Seoul Spot: Gangnam Station's Exit 11

Gangnam Station is one of Seoul's busiest stations. During weekdays, commuters crowd this station on their way to their work at buildings and establishments located near the station. 

          (I forgot the name of this K-pop girl band)

On weekends, couples and friends wanting to meet up at cafes and restaurants in Gangnam pass through Gangnam Station as well, although some would also get off at Sinnonhyeon Station, which is right next to Kyobo Building. 

                 (Gail, Therese and some Korean guys 
                     giving away free t-shirts)

But with the addition of the Shinbundang Line that connects the Green Line through Gangnam Station, this station even gets more pedestrian traffic every day! And night!

And speaking of traffic, that spot at the main Gangnam intersection, the one next to Exit 11 where Psy's silhouette stands under 'GANGNAM STYLE', the words he made famous with his monster hit, has become a venue for marketing events. 

          (A very crowded Gangnam Station spot)

A few years back, when I toured my friend Maria around Gangnam one early morning, it was only Psy who welcomed her to the spot. But last week, when I toured my friends Gail and Therese, there were some upcoming Korean actors, and K-pop boy and girl band members, who were promoting an advocacy and giving out t-shirts. And since we were already there, why not join the crowd and get some freebies as well? Ha-ha-ha!  

Gail and Therese had fun mingling with the celebrities (we didn't even know their names!), asking for photos with them and their autographs on the free t-shirts. I also got a t-shirt but I didn't have it dirtied with autographs as I plan to wear it during weekends and I don't want my neighbors to think that I don't know how to wash my shirts. Ha-ha-ha!

                        (A mime in orange)

So, if you're passing through Gangnam Station this summer, you might want to swing around Exit 11. Who knows? You might get a free shirt, too!

A Quiet Autumn Stroll @ Seoul's Seonjeongneung

There are only a few, real quiet spaces in Seoul. You'll never find serenity in Myeongdong, not even inside the Myeongdong Cathedral, which is supposed to be a place of worship. When there's a wedding at the cathedral, the attendees turn it into a noisy auditorium.

You'll never find a quiet spot inside a coffee shop. There will always be a bunch of ajummas gossiping next to you, or Korean girls trying to outtalk each other.

And I bet, you won't even find peace in your own home. The ajussi selling vegetables will blast his loudspeaker from his truck to wake you up and buy his tomatoes or potatoes.

Even up on a mountain, a group of drunk ajussis, with their bottles of soju, will spoil your meditation.

But there are a few spots in Seoul where I am sure you can actually find peace and quiet. How? Because these are places where the occupants are literally resting in peace.

One is the Seoul National Cemetery near Dongjak Station in Seoul's Dongjak District; it's the resting place of heroes, martyrs and honored citizens. Picnics are prohibited here. On a cool autumn day, you can just stroll around the cemetery amidst the changing colors of the foliage. In spring, this place is even less crowded compared to Yeouido, if you want to see some cherry blossoms. Entrance is free. For the living, that is.

Another one in the middle of the city is a royal resting place: the Seongjeongneung in the Gangnam District that consists of two royal tombs.

Seolleung is the royal tomb of the 9th King Seongjong of the Joseon Dynasty and his second wife, Queen Jeonghyeon.

Jeongneung, on the other hand, is the tomb of the 11th King Jungjong, also of the Joseon Dynasty.

This is actually a small forest right in the middle of a busy district, and constructing tall apartment and office buildings around the site is prohibited because Seongjeongneung is both a cultural heritage site and UN Heritage Site. Unlike the rest of Seoul, you won't see shadows of tall buildings encroaching on the perimeter.

What you'll see are trails around and a  forest within, and what you'll hear are silence and the occasional singing of the birds. During weekdays, you'd see office people stretching their legs around the site, and on weekends, you'd see couples and families walking around the woods.  

   (The marker for the 500-year old gingko tree)

       (That huge trunk is at least 500 years old)

There's also a 'natural treasure' inside the Seongjeongneung. It's probably the tallest gingko tree I have seen in Seoul. Why it has grown this tall? Because it's at least 500 years old! And if you're there at the right day if the year, it should be in its full autumn yellow glory! There's a marker next to it. This tree is just a few minutes from the entrance. If you're facing the entrance, it's on your right. Since it's very tall, you can actually see it from afar.

(A young couple next to a very old natural treasure)

         (The oldest gingko tree towers above 
                            everything else)

The nearest subway station to the entrance of Seonjeongneung is Seolleung Station. About 260 meters from Exit 8, you'll see the concrete walls surrounding the tomb. Turn right and trace the walls for about 150 meters until you'll see the entrance. 

A small fee of KRW 1,000 is required for a visit, and during autumn and winter, it's open from 6:30AM until 9PM.

But if you want to be a regular visitor, you can also purchase monthly and annual access passes.

