September in Seoul - Incheon - Singapore [Day 7]

We headed to Seoul station after FantaStick show to collect back our luggage from Premium Travel Centre, then tapped our single use AREX transportation card to go to Incheon Airport.

Goodbye... my love

The nonstop ride from Seoul Station to Incheon Airport 

is just a comfortable 43 minutes ride.

There are other options to go to Incheon Airport such as Airport Limousine buses, taxi and Seoul Metropolitan Subway.

We don't have much time left after Fantastick Show, so we decided to have our dinner in airport. We selected AREX in order not to worry about traffic jams and discounted fare only 8,000 Won instead of 14,500 Won (this promotion fare is extended to the end of 2014).

Incheon Airport - World's Best Airport for 8 consecutive years!

Departure Hall

We hurried to Scoot's counter to check-in, and it's long queue and we're quite worried that not in time. However, we found out that actually there was flight delay. Quite irritating as they didn't even update the status in their website or inform us via email. 

We actually thought to go and eat first since it'll be delay... But, the counter didn't have the timing of the flight. They asked us to queue and check-in. We had no choice, but to wait in the queue.

My hubby just went to convenience store to buy

kimbap, taco, and rice wrapped with ham.

We took turn to queue and eat our dinner?! And we still couldn't go to eat even after check-in as the timing still not confirmed, and we need to wait for further information. 

Haiz, if we knew that, we won't rush to the airport and have nice dinner first. We just so bored waiting and waiting for about 4 hours... played games, surfed net, ate some snacks, watched Goddess of Fire that was airing on that day without English subtitle, and kids slept after tired playing games and talking more than dozen of different topics...

Annyeong Incheon airport... will say Annyeong again soon! So excited... start counting down!!!

Hahaha... really really sorry that I just finished my last trip posting. You know... endless spring-cleaning for Chinese New Year as no helper anymore. Then, very excited on planning for my next railroad trip (O-train, V-train, S-train). Busy editing last trip photos for photobook printout, and also very important thing... watching Korean Dramas: "Painter of the Wind" (2008), "The Heirs", "Empress Ki" and "My Love From Another Star"... oh, can't wait for the next episodes!!!

Ok, have a wonderful weekend~^^

September in Seoul - Live 'FantaStick' Performance [Day 7]

Great that we didn't miss this non-verbal live performance. Initially thought to give it a miss, as we didn't manage to catch the show the day before. Didn't aware that they have 2 shows daily. I thought that there's only 8 pm show daily. My friend helped us to reserve for 5 pm show, and it's so coincidence that 8 pm show was cancelled on that day.

‘FantaStick’ (판타스틱)

Live Fusion Gukak Music Performance 

Thank you Korea In Motion (Koinmo) for free tickets 

from participating in Koinmo Stylist.

Huge Teddy Bear & Nice Wall Paintings outside Fantastick Theatre

Thanks to the pretty lady on the ticket counter that persuaded us to come for 80 minutes show before we headed to the airport for our flight back to Singapore.

~*~*~*~

All  photos credit to Fantastick Facebook Page

The mother of Gugak family started the show reminding audiences 

to silence the handphone, and no camera flash during the performance 

in Korean and English with Pansori singing version. LOL~!!!

Then the huge screen shown the synopsis in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese languages:
In the beginning, there were a man and a woman who loved each other. God loved them so much that he gave a 'Heavenly Drum' to the man and a 'Heavenly Flute' to the woman.



But the woman tore off the Heavenly drum because the man got obsessed by the Heavenly Drum. As a result, God hid the Heavenly flute and made her family become ghosts. The only way to turn back into human is to play ‘Fanta-Stick’ music with the lost heavenly flute.


Guess what will happen to them next when the ghosts come to car workshop?

Before the battle start, let me introduce these 2 families: 'Fantasy' (fantasy world created by string music from Gugak Family) and 'Stick' (drumming elements from Percussion Family):

Percussion Family running an auto repair shop and living a fun and peaceful life. One day, they find the heavenly flute in the corner of the auto repair shop. The Gukak family sees the heavenly flute in the repair shop and they tries to take it back from the percussion family. Since then, weird happenings occur to the percussion family every day.

