at the different buildings in the palace, the reenactment of the changing of the Royal Guard and the Patrol Ritual are performed daily from 10am to 3pm, in front of the second inner gate of Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ] - Heungnyemun.

Do stay for the reenactment of the changing of the Royal Guard and the Patrol Ritual if you have a chance as the ceremony is quite grand and it last for about 10 minutes, giving you the chance to take lots of photos of the ceremony. 

How to go to Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ] :

Gyeongbokgung Palace Station [ 경복궁 역 ], Line 3 [ 3호선 ], Exit 5 [ 5번 출구 ]

or

Gwanghwamun Station [ 광화문 역 ], Line 5 [ 5호선 ], Exit 2  [ 2번 출구 ]

Other Information

Admission : 3000won

Closed on every Tuesday

Opening Hours :

Nov - Feb : 9am - 5pm

Mar - May and Sept - Oct : 9am - 6pm

Jun - Aug : 9am - 6.30pm 

Last admission : 1hr before closing

This day allow me to understand the different classes of Joseon Dynasty, from the royalty to commoners. It also leave me in awe of how the Korean government is making an effort to preserve such historical sites so that the future generation can have a better understanding and also a chance to view the past. 

It also make me wonder about the history of the other dynasty such as the Silla dynasty, the Goryeo dynasty and much more. I hope that I have the chance to find out more about the histories of the other dynasty in the future. 

Korea Trip Day 7 [ 한국여행 - 일곱째날 ]

Did not do much sight seeing today as Nurfa gonna do her last minute shopping before she returns to Singapore. 
Went to Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ] in the earlier part of the day. 

Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ], opened in 1964, is the largest traditional market in Korea. There are various things such as clothes, bags, accessories, household ware, children's clothes and toys, etc selling in Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ]. All products in Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ] are sold at affordable prices and the stores also function as wholesale market at the same time. 

One of the entrance at Naedaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ]

While taking a walk in Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ], there are lots of shops selling clothes and bags but personally I feel that all these clothes and bags are not suitable for the younger people but more for the middle-age people or older, but that means that your wallet can be at a rest while you are shopping in Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ]. 

One of the alleys

Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ] opens from 11am to 5pm and is closed every Sunday ( though some of the street vendors will still be open Sunday ). This market is crowded at all times so be prepared to get 'knocked' into during your tour at the market. 

There are also lots of street vendors in Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ] selling street food such as Ddeokbokki [ 떡볶이 ], Odeng [ 오뎅 ], Fried Snacks [ 튀김 ], Hotteok [ 호떡 ], Egg bread [ 계란빵 ] and much more, so be prepared to get your wallet and stomach ready and tried out the different street food at affordable pricing. 

How to get to Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ] :
Hoehyeon Station [ 회현역 ] , Line 4 [ 4호선 ], Exit 5 [ 5번 출구 ]


After touring at Namdaemun Market [ 남대문시장 ], decided to go to Myeongdong [ 명동 ] since it is just one stop away. 

Myeongdong [ 명동 ] is one of the busiest and main shopping street of Seoul and is one of the top tourist district. There are different kind of shops in Myeongdong [ 명동 ] from high end fashion to causal attire and as well as the different brands of cosmetic shops located in Myeongdong [ 명동 ].

Entrance of Myeongdong [ 명동 ]

Entering into Myeongdong [ 명동 ]

Myeongdong [ 명동 ] is full of beauty outlets and every Korean cosmetic brand has at least one outlet in Myeongdong [ 명동 ]. Most of the beauty products are selling at inexpensive pricing but of high quality. There are always sales going on at the different beauty outlets in order to attract more costumers. You do not have to worry of communication problem while shopping in these beauty outlets as there are staffs who are able to speak Korean/Chinese/English and even Japanese for the convenience of international tourists. 

Beside the different Beauty outlets, you can also get different brands of clothes such as Zara, Forever 21 or even casual clothing for the alleys of Myeongdong [ 명동 ]. These casual clothing might not be famous for the brands but they are fashionable and also affordable at the same time. 

Myeongdong [ 명동 ] is not only famous for the shopping experiences but also well-known for the choices of food. There are lots of different options for you if you intend to have your meal in Myeongdong [ 명동 ]. There are lots of Korean restaurants in Myeongdong [ 명동 ], but if you intend to go for other choices such as Japanese food, Western food, Chinese food or even fast food, you will not be disappointed as you will sure to find something that you like in Myeongdong [ 명동 ].

