Everland Adventure

Everland

(This happened on December 22nd, 2013....It's my second post about that long weekend we had, this covers Sunday. I'm still catching up on my posts >.<;;) 

The Magic Tree

It’s really fun to go to theme parks during certain holidays because they go all out with decorations and themes so it just adds a lot to the atmosphere. I actually usually really plan out my theme park trips but this time we just decided to go to Everland (South Korea's version of "Disneyland") and kind of do whatever we felt like doing.

Christmas at Everland

The cool thing about Everland is that it is a theme park and also a Zoo. We went to the Zoo first and checked out all the animals. It’s been forever since I’ve been to a zoo and there was a lot to see. 

Everland also has two different safari-like rides you can go on where you hop in a bus and the driver takes you through an exhibit where some exotic animals walk around like tigers and bears. 

 

It really felt like a safari and was neat to see the animals up so close and free like that.

The zoo also happens to be a filming sight from a recent show called Good Doctor (staring Joo Won and Moon Chae Won). Jenee hasn’t seen it but I was pretty excited to get another drama sight in from a show I really like.

Joo Won and Moon Chae Won visit the Zoo at Everland in Good Doctor

After finishing up with the Zoo we headed down to the main square to watch the Christmas parade. Actually, we ended up only watching the beginning of it on accident because we thought it was over only to find out (after we moved on) that it was, in fact, still going. Oh, well. What we did see was nice and I’ll admit we giggled a bit over all the foreigners in the parade.

We went on the pirate ship/viking ride next. 

Viking Ship

It was actually the only “ride” we really went on (my stomach doesn’t handle most rides well these days) and we just had to go on this particular ride because it’s in like every theme park scene for every drama (probably not this particular one but…still).

Romantic Illumination at Everland

After the ride we got some food and then took the cable car down to the bottom of the park (it’s built on a mountain…) where the Romantic Illumination event was taking place. 

It was starting to get dark so the lights all turned on and it was just so pretty. There were lots of different displays and we actually found out later that this area was used as a shooting location for another drama The King 2 Hearts. 

Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won at Everland in The King 2 Hearts

It’s really beautiful and makes for some great photos especially earlier in the evening before the hordes of people started showing up.

No water fountain this time of year...

When we finished looking around at all the lights it was dark and cold so we went and got some hot chocolate to drink while we waited for the moonlight parade. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait too long and we got a good spot with a nice view as the illuminated floats paraded by. The effects were neat and the dancing was cute. I can’t remember the last time I saw a parade at night so it was a nice experience.

By the time the show was over, we had about an hour before the last event we wanted to see was going on which was the Christmas firework show. We took up post at a spot with a really good view and waited out in the cold, freezing, singing Christmas songs to make ourselves feel better. Despite the agony of waiting, the show was totally worth it.

We were standing above the Romantic Illumination arena and facing the main stage. As the Christmas music played the lights synchronized to the songs and then fireworks started going off (also in sync). It was pretty much the coolest firework show ever (I would argue that it was even better than the International Fireworks show we saw earlier in the fall…though it wasn’t as long). Plus, it was all Christmas-ie, which was just too awesome.

Here is a video of the opening part of the show:

Here is a video of the grand finale (it's pretty awesome):

We left the park after that and headed home. It kind of sucked getting back so late on a Sunday knowing we had work bright and early the next morning after two very long days of doing things (I really need my one day per week of lazing around doing nothing). But it wasn’t too bad, and it was worth it!

Chuseok Vacation in Seoul ~ Day 2, 3, and 4

Inside of Gyeongbokgung Palace

On Thursday we made another trip into Seoul to do some more sightseeing. 

Our first stop was Gyeongbokgung Palace and the statue of Admiral Yi Soon Shin. Both are famous tourist sites and since it was Chuseok there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the holiday. 

Yi Soon Shin's statue has been featured in quite a few dramas but I'm most familiar with it from City Hunter and (of course) Gu Family Book. 

 

Gyeongbokgung Palace is only a short walk from the statue and is an amazing sight to see in the middle of Seoul. 