The Percussion Family (타악가문)

* Semachi : First-born son of the percussion family who is very handsome

   Semachi (세마치) is instrument that makes a variety of rhythm. 

* Goodgeori : Sexy and charismatic daughter and takes good care of her siblings in her daily life.
   Goodgeori (굿거리) is the rhythm that has excitement.

* Jinyangjo : Trouble maker of the family but also adorable.
   Jinyangjo (진양조) is the rhythm that is the slowest.

* Danmori : The youngest and cutest daughter of the percussion family.
   Danmori (단모리) is the rhythm that is the fastest in the traditional way.

* Jangdan : Father of the percussion family who keeps family tradition of performance.
   Jangdan (장단) is the Korean traditional rhythm.

Jang-gu: the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. 

Hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin. 

The two heads produce sounds of different pitch and timbre, which when played 

together are believed to represent the harmony of man and woman.

Gukak Family became Ghosts because the Youngest Daughter tore the heavenly drum off. They have to play ‘Fanta-Stick’ music to turn back into human. But they can’t play ‘Fanta-Stick’ music without the lost heavenly flute. One day, they find out that the percussion family has the heavenly flute in their auto repair shop. So they try to take the heavenly flute back.

The Gukak Family (현악가문)

* Joong (Sol) : Strict mother of Ghost family, she has heavenly voice.

   Pansori (판소리)  is a genre of  Korean  traditional  music. It  is a  vocal and  percussion  music performed by a  singer 

   and a drummer.

* Lim (Ra) : Daughter who always has odd way on playing Gayageum.
   Gayageum (가야금) is a  zither-like string  instrument  with 12 strings. Recently variants have been constructed with 21
    or other numbers of strings

Pretty Daegeum falls in love with Saemachi.

* Moo (Do) : Beautiful youngest daughter who plays Daegeum.
   Daegeum (대금) is a large  bamboo  transverse  flute. It has a  buzzing  membrane that gives it a special timbre.

* Hwang (Re) : Cold-hearted daughter with gloomy face who plays Haegeum.
  Haegeum (해금) is a string  instrument, resembling a  fiddle. It has a rod-like  neck, a  hollow  wooden sound box, and
  two silk strings, and is held vertically on the knee of the performer and played with a bow.

* Tae (Mi) : Mischievous daughter who plays Ajaeng, that always blamed by others.

  Ajaeng (아쟁) is a wide zither with strings made of twisted silk. It played by means of a slender stick made of forsythia 
   wood, which is scraped against the strings in the manner of a bow.

FantaStick team is comprised of talented musicians, actors, dancers, and mimes to perform fusion percussion, Korean music, B-Boy (breakdancing), acrobatics to create this awesome show.

~Romance and Music~

Sad melody from this bamboo flute and her longing for Semachi...

unexpected tears suddenly rolling down my face. 

Somehow, I fall in love with the sound from the bamboo flute. 

The 'trouble-maker' Jinyangjo accidentally created big problem 

and being blamed by his siblings and father for his reckless action.

He's being chased out and sadly left the workshop...

No... No!!! This is not tear-jerking show, so don't worry that you'll come out with puffy eyes and reindeer nose. The show only consist 10% of sadness. You'll be entertained for the rest of the show and laugh your heart out!

...and wandered around the audiences to get Free Hug.

Sad and hilarious at the same time as nobody willing to hug him!

My 2 kiddos like him the most, as he's the funniest guy! Indeed he's talented performing lots of difficult actions to make the audiences burst into laughter.

well blending of heart pounding percussion beats and heart stirring melodies 

from strings instruments and bamboo flute. 

I love their colorful eye-catching fusion hanbok! The more I see the more I want to get these pretty hanbok for myself!

How's the ending of this Korean Romeo & Juliet?

There's photo-taking before entering the theater for every audiences.

My husband was randomly selected to go up the stage to mimic their actions.

Received Fantastick Tee as a souvenir after completing mimicking. Haha~!!!

