Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Places to Go... in Seoul!!! :-) # 40

<< Seoul in Winter >>
In fact, Seoul doesn't change much when winter comes. Just significant difference can be observed by the street scene (various street food carts comes out on the street and people wear thicker clothes and walk hastily to save time staying outside outside in cold).
However, in this city on cold winter day, it's always sweet to walk around or visit...

1. palaces (as I mentioned already, palaces in Seoul are gorgeous in Fall but also mesmerizing in winter too! especially when they are covered in snow...)

2. art or other museums: Seoul Museum of Arts, Leeum, Science Museum, etc

3. movie theaters: any one in Seoul but especially small ones (such as Sponge House, etc)

4. amusement parks especially when it snows and dark! because they are pretty at night!Also they have special promotions for night admissions and parades at night!

5. Ice Rink or Ski Resorts!! They are typical places to go in winter

6. Jjim jil bang(room)- this is a public sauna room where people can enjoy sauna with friends and families!

7. KT Art Hall (near Seoul City Hall) People don't know much that near city hall, there are lots of things to enjoy. But this hall provides jazz in this city! Definitely placed in the top list of Must See in Seoul! :-)

enjoy this winter scenery~

Places to Go... in Seoul!!! :-) # 39

<< Skating in Seoul!!! >>
These days, Koreans are into skating!

Skating Rinks in Seoul are...
1. Lotte World Ice Skate Rink
This is one of the most well known Skate Rink in Seoul. It is located on the 3rd Basement floor of Lotte World. Since this rink is inside the building, it is open for all year long. The rink is open for all year long. Usually its open from 10 am to 9:30 pm or later depends on season and special occasions.
The set(admission + skates rental) fee for children is 12,000 won and adults is 13,000. Only for an admission fee is also posted on the website.
*please check website for further information

2. Seoul City Square Ice Skate Rink
This only opens for few months.And currently, it's under a construction again!(last year, it opened from Dec. 6th to Feb. 10th)It was opened from 10 am to 10 pm on weekdays and until 11pm on weekends. Only an hour is allowed for people to skate. Admission fee is combined with skates and helmet rental fee, which is 1,000 won. However to rent a locker and gloves, extra 500 won will be added.
*please visit website: www.seoulsports.co.kr for further information

3. Yeouido Han River Park skating rink
This is also very popular public skating rink. Like the one on Seoul City Square Skating Rink, this one is an outdoor skating rink.
Take subway line #5 and take off at Yeouinaru stn. It is where the Han River public swimming pool is located. Rental fee for skates is 3,000 won regardless of age and gender. Admission fee for children is 2,000 won, students is 3,000 won and adults is 4,000.
contact #: 02-785-1093

4. Seoul Education and Culture Center's Outdoor Ice Skate Rink
This is opened by Seoul Education and Culture Center. It is located in Seocho district. This is open from 9 am to 6 pm.
Rink admission fee for children is 4,000 won, students is 5,000, and adults is 7,000.
It used to open from Nov. 15th to Feb. 29th. BUT, dates and time can be altered so it's the best to contact before using the rink.
contact #: 02-576-2924,2942

5. Mokdong Ice Rink
It is located in Mokdong, Seoul. BUT THIS IS NOT FOR ENTERTAINMENT! This rink has been built to promote winter sports in Korea. This is mainly used for training purposes for sports atheletes and private/group lessons.

6. Taereung International Ice Rink
This is open not only for registered athelets and national atheletes but also for public. It is open from 10 am to 7pm for public. Since this is indoor rink, it is open from Sep. 25th to Jun. The admission fee for children(younger than elementary schoolers) is 3,000 won, students is 3,500 won, and adults is 4,000 won. Skates rental fee is 3,000 won.
contact #: 02-970-0501~3

7. Grand Hyatt Seoul Ice Skate Rink
This is owned and run by Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel. Since it belongs to a hotel, its admission fee is higher than other rinks. However, it also provides many promotions such as free admission on designated dates and discounts for couples, etc. It is an outdoor rink providing beautiful scenery. People can rent a rink for special events too.
contact #: 02-733-8112/3
*Please check Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel website for further information

