Chuseok Vacation in Seoul ~ Day 1

(Wednesday, September 18th, 2013)

Butterflies are everywhere! 

We decided to spend our first day of Chuseok vacation exploring the Korean Folk Village and a few other areas in Seoul. It was actually a really, really long day but we got to do an see so much! 

The day started early - we had to leave around 8:00AM and head South on the Bundang line then take a short bus ride in order to get to the Folk Village. 

It was surprisingly easy even though it was our first time navigating by bus alone. We actually got there on time and then purchased our tickets (it was even better because we had a coupon)! Let the exploring begin! 

I'm glad we were able to see some flowers still in bloom...

Of course, the village has been the filming site for pretty much every sageuk (historical drama) ever and just in case you didn't know that, they show you...everywhere. 

Since this is one of my favorites (Rooftop Prince)...

Then this stuff happened: 

But really, the Folk Village is beautiful and if you are a history buff like myself, it's pretty fascinating.

It was like taking a step back in time and the good weather combined with the lush scenery just made it all the more beautiful. 

 

Gah. So pretty. I couldn't take enough pictures! We decided we may even try to go back there sometime in another season because you really could spend all day there just enjoying the view. 

Since we had other plans though, we only stayed until noon and then had to head allllllll the way up into Seoul (we're talking over 20 stops on the subway line) to proceed with the rest of our day (yeah it was a great plan).

We did account for the long travel time though and decided that the area of Seoul we would be hitting up would be Gangnam because it is the closest. First stop on the list: Mango Six café. 

It may seem weird to make a specific trip to a specific café but because we are drama fans there's usually a good reason why we are going to that particular place...

This Mango Six happens to be the café from quite a few scenes in the drama A Gentleman's Dignity. Since Jenee and I are both really big fans of that drama we decided make a special trip this shooting location.

Scene from A Gentleman's Dignity at Mango Six

It's pretty popular even amongst Koreans to visit drama shooting locations so even though it feels über awkward at first taking pictures at seemingly normal places you quickly get past that because right behind you is another group of people doing the same thing. Of course, sometimes you still get weird looks and stifled giggles but usually just from passing ajusshis (middle-aged men), so whatever. 

After drinking some delicious bubble tea we headed to another area in Gangnam called Seolleung Park. It's a nice green area that houses the tombs of King Seongjong, Queen Jeonghyeon (Seolleung) and King Jungjong (Jeongneung). It's part of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Walking around the park was relatively easy (there are only a few slopes and some stairs) plus you get to see some really pretty scenery. 

 

After we made our way around the park we left to our next destination: Coex Mall. 

This mall is very famous in Gangnam but unfortunately it is undergoing some huge construction so a lot of it is closed and empty. Lucky for us our purpose for going there wasn't shopping...we wanted to visit the aquarium! 

I'll admit: I had dual motives for going. First of all, Jenee has never been to an aquarium before so one of the things she wanted to do while in Korea is visit one! 

...I just happened to choose this particular aquarium to visit because it was a shooting location for one of my faaaavorite recent dramas: I Hear Your Voice. (But really, it's supposed to be the best aquarium in South Korea anyway...).

Scene at Coex Aquarium in I Hear Your Voice

It was actually really cool. They have a lot of exhibits in different themed areas and we got to see a lot of different aquatic fish and animals!

 

After the aquarium we got some dinner and then decided to try some patbinsu at the Baskin Robbins in Coex...

Chocolate.

it was the best thing ever. America needs this. Now.

Finally, it was time to head to our last destination: Banpo Bridge. Every night the bridge has a "rainbow fountain" water show. It is apparently the largest bridge fountain in the world and there are 200 lights that illuminate dancing jets of water. 

The only problem is that getting there is confusing and difficult. There is not a subway station directly near it, so you have to go to the closest station and walk for about twenty-minutes. The long walk is a bit daunting but what is really hard is figuring out where to walk. Once you get off at the station there are no signs and the map is unhelpful.  

We must have looked really lost because some nice older guy told us we could go up on the bridge that was right near us and we would be able to see Banpo bridge just fine. Once we got up there, we realized where we could have just walked and it wouldn't have been that great of a distance but since we were already waiting on the other bridge, we decided to stay. 

