Busan Christmas Tree Festival

Happy Busan Christmas, Busan!

Saturday Jenee and I loaded up on the KTX (Korea Express Train) and headed south to Busan. This is South Korea's largest city after Seoul and is a port city. It's famous for it's big beaches and is somewhere we've wanted to travel to for a while. 

The KTX is really convenient in that you can travel from Seoul to Busan in a little less than 3 hours. There is also trains leaving frequently throughout the day. Because we are foreigners, we had the option of getting a one-day pass (which basically cost the same as a one-way trip) so we could leave and return at whatever time we wanted. 

We ran into a slight problem on Friday night when we realized that we had to have a printed e-ticket in order to receive our pass.......and we have no printer. This basically means we had to run all around the Yatap area late in the evening searching for a PC Bang (place where you can use computers) that allowed users to print things. We met some really nice people during this whole adventure that gave us directions and went the extra mile to help us out. Thank you, kind citizens of South Korea!  

The only other inconvenience is that the station is all the way up in Seoul, about an hour and a half by public transportation from where we live. So we left here (Bundang) as early as we could and arrived at the KTX station in time to catch the 7AM train to Busan. 

Our tickets! Success!

It was so nice! Compared to both airplane and bus, I'll take this train ride any day! The seats are comfortable and there is even foot rests (hallelujah!) so the trip passed really quickly. 

Our main reason for making this particular trip to Busan was to see their annual Christmas Tree Festival but since we arrived in the morning and didn't need to head to the festival until after dark, we hit up some local tourist spots first. 

First stop: Haeundae Beach! 

This is probably the most famous beach in South Korea and even though it's winter there were still lots of people out and about enjoying the view. 

We didn't spend a lot of time there because neither of us felt like getting into the sand but it was a nice sight to see none-the-less. 

Next stop: Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

I actually had no idea about this place but one of our co-workers suggested that we go and I'm really glad we did.

The temple is a bit out of the way but you can get there by bus or taxi. We opted for the taxi and arrived easily. The temple is situated along the coast so it's really scenic and beautiful. I'm not big into temples (not being Buddhist) but I appreciate their architecture and historic significance.

The trail leading to and from the Temple was crowded with street vendors selling souvenirs and food. I used up a good amount of my coin collection on the later but really enjoyed getting to try all the treats.

We took a taxi back to Haeundae after searching the map for a place to go next. Busan has a lot of fun sounding spots to visit but since we were only there for one day we couldn't go very far from where the Christmas Tree Festival would be held. 

Third Stop: Busan Tower. 

This place is located right next to the festival so it seemed like a good destination. We found it with little hassle (went the wrong way after exiting the subway--of course--but eventually found a map and figured it out). 

The tower is located in a park (Yongdusan Park, to be specific) on top of a mountain but a few sets of escalators take you up fairly quickly. Thank you, escalators! 

We meet again!

In the park is another famous statue of Lee Soon Shin. We've visited the one in Seoul twice (see here and here) and a pavilion. We decided to go up in the tower to the observatory and got to see some amazing views of the city. 

When we were finished we still had some time left before the festival so after grabbing some food we decided to check out one of South Korea's largest markets.

Fourth Stop: Gukje Market.

Kim Soo Hyun...kya kya! (I just wanted to post this...)

When we were up in the tower, one of the nice English guides pointed this place out to us and said that you can find anything in this market and for great prices, too. 

Since it was close by we wandered the extremely crowed streets and did a lot of "window" shopping (I did buy a shirt...). It was really exciting to experience such a thing but also a little frustrating because people are so pushy sometimes! Don't go to this market if you are afraid of crowded places! 

When it started getting dark we headed to the entrance for the Christmas Tree Festival. Speakers throughout the street were playing Christmas music and after the sun set the lights all turned on and it was really an awesome sight.

There were different decorations, mostly Christmas trees, but also various things were lit up beautifully. 

These were all along the street (photos from Jenee)

One particular part of the street had a bubble blower attached to the top of one of the buildings and the assent of bubbles made it look like it was snowing. 

Snow bubbles!!

In the center there was a huge Christmas tree flooded with lights (and people).

Then two more streets branched off with even more lights and decorations. 