Monday, November 17, 2008

Check this Out!!! :-) # 3

<< "Garden 5" in April '09 >>
Currently, Coex is the most popular multiplex in Seoul. But, in April '09, it might not be so. Right now, in Songpa, SH Company and Seoul Metropolitan Government have been building the "Garden 5," a huge multiplex. It is already scheduled to be opened in April '09. The scale of this multiplex is about five times as big as Coex. And this not only has entertainment and shops but also residential and business complex.
Commercial of this complex is already out! For sure, this is something that Seoulites should look forward too!!!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Food to Try... in Seoul!!! :-) # 1

<< Street Food and Others in Seoul >>
Seoul's one of the major characteristics is having "street food." Especially starting from fall, many carts come out on the streets loaded with mouth watering food.

So what are the major street food???
1. << Boo-eung uh BBang!(Boo-eung uh=fish Bbang=bread) >>
We call this Boo-eung uh Bbang not because the filling is made of fish but the shape of the bread is fish! This bread is simply made up of bread mixing(flour, butter, water, etc depends on the maker/seller) and sweetened red been paste filing!
And simply eating is the best way to find out why this is the long time favorite street food of Korea~

2. << Hoo-dduk(rice cake) >>
Although the name of this food indicates that this is a rice cake, I would say this is more like bread than rice cake. This is a round bread/rice cake that has sugar, honey, sesame powder, and cinnamon power mix inside. The batter can be made in many different ways depend on who makes it. It can contain rice powder or sweet rice powder making Hoo dduk more rice cake like. However, the batter can be made only with flour very ironic to be called "dduk." The Hoo dduk maker shapes the batter roundly and then put the filling inside the center hole that he or she makes inside the rounded batter dough. Then the maker closes the hole and shapes the filled dough round again. And finally, he or she puts the dough on the hot frying pan and presses it with round presser. So the hoo dduk looks like a fried pancakes with sweet filling inside. Along with Boo-eung uh BBang, Hoo Dduk is a long time favorite winter street food in Korea!

3. << Gooeun(baked) Bam(chestnut) and Gooeun Goguma(sweet potato) >>
When people have to worry over high calorie intakes while eating other street foods, people can simply turn over to comparably healthy street food such as Gooeun Bam and Gooeun Goguma! As they are called, chestnuts and sweet potatoes are just simply baked not adding other extra sweet or salty calorie boosters!Also those vegetable and nuts are known as healthy food! It's not a bad idea to have them instead of sweet or salty other street food if you worry about those extra pounds~

4. << Pojangmacha(a street stationed cart selling street food) Food >>
People can't talk about Korea not mentioning Pojangmacha! Pojangmacha sells a variety of food...
1. << Ddukbokki >>
As many people know already, ddukbokki is string shaped rice cake cooked in red peppered sauce. What's special about it is that each pojangmacha shows different tastes although the name of the food is the name and even looks (well it's always red! almost...)2. << Uh-muk >>
It is fish cake! Although its name sounds weird, it sure tastes great especially in winter! Uh muk made up of fish! Fish is scrambled and shaped into a flat square or round string. And then Uh muk is boiled and cooked in soup(made by pojangmacha owner-usually the soup base contains water, fish, onion,radish,sea weed,etc). People can drink the soup when they eat Uh muk and it's the best to have them in winter!3. << Sun Dae(Korean style Sausages) >>
At first, people would not be able to eat it easily because unlike usual sausages, it is black. However, it is a sausage made of sweet potato starch based noodles stuffed in pig intestine. Most Koreans love it. And when they eat it, they eat with liver (steamed along with sun dae)and others too. They may not be too pleasant to look at but they are healthy food so try them!4. << Gimbap >>
I hope everyone knows about it now. It is Korean style sushi.