There are also lots of street vendor on the main street and alleys of Myeongdong [ 명동 ] and if you decide not to go for main course, you can also try out the different street food and you will get spoiled for the choices that they offered. 

Do drop by Myeongdong [ 명동 ] if you have the chance to experience one of busiest street of Seoul. 

How to get to Myeongdong [ 명동 ] :
Myeongdong Station [ 명동역 ] , Line 4 [ 4호선 ], Exit 5/6/7/8 [ 5/6/7/8번 출구 ]

Went off to Wangsimni Station [ 왕십리역 ] to meet I-jin for dinner. She brought us to one of the fried chicken shop in the area and she told us that fried chicken is really famous in Korea and popular for all people. 

Personally I felt that Korean style fried chicken is more crispy as compared to the normal fried chicken but it is nothing special as fried chicken can be commonly found in different countries ( Sorry but that's how I feel personally ). 

It is also a must to order a mug of beer to go with fried chicken while you are eating. 

Recommend you to go for a try of Korean fried chicken if you wanna live like a Korean.

Went off to the E-mart located at Wangsimni Station [ 왕십리역 ] after dinner. E-mart is a discounted supermarket operated by Shinsegae. The E-mart is really big and you can find everything that you need in the E-mart, from household item, clothes, cosmetic, food and snacks and much more. 

Do consider dropping by this E-mart if you need to do some grocery shopping. 

How to get to E-mart :

Wangsimni Station [ 왕십리역 ], Line 2 or 5 [ 2 / 5호선 ], Exit 5 [ 5번 출구 ]

Final photo before saying bye

Stay tune for my next update. 

Korea Trip Day 6 [ 한국여행 - 여섯째날 ]

Seoul, the capital of South Korea has a combination of historical and modern sight seeing places. There are 5 palaces in Seoul and i made a trip down to Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] today.

Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] is also known as the Royal Residences. Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] was formerly the residence of King Gojong [ 고종 ] before enthroned. Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ]  also served as a private residence of Prince Regent Heungseon [ 흥선대원군 ] ( Father of King Gojong [ 고종 ] ).
Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] today is a much more smaller than the majestic structure that it used to be due to the damaged during the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War.

Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] is split into 4 main structures - Norakdang Hall ( Largest building in the palace and also the wedding site for King Gojong [ 고종 ] and Queen Myeongseong [ 명성황후 ]. It also served as one of two residence area for women ), Noandang Hall ( A place where Prince Regent Heungseon [ 흥선대원군 ] received his guest and also a leisure quarter for the men ), Irodang Hall ( Residence area for women ), Sujiksa ( Housing for servants and guards ).

The entrance of Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ]

After entering the main gate of Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ]

After entering the main gate, located on the left, there is a traditional house that will lead you to the exhibition hall of the remains. 

The 'house' where the exhibition is 

In the exhibition room, you can learn about the clothing that were wore during the wedding ceremony, the scripts, bowls, head gears and much more that were used in the past. There is also some introduction boards about the history so that you can have a better understanding. 

Costume wore during the wedding ceremony

A book to record the farm's belonging 

After exiting from the exhibition hall, you can continue your journey by exploring the 4 main structures of Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ]. The structures are quite similar, but the interesting part of Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] is that the rooms are opened up for visitors to view the display and furniture used in the past. 

Display of the kitchen

The court ladies preparing food

Queen Myeongseong [ 명성황후 ] celebrating the birthday of King Gojong [ 고종 ]'s mother

Furniture used in the past

One of the corridor 

I feel that it is an interesting place to visit as the displays, and the construction allows me to have a better understanding of the Joseon dynasty, on how the Royal families lived and the things that they used. 

Do note that the reenactment of King Gojong [ 고종 ] and Queen Myeongseong [ 명성황후 ] wedding will take places during spring and fall every year. It's a pity that I do not get to see the reenactment of the wedding this year, but I'm quite sure that I will be back to visit Seoul again and hopefully I will get to see the reenactment of the wedding then.  

How to get to Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ] :

Take the subway to Anguk Station [ 안국역 ], Line 3 [ 3 호선 ], Exit 4 [ 4번 출구 ].

50m from the station 

Admission : Free

After Unhyeonggung [ 운현궁 ], we went down to Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ]. While on our way, we were hungry and drop by at this restaurant for our lunch. I was surprised by the pricing of the abalones and dishes of this restaurant as they were really cheap ( as compared to Singapore ), so Nurfa and I decided to have our lunch here. 

