Kimchi Making @ Seoul Station & Cheonggyecheon Light Up!

Thanks to 언니, she is always giving me ideas on how to spend the weekend.

This weekend was really fun cos there was a huge gathering at Seoul Station to promote Kimchi-making. 

This event was only entitled to foreigners, without charges. All you need is to sign-up for it.

 (As part of the Korean Culture) 

 

We were assigned to our designated table once we registered our attendance. 

Each table was covered with HUGE cabbages and other kimchi-making ingredients.

The ladies in hanbok where our designated kimchi-making instructors.

We need to quickly take a picture before our hands got dirty!

And the kimchi-making began!

As the ingredients were all pre-packed, the process seems simple. 

 Everything was big. Big pots. Big cabbages.

Me cutting the radish as the instructor supervised me!

Then, it was just putting all the ingredients together in the big pot.

Work the ingredients in altogether and ensure all the radish has been coated with the paste!

Super chili red.! I can already feel the spice!

 

Time to add the big cabbages into the paste.

According to our instructor, every layer of the cabbage was to be well-coated. You need to spread the paste evenly to ensure a consistency. 

We coated them layer after layer.

Almost done!

 

All we need was a group picture to claim credit & pack them separately for take home!

We had to have a feast before the day ends & were sponsored with Maekgoli! 

Alas! All the participants were to form a huge circle in the big field, holding hands and singing "Arirang" - a classic Korean folk song. The feeling of camaraderie was really strong. 

As a foreigner, you feel accepted and integrated into their culture. It was a warm and homely feeling. Possibly also because the Korean instructor was like a mum - guiding you how to make, holding your hand and leading you along the way. Oh - I miss home! 

Final group shot before the session ended.

Since Cheonggyecheon was nearby, we hung out for dinner and were pleasantly surprised to see the stream lit up with colorful floats and lanterns. 

It was like Ching-gay parade on the water!

It was extremely crowded. People were packed both sides of the stream from the stream level to the ground level. (Stream was 1 level lower than the ground level, like a basement?)

I don't think romantic would be the right word to describe this. 

But it would have been nice for dating couples to hang out here.

I want to go for more of such outings!

Museum of Literacy & Cheonggyecheon - Our first field trip as a class

1st Field Trip to Museum of Literacy? (cant recall the name)

So, we went for our first field trip to some Museum showcasing how hanguel came about.

To be frank, it was really boring! (to me)

Seems like we went thery only to fulfil out "field trip time"... cos all we did as a group was to take pictures!

It was like the objective of the field trip was to take pictures! Each time we went somewhere, the teacher would say "Ok, everyone please gather and take pictures..." then they'd leave you to do your own thing.
 

This is the evidence of our group photo - funny how the teachers tried squeezing everyone in but none of our faces can be seen in here!

The weather was so good, and going to the outdoors was so much better! 

Shot taken at the Gwaghwamun field. My second visit here.

There was a festival happening so the stream was filled with people working up the decorations. 

I must say that this stream is a super nice place to hangout for a walk.And the best part is that you can walk via this bridge to connect you from Dongdaemun, to Myeondong, to Gwanhwamun. 

Touring Junbu Si Jang - Dongdaemun - Cheonggyecheon

Location: Cheonggyecheon via, Dongdaemun History & Culture Park, Line 2, 4 & 5

As usual, i woke up only in the afternoon today..

And the rain doesn't help make things better cos gloomy weather = gloomy mood = no want to go out....

Again, i forced myself out of the house without having any plans in mind... I did think of visiting the Gimbap store i came across the last time i came to Seoul... (and would only find out it IS CLOSED!)...

Down the subway i went... (in order to "pressure" myself to make a decision), i sat at the subway station and tried to figured out where to head for...

Dongdaemun was it, indeed, my headed for the Gimbap store....my only motivation!

As it was located at Dongdaemun, a location with MANY subway lines intersecting...i had absolutely no idea which stop to alight...i randomly got off at one of the stops called "Eujiro Sa Ga" (means line 4 to be more exact) i kindof know that was not the best line to get off at, but i just wanted to try my luck and see what was in store for me...

Lo and behold, on a Sunday, upon exit, that area was a GHOST TOWN except for a few others who also got off at the same stop, nobody else seemed to hang out there. All the businesses were closed, mostly electronics and home fixtures...

I was tempted to head back into the subway, but my intuition said to go straight and find a way to Dongdaemun. So that was what i did and i m so glad i did it cos i stumbled upon a wet-market sort of place where they sell dried and wet food. It was really one of the places i would like to visit as tours didn't bring us to such local areas.... I went trigger happy!

Jungbu Si Jang is its name (only discovered uon exit from that market)

They sell all sorts of wet and dried foods for cooking... All sorts of kimchi, preserved salted vegetables, ginseng, dried fish, seafood...the list continues...

It was actually not smelly at all!!

I quite like this photo - has that rustic old Singapore 1970s look... keke

So at the end of the street, there was an uncel frying these balls and though i know not what they are i just wanted to give it a try! And my intuition was right - it was YUMMY!

