Getting there ...
Korea is becoming a popular tour destination for many
Taiwanese because the Korean TV drama has been so popular in
Taiwan. Since the winter in Korea is much colder than Taiwan and
even California, we had to pack all our heavy winter gears all
the way from US before flied back to Taiwan first. We had a late
aftenoon flight, and the flight from Taiwan to Korea took only
about 2 hours. Unfortunately, due to jet-lag and air-sickness,
Linus threw up in the airport after arrived in Korea. Neither
Linus nor Iris could stay awake for the dinner this evening.
The Second Day ...
- Seoul COEX
We took a walk around our hotel (Grand Inter-Continental)
which is just next door to the Korean World Trade Center.
The morning in Seoul was quite cold and we did not walk
too far before Iris began to complain.
- Namsangol Hanok
Village (南山谷韓屋村)
Namsangol Hanok Village is a traditional Korean village
with many of their old-time toys and activities. It is
situated in the sothern part of Seoul and the Seoul Tower is
visible from the village. It's Chinese New Year today,
and Korean people still observe this holiday as we do.
- DaeJangGeum
Theme Park (大長今)
The TV miniseries Daejanggeum, or Jewel in the Palace,
which aired on MBC from September 15, 2003 to March 23,
2004, set many new records. The miniseries, whose viewer
rate averaged 47%, and even reached a high of 57.8%, is
based on the story of a real historical figure
(Jang-geum) who was the first and only woman to serve as
head physician to the King in the rigidly hierarchical
and male-dominated social structure of the Joseon
Dynasty. For three months, beginning in May 2004,
Daejanggeum aired in Taiwan, overtaking other Taiwanese
miniseries, and snatching the title of most viewed
program of the season. Now it is aired in San Francisco
local Chinese channel in 2005, and even Linus and Iris do
not want to miss any episode.
The Third/Fourth Day ...
- Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park, the main location of TV drama
"Endless Love", is a representative
large-scale resort complex in Korea. I have not
gone to ski for many years, so it's good to
refresh my skill when our tour guide gave us a
lesson in the afternoon of the 1st day here (all
other people in the group were 1st timers).
Iris's patience did not last long, and I had to
take her inside to find grandmom and granddad.
On the 2nd day, we went up to slope for real ski.
It's really hard to take care so many kids at the
same time. We had to "rescue" them all
over the places. A few of us decided to keep
skiing in the afternoon (Linus and Iris already
quit in the morning), and only Rita, Louis,
Wonayu, and I last till 4PM. My brother was
staying at the bottom of the slope for the entire
afternoon as a coordinator and helped a lot to
make sure everyone still in the same group.
|
The Fifth Day ...
- Lotte World
Opened in July 12, 1989, Lotte World started the
full-fledged theme park era in Korea. Lotte World is a
complex life town (CLT) which includes Lotte World (the
largest indoor theme park in the world), Magic Island
(another theme park with the Castle of Magic at the
center), Lotte World Sports, Department stores, and Hotel
Lotte World. The ticket we received allowed us to get 5
rides in the park.
- Cheong
Wa Dae (青瓦臺)
The location of Cheong Wa Dae was first used as the site
of a royal villa in what was then Namgyeong (the southern
capital). It was built by King Sukjong (r. 1095-1105) of
the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) in 1104, the ninth year of
his reign. At present, Cheong Wa Dae consists of the main
office building, the official Presidential residence,
Yeongbin-gwan or the guest house, the Chunchugwan press
hall, and the secretariat buildings. Cheong Wa Dae
occupies 76,685 pyeong (one pyeong equals
3.3 square meters).
We had Korean BBQ
for dinner (we already had BBQ for 3 days in a row). I don't
think I can eat another BBQ in a month.
Going Home ...
We had an early morning flight so that we had to leave the
hotel (Grand Inter-Continental in Seoul) before 7AM. Although we
have targeted this trip for kids and ski resort, I felt that we
did not see either modern Korea or traditional Korean (I mean the
real one, not just the theme park) well this time. We may come
back to Korea again (if I learn how to read) and we may have a
more in-depth visit, but I'll try not to come in winter next time
:-)
[Back to Photo Page]