The show was very pretty...it was just far away. Hopefully, we will go back some time and go closer. Apparently  there is also music that is synchronized to the water show so that would be nice as well (of course we couldn't hear it).

Our next big dilemma was getting off the bridge. What we hadn't really noticed coming up was that the elevator and stair case were covered in spiders. And these weren't little bitty spiders, either. 

I know that sounds unbelievable coming from me (the one who is terrified of spiders) but Jenee can vouch for me...they even freaked her out. And the thing is...that elevator and stair case is the only way down from the bridge. 

Well, it wasn't happening. Especially since we could see spiders loosing their grip and falling and all I could imagine was that one would latch itself on to me and I would have a heart-attack.

Our only other option was to walk all the way across the bridge (and it's a big bridge) and try going down on the other side. Fifteen-ish minute walk? I'll take that over jumbo spiders any day! 

So we started walking, no big deal. There is a walking path that is in-between the guardrail and then the rail that runs along the edge of the bridge. Everything was peachy until we got a little over a quarter of the way in and realized that guardrail AND the other rail are COVERED IN SPIDERS.

I really wish this was just a nightmare and not something that actually happened but I'm seriously not lying or imagining things.

Spiders.

Everywhere. 

And I was trapped, right in the middle.

I'm unashamed to say that I cried the whole rest of the way. Sobbed, actually. I was scared senseless and I'm really proud of myself for not just launching into traffic and taking my chances with the freeway. 

I think I will have bad dreams about that walk for the rest of my life. 

But if I had to go back I still would of done it because there was no way, no how that I was getting in that elevator or walking down those stairs. 

Once we reached the other side of the bridge there was a different (uncovered) staircase that wasn't infested with spiders so we safely made it down. 

Then we were lost.

Like, really lost. 

The signs told us we were somewhere in Hangang Park but psst that thing is huge so who knows. There were bike trails and lots of grass...and the river. We eventually walked out of it and into civilization where we were able to wave down a cab and take it to a nearby station so we could head back home.  

It was a great day and a very traumatizing evening. 

I will never go up on a bridge here again. Ever. 

First Adventure in Seoul!

The Three of us at the Trick Eye Museum

Aaaand the weekend is here! Yey! 

Yesterday (Saturday) we made our first trip in to Seoul (well other than the one we made to the Immigration Office) and we had a full day of fun planned! 

Movie :)

First thing in the morning we decided to go see a movie called The Face Reader (관상)  which is a Korean historical movie that just opened up last week. 

It stars some actors we love (Cho Jung Seok and Lee Jong Suk, specifically) and we read online that the Lotte Cinema in Hongdae (a part of Seoul) played Korean movies with English subtitles between the appallingly-early hours of 10AM and 11AM...

Which is aparently a lie, because there totally wasn't any English subtitles. Oh, well. We got ourselves some popcorn and coke and then did our best to keep up with what was going on. 

It actually wasn't too hard to understand and the movie itself (except for the ending, I'll just throw that out there) was really good. It was filmed beautifully and had an engaging soundtrack. Even with our limited knowledge of Korean we were able to enjoy it. 

After the movie we met up with a good friend our ours (Michelle) who has been studying abroad in Seoul since earlier this year and we headed out into Hongdae to the Trick Eye Museum. 

Now, I'm not a big Museum person but I love interactive museums and this is one of them. There is two parts: the actual Trick Eye Museum and the Ice Museum (both are included with your ticket)and they are full of fun photo-ops. 

So cold!!

We went to the Ice Museum first. For obvious reasons, it's super freezing cold inside so they give you a little blanket you can wrap around your shoulders. Once in, there are many unique ice sculptures and you can take pictures.  

"Warming our hands" inside the igloo!

After the Ice Museum we went into the Trick Eye Museum. It was really busy (probably because it was a Saturday) which made taking pictures a bit frustrating but it was totally worth it. 

Throughout the museum there are different paintings and set-ups that make things look 3D. 

It looks kinda like I'm hanging upside down, right? :D

It's pretty awesome and so much fun! We took a million pictures but we still didn't even do everything...there is just so much!

I think we spent a few hours in there before we left and headed out to lunch. We ate takkalbi (닭갈비)  which is a delicious spicy stir-fry chicken dish. It has cabbage and onions and even ddeok (rice cakes) in it. So much yum! 