I was lost again the moment i exit.

But again, i followed my intuition and looked out for the most familiar landmark around, then i found an APM sign on a building about 500m ahead (that is one of the fashion buildings located in the Dongdaemun tourist zone....) haha! Straight was the road!

As i approached my destination, signs of confirmation popped up. I passed familiar places, like the hotel (Uljiro Co-Ops) i used to stay in previously and the familiar streets, nothing has changed and i felt some sense of peace and assurance!

This was the sign (see the aPM sign behind the striking green board?) Yes, this helped me find my way to Dongdaemun from the "lost world"

Ah-Ha! Co-Ops residence, which further confirms that i m on the right track....

Yummy street food at Dongdaemun! I ate one of those fat and thick breaded sausages with fries stuck on the outside! It would have tasted better if there was mayonnaise, but i dunno what to call that in Korean... LOLs



Ultimately I arrived that the Gimbap store which happened to be closed.... (how sad)

 This is the kimchi shop that i targetted to go - which started this whole "project" - but it was close - how SAD!!

The Auntie here is very nice and hospitable...

So I ended up people-watching. More like tourist-watching

Although i was really disappointed, i thought of it positively "at least i could enjoy the very tempting food lined along the roads - especially the one which has a sausage in the middle and covered with bread and fries!! SUPER YUMMY!"

I became one of those random tourist, sitting by the streets and eating... there seem to be some simple joys in sitting around and watching the people pass by... with no sense of rush or purpose....

There were random thoughts of why i was sitting there on my own and whether i was "wasting time" watching people... To some extent, i still cannot believe i AM in Korea on my own, having no touring plans and just felt like a soul out of my body, just watching myself....

Almost like, i am watching myself in a dream? The feeling is slightly unrealistic...

The walk continued and i decided to start the Cheonggyecheon Stream project.

So happened there was a traditional dance performance in the middle of the stream

Stroll, stroll, stroll your foot, gently down the stream...

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, where all the couples meet...

Water features (i suppose are man-made) starts to become more prominent near the end of the stream...

An art gallery.... and the photography shots are beautiful...

This snowmy scenery looks exceptionally peaceful...

By now, i was inspired to take more artistic pictures! hahahah

Couples here, couples there, couples EVERY where...

Not that i want to say, but i think my shots not bad right - under those lights! hahaha

I have reached the end of the stream....

And realised i was at Gwanghwamun... That is about 5-6 subways from my start point....

Of course i had to take a picture of myself to prove i was there... But this is one of the trips where i took the less-est (ya - i know the word is "least" - just be more candid, relax!) pictures of myself... I cant "zi pai" very well....

ARH.... my brain shutting down... i need to sleep! It's 4.30am and i need to get up at 8am for school! What am i thinking, blogging away in the middle of the night!

Anyways, like i mentioned in my earlier Myeongdong entries... i did find a brochure relating to "Walking Tours" and so, since i was in Dongdaemun, i decided i should just go for the self-organised "Walking Tour" down the Cheonggecheon (Stream in the City).

The weather was not cold, but neither was it warm. There was a nice breeze and so the walk completely did not feel like 2.7km as per indicated in the brochure.

This is one of the hot spots for quality time hang out. You'll see people of all ages gathered here, majority in groups, most are dating couples - they walk around hand-in-hand or sit by the stream hugging one another, whispering what i suppose should be "sweet-nothings", followed by family clusters mum, dad, kids, running past and happily splashing water from the stream and getting scolded! (kidding!)

Then followed by groups of grannies and grandpas who sat on mats laid by the stream, dining from their take-aways / bentos and gossiping about which actor committed suicide, whose daughter married whose son and who just got a divorce and of course, speculating what is the outcome of the top Korean drama showing on TV. (What great imagination!) They were mostly reciting lovely poems from the 1900s.... HAHAHAHA

Of course there are a couple of others who were just strolling around on their own - like me, but most of the "singles" i spot are people who are occuppied taking photos- so there i went trigger happy once more! (Trying to pretend i am a pro!) LOLs

Somehow, such walking did not tire me out, it had instead re-energised me. To see that apart from work and sleep in Singapore there are so many beautiful things out there to experience and live....

I dont think this is the MOST BEAUTIFUL sight in Seoul or Korea, but i think this is the beginning of one of my most memorable experiences....

Yes, you can say going for a tour does the exact same thing, but for me, this is completely different because you have total serenity with no "noise" surrounding you (mentally). No tour guides trying to explain the concept/history of the site, no friends talking to you about whosoever/whatsoever happenings, nor any pressure about catching the tour bus, making sure your friends are not tired...etc...

"Everything i did, i chose, and eveything i chose, i enjoyed..."

 I was free to leave if i felt bored, free to stay when i am interested.... this is the serenity and calmness i enjoy.... which was probably why i had to write till 4 + and still had so much to say, so much energy! :)