Pretty flowers along the walk to Gyeongbokgung Palace

The palace has also been in many dramas including Queen In-hyun's Man, which I adore. 

Screen cap from Episode 1 of Queen In-hyun's Man

Gyeongbokgung is huge! Plus, it was really packed with tourists. Probably because of the free admission for the holiday. It was a little frustrating but I'm still glad we went! It's just not something you see every day. 

 

 

The architecture is ancient and beautiful. There are also some great gardens and even a lily pond inside that help portray the historical setting and significant elegance of the palace. 

 

From Gyeongbokgung, there is an area where you can step out and see the Blue House, which is South Korea's equivalent of the White House. Drama fans like myself will know that the Blue House was a major setting in City Hunter (although I couldn't find any screen caps that specifically showed it). But even if you are not familiar with that drama it's something worth seeing. 

The Blue House

Of course, that's as close as they will let you get (and this is with my camera zoomed in all the way). Plus, all the police officers and guards standing around was a little unnerving, so we took our pictures quickly and then went back to Gyeongbokgung. 

We spent quite a bit of time inside the palace because it is just so huge and it took forever to walk all around it. Once we finished though, it was off to our next destination: Changdeokgung Palace. 

 

Unfortunately, there is only so much you can see at this location without being part of a tour group and the line was huuuuge so we just looked around at what we could and decided we would come back for the tour some other time when it's less busy. 

It's all so pretty, though!

As we were leaving we stopped by a street vendor cart and bought some snacks. I don't know what these are called but they are delicious (like the texture of a fried waffle and filled with sweet bean paste). Our first street food! 

Yum yum yum!

We rested for a bit in the station after that (it was hooot) and then met back up with our friend Michelle for lunch and more sightseeing.

For lunch: cheesy ddeokbokki and a spam omelette (I know how that sounds...)

 

It was really good (which was a relief since none of us were familiar with the restaurant) and we left feeling stuffed. 

Our next (and last) stop was Naksan Park. It's somewhat of a less well known spot (which I of course know from dramas) but I think it's beginning to get more popular because of how unique it is.

The park itself is more like a hike up to what is called Naksan Fortress. It's a restored part of what used to be the Seoul City Wall and during the Joseon Dynasty it encircled the entire city.

 

This spot was featured in the drama The King Two Hearts and actually I had forgot all about that until later but now that I remember I'm even more excited about it. 

 

The view from the park is breathtaking and totally worth all the effort it took to get up there (trust me when I say we were covered in sweat). 

 

Surrounding the park is a bunch of residential buildings built on hills in a very Korean fashion. 

It's crowded and grungy but holds it's own rare beauty. It's becoming famous because of all the street art in the area. At first glance it may look more like graffiti, but the paintings are cleaver and visually stunning.  

 

Plus, a scene from one of my favorite dramas--Rooftop Prince--was filmed here. 

 

Naturally, we had to find those spots and take pictures (it was actually kind of hard to find, but we did it)! 

 

And that's how our second day of Chuseok came to an end! It was a nice trip into Seoul and we can't wait to go back but it probably won't happen again until next month. 

On Friday, Michelle came down to visit us in Bundang and we went out to dinner and then to go see The Mortal Instruments. Actually, Jenee and I had already seen it in America but it just came out here a week ago and it was worth a second viewing. We had to go to the 1AM showing though because there were no seats for the 10PM one we had originally planned on going to. Somehow, we managed to stay awake. 

Michelle spent the night at our apartment and on Saturday we went out to a famous jajangmyun restaurant that's right up the street for the first time. It was actually our first experience at a real, authentic Korean style restaurant and the food was very good! 

Mmm...

When we came back home we decided to dig in to the cake we had bought on Friday to celebrate all of our birthdays together (since we missed each other's birthdays this year). Cakes here are so pretty it was almost painful to have to cut into it but it was certainly delicious.

 

All in all it has been a very nice vacation and I'm so thankful for the opportunity we've also had to just rest and relax. I can't wait to do some more exploring though!