It was a chilly day when we arrived in Korea after a comfy three-hour-and-45-minute flight via Cebu Pacific Air.
But in the heart of Seoul at the Center Mark Hotel, we got a nice hot breakfast that warmed our spirits.
And thus began our Korean adventure.
First on our itinerary was the Changdeokgung palace, built in 1405 and added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997. After all the palaces in Seoul were destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1592-1598, Changdeokgung was reconstructed in 1610 and served as the main palace for many kings for about 270 years.
Carved out of the base of a mountain, Changdeokgung keeps itself in harmony with the area’s topography with its remarkable asymmetric beauty. Some parts of the palace were destroyed during the Japanese occupation (1910 to 1945) and restoration started in 1991 and continues until today.
After a grand tour of the palace, everyone was raring to go shopping at the Cheonggyecheon shopping center located in Insadong. The place has something for both body and soul: an assortment of restaurants and traditional tea houses, art galleries, craft stores for the artsy-craftsy, and furniture shops.
Seoul food
Perhaps to refresh our tired bodies (from too much shopping), the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) offered us their famous samgyetang, an invigorating soup consisting of naturally cultured wild ginseng, lotus seeds, and other medicinal herbs. This highly potent Korean soup is said to be good for women’s health. Our local version of this is arroz caldo.
But so much for Seoul food. Next on our itinerary was the Gwangjang market, that’s a popular tourist destination for silk, satin, linen, and traditional wedding items like hankok (traditional Korean clothing). Instant crowd drawers here are the food carts carrying bindaetteok (Korean-style bean pancakes) and gimbap (steamed white rice and vegetables rolled in dried laver seaweeds).
Our tour guide Eun Hee Choi or Joey then accompanied us to the main office of KTO, which arranged our tour with the help of Viveca Singson and Michelle Eve de Guzman of Cebu Pacific and Mark Christian Parlade of Stratworks. There, we met Doo Jo Kim, KTO director for Asia and the Middle East, and Kim Moonjoon, KTO assistant director. After lunch, we were off to the Myungbo Art Hall to watch the twice-a-day performance of the Drum Cat, the only all-female percussion group in the world. These talented, sexy Drum Cats can send male hearts beating wildly. Here are some of the reviews: “80 minutes full of passion and excitement.†“Full of energy.†“Exotic performance.†“Simply electrifying.â€
Zoo exciting everland
We then checked out the Center Mark Hotel and proceeded to the most exciting part of our tour — the Samsung Everland Theme Park. It’s Korea’s first amusement park featuring Everland, one of the major theme parks in the world. Everland is also home to the Ho-Am art museum, which boasts one of the finest private collections of Korean art. And we were just so happy to visit Zoo-Topia, where one can see white lions and Korean tigers up close or watch and feed polar bears.
Because life is one big drama, we visited the MBC Yongin Dramia, where historical dramas are born. While most drama sets are built and destroyed overnight, the permanent sets here allow visitors to enjoy the architects of the different periods. This provided the main stage for popular Korean dramas like Jumong, The Great Queen Seondeok, Lee San, Wind of the Palace, Dong Yi, Jewel in the Crown, and The Duo.
The Hollywood of Korea, MBC Dramia offers a feast for the senses via the mini local marketplaces of eight different regions in Korea, the Hanok (traditional house) Village, and many other facilities.
Another must-see when in Seoul is the spectacular acrobatic Performance Jump with fine comic acting at the Seoul Theatre.
Body and Seoul
A visit to Seoul won’t be complete without seeing the Gangnam district, where 99 percent of Korean celebrities live. We checked in at La Casa Hotel in central Gangnam before going for a facial at Arumdaun Nara, which means beautiful land. I totally agree: Korean women have such beautiful, flawless skin. There we met Dr. Lee Sang Jun, chairman of the Arumdaun Nara Dermatology & Plastic Surgery that offers a personalized skincare program for clients. According to Dr. Lee, many foreigners come here for a facial as well as plastic surgery. The visitors mostly come from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. Among these visitors are actors, politicians, and ambassadors, and a lot more, thanks to the Gangnam fever that’s sweeping the world.
Our facial lasted for more than an hour, after which we couldn’t help gushing like Ricky Reyes, “Ang ganda, Ang dulas.†A facial costs US$150 and you have to do it every week to maintain the beauty of your face.
Getting into the heart and Seoul of it all, we couldn’t help but “be inspired†— a very apt theme of Korean tourism. And we could only say hamsa hamida (thank you) to all our Seoul brothers who made our trip truly Seoul-full.
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For more information on traveling to Korea, visit the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) website http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/ or like KTO Manila’s official Facebook and Twitter pages. The KTO Manila Office is located at the 26F Tower 2 Enterprise Center, Makati City.