It's non-verbal, that everyone could appreciate it without the need to understand Korean language to watch this performance. It's so much fun, interactive, hilarious and entertaining. Really excellent show that even my two kiddos enjoyed it much.

Ok, make sure you catch this 'FantaStick' moment in Seoul or Jeju Island.

Kyunhyang Arthill 2F
22, Jung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
For more information on direction and Jeju theater, please check:
www.fanta-stick.co.kr

 

 I'm addicted to this musical show and will catch others performances next time!

 Let me introduce this site, where you can get discounted tickets for the performances.

 

September in Seoul - Hongdae & Myeongdong [Day 7]

Hongdae - Hongik University Street (홍대)

is an abbreviation of Hongik Daehakgyo (홍익대학교). Hongik University (Hongdae) which is well known for its prestigious art college in Korea. 

Hongdae is known for its youthful and romantic ambiance, artistic and 
cultural with art galleries, studios, theaters, design shops, cozy cafes, 
bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Actually we came here as Trick Eye Museum is located in Hongdae area, and we saw cart selling Korean Egg Bread (계란 빵 = Gaeran Bbang), we're too full to even drink a sip of water. As I promised my daughter to buy her egg bread before we came to Korea... we went there again on last day just for this Egg Bread!

Happy Faces with Egg Breads ^^

In case you wonder why Zhi's not in the above pictures?

These 2 kiddos quite troublesome when it comes to food...

They have opposite preferences... Xuan likes egg, Zhi dislike it a lot!

Zhi likes Hotteok (호떡 = Korean Sugar Pancakes), 

but can you see Xuan's expression?

Ok, mission completed! We just leisurely walked around this district that attracted a lot of youngsters and students and tourists because...

the price tags here are really affordable ^^

These 2 kiddos also wanted to join in the crowd and bought
these 2 doodle books for 1,500 Won. Really cheap, right? ^^

Saw 2 Saju (Korean Fortune Telling) & Tarot shops around the area.

Quite curious and wanted to go in, are they speaking English or Korean?

maybe should try it next time :P

Myeongdong (명동)

You can find anything and everything you want in this main shopping and tourism districts in Seoul.

This is lively Myeongdong as always...

Tourist information service, free Hanbok experience, and convenience facilities such as free internet and coin storage lockers are available at...

Seoul Global Culture & Tourism Center 

5th floor of M Plaza,

 Myeongdong Station (Subway Line 4), Exit 4.

We came here for Hanbok experience, but no available slots for that day as they were fully booked.

So, remember to call or register earlier to avoid disappointment.

No worry and be happy! 1, 2, 3, Kimchi~^^

Time for street food tasting:

빙글 빙글 감자 - Spiral Potato skewer 2,000 Won

Long 32 cm ice cream - 2,000 Won

Yap, both of them like potato and ice cream 

and ma turn for last minute cosmetics products shopping from The Saem

And we've to ended our shopping and eating, and rush to Fantastick (판타스틱) Live Music Performance... 

Related Posts:
~ [Trazy] Hongdae (Hongik University Street) 홍대
~ [Trazy] Myeongdong 명동
~ Seoul Sejong Hotel (세종호텔)
~ Myeongdong Art Theater (명동예술극장)

September in Seoul - Palsaek Samgyupsal [Day 7]

Do you like Korean BBQ? Kids like it so much, and we often go to Korean restaurants in Singapore for Korean BBQ too. But, let's taste the authentic Korean BBQ in Korea...

Palsaek Samgyupsal (팔색삼겹살)
Address: 18, Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

No queue outside doesn't mean that not crowded inside...

... though still have available seats as the restaurant is quite spacious.

Palsaek Samgyeopsal (Eight colors flavors of pork belly meat), which seasoned with 8 kinds of special sauces (ginseng, wine, garlic, pine leaves, herbs, curry, soybean paste, and pepper).

We're guided to our seats by the waitress, who can converse in Mandarin.
She asked us to hide our belongings inside the stool to avoid smelly smoke
from BBQ. What a brilliant idea~!

In just a few minutes after we ordered 8-color set Samgyupsal , the waitresses 

filled up all the space of our table with Haemul Jjigae (seafood