It was a bit cold but we were bundled up so it wasn't uncomfortable. It was also really crowded but not as bad as some of the events we've been to in Seoul so that was a relief. 

The center tree...so pretty!

Overall, the experience was really pleasant. We were able to leisurely enjoy the sights before heading back to the station to catch a KTX train back to Seoul.

Busan Station

I'm actually really surprised and excited that we were able to do this! We went to Busan, all by ourselves! Also, even though we did a lot of things, it never felt overwhelming or exhausting. I hope we are able to head down there again (probably in warmer weather) and experience some more of other areas in South Korea. 

Ghost Musical and Dog Café

Ghost the musical staring Joo Won

On Friday before-last I went to go see a musical for the first time (I know, for real). They are really popular here and even cast famous actors/singers (not necessarily theatrical actors/singers). For me, the main reason I wanted to go was because of Joo Won who is an actor I like (imagine that).

The musical is called Ghost and is indeed a theatrical production of the famous film starring Patrick Swayze. It recently started showing in Seoul  with Joo Won staring as one of the lead actors playing Swayze’s character Sam. There are a few other leads though so I had to be careful and get tickets to the right showing. It proved to be a bit of challenge because Joo Won is only doing shows during the week and I work until almost 7PM most days. I found a showing on last Friday though for 8PM and I was able to leave work a bit early. Surprisingly, I made it on time.

Merry Christmas!

Ghost is showing at the D Cube Theater in Seoul. The complex (a mall and art gallery among other things) was all decked out for Christmas and was really a nice sight. It did take me a little while to make it up to the 9^th floor (where the theater is) because I had to escalator my way up but luckily it wasn’t very hard to find.

Ghost

Near the entrance to the theater there was posters everywhere and also a place where you could buy Ghost souvenirs.  I splurged a little and bought a guide book thing. It has some awesome pics of Joo Won in it (haha).

Once inside the theater, I was really surprised at how close my seat was. I didn’t buy VIP tickets for this and opted for the next one down because the only VIP seats available at the time looked to be similar to the slightly less expensive ones. As it turns out, I was only 7 rows back and probably no more than 15 feet away from the stage.

It was SO awesome.

Joo Won was like, right there.

I’m not gonna lie and say I didn’t have a fangirl squee attack every now and then. His acting was amazing and it was great to see him showing off on his theatrical roots.  

Joo Won on the Today's Cast sign

The musical was overall really good as well. I’m familiar with the Ghost story but I’ve never seen the movie. The music and sets were all amazing. Some particularly stunning moments were during a few scenes where the stage was practically transformed into a scene from the matrix and it just boggles my mind a little how they were able to do that live, on set…

Plays just aren’t what they used to be, folks. Though that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, of course we weren’t allowed to take any pictures so that was a bummer but to be expected. I hope I get the opportunity to go to another musical while here. I don’t really see myself as a musical type of gal but it was just that awesome.

The rest of last weekend was fairly uneventful. Sunday Jenee and I ventured out a bit to a dog café in Gangnam. It’s called Café Pawz and was recommended on a blog I found recently so we decided to give it a go (both of us miss our dogs terribly and besides…where else can you go to a dog café)?

Anyway, it was a really nice one. The facility and dogs were clean and seemed to be well loved. Apparently, it is also a grooming place and doggie daycare so that kind of explains why it is so nice. Not only does the café have dogs for you to ogle over and play with but people who come generally bring their own dogs as well. It’s a great socializing experience and really awesome for people who can’t have a dog for whatever reason but still love these furry little bundles of joy.

Hello~

This one was my favorite. She’s a cute little maltase and we bonded instantly. In fact, she stood down staring at me with big ol’ puppy dog eyes until I picked her up and then she slept in my lap pretty much the whole time. What a sweetie.

So sleepy....

This was Jenee’s buddy. He actually fell asleep leaning on her backpack. It was adorable.

Rawr!

And then there was this feisty girl. She let Jenee pick her up but any time anyone else tried to she snarled and growled like she was the toughest little cookie. So cute!

We both just sipped on our peach ice teas and enjoyed petting doggies for about an hour. It was quite the original experience and I really enjoyed it.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. It was a nice weekend!