So, if you want to get away from all the chaos and noise of the city, Seongjeongneung should be a new getaway for you.

Lotus Lantern Parade, Gangnam Style!

More than a week ago, on May 16, the very colorful and very extravagant lotus lantern parade rolled through the streets of Seoul. 

I opted not to join the thousands lining up along those crowded Jongno streets that day. I decided to watch the parade as it rolled out from where it started, the Dongkuk University stadium.

But last Monday evening, on Buddha's actual birthday, a holiday in Korea, I went to the Gangnam Station area with coffee and stretching my legs in mind. 

And as I was for scouting a good coffee shop, I saw a couple of traffic enforcers blowing their whistles in the middle of the main intersection, which meant just one thing: something was going on, or going through.

My curiosity lead me towards the intersection. 

And there it was. Big lanterns glowing while being towed by cars followed by participants making a U-turn from Exit 2 to Exit 7 of the Gangnam Station. I realized, this was a mini-lotus lantern parade! And it was not happening in Jongno! It was happening in Gangnam! It's a lotus lantern parade, Gangnam-style!  

Although it wasn't as long as the one in Jongno, and there weren't as many participants, but it's still a parade.

So, I guess, next year, in case you miss the lotus lantern parade in the Jongno District, we now know where to catch the next one.

"My Dear Love, Chunyhang": A Unique Korean Ballet At Seongam Art Center

The last time I saw a ballet performance in Seoul was at Sejong Arts Center, where the very popular Swan Lake was performed by the visiting Kirov Ballet based in St. Petersburg, Russia.

But today, although the ballet was based on a very popular Korean love story and performed by local Korean talents, the performance still has some Russian connection. How? The resident ballet company of the Seongam Arts Hall is the GITIS-Korea Ballet Academy, much like the Kirov Ballet being the resident ballet company of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, and GITIS is the Russian University of Theater Arts based in Moscow, Russia.

Filling up the 201-seat theater on the 3rd floor of the Seongam Art Center in Nonhyeon 2-dong in the Gangnam District, the crowd, made up of proud fans, friends, family members of the performers, and K-Performance Supporters of the Korea Tourism Organization, was treated to a ballet performance of the love story, "My Dear Love, Chunhyang". 

Chunhyangjeon was originally a pansori, the Korean art of musical storytelling performed by a vocalist accompanied by a drummer, and this love story has been told through dramas, movies, and on this occasion, through ballet. The love story is about the two lovers, Chunhyang, who's beautiful and is exceptional in the arts and poetry, and Mongryong, who is handsome and intelligent. Although in the end, they lived happily ever after, you have to watch the ballet to find out what happened in between.  Even if you are familiar with this popular love story, it would be a unique experience understanding the story in a different art form.

And perhaps to lend more Korean tradition to the ballet, a very good pansori performer, accompanied by a drummer, sang the story to introduce the episodes of the performance. Although the art form is western, the pansori and the Korean love story made the whole performance a unique experience for everyone. On top of that, the colorful costumes worn by the dancers were designed and tailored to adapt to ballet. If you want to see colorful hanboks and Korean traditional costumes dazzle during fouettes, pirouettes, entrechats, or arabesques, you should watch this ballet. 

"My Dear Love, Chunhyang" was choreographed by the ballet academy's artistic director, Miss Young Moon, who's a professor at the College of Arts at Kookmin University. Miss Moon's family actually owned the Seongam Art Center, which was founded by their father. She told me ballet runs in their family; her older sister, Miss Geum-Ja Park, used to dance in Russia. 

And even though some of the ballet dancers were just students, you can already tell that these young dancers are very good at their craft. And as it was just a small theater, there was almost no separation between audience and the downstage, and those interactions between the floor and the dancers' pointe shoes were clearly audible, enabling the crowd feel extra intimate with the performers and their performance. As she was just a few feet away, the crowd would have just rushed onstage to help free the suffering Chunghyang when she was imprisoned by the new village lord. :-)

I highly recommend you watch this unique Korean ballet, especially if you like to enjoy unique experiences here in Seoul. The performance is just about an hour long and annotations in English are flashed on stage to enable you to understand the whole story if you're not familiar with this tale.

Also, watch out for the surprise dance-off after the ballet. You can actually join the fun on stage if you want to.

                           (The ballet goes...Gangnam Style!)

"My Dear Love, Chunhyang" is performed every Friday at 5PM. To get to the Seongam Art Center, get off at Exit 1 of the Seonjeongneung Station of the Bundang Line. 

(The lady with the hat is the ballet academy's 

Chief Director, Miss Geum-Ja Park, posing in front 

of her photo during her dancing days in Russia; 

the lady in black is the choreographer, Miss Young Moon)

Do click this Seongam Art Center's >> website << for details about this ballet and other performances.