Dramatomy goes to Seoul Holiday 9 (End)

Day 10 Thursday 18th November 2010…Seoul

We decided to return to Korean Folk Village in Yongin to cover what we miss from the last trip

Korean Folk Village. The Admission is W12,000 but a full package inclusive of the Folk Museum & Haunted House is W18,000 with the free bus service from Suwon Tourist Information Centre. Hrs 0:900-17:00. Direction via subway giving the travel time 65 mins to Line 1 Suwon station Exit. 4 as you walk out of the exit on your right, you see a Hanok House which is Suwon Tourist Information Centre where you can purchase the Korean Folk Village Ticket & take the shuttle bus from there. Free shuttle departs 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, five trips daily, 30 minute ride. Returns from 1400,1530,1630.

Korean Folk Village 1 – Entrance

Korean Folk Village 2 – Gerry up close & personal with G-20 Lantern

Korean Folk Village 3 – G-20 lantern

Korean Folk Village 4 – Gerry with the soy-jars

Korean Folk Village 5 – Haystack

Korean Folk Village 6 – Gerry meets Mr Hanu

Korean Folk Village 7 – Weather is getting cold. Houses are warming their floors

Korean Folk Village 8 – Winter provision

Korean Folk Village 9 – Joseon toilet

Korean Folk Village 10 – Close up on the Joseon toilet

Korean Folk Village 11 – Joseon Backpack with Jipsin shoes usually carried by men

Korean Folk Village 12 – Large Land Owner house 1

Korean Folk Village 13 – Large Land Owner house 2 – location was used in Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Korean Folk Village 14 – How the location was utilised in the scene

Korean Folk Village 15 – Large Land Owner house 3

Korean Folk Village 16 – Large Land Owner house 4 – Occupants

Someone was actually shooting a video

Korean Folk Village 17 – Large Land Owner house 5 – Korean family (actors) enjoying a game of tuho

Korean Folk Village 18 – Large Land Owner house 6 – Gerry trying a hand pounding a ramie cloth

Moci or ramie cloth (Hansan Moci) is a natural weave fabric from inner skin of the moci plant or Boehmeria that is airy and absorbent. Its seemingly coarse yet actually gentle and light texture makes it ideal for wearing during Korea’s hot, humid summers. Moci clothing needs to be washed carefully by hand to keep the weave from loosening, and after each washing, it needs to be treated with starch just the same as when the clothing was first sewn. The starched clothing is pounded with clubs on a fulling block to smooth the starch on the fabric and to straighten any strands that have been twisted out of place in the course of washing and starching. When the fulling is completed, the clothing is placed on a wooden roller to smooth out any wrinkles and to finish the time-consuming, delicate process. At the end of summer, moci garments need to be washed thoroughly to get rid of any trace of starch before being carefully packed away. And the next summer, the clothing needs to again be treated and starched as described earlier.

Korean Folk Village 19 – Large Land Owner house 7 – The Kitchen

Korean Folk Village 20 – Large Land Owner house 8 – met up with Ms Seo Jang Geum

Korean Folk Village 21 – Cabbage patch (Baechu)

Korean Folk Village 22 – Gerry trying her hand at tuho

Tuho, or ‘Pitch-pot,’ (also in Chinese is called touhu, in Japanese is called tōko) is a game with a long history, both in China and Korea. In “Dong Yi” Jang Hee Bin was shown to be good at the game then Crown Prince Yun teaching prince Yeoning how to play the game

Korean Folk Village 23 – Provincial Government Office 1

Korean Folk Village 24 – Provincial Government Office 2 – Entrance

Korean Folk Village 25 – Provincial Government Office 3

Korean Folk Village 26 – Provincial Government Office 4

Korean Folk Village 27 – Provincial Government Office 5 – Interrogation/Torture chair

Korean Folk Village 28 – Provincial Government Office 6

Korean Folk Village 29 – Oksa (Prison) 1

Korean Folk Village 30 –Oksa (Prison) 2

Korean Folk Village 31 –Oksa (Prison) 3 – Occupants with the cangue restraints & wooden leg stock

Cangue is a portable pillory or a wooden yoke, carried by offenders convicted of offences. It consists of a square wooden collar weighing from 20 to 60 lb, through a hole in which the victim’s head is thrust. It fits tight to the neck and must be worn day and night for the period ordered. As the cangue is 3 to 4 ft. across the convict is unable to feed himself or to lie down, and thus, unless fed by friends or passers-by, often starves to death

Korean Folk Village 32 –Oksa (Prison) 4

Korean Folk Village 33 –Oksa (Prison) 5

Korean Folk Village 34 – Oksa (Prison) 6 – location of Painter of the Wind & Jejungwon

Korean Folk Village 35 –Paddy

Korean Folk Village 36 –Scallion patch

Korean Folk Village 37 – Farmer House

Korean Folk Village 38 – Nobleman House 1

Korean Folk Village 39 – Nobleman House 2

Korean Folk Village 40 – Stone Arch Bridge 1

Korean Folk Village 41 – Pavilion

Korean Folk Village 42 – Stone Arch Bridge 2

Korean Folk Village 43 – Lunch – meat skewers

Korean Folk Village 44 – Lunch – Pajeon 1

Korean Folk Village 45 – Lunch – Pajeon 2

Korean Folk Village 46 – Lunch – Seolleongtang & Sujebi

Sujebi 수제비 is a clear soup usually mixed with vegetables or clams and shrimp, mixed with flakes or small balls of rice noodles. Wheat noodles can also be found to be served instead of rice noodles.

Seolleongtang 설렁탕 is made by boiling down a cow’s bones, feet, head, internal organs, beef brisket, and beef shank. Thus, it is rich in protein and calcium. Seolleongtang is inexpensive and has long been very popular with Koreans.

Korean Folk Village 47 – Lunch – Pajeon 3

The tea is BYO

Korean Folk Village 48

Korean Folk Village 49 – The water wheel mill – location of Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Korean Folk Village 50 – Jeju-do Village gnomes

Korean Folk Village 51 – Jeju-do Village black pig (Heuk Doe Ji)

Jeju Black pig is a native animal that lives in Jeju-do. It is a Jeju delicacy to eat black pig

Korean Folk Village 52 – Korean Folk Museum 1

Korean Folk Village 53 – Korean Folk Museum 2

Korean Folk Village 54 – Korean Folk Museum 3

Korean Folk Village 55 – Korean Folk Museum 4

Korean Folk Village 56 – Korean Folk Museum 5 – Ssireum

Korean Folk Village 57 – Korean Folk Museum 6 – Dano Festival 1

Korean Folk Village 58 – Korean Folk Museum 7 – Dano Festival 2

Korean Folk Village 59 – Korean Folk Museum 8

Korean Folk Village 60 – Korean Folk Museum 9 – School textbook

Korean Folk Village 61 – Chunghyeon Seowon (Confucian Academy) 1 – Pavilion 1

Korean Folk Village 62 – Chunghyeon Seowon (Confucian Academy) 2 – Pavilion Interior

Korean Folk Village 63 – Chunghyeon Seowon (Confucian Academy) 3 – Pavilion 2

The location was use in Painter of the Wind

Korean Folk Village 64 – Chunghyeon Seowon (Confucian Academy) 4 – Entrance

Korean Folk Village 65 – Chunghyeon Seowon (Confucian Academy) 5 – Compound

Korean Folk Village 66 – Autumn Foliage 1

Korean Folk Village 67 – Autumn Foliage 2

Korean Folk Village 68 – Autumn Foliage 3

Korean Folk Village 69 – Cooking pots with its individual chimney

We return on the 2pm shuttle bus then decided to do one last mission. We decided to head to KNTO to ask direction to Compassion Korea office

Compassion Korea is a Christian charity organisation in helping the needs of children. Hwangbo is one of the celebrities that support this organisation. American evangelist Everett Swanson founded Compassion International in 1952. It was a ministry and charity focused on helping Korean orphans during the war. In 2003, Korea, now a developed country, joined the organization as a sponsor. Compassion Korea currently helps 60,000 children in different countries, including Haiti, Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand and Africa.

Jackie wishes to make a small donation to Compassion Korea. After viewing the website with the assistance of our Korea teacher, we find that Compassion Korea doesn’t do international remittance, therefore Jackie decided to give a personal Donation to Compassion Korea.

Compassion Korea – Directions Line 6 Hangangjin station Exit 2

Compassion Korea is just the corner of this Kalbi restaurant

Compassion Korea Office 1

Compassion Korea Office 2

We did some last minute shopping at Myeongdong & had the headache of packing our purchase into our luggage

Day 11 Friday 19th Nov 2010….Seoul….Singapore…Kuala Lumpur

Depart ICN 09:00 Arrive SIN 14:35 SQ603 (6h 35m)
Depart SIN 16:15 Arrive KUL 1710 SQ5328 Silk air (55m)

We woke up about 4:30 am to catch the airport limousine bus from Cheonyangni to Incheon. The journey takes about 1h 15 mins. The bus fare is W10,000

Incheon Airport – Feather Reed Grass

The awaiting SQ603 to Singapore

Adventure to the pharmacy

Gerry came to Korea with a sore throat, although she was on medication, it wasn’t improving, by the time we reach Seoul, the sore throat has turn to a chesty cough. Gerry not wanting the ailment to go any worse, decided to get something over the counter at a pharmacy near the hotel where we check-in in Seoul

Conversation was conducted in Korean. See how 6 months of “free Korean” lesson do wonders

Gerry went in to the pharmacy & the pharmacist attended to her

Pharmacist: Hello! How can I help you

Gerry: Hello!….My throat hurts & I have a cold

Pharmacist: Do you have a Doctor’s prescription?

Gerry: No….I also have a cough

Gerry demonstrated her chesty cough by coughing to the pharmacist to listen

Gerry: Cough!!!!

Pharmacist: Oh! It is a bad cough…Do you have a fever?

Gerry: No, I don’t

Pharmacist goes to get some medication then throw in some traditional medicine as “service”

Pharmacist: 2 capsules 3 times a day after meals…

Pharmacist gives some packets of medication

Pharmacist: This is some traditional medicine to help with the cough…Service

Gerry: I understand

Gerry then paid for medication. Pharmacist realise we weren’t Korean & praise our Korean. The cough improve after 2 days

Gerry: Thank you very much…Good day

The Next trip
The next travel blog will be going to Jeju Island in June 2011. We will be coincide with the wedding of our Korean teacher in Seoul

Daejangeum locations in Jeju-do such as Jeju Folk Village, Hyeopjae Beach, Oedolgae, Jeju Jinjigul Cave, Seongeup-ri Ranch Area in Namjeju-gun

Teddy Bear Museum in Jeju

The recent drama of Secret Garden shot in Jeju Island.

Conclusion

We had nice weather in Korea, the coldest was 9 degree Celcius, the rest was above 14 degree Celcius with warmer temperatures in Gyeongju & Busan. We are glad that we made this trip in the Autumn, waiting for November to come to visit as Korea has a very hot summer & Autumn foliage will happened with constant temperature below 15 degree Celcius. We got disappointed when we came last year in September where temperature was still rather humid & hot