27 November, 201 5:00 PM"ISLAND OF THE GODS" EBULLIENCE |
D A Y 1 ITINERARY (NORTH/EAST JEJU)
The first day we traveled to East Jeju and went to Sunrise Peak (Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak) which is a archetypal tuff cone that formed from seabed hydro-volcanic eruptions. Sunrise peak is a 50 minute hike and the entry fee for the leisurely hiking trail costed 2,000 won. Shortly after, we took a express bus which was 2,500 won ($2.20) and arrived to our next destination, Manjanggul Cave, a designated natural monument that features one of the finest lava tunnels in the world. The entry fee is 2,000 won ($1.80). The people here are extremely open and friendly, so whenever we were ever lost, the locals would guide us towards the right direction and other cases we were extremely grateful for those who offered us to drive us to our destination. Our next destination was the North, Jeju-Si to see the Samyang Black Sand beach. Unfortunately, during our arrival, the beach appeared barren because of the unpleasant cold weather and fairly large ocean waves. We agreed that we'd stay out later to see a Traditional Korean Market: Dongmun Market! We had a ton of street food and negotiated prices between ahjummas and ahjussi's for souvenirs to bring home. There is also a very popular savory pastry with dried octopus flakes, Jeju grown barley with a mozzarella filling ! Furthermore, you should not leave the market without bringing hallabong oranges back home! These oranges embodies Jeju merit and are found universally anywhere on the island. You can also play a part in the experience of orange picking and bring what you've picked back home! We decided to join in the orange festivities and purchased Hallabong Manjoo's to snack on in the market. D A Y 2 ITINERARY (CENTRAL JEJU)
Hallasan, oh how me and Jeanie totally underestimated you. But unexpectedly, it is the most memorable experience during our stay in Jeju. Locals refer Mt. Hallasan as Mt. Yeongjusan which means "The mountain high enough to pull the galaxy". The mountain is home to 1,800+ botanical species and 4,000+ creatures (including snakes, yikes). The course is 6 miles up and another 6 miles down. With realization of the length of the hike, we began our excursion early and finished around 5:30 pm! Contrary, we did not realize how cold the weather conditions would be. Jeanie is from Florida and being a gal from Hawaii, we both have not experienced such heavy snow fall before. Believing that Jeju is the "Hawaii" of Korea, we slowly started to hesitant as we progressively moved further into the hike. Needless to say, you could consider the both of us dumb and dumber because we were not dressed the part. As ahjumma's (older women) and Ahjusshi's (older men) were pitying us and emphasized how cold we must have felt, many offered us hot water, gloves and face masks along our way up (very grateful) and brushed our shoulders to keep us warm. They had snow grip cleats, hiking canes and a abundant amount of layers for the hike. Unlike us. BUT, needless to say. When we made it back to ground zero, we were beyond relieved and starving. Our next destination, Jeju City for Black Pork! A must thing to do in Jeju is to try black pork which is a delicacy. The pork is a domestic pork found on the island which is more succulent and claimed as a "higher quality meat". We found a BBQ joint in Jeju City and thought it would be a tourist scam. We ordered twice the amount of servings as we were clearly starving. I carefully picked up the first piece of meat with my chopstick. After carefully analyzing it, I found a few black hairs on the meat. After placing it onto the grill, I found that the skin began to caramelized and crisp. Then, mixing the meat with Doenjang (Korean Soy Paste), Gochujang (Korean red paste), Kimchee, and onion all wrapped in a lettuce leaf, I found a strong liking of pork for the first time! Since the hike took most of our day, we decided to take another round of grubs and settled with Korean Fried Chicken! But there's always room for dessert and in Jeju "White Dreaming Donkey Cafe" which is a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Their signature dessert is their green tea bingsoo topped with traditional chapssaltteok (korean style mochi) D A Y 3 ITINERARY (SOUTH JEJU)
The past two days tested our physical capabilities, so our last day was more relaxing. We visited InnisFree a Korean Skincare brand and O'ssuloc Green Tea Farm. Oddly enough we were starving and had quite a large breakfast at Innisfree and dessert at O'sulloc. I was looking forward to seeing the Bonte museum as it featured a piece from my favorite artist Yayoi Kusama. The tickets were the most i've paid for a gallery in Korea and costed 20,000 won ($18.50). The exhibition featured a refined mirror/light room. The Bonte museum has 5 galleries in total featuring contemporary art pieces. The museum is fairly new and was built in 2012 by Tadao Ando, a renowned architecture who is a self taught architect. On the contrary, you can not leave Jeju island without trying seafood and we found the best and only sushi joint in Arang Joeul Food Street. You would have to make reservations, and we were nearly turned away until a existing customer offered us to join him on his table. A brisk walk from the Arang Joeul Food Street is Chongjeyeon Falls and the falls closes at 10:00 pm so we took the chance to see it before we went back home! TIPS:
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20 November, 2017 5:26 PM"GLOBAL TINTINNABULATION" Assemblage | Seoul Arts Center: 무민원화전 Moomin Exhibition The exhibition features Tove Jansson's original artwork of Moomins, a Sweedish character adorned by many Soulites. The exhibition features never before seen pieces and original illustrations of the comic. Contrary, the Seoul Arts Center features exhibitions from calligraphy, taxonomy of design, and occasional pop ups like the Moomin Exhibition! They also have a music hall and a opera house which is on my to-do list before I leave Seoul. The weather in Seoul is dropping quite periodically. A subtle new beginning approaches as the trees shed their leaves. A cold gust of a promised change and I feel something stir inside of me. The feeling? Cold intolerance. As a result, daily convenience store runs for my two disposable heat packs and a steamed sweet potato keeps me sane in this weather. A dewy condensation on a cafe caught my eye and made me smile. I have never lived in the cold and it was a moment of realization as I thought to myself: I have embraced change to its entirety; to the the extent that I haven't really taken the time to step back and ponder about it. I have adopted a Seoulites way of life in Korea and found that living abroad has taught me how to face any given situation head on. What I mean is that failure is less terrifying. Rejection is less painful. Unpleasant necessities are actually pleasant and the unsavory tasting facets of life are a little more savory. It is a bit early to say this, but I will miss this place. On the other hand, I paid Namiseon Island another visit alongside a group of friends for some delicious Hotteok. On a whim we visited Garden of the Morning Calm. Sadly, we visited during a depressing period. Most of the garden was closed off because of the weather. The next day I got to meet Henry and Josh at Hanok Village. It was a horrible time to be in a hanbok, but we embraced the cold!! My friend lily who goes to Yonsei University showed me around her campus and the surrounding area. Needless to say, their campus is far more nicer then Korea University's campus. Shortly after we visited the Leeum Museum of Art. Out of all the museums i've been to, I highly suggest visiting this one. Entry fee is 10,000 won, however, they have a student discount that brings the fee to 5,000 won ( 50% hooray ! ). I have never been out as much as I would love to, but now I am savoring every day as there is t-minus 31 days left in Seoul, South Korea. On the other hand, this weeks destination is Jeju Island ! I heard it is warmer out there (thank goodness). 6 November, 2017 9:59 AM"3/4 DONE" ELATION | I am a little over halfway there and halfway through my time in South Korea. With 47 days, I decided to cram as much as I could over the weekends even if it means no sleep. This weekend featured the following:
Personally, Hongdae is my favorite place to go to for shopping. Many would hear about Myeongdong as the unmitigated place to go to for shopping, but Hongdae has just as many stores, better restaurants/cafes/vendors, and is far less crowded. Plus they have quirky cafes such as the Raccoon cafe (8,000 won for a visit and drink of your choice), Sheep cafe (Thanks Nature Cafe), Dog cafe (Bau House), The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (The Korean Drama: Coffee Prince was filmed here), and a Meerkat Cafe! Shortly after Hongdae, we took the subway to Jonggak (This is where you would get your Alien Registration Card) but we came here for the Seoul C. Music Festival 2017 and the Seoul November Lights which is self-evident happening once a year. The Seoul November Lights is sort of like Honolulu City Lights, but the theme is the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games 2018. The entire stream of Jonggak is filled with floats that light up the night. Namiseom is two hours away from central Seoul and you would have to take a shuttle and a ferry to the island. I would recommend paying for a shuttle service as your only form of transportation in the surrounding area is taxi. Trust me, it will save you a lot of time, and stress. The ferry ride to the island is 8,000 won (round trip). However, for thrill-seekers, there is another option which is zip lining that will cost 38,000 won (one way). Namisum is a tiny half-moon shaped island located in Chuncheon, South Korea. It was inundated by the rising water of the North Han River from the construction of Cheongpyeong Dam in 1944. I would say Fall is the peak time of Namisum as it is foliage paradise. There are restaurants, activities and performers, so regardless what time of day you'd arrive there is something to do. We spent an entire day here and we plan on coming back for activities that are on the outskirts of Namisum for more sightseeing! |
AuthorCindy is an epicurist, a food photographer, and a self-proclaimed creative writer. When Cindy isn't studying at Korea University Business School (2017), she can be found in cafes, asking random seoulites for directions, or singing at noraebangs (korean karaoke). Archives
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