Lee Seung Gi's Hope Concert in Seoul 2013

 

On Saturday I had the wonderful, and possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see my favorite South Korean star Lee Seung Gi (이승기) in concert.

There are not really words to describe what this experience was like for me, but I will try.

A few years ago I discovered Lee Seung Gi when he debuted for the first time in a leading role in the television drama Brilliant Legacy (Shining Inheritance 찬란한 유산). I’ve followed his carrier ever since and watched all of his proceeding dramas. I love him as a variety actor although I haven’t seen every episode of every program he’s been in (trust me it’s on my list of things to do at one point) and I enjoy his music as well. So, it was with great excitement that I booked my VIP tickets to his Hope Concert in Seoul.

Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium

I have to admit: until the very moment I arrived at the venue I was certain I’d been horribly tricked and that I wasn’t actually going to his concert. It seemed too un-real to me that I was actually given the opportunity to see him live. Like, how did that even happen? But as I walked out of the station at Olympic Park (the concert was held in the Gymnastics Stadium there) and was bombarded but vendors selling Lee Seung Gi goods it was like I finally realized it was real.

Then, after I picked up my tickets I just remember thinking ‘Holly crap!’

In fact, I pretty much kept thinking that all night.

Holly crap.

HOLLY CRAP.

Wow!

There was a ton of people there (holly crap) and while my seat wasn’t within touching distance it was really close (holly crap)!

The fans were also really awesome. No one does concerts like South Korea. Everyone (and I mean everyone) had a green (or turquoise) glow stick and there were fans from all over the place (mostly Japan and Taiwan).

When the moment finally arrived and Lee Seung Gi came out of stage it was absolutely phenomenal. The lighting was stunning and beautiful…plus the added bonus of everyone’s glow sticks just making it seem like a brilliant, wonderful fairytale.

I was looking at Lee Seung Gi. Not on TV. Not on my phone. But for real. In person.

It’s once of those moments were you realize for the first time that (holy crap) this person is real.

And let me tell you…this man puts on an awesome concert.

He had a lot of things planned…including performing songs from a number of different genres which really surprised me. We got some electro-pop, some ballads, and even some rock.

Lee Seung Gi with Bora

Once of my favorites was his performance of SISTAR’s “Gone Not Around Any Longer” (있다 없으니까) which featured Bora (one of the group’s members). It was…just…wow.

He also sang my favorite song of his—also one of my favorite Korean songs—“Losing My Mind” (정신이 나갔었나봐) so that was a special moment for me. Actually, he sang all of the songs I love. Which hardly ever seems to happen. Unreal.

There were other highlights -- such as his trot performance (which is apparently an annual tradition). And what continued to amaze me was that he was smiling the whole time. All the time. The adorable smile of his. Guh.  

Cross Gene

There was also a intermission (half-time) performance by two different groups. The first was the boy band Cross Gene.

I actually didn’t know at the time (although I recognized him) but one of the members is Shin Won-Ho from the drama Big. I really enjoyed seeing them on stage even though they only performed two songs. It was quite a different experience seeing a boy band and I’d really like to go to a concert like that sometime before leaving Korea.

The second group was much older guys performing some ballads. I didn’t catch their name and nor did I recognize them but I’m not really interested in looking them up so I guess that’s okay. I will say they had awesome voices.

The end of the concert was the saddest part for me. I kept wanting to cry because it was just so awesome an I know that I will probably never get a chance to see Lee Seung Gi in concert again.

There was an encore, of course. Seung Gi came out to a white grand piano and played “Let’s Break Up” (우리 헤어지자) and then walked off stage. It was actually really funny because one of the Korean girls behind me was like, “Wh-what? He just played ‘Let’s break up’ and then that’s it? It can’t end like that! How weird!”

But then he came back and went on to crush my heart further by performing the song he sang for the Gu Family Book (구가의 서) OST with a lovely montage of footage from the series showing in the background.

And that’s how it ended.

On a Gu Family Book song.

It broke me just a little, that.

Anyway, when I was heading back home I think I was a bit in shock.

Holly crap.

It was one of the best nights and I’m so thankful, so happy to have been able to go to that concert (the only thing I'm sad about is that I couldn't get better pictures).

Hopefully, someday I can go again. I love you forever Lee Seung Gi!