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 ].
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