The outlook of the restaurant 

Close up of a sea creature( Not sure what is it though )

Most of the dishes in this restaurant has abalone added to it, but if you are those one of the few people who don't eat abalone, there are still some choices of normal korean food.  I ordered a Abalone Bean Paste Soup [ 전복 된장찌개 ].  

The side dishes served in the restaurant

The kimchi served in this restaurant tasted really nice and it was different from the kimchi from other restaurant. There is a taste of peanut and sesame seed in the chilli but we don't seem to find any trace of peanut in the chilli. The chilli also tasted different from other restaurant and it actually makes you crave for more. I finished almost the whole plate of the kimchi. 

Abalone Bean Paste Soup [ 전복 된장찌개 ]

The soup was served boiling and sizzling hot. There were quite a lot of ingredients in the soup - tofu, clams, onions, zucchini, golden needle mushroom and more, and of course not to forget, there were 2 abalones inside. The soup did not taste too salty although there is a strong smell of the Bean Paste [ 된장 ] and yet tasting a little spicy at the same time. The vegetables inside the soup was soft and tasted fresh and sweet. The clams and the abalones were a pity as it was not easy eating them as I was using chopsticks and trying to separate the meat from the shells. 

Overall, I still enjoyed my meal and guess what....it only cost 9000won ( about SGD11 ) for the a dish that consists of abalone....Where to get that in Singapore???

Direction to the restaurant :

Take the subway to Anguk Station [ 안국역 ], Line 3 [ 3 호선 ], Exit 2 [ 2번 출구 ].

Continue to walk straight after you reached the information booth for Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ]. You will see the restaurant not long after passing the information booth. 

Finally we arrived at Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ]. Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ] is a traditional village which is located in between Gyeongbokgung [ 경복궁 ] and Changdeokgung [ 창덕궁 ]. It is also the home to about 900 traditional houses which is also known as Hanok. 

Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ] was not designed to be a tourist area but more for a residence area, thus there are still many hanoks for residence purpose. However, some of the hanoks have been converted to shops, restaurants, guesthouse ( for people to experience staying in hanok ) and even a place whereby people can get to experience the traditional crafts. 

Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ] is also famous for filming location site. Dramas such as Heartstring [ 넌 내게 반했어 ], Personal Taste [ 개인의 취향 ] and many other dramas. 

One of the many steep slopes in Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ]

One of the alley 

Traditional house - Hanok

A drawing on the wall found by accident

Walking in Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ] can be quite confusing and tiring as there are many alleys in the area and you might get lose if your sense of direction is not good or you might get confused, thinking if you had visited that area before as the hanoks look similar. And also there are a lot of steep slopes in Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ], so your whole walking tour will consider of climbing up the slopes and going down slopes again. So be prepared and wear comfortable shoes. 

I do consider Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ] a great place to visit as you can see the traditional houses dated to Joseon dynasty and it can be amazing to think about how these houses can be preserved and also well maintained at the same time. 

Another thing to take note of while you are exploring Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ], always remember this is an residence area so always keep your volume down. There are banners everywhere to remind people of this simple rule but yet I met a number of people/groups that did not seem to understand what is the meaning of silence. I felt frustrated seeing such behaviours, let alone the people staying there. 

Photo taken from the top of Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ]

Roofs of the Hanoks taken from the top 

The faraway mountain photo taken from the top of Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ]

Direction to the Bukchon Hanok Village [ 북촌한옥마을 ] :

Take the subway to Anguk Station [ 안국역 ], Line 3 [ 3 호선 ], Exit 2 [ 2번 출구 ].

Go straight for about 300m

After a day of tour at the different historical sites, we decided to have a chance of atmosphere by visiting Hongdae [ 홍대 ]. Hongdae [ 홍대 ] is famous for its urban arts, indie music cultures and night life. With the different musical events, street performances going on in Hongdae [ 홍대 ], the streets are always full and packed with lots of people. 

Hongdae [ 홍대 ] is also a well-known university area, so there are lots of shops with cheap and reasonable pricing catered for the university student. If you are not those kind of people that go for night life, you can always drop by Hongdae [ 홍대 ] for the choices of restaurants and to shop around the street.

( Credits to https://itgoessuwonandon.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/hello-hongdae/ )

Direction to the Hongdae [ 홍대 ] :

Take the subway to Hongik University Station [ 홍대입구역 ], Line 2 [ 2 호선 ], Exit 9 [ 9번 출구 ].

It is definitely one of itinerary to consider if you are on a trip in Seoul, to experience the youthful atmosphere in Hongdae [ 홍대 ].