Discovering Dongdaemun After Dark!

The Dongdaemun Shopping District in Seoul is one of the most popular areas to visit. Why? Shopping! Of course!

Although the Myeongdong alleys offer various cosmetic shops, fashion outlets, and a food alley, these are mostly for those who wanted convenience as these are all located in one location.

The Dongdaemun shopping malls, on the other hand, are mostly scattered around the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and are on different buildings. But what Myeongdong does not offer, Dongdaemun does! Shopping till morning!

Yes, while some shops and markets in Dongdaemun are open during daytime, the shopping really comes alive after dark!

               (Therese and friends discovering 
                      Dongdaemun after dark)

So, when my friend Therese, a former Seoulite, came to Korea for a quick visit last week, I told her I’d tour her around Dongdaemun. I had toured friends around Itaewon and at the Dongdaemun bag market at night before. So, this would be another fun night tour!

After their dinner in the nearby Namsan area, Therese, who’s from Oregon, brought along her other friends: Gail from Toronto, Yuna from New York City, Isabel from Paris, Jane from Shanghai, and Mitsuka from Tokyo!

Going to Dongdaemun, we simply boarded the blue bus from the Beotigogae area, where they had dinner, had a short bus ride, and got off at Gwanghuidong Bus Stop, one stop before the Dongdaemun Culture and History Park bus stop.

                    (Waiting for the blue bus!)

Here was our Dongdaemun tour trail:

Gwanghuimun

Said to have been constructed in 1396 during the fifth year of King Taejo, Gwanghuimun is a gate which served as one of the eight gates of the old city. This was destroyed during the Imjin War of the 16^th century. In 1975, restoration of the gate was done.

                    (Gwanghuimun after dark)

Since Gwanghuimun is hidden away on a quiet corner among shops, ordinary tourists to Dongdaemun are usually not able to spot this historical gate. But that night, I made sure Therese and her friends were able to discover this ancient gate.

LED white flowers of Dongdaemun Design Plaza

From Gwanghuimun, we made our way to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). I told them that this site was an old baseball stadium but is now a unique space for designers and artists, where they can sell, market, and exhibit their designs and creations. DDP was designed by the late Zaha Hadid, a world-renowned architect.

          (The ladies at the LED flower garden)

But unfortunately, it was late when we got to DDP. So, we moved around the DDP and discovered the unique, white LED flowers scattered around the landscape.  A few years back, these 20,000 LED white flowers were ‘planted’ at the southeastern corner of DDP, but they have since been re-planted on a different side.

The ladies joined other tourists and visitors posing next to the thousands of white flowers that lighted up the garden landscape behind the DDP.

Dongdaemun Night Shopping!

And as I told them, the shopping came alive after dark! From the outside, you’d see these brightly lit buildings with colorful neon signs and unique names. But inside, it was a controlled chaos of sorts where local and international shoppers swarmed around shops selling clothes and accessories fashionistas would kill for.

These shops are mostly owned and run by the Korean designers themselves, and most floors of the buildings are all populated by these fashion shops.

         (Inside a Dongdaemun shopping mall)

Outside the buildings, we noticed delivery men gathered and hauled huge plastic packages that were probably meant for online customers.

Cheonggye Stream

It was almost midnight when we capped our Dongdaemun night tour with a visit to Cheonggye Stream, which was right next to the shopping district.

We made our way down the stream for more photos. We were surprised that, even though it was late, there were a lot of people walking through the stream to exercise or walk their way home towards the eastern side of the city.

                (Isabel and Therese dropped by 
                      the Cheonggye Stream)

Yes, shopping is not the only night tour Dongdaemun offers. If you’re in Dongdaemun, make sure you don’t limit your visit to the shopping arcades and malls. There’s the Gwanghuimun, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and the Cheonggye Stream!

Therese and her friends had fun discovering Dongdaemun after dark. You should, too!

A Jongno Weekend: Hanoks, Mandu and Snow!

As part of my mission as a Global Seoul Mate, I checked in at  a B&B in the Jongno District, just next to Insa-dong, to experience a different kind of a weekend. I live in Seoul, and actually, Jongno is just seven minutes by bus from my neighborhood in Hannam-dong in the Yongsan District. Although it felt weird, I simply had to pretend like a tourist during the weekend!

I got to my preferred B&B place at the SK Hub Building right next to Exit 6 of Anguk Station on a cold Friday night at around 8PM. I was a starving by that time and I had to find a place to quiet my rumbling stomach. After dropping off my bag, I hurried down and follow where my hungry tummy led me.

