A MONTH OF KOREAN CULTURE

     I was able to cover most places in my bucket list that winter. I

Hwaseong Fortress

arrived with my husband  on February 7, 2013 and left on March 9 of the same year by myself. A month in Korea gave me enough time to visit another place that's significant to their history, the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. This holds an important part of King Jeongjo's reign during the Joseon Dynasty. A glance at one of it's gates when we passed by it on our way to Everland Resort captivated my eyes and made me want to go back to Suwon and see what's hidden behind it's walls.

     A week after, my husband took me to Songtan area to see

Street food at Shopping Road

the Shopping Road which is just across the Osan Miliary Base. A lot of shops, bars and restaurants lined the street and the small alleys, mostly American brands. It was quite a long walk from Songtan Station but I enjoyed looking a the Korean homes along the streets. We saw a lot of foreigners around, most are family members of American Soldiers assigned in the base. I had fun checking out the shops but I enjoyed the spicy chicken on stick the most. I'd go back if I can just to have some again.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

     Our last stop for the weekend is very cultural. I expected to see just the palace since I didn't have an idea that there are museums nearby. The tunnel from Gyeongbokgung Station impressed me with its neat, museum like design. My husband and I found out that it leads to the National Palace Museum of Korea.

     The museum houses about 900 artifacts from the Joseon Dynasty. Everything from the Royal Family's clothes, accessories, gigantic official seals, paintings, household items, weapons, thrones, carriages, vehicles, musical instruments, sculptures and even urns and tombs. But there's one artifact that stood out for me. My curiosity level rose when I saw this huge device which turn out to be a water-driven clock. It's as big as a nipa hut back home. Information from the touchscreen monitor helped tourists understand what it is and how it worked. It is a restored self-striking water clock based on the original clock of King Sejong. It chimes to tell how much time has passed.

     The clock's my favorite, but a lot also sparked my interest. The colorful clothing from their headdresses to their shoes took a lot of my time. The patterns they used to make the fabric designs, petite socks and shoes, vanity mirrors, jars of "makeup" that they used are all there.

     We saw this ring-like wood maybe about 3 feet in diameter but can't figure out what the thing is. Good thing there's an english translation of its description. It's a bow, for all you know! Now, that's something very different. 

     The instruments we saw were mostly percussion but their shapes and materials are also unique. Some chimes are made of jade because jade, as they say, is not affected by changes in temperature and humidity which makes its sound accurate  and used as tuner for traditional instruments. Notice the shape of the drums and be amazed. You'll never guess that they are drums if you didn't read the descriptions. At first I thought some were just house ornaments and others, kitchen tools. Funny, huh?

     The museum has three levels. Tour will take around one hour and if you happen to get hungry, there's a nice cafe on the first level. 

     Across the entrance of the museum is the spectacular view of the Yeongsongmun gate of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. From the museum, tourists may now proceed to the Gwanghwamun gate through the Yeongsongmun gate to witness the Change of Gate Guard Ceremony. The Gwanghwamun Gate Guard Duty Performance lasted for about 10 minutes and the Sumunjang Changing Ceremony in the court lasted for about 20 minutes.
     We paid 3,000 KRW/ head at the ticket booth after the ceremonies to get inside Gyeongbokgung to see the halls, shrines and houses for the royal family. The National Folk Museum of Korea and the Korean Folk Village just before the exit will give you a tour about the life of the ancient South Koreans. We walked to Gwanghwamun square after that and saw King Sejong's and Admiral Yi Sun Shin's statue before we headed back to Pyeongtaek through Gwangwhamun Station.

Self-driven Water Clock

Women's Robe Worn on Significant Ceremonies

Used to make patterns of fabrics

Socks for Royal Children

King Sunjong's vehicle made by General Motors U.S.A.

Ceremonial Table

bow

Percussion Instruments

Change of Guard Ceremony

My husband before the Geunjeongjon in Gyeongbokgung

Behind one of the shrines in Gyeongbokgung

Gwanghwamun

King Sejong's Statue and the air gauge

Admiral Yi Sun Shin's Statue

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How to Get There
Admission Rates and Operating Hours

IT'S TIME FOR EVERLAND!!!

     A long commute from Seoul on a Saturday night won't keep me from getting up early for Everland. This trip has been in my head for months! So, we skipped breakfast and hopped into the next bus bound for Pyeongtaek. It took us fifteen minutes to get to Korail Line 1 Pyeongtaek Station. After ten stops, we're already boarding #66 bus in Suwon.

     I had no idea how long the bus ride was because I dozed off from there to Everland's shuttle bus pick-up point. I thought we traveled for only 30 minutes. A lot of foreign and local tourists were bound for Everland that day, making the bus packed.

   

     It was a short ride to the gates of Everland Theme Park. We bought tickets and went through the park entrance. It was like a dream come true. I felt sad last year for not being able to visit the park because of its distance from Uijungbu.

     We started taking funny pictures, enjoyed the attractions, played in the snow, sample their food, rode the lift and the cable car and go to almost every souvenir shop we found.

