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Sunday, August 2, 2015

Things to do in Chung-Cheong-do | 2015 Wow Korea Supporters (Day 2)

On the second day, we went to Asan where the Oeam Folk Village is located at.

There, we hand-dyed our handkerchiefs with all natural dye and the finished product is sooo pretty!

Check out my post on Asan and for more info on how to get to Oeam Folk VillageHERE!

After the stroll, we went for some delicious soft tofu stew 순두부찌개 at the shi-gul-sun-du-bu 시골순두부 Restaurant in Cheonan.

Honestly, it is one of the best soft tofu stew that I have ever tasted!

Next, we visited The Independence Hall of Korea.

There, we get to have a better understanding on the independence movement in Korea.

We also had an opportunity to watch a 4D short animated film. Since the film is meant for kids, the 4D effect wasn’t as intense as I experienced before.

How to get there

[Bus] Cheonan Bus Terminal – Take the 400 city bus
[KTX] Cheonan Asan Station – Taxi (30min), 400 city bus

This relaxing trip really enabled me to learn so much about Korean history and I can’t wait to learn more on the next trip!

Things to do in Chung-Cheong-do | Boryeong Mud Festival | 2015 Wow Korea Supporters (Day 1)

So for the 3^rd trip with the 2015 Wow Korea Supporters, I went around the Chung-Buk Province.

On Saturday, we went to Gong-ju where we learnt the history of Beakje.

We went to the Royal Tomb of King Muryeong and we had an awesome learning experience.

Since the actual tomb was sealed in order to preserve it, they made replicas for visitors to have an up close and personal look of the tombs and artifacts.

Here is some extra info:-
Opening hours: 0900-1800
Admission Fee: Adults 1,500won; Teenagers 1,000won
Address San-1 Geumseong-dong, Gongju
Contact: Tourist Information Center 041-856-3151

After that, we went to Gongsanseong Fortress.

The best part of this place is that the view is awesome! You can see the entire city from the top.

After that, we got to experience archery. According to the tour guide, King Muryeong was really good at archery and so, they let visitors try it for a small payment.

How to get there
From Seoul
[BUS]
Gangnam express bus terminal / Nambu intercity bus terminal / Dongseoul intercity bus terminal– Gongju
[TRAIN]
Seoul Station – Cheonan Station – Cheonan intercity bus terminal - Gongju

After visiting, we got really hungry so we went to Sae-I-hak Garden(새이학공원) and had Gongju Soup and Rice 공주국밥. Really enjoyed it! And the side dishes were amazing too!!

After that, we went to the annual Boryeong Mud Festival.

It was so much fun! There were mud slides, mud pools, and etc. It was a fun experience that I’m glad I did not missed out on. Apparently, the mud is healthy for your skin, so Koreans managed to put mud all over them.

For more info, check out
www.boryeongmudfestival.com

After the festival, we cleaned ourselves up, had dinner and had a good night sleep.

Check out the next post for more!!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Asan, the place for some peace and quiet | Oeam Folk Village, the National Heritage | 2015 Wow Korea Supporters

Asan is a place where I have been living in for the past 4 and a half years.
The reason why?
I study there.

Yes, I study in Sun Moon University. And if you look at the picture above, it is a university that is practically in the middle nowhere. But the good side of staying in Asan, is basically the unpolluted air.

Also, it is actually easy to get around because there is the Cheonan-Asan Station where are KTX and subway trains (line 1), that goes up to Seoul and down to Busan frequently.

And if you are ever in Asan, you definately have to check out the Oeam Folk Village (아산 외암민속마을).

Oeam Village is considered as national heritage according to UNESCO. And people called the Oeam Folk Village as the living museum because everything is well preserved.

This place basically dates back to the Joseon Period and it is well preserved until this day.

Oeam Folk Village is occupied by the families of its founder Ye-an Lee who settled here about 500 years ago. And since his settlement, the village prospered, emerging as a major clan village for the Yean Yi family in late Joseon (1392-1910).

