Annyeonghaseyo…

If most of women love Korean Drama because those handsome actors and or because they like the story, it is not happen to me. Yes, i also consider about the story but the main reason for me to see the Korean Drama is to see Korea!

By watching Korean Drama i can see how is daily life in Korea, how is their culture, their way of thinking, their habit, and the most important thing i can see so many interesting places there. Sure you may see the interesting places in many articles on internet, many blogs are also talking about visit Korea. But it is different when you see the places in real life (even only on drama) 🙂

The more you watching the drama and or movie, the more you have a desire to visit Korea. I wanna breathe the air of Korea, feel the air touch my skin and smell the Kimchi in a small restaurant in the corner of city.

Among hundreds beautiful places in Korea that have to be visited, i have made my list. I have never visit Korea before. So for my first visit to Korea, i want to visit some places at Seoul and Pyeongchang.

I plan to spend 3 or 4 days in Seoul for visiting some interesting places and for sure to get the real feel for being live in Korea. Beside visit some interesting places i also would like to feel how is life there. I want to walk on the street join the local peoples, shopping in market or mall (hey, who knows i can meet Gong Yoo in the mall…hahahahha) 😀

So let’s start from Seoul Gangnam Area. The first thing i would like to do is to visit Gangnam-daero Road. It’s the center of South Korea’s economy, shopping, and culture! I wanna walk while carrying a cup of coffee and seeing around, meet many peoples and see all of things that i could only see on my TV all this time.  Oh my goodness, i have even imagined the color of my coat and my boots. And for the coffee, i will take Espresso.

After enjoying my time in Gangnam-daero Road, i will  go to Gangnam Terminal Underground Shopping Mall. This is the largest underground shopping mall in Gangnam. And for sure one place will never be enough for shopping. I will continue my shopping to COEX Mall & SM Town Artium. COEX is an indoor shopping mall that serves as a hub of beauty, fashion, and food. So we can take lunch here. SM Town Artium is an entertainment heaven for K-pop fans.

In the night, we can go to Yeouido E-land Cruise Yeouido E-land Cruise. It will be an amazing experience to ride on a cruise ship over the Han River, the symbol of Seoul! The operating hours is 9AM – 8PM. If you want to ride the river in the night like me, you better come early.

Another places that we have to visit is….. Do you want to view Seoul from the highest point in the city? So come to Jamsil Lotte World Tower Seoul Sky. I think we better come to this place at night. The view will be so amazing.

It’s enough for day one. On day two let’s visit Seoul Gangbuk Area. There a lot of beautiful place to be visited here. Let’s start from Itaewon/Gyeongnidan-gil Street.  Itaewon is Korea’s global village. We will meet people from around the world here, and it is a multi-cultural community full of delectable food options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And let’s continue to N Seoul Tower.  N Seoul Tower is one of the top landmarks in the city.  We can enjoy the panoramic views of Seoul from the observation deck. I wanna stay longer here. To get the night view i wanna stay longer here. There is also some restaurant with delicious food in this place, so no worry if you feel hungry 🙂

And the day 3 is coming! I will visit Seoul Sky Park.  The Sky Park is positioned in the spot of the World Cup Park that is the closest to the sky.

I think i will need longer time at this place to really enjoying all its part. I really like this view, i have even used it as my desktop background. Oh, God…i really need your help. Please send me to Korea 🙂

And it has not finished yet, dude. We still have another beautiful and interesting places to be visited. In the afternoon until evening, let’s go to Seoullo 7017 and Hongik University Street.

Seoullo 7017 is The Seoul Station Overpass has been transformed from a road for cars to a public pedestrian park. It is high appreciated that Korean Government is very concern with the public pedestrian park. And it must be nice to enjoy time with friends or colleagues at this place.

And before we back to hotel and take a rest, let’s enjoy the night at Hongik University Street.

The Hongik University Street is famous as a place where Korean youngsters gather. There are a lots of different street performances and the hottest trends at the same time. I must visit this place, i want to see the youngsters and feel that i am a part of them. Hahahha….

And that’s all for Seoul. I think i still need to come again because there are still a lot of places to be visited around Seoul. And i actually want to visit Busan and Incheon as well. But on the day 4, we will go to PyeongChang! 🙂

PyeongChang is around 126km from Seoul and take around 2,5 hours by bus.  And you know guys, PyeongChang will the host city of the 2018 Olympics that will be held on 9 – 25 February 2018. Why is PyeongChang so special? Come see many beautiful places and beach in this city. And i guess most of you have known about Goblin. It’s a famous Korean drama. You can visit the place when Ahjussi meet Ji Eun Tak for the first time.  It’s at The Yeongjin Beach.  This beach has one of the best driving courses, and many are coming here to take a picture with the stunning sea landscape background as it has recently gained much popularity after being filmed in Goblin TV drama.

Another famous beach are Anmok Beach…

….and Gangmun Beach.

Well, before visit these beaches i would like to visit Alpensia Ski Jumping Center first. This is the place where the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined games will be held during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics Winter Games. We can take a cute monorail up to the jumping arena, 850m above sea level. The scenery of Gangwon Province looked down from here will be amazingly beautiful.

Another place to visit is he Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm. This is the only ranch that raises sheep in South Korea. Isn’t it so peaceful to see the grassland and those sheep? 

On the next day i will visit 2018 PyeongChang House.  I want to grab an opportunity to see the upcoming Winter Olympics in February 2018 in advance.  I want to know about the winter sports to be featured at the Olympics and Paralympics and try out such sports in virtual reality and other fun activities at the 4D experience center. It must be very nice.

And to close the trip in PyeongChang i will then visit Gangneung Seongyojang House. We can feel  the Korean traditional culture and housing at Gangneung Seongyojang House. This peaceful house offers a relaxing break, surrounded by a relaxing atmosphere. I want to take my time at this place to deeply thinking about my self, what is going on in my life and what should i do for my best future. It is a very suitable place for relaxing and thinking. Or perhaps thinking about my next novel? 🙂

So where will go after visit Pyeongchang? Back to Indonesia? Of course no!! Hahahahaha..i want to back to Seoul again. I want to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace.  It was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395 and it is located in northern Seoul.

I always love to visit ancient palace and or buildings.  Realizing that there was a life hundreds years ago at the place bring my imagination to the past and it’s left some kind of good feeling that can not be described.

And the last thing that i want to do on my 7 days in Korea is to take a breath at Bukchon Hanok Village. Bukchon Hanok Village is a Korean traditional village in Seoul. This traditional village is composed of lots of alleys, hanok and is preserved to show a 600-year-old urban environment.

It’s an amazingly lovely view for me to see the ancient village with the background of modern city and high building out there.

Korea is indeed a country that i have to visit. They will give me a combination of history, culture and modern life. It’s about past, present and future life. Beside, various kind of tasty food are also waiting there. It’s also good for culinary vacation. I honestly have no plan to visit Korea in near future due to budget issue (hhmm..see how honest i am hahahha….). But it will be a dream come true for me if i have an opportunity to visit Korea. And i guess you will also feel the same, right?

Anyway guys, for you who own Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines pasport, Korean government give us free visa to visit Korea until April 2018. But you have to land at YangYang International Airport. But it is not a problem because YangYang International Airport is only 5hours by bus to Seoul. Or you can visit Pyeongchang first before go to Seoul.

See you in Korea! Kamsahamnida…

all pictures are from http://vkc.or.kr/ except picture of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village.

picture of Gyeongbokgung Palace from here

picture of Bukchon Hanok Village from here