     

     Every part of the park keeps on surprising me. Global Fair looks like everything and everyone's in there, European Adventure looks like real Europe, Magic Land feels magical, Zoo-Topia houses a lot of amazing animals around the world, American Adventure will make you feel like you're in America with all those rides and diners. 

     The cable car and the lift made us get where ever we want faster, easier and more fun with the excellent view of the whole park and the mountain. You can see all the attractions and gardens from up there. 

                                                At night, it's like a long celebration  

of Christmas with the trees, buildings and bushes covered with lights. Making the guests feel sad thinking that the day is over. . It's good that the parade and fireworks are there to liven up the mood again.

     If you want to explore the whole resort, it may be a good idea to stay at the Home Bridge Hostel for the night and check out the Caribbean Bay, Glen Ross Golf Club and the Ho- Am Art Museum the following day.

click here for directions, admission rates, tips and the whole story of our Everland tour

Off to Lotte World!

     It was 5am when I woke up, thinking we should leave the house early for Lotte World. But my sleepy-head husband refused to get up until 1pm. So much for that whole day of fun. We left after we had a very late lunch and took the subway to Jamsil Station where the big amusement park is. Jamsil Station is directly connected to Lotte World, a huge indoor and outdoor amusement park with cinema, mall, restaurants, hotel, folk museum and ice skating rink.

     A replica of Trevi Fountain on our way to Lotte World amazed foreign tourists while a fountain with dancing LASER, just before the entrance, entertains the kids and their parents.

Replica of  Rome's Trevi Fountain

Dancing Laser Fountain

A kid checking out how the light works

    After some snacks at Lotteria, which is also inside the mall, we purchased tickets and entered the park.

Ready to dig into his Burger and fries

Entrance to the amusement park

     We went around and stopped by the souvenir shop with lots of Lotty and Lorry items.

souvenir shop

     The park is so big that there are lots of things to goof around with.

     I love those big clocks so I insisted on taking a pic with my husband/ photographer. 

My kind-hearted husband

   Korean Drama, Stairway to Heaven's famous carousel is also here, though I still can't believe that it's the same thing because it looked bigger in the drama.

The famous carousel from Stairway to Heaven drama

     On the other end of the park, opposite the carousel, is a stage where amazing Broadway-like performances entertain guests of all ages. If you think you'll just be wasting time if you stop to see them, you could be wrong.

     Just when I thought we're about to go back, my husband led me near the cosmetic and gift shops. Now I thought we're gonna go shopping! Instead he kept walking 'til we reached the other exit. And was I blown away by the view of the castle. I was speechless. It felt like I'm in Disneyland! I got so excited that I snatched the camera and started taking pictures of him and the castle.

     Inside are replicas of knight memorabilia.

     We took more pictures after having some sausages since we took a rain check on the scary-looking rides.

     The two-hour train commute back to Pyeongtaek almost starved us so we stopped at the nearby sundaekuk shop where an ahjumma served us each with rice and a big bowl of soup with sundae (a Korean sausage made of rice noodles and pig's blood), one of his favorite Korean foods. But not mine, though. The raddish and cabbage kimchi were good.

Big bowls for the tired and starved

kimchi, rice and sundaekuk

Sundae

     That late, big meal made us very sleepy so we headed back to the apartment right after.

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read for directions and Lotte World rates

From Manila to Incheon to Pyeongtaek-si

   We had to rush to the ticket booth to get on the 7:40am bus to Pyeongtaek when we arrived at the Incheon International Airport, February 7, 2013. Was I glad when my husband asked me, after our three and a half hours flight from Manila to Incheon, if I was hungry. I wasn't but I said yes because I was craving for anything from my favorite coffee shop, Paris Croissant for months! We grabbed some bread and coffee for take away and ran to catch our bus.

     Buses bound for Pyeongtaek-si are at the middle of the arrival area. You can get your tickets and check for schedules at the ticket office at windows 7 and 8.

Incheon International Airport Bus Route
image from http://www.airport.kr/img2011/eng/routeparking/img_busroute01.gif

Bus tickets to Pyeongtaek-si

 
   The two-and-a-half-hour ride to Pyeongtaek made us doze off. I had to wait for my husband to wake up to take a picture of him in the Limousine Bus. The seats are even cozier than those on the plane we were on from Manila. Not that it's a poor airline, it's just that the bus is so nice. It won't be called Limousine Bus for nothing, right?

the comfy Limo Bus and my sleepy husband

     After hours of travel by plane, bus and cab, finally, we're home. Welcome to our apartment in Jinsari, Pyeongtaek-si South Korea! Our first home as husband and wife. I can't help but stare at the interior as I was taking off my shoes.

Our apartment in Jinsari

     We tried to rest some more and planned our activities for the weekend. In the evening, as we went out for the supermarket, it was around 4- 8 degrees centigrade outside, far from the always-summer-Philippine-climate.

It's 4 degrees in Jinsari!

     After dinner, he decided to take me to Lotte World and Everland for the weekend. E-V-E-R-L-A-N-D... that's Korea's Disneyland. And it's my dream to see it!