Here is the Korean website! oeammaul.co.kr

Admission Fees

Adults: Individual: 2,000 won / Group: 1,600 won
Youths & Children: Individual: 1,000 won / Group: 800 won
* Group: 30 people or more

How to get there

[Bus]
From Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, take an intercity bus to Asan Intercity Bus Terminal.
* Bus schedule: 06:00-22:00, 30-40min intervals / Estimated travel time: 2 hours

[Train]
From Seoul Station or Yongsan Station, take a train to Onnyang Oncheon Station.
* Train schedule: 06:39-22:28, 30-60min intervals / Estimated travel time: 1hr, 30min

From Asan Bus Terminal or Onyang Oncheon Station,
Take Bus 120 bound for Gangdanggol (강당골) and get off at Oeam Folk Village.
* Bus schedule: 08:10-19:30, runs 8 times a day / Travel time: 40min

OR,
Take Bus 100 or 130 and get off at Songnam Elementary School (송남초등학교).
Walk 5-10min to Oeam Folk Village (외암민속마을).

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Things to do in Jeolla-do | 2015 Wow Korea Supporters (Day 2)

So on the 2nd day, we went for Railbiking at Gokseong

We had a really good exercise because this railbike does not work on batteries. It requires us to paddle to whole way through.

And after that, we visited the abandoned train station!

And also the rose garden. This place is absolute great for taking pictures!

After that we went to Jeonju!

Jeonju

We had Grilled Short Rib Patties that are made from duck. And it was sooo good, my mouth is watering as I am writing this!

The food was really great! And based on the menu below, it is very affordable!

Next, we went to Jeonju Hanok Village.

There are many Korean traditional houses here and it looks really beautiful!

There is also the Jeondong Catholic Church. We weren't allowed to go in there but we can take pictures from the outside.

Check this blog post that I made to know more about Jeonju!!!

Also, we ate a lot of street food in Jeonju! If I were to live there, I bet that I'll gain so much weight!!

There are so many kinds of food there such as mochi, churros, the famous Jeonju choco pie and manyy more!

-The famous Jeonju Choco Pie-

Check out the video we made on the foods that we bought!!

Things to do in Jeolla-do | 2015 Wow Korea Supporters (Day 1)

So for the 2nd Wow Korea Supporters Field Trip, we went to Jeolla-do. Since I'm busy with my internship, I was only able to attend on weekends which are Saturday and Sundays.

GWANGJU

The trip started for me in Gwangju. We went to Joy Dance Academy which is a K-pop dance academy that was attended by Kpop idols such as Big Bang's Seungri and Kara's Go Hara. There, we were divided into two groups and I learnt Sister's "Shake It". It was a fun learning experience and I really wonder how those idol groups can dance in heels.

After that, we went to Gwangju Kimchi Town for its Kimchi festival.

The best part is that we get to learn how to make cucumber Kimchi from a professor that teaches Kimchi in a university.

So, for the first time, I made cucumber kimchi!!

After that cooking class, we get to see a kimchi exhibition where they display different kinds of kimchi.

There are some many kinds of Kimchi being displayed. In fact, there are different kimchi that are served for different seasons.

For more info:

Gwangju Kimchi Town
Opening hours: 9am – 6 pm
Closed on Mondays, January 1^st, Lunar New Year & Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day)
Admissions: Free
Hands-on experiences: 5,000Won (reservation required)
Inquiry: +82-62-613-8222

After an appetizing visit to Gwangju Kimchi Town, we went to Mudeungsan Boribap Street

There we had a Bori Bibimbap Set that was sooo tasty! And so healthy!!

Look at the amount of vegetables!

After that yummy lunch, we headed to Gurye.

GURYE

In Gurye, we visited the Natural Dream Park.

It is a small park where there are factories that produce organic products like dumplings, bread and other foods. We had a short tour on how pastries and dumplings where made, packaged and distributed.

This park created so many job opportunities for the locals and the factories are really well managed.

After that, we headed to Damyang! A place for healing and relaxation.

DAMYANG

So the first place we went to is the Bamboo Garden called Jungnogwon. It’s a garden filled with bamboo and Koreans go there to have a relaxing getaway.

Near by the Bamboo Garden there is the Noodle Street where there are really delicious noodles!

I recommend the anchovy-broth noodles! Its only 4,000Won!

Close to the Noodle Street, there is the Metasequoia Road which is famous for couples to take beautiful romantic pictures. But it our case, we were taking pictures of us having FUN!