Insadong's Koong Mandu
Luckily, Koong Mandu, my favorite restaurant in Insadong that serves the best mandu (Korean dumpling) in the whole of Seoul, was still open! Although, there were just a few customers inside finishing their dinner, I decided to join them. And from the menu, I then ordered a meal of six mandus swimming in a bowl of hot savory broth that could serve two hungry tourists! Ha-ha-ha! Their mandus are big, but for a starving person, the flavor of the minced meat filling and the softness of the mandu wrapper made it easy to gobble them down effortlessly. It has been a long time since my last visit here. I was happy to have made it before they closed for the day. 

(My hot bowl full of mandu. The lady in the background was filling the mandu wrappers with flavored minced meat.)

The Cheonggye Stream and Coffeesmith cafe
After a heavy dinner, I decided to walk it off by strolling towards the Cheonggye Stream, where I stopped by at the Tourism Information booth to ask for a map of Bukchon. It was very cold outside, but since the crowd that night filling the streets of Jongno didn't look bothered by the weather, I tried to share their spirit.

At the Tourism Information booth, I told Miss Ryu, the information officer, that I planned to visit Bukchon village the next morning; she then pulled out a map of the village from the shelf and explained the most interesting spots of the place to me.  Every night, the booth closes at 10PM and again, I was just in time! Afterwards, I continued my stroll along the Cheonggye Stream and stopped by the Coffeesmith cafe to study the map and update my blog while having a hot cafe mocha. It felt good sitting indoors with a hot cup of coffee!

                       (At the Tourist Information booth; 
                       Miss Ryu gladly took my photo)

                  (Frozen, not the movie, but the stream)

(Blogging away at the Coffeesmith with my hot cafe mocha)

Bukchon Village
This is perhaps the most famous place in Seoul where one can find a lot of clustered hanok, or Korean traditional homes. When I got there the next morning, a lot of international tourists were already there strolling the village. This place, by the way, is still a residential area. So, everyone is required to be quiet while walking around, but groups of tourists from Asia were noisy as they scampered around taking photos of each other. If only I could speak their language...

                                    (Hanok rooftops)

I followed the map that I got from the Tourist Information booth and had a great time revisiting the place. I was here a few times in 2006 when I was invited inside the house of Mr. David Kilburn, a British gentleman, who was an advocate of the preserving hanoks in this area. His house was a location of the movie, Empty House or 빈집.

My visit to Bukchon deserves a separate blog as I had a lot of photographs taken during Saturday morning when it was a bit cloudy, and the next day, when all the hanoks were covered with a thin layer of snow that fell the night before. I got there early in the morning to make sure I photographed the snow before it melted.

(A couple posing at a famous Bukchon alley full of hanoks)

Snowy Seoul
In the afternoon, I passed by Daehangno where I intended to catch a Korean musicale that night, even though I don't understand the songs. Ha-ha-ha!  This was where my friend Cielo and I caught Hwarang, a Korean musicale, when she came to Seoul last time.

                  (A sculpture next to the Hyewha Station)

                              (Snow started to fall!)

It turned out, while I was around Hyewha Station, I had to call it a day when heavy snow and strong winds came blowing through the city by mid-afternoon. I would have wanted to squeeze in a visit to a palace while there was still daylight. I guess the snowy weather didn't want me to.

Insadong's Ssamziegil
Although it was still snowing, but not as heavily as during the afternoon, I headed out again to Insadong, and stopped by Ssamziegil. 'Gil' in Korean means street, and this building is populary described as street as the structure is a continuous walk from the ground up to the highest floor. One can reach the top without using the stairs as the floor continuously elevates.

On my stroll at Ssamziegil and along Insa-dong, a few interesting souvenirs caught my eye. As a tourist, I gladly bought them to remind me of my fun weekend at this place. 

Insadong's Andamiro Restaurant
It was already below freezing when I finished my walk around Insa-dong, and dinner was just the missing slot in my schedule that night. So, I wandered around and found a familiar restaurant. Andamiro! Who doesn't like Italian food?

This restaurant's customers are mostly locals, who prefer a quiet place for their dinner of wine and Italian cuisine. A few friends of mine prefer this place when they're in Insa-dong, and there was no reason for me to go somewhere else to seek refuge and dinner in this weather. After all, I love Italian food, too!

                         (My bolognese pasta in cream)

'Dragon's beard' candy and Korean chestnuts!
And just along the main Insa-dong alley, there are a couple fo stores where tourists are attracted to. The guys making the 'dragon's beard' candy are always busy calling everyone into their stall to show how this unique candy is made. As I passed by, I got curious, too. I think I have tasted this candy years ago, and I forgot how good they actually were. This was the time I got me a box or two again!

And who doesn't enjoy a pack of warm, cooked chestnuts? As I walked toward my B&B right along the Exit 6 of Anguk Station, I spotted a chestnut vendor. I just couldn't resist buying a pack. I was supposed to be a tourist, who couldn't speak Korean, but I had to tell him I love chestnuts in Korean. He gladly gave me an extra to enjoy. A pack cost KRW5,000. Reasonable enough for these big chestnuts, freshly peeled and ready to eat!

Tourist Information Guides in Red Jacket
Since Insa-dong is also one of the most popular places for tourists in Seoul, a few teams of tour guides in red jackets walk around to provide information for everyone. They can speak in three languages: English, Japanese and Chinese. I will have to feature them in another blog as these guides are helpful and dedicated. I talked to a team while I was in Insa-dong, and they were there even during the snowy and cold morning, willing to help out anyone.

     (The Seoul Tourism Organization guides in red jackets)

Well, my weekend as a tourist in the Jongno area is over. But it was fun pretending to be one, especially there was a lot to see and discover again. 

So, thanks to the artisans, the vendors, the waiters, the hanok owners and everyone else who made my weekend in the Jongno District a good one!

                                  (Let's drink to Jongno!)

Time To Enjoy Korean Performances! Time for KOREA IN MOTION!

Last September 2012, it was my first time to watch the launching for the Korea In Motion (KOINMO for short), where excerpts of Korean performances were featured at the show at Cheonggyecheon. Prior to the launch, as a member of the K-Performance Supporters group, I was able to feature the 'behind-the-scenes' story of the KOINMO flashmob at Insa-dong. Although it was a bit hot that weekend, everyone had fun!

At the KOINMO launch last year, some interesting non-verbal performance shows were featured, and as always, they were popular among the crowd. But what was unique among the shows was a Korean musicale titled Hwarang. It stood out among the featured shows because it was a musicale, and the Hwarang actors were exceptionally good singers!

KOINMO aims to promote tourism through the Korean performances in Seoul, where locals and tourists get to enjoy the shows at discounted prices.

                           (The K-Performance Supporters dancing 
                               at the KOINMO opening)

And to kick off the 2013 KOINMO, another a launching event will be featured at the Cheonggyecheon featured selected Korean performances this weekend. 

Non-verbal performances are popular, and I wish they would feature more Korean musicales like Hwarang, which by the way, I recommend to everyone to watch. Here's a link to Hwarang's Korean website:

 http://cafe.naver.com/hwarangmjcompany

                        (The cast of the Korean musicale, Hwarang)

Last year, the K-pop boy band ZE:A was appointed the KOINMO ambassador. This year, MBLAQ will be the new KOINMO ambassador.

 (ZE:A receiving their appointment as KOINMO ambassador)

I wonder what's in line at this year's Korea In Motion events. Maybe there'll be another interesting show that I would discover...

Breakdancing By The Stream: Freestyle Session Korea 2013!

                                             (Warming up. Upside down.)

Held at the backdrop of the Seoul Friendship Fair, the b-boys gathered at the Korea Tourism Organization headquarters for the Freestyle Session Korea 2013.

The KTO's headquarters are located next to the Cheonggye-cheon or Cheonggye Stream, which was full of locals and tourists enjoying their Children's Day outing and the Seoul Friendship Fair being held around the Seoul Plaza and along the stream.

 (B-boy POCKET whom I chatted with once. This kid 

can spin on his head and can do a Thomas Flair 

effortlessly like he was just making coffee.) 

 But this afternoon was not just all about sightseeing and tasting the international cuisines for me, it's also about watching and be entertained by these b-boys who always seem to defy gravity with their twists and moves and spins in the air. I watched the R16 World B-Boy Masters Championship held at the Olympic Park a couple of times before, where everyone in the Olympic Hall, including me, was awed by these guys impressive moves, flexibility and creativity on stage.

 And today, everyone in the crowd must have been expecting the same.

The Freestle Session was a competition of crews of three b-boys with judges sitting in front of the stage deciding on which of the two crews that battled each other moved on to the next round. Of course, if there was a battle, there was a DJ on stage, too!

                                      (Fusion MC in action...in battle!)

           (My favorite shot of the day. I call it 'The Matrix', courtesy of the Fusion MC crew.)

While all crews gave their all, impressing the crowd in front of the stage and those watching by the road side next to Cheonggye-cheon, it was Fusion MC who won the title! (video>> here)These three guys were unrelenting, talented and most of all, very creative in their moves! They deserved to win!

                         (Jay Park and Mr. Charm Lee, KTO President)

Before the awarding of the winners, Jay Park, formerly of 2PM, was formally appointed at the honorary ambassador for R16 Korea, the international b-boy competition to be held at the Olympic Park this July 13-14, where b-boys from 20 countries will be impressing the b-boy fans and each other again with their newly invented moves. 

                                                    (The best crew! Fusion MC!)

So, to all of the b-boys, good luck on the next battle!

                              (The crowd watching from the road next to 
                          the Cheonggye Stream)