Ah. Makes me hungry.

After lunch, Michelle wanted to lead us around Hongdae a bit. It's a really trendy (indie) area of Seoul and they even have a free-market where people set up booths full of (generally) hand made stuff and you can just walk around enjoying the scenery. 

What was exciting for us is that Hongdae is a popular spot for filming dramas. One spot in particular: 

Graffiti. Everywhere.

The playground! Many dramas have had scenes here but the most memorable for us is the hilarious and sweet A Gentleman's Dignity.  

Scene from A Gentleman's Dignity where Lee Jong Hyun (as Collin) plays guitar and sings at the playground.

We were totally on the wrong side because we couldn't remember the scene exactly, but whatever! Our first drama site! 

We were there!

After embarrassing ourselves by being so tourist-ie we walked around the free market for a bit and then headed to the next spot on our list and probably one of South Korea's most famous drama locations: 

 

The First Shop of Coffee Prince! It's a cafe that served as a set for the uber popular drama Coffee Prince. 

Screen cap from episode 4 of Coffee Prince

We just took pictures of the outside because you are not allowed to take any photos/videos inside (therefore we didn't even bother going in and paying for over-priced coffee). But it was really cool to actually be there. 

 

It's really pretty! 

The coffee shop was our last stop in Hongdae. We wanted to visit the Korean Tourism Organization so we got back on the subway and headed a few stops over and got to see the lovely Cheonggycheon river. 

So nice!

This was apparently a massive (not to mention expensive) restoration project that took place back in 2003 because the river used to be covered by a highway. Now it makes for some very pretty scenery. 

Anyway, the Korean Tourism Office was close and we picked up some information booklets and stuff. We didn't spend too long there because we wanted to make it to our next destination before it got dark. Back on the subway! 

Second-to-last stop: Yeouido Hangang Park! (여의도 한강공원)

We made it before dark!

This is one of the first places Jenee and I wanted to visit in Seoul because it was a filming site for one of our favorite dramas: City Hunter. 

Scene of Lee Min Ho playing in the fountain from City Hunter

There is a fountain here that served as a set for an adorable scene from the drama but the park itself is actually really nice and runs along the Han river. People ride bikes and have picnics.  Fried chicken and beer is apparently a favorite food staple in this area (though we didn't have any)!

The water was so refreshing and nice, I was sad I hadn't brought a change of clothes so that I could actually get more than just my feet wet. I'm sure this will be a favorite spot of mine next summer when it's insanely hot outside. 

 

Right next to the park (or at least the area of the park we were in) is Mapo Bridge. It has a small modern-art sculpture thingie on it that you can walk up for a nice view. This was also used for a scene in City Hunter.

You can only kind of see it in this screen cap (in the background) but it was the best I could find: 

City Hunter episode 4

The view was really nice! Since it was getting dark we walked for only a little longer and took some nice evening pictures of Seoul.

...and then this really awesome shot: 

Divas in Seoul

Haha. 

We decided it was time for some papingsu which is really finely shaved ice mixed with sweetened condensed milk and other flavorings, then generally topped with some sweet bean paste and ddeok (rice cake). 

I want moooore!!

Michelle took us to a place she was familiar with that had really good papingsu and boy was it delicious! We got split a regular one and a green tea flavored one. 

Yeah. This happened.

Finally, it was time for our last stop: norebang (karaoke). The one Michelle suggested we go to had a purikura (little sticker pictures) place on the first floor so of course we couldn't resist and did that first. 

LOL

Then we headed upstairs to totally fail at singing for an hour. The place was pretty cool and had different themed rooms. We tried our best to sing some Korean songs and lost our voices. We kept getting bonus (service) time though for some reason (we only paid for an hour but they continued to give us more time) and we're pretty sure it was because they could hear how horrible we sounded and thought it was the funniest thing ever. 

It was especially fun when we started singing some old '90s songs that we magically still knew the lyrics to (we're talking Backstreet Boys, In'Sync, and even some Spice Girls). 

Anyway, when we left we could hardly talk and since it was so late we had to take a taxi back to Bundang. 

I feel like I just did a weeks worth of stuff in one day. It was exhausting but soooo much fun!