5. << Bbopggi >>
I am afraid that it's not so easy to find it nowadays. However, some places, it's still available! It is simple sweets that little kids enjoy (and adults enjoy them when they want to reminisce their childhood).Bbotggi is made up of baking soda and sugar. In a steel dipper, Bbotggi maker puts two or three scoops of sugar and a smaller scoop of baking soda and put it over a fire while mixing them. Then the mixture creates golden colored liquid. Then the maker puts it on the cooling pan and presses it with presser(yes, the same presser for Hoo dduk!) then before Bbopggi hardens, the maker presses different shapes of smaller version of cookie cutters to make a shape on Bbopggi! In old days, it was a tradition that if a person succeeds to cut Bbopggi around thd cookie cutter shape, the successful person gets another Bbopggi! So, it was always a battle betweem Bbopggi maker and Bbopggi buyers!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Days to Celebrate... in Seoul!!! :-) # 2

<< 11/11 Peppero Day :-) >>
Korea especially has more "special" days to celebrate than many other nations.

For example, Korea has White day when guys give candies to girls in return for the chocolates they got on Valentine's day!

And today, November 11th is the "Pepero Day"!

On November 11th, people exchange or simply give one of the most long time favorite snacks in Korea "pepero" to those they love. The day was made by the pepero company(Lotte) because November 11th(11/11) resembles four lined up peperos! (pepero is a long skinny cracker sticks covered in chocolate (well there are few variations though))

Since the birth of the "Pepero day," many people especially students and lovers have fun exchanging and giving out peperos.

It will be a fun experience to try some peperos on Nov. 11th! :-)

<< the History of Pepero... >>
in 1983 - the original Pepero(plain chocolate covered) was born
in 1984 - the Almond Pepero(plain chocolate covered with cracked almond sprinkled)was born
in 1994 - the Strawberry and Flake flavored Peperos were born
in 1995 - the Cheese and Coffee flavored Peperos were born
in 1996 - the Peanut, Hazelnut, and Bulgogi(?) flavored Peperos were born
in 1997 - the Peanut Cream flavored Pepero was born
in 2000 - the Nude Pepero was born
in 2005 - the Black Pepero was born
in 2006 - the Cacao Pepero was born
in 2007 - the Nude Lemon Cheese flavored Pepero was born

Images of different types of Peperos are below...

<< images of the Various Types of Pepero >>

Check This Out!!! :-) # 2

<< Bicycle's Heaven City >>
Gangnam gu decided to install bicycle stations where people can easily borrow bicycles and return them near their destinations. Seoul City Government is saying that by doing this, Seoul's pollution and traffic issues would improve.

Taking Seoul's characteristic: having many up and down turns, Seoul City Government is strategically installing bicycle stations near subway stations, schools, department stores, markets, apartments, and even main freeways and local streets.

According to the Gangnam ward office, it will take a while to make this new project to settle down and get adjusted. However near May of 2009, not only residents in Gangnam gu, but also all citizens in Seoul will easily have access to the public bicycles!

*** and also, many other districts in Seoul are also following Gangnam gu's footstep too!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Check This Out!!! :-) # 1

<< Seoul's New Marketing Partner, Manchester United!!! >>
After Seoul City Government announced its new marketing partner, Manchester United, many people have showed two extreme points of view.

Because of the high price that Manchester United required from Seoul for putting up Seoul's ad, people argued that it's not a great idea for marketing Seoul. However, the potential success and the huge market pool supported people who believe that it is a smart idea to make Manchester United as Seoul's new marketing partner.

And as far as these pictures show, the banners of Seoul look pretty great!

Let's cross our fingers and wish this new marketing strategy helps Seoul to achieve its goal of attracting travelers to Seoul~

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Art & Cultural Events in Seoul (in November) :-)

If you have any more questions, please leave comments!!! :-) Click on the image to see larger version!!! :-)

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Places to Go... in Seoul!!! :-) # 38

It was only a few days ago when I posted up about Jeongdong in Fall but I wish to share few more hot spots in Seoul especially in Fall!

As Fall is hiting its peak, leaves are turning yellow and red and also falling...

For those who haven't fully experienced Seoul's Fall yet, I recommend to hit some hot spots to take in Seoul's Fall~

Famous and Popular Hot Spots during Fall in Seoul...

1. All Palaces(Deoksu palace, Kyeongbok palace, etc) in Seoul!!! -palaces are always favored by people who wish to take in Seoul's fall because... of the beautiful walk that people can enjoy around the palaces! Around palaces, the beautiful stone walls and ginkgo trees along the walls
Just walking on the fallen leaves along the high and extremely ancient stone wall will easily make you be sentimental~

2. Zoo -people might wonder why Zoo is a popular place to hit in fall, but if they do, they would understand why.
The recommended zoo to visit is Seoul Grand Park Zoo. Since November, the closing time has become 6:00 pm. The Seoul Grand Park is one of the places that are packed with trees and especially during fall, the trees become mesmerizingly gorgeous! So don't miss the view!

3. Local Parks -I know that local parks don't sound so special however, remember, pleasures and beauties can be sound nearby! If transportation or money is an issue to enjoy fall, don't be hesitant to visit local places! Almost everywhere in Korea is showing off its beauty so it would be easy to find beautifully colored leaves from local parks too.

4. Cafes with open terraces -these days, Seoulites are in love with cafes with open terraces. It might be a little bit too chilly to sit out. But, with a hot cup of coffee, people can enjoy romantic sentimental moment while enjoying falling colored leaves-

5. Samchung dong, or Shin sa dong (ga ro soo gil) -I already featured ga ro soo gil before, but right now, these two hot spots attract the most number of people with their beautiful scenes and atmospheres.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Places to Go... in Seoul!!! :-) # 37

<< Jeongdong Gil >>
Wake Me up When October Ends~

And now in the early Nov, I would like to introduce one of the most gorgeous spot during autumn in Seoul!:-)

Jeongdong is the area I recommend to stroll around in autumn. Jeongdong area starts where Deoksu Palace is located.

The famous "Jeongdong gil(road)" includes Deoksu Palace Road, Museum Road, and Jeongdong Road. Deoksu Palace Road is a road along the doldam(stone wall) gil(Rd) of Deoksu Palace leading to Deoksu Elementary School. Jeongdong Rd is a road between Jeongdong Church and Kyunghyang Newspaper. And, Museum Rd is a road between Jeongdong Church and Paichai Jeongdong Building.

While walking along the "Doldam gil," strollers can find Deoksu Palace, Seoul Museum of Art, Jeongdong Theater, C2 building, C2 Square building (where "Sponge House" is located <--I featured this on my blog!), and small restaurants and cafes.

It is a refreshing and sentimental place to walk around with families, friends and loved ones.

Don't wait any moment because winter is coming soon and capture the last moment of autumn~ :-)

And here are the pictures of Jeongdong gil below...
<< Doldam Gil pix. >>

<< Doldam Gil & U.S. Ambassador's Residence >>

<< Seoul City's Project-"City Gallery" [Flower on the Wall] >>

<< Seoul Anglican Cathedral >>

<< Saint Francisco Cathedral >>

<< Jeongdong Theater pix. >>

<< Bajae Park >>

<< Jeongdong Church >>

***pix taken from online blogs and websites!!!
***other pix posted on my blog are also taken from other online blogs and websites!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Pictures to Enjoy!!! :-) # 1

These pictures shows below are taken by photographer, Mr. Anuchai.

Take a look!

Places to Go... in Seoul!!! :-) # 36

<< "the Sponge House" >>

These days in Seoul, the theater industry is dominated by major companies. As a result, many small yet local and private style theaters are closing...

However, in this harsh market environment, the "Sponge House" is still popular among those who know how to serenely enjoy movies with close friends, lovers, and family!

compared to those "big" movie theaters, the "Sponge House" is a small theater that shows only few selected movies (they tend to be either famous ones or ones that are not easily shown in other "big" theaters)

Due to its character it's more suitable for a person who wants to enjoy movies by her or himself or couples seeking unique experiment or those who do not like boisterous and too public atmosphere that typical "big" theaters provide.

Sponge House has three houses! One in Gwang Hwa Mun area, another in Apgujung dong, and the other in JungAng area (near Euljiro and Myung dong)

the "Sponge House"'s official website is~

www.spongehouse.com

<< the Outside View and Entrance of the C2 Square Buidling >>

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<< Modern Style Stairs and Wall inside the C2 Square building >>

<< A Banner of "Things" inside the C2 Square Building >>

<< Open Terrace Cafe in C2 Square Building >>

<< Open Square of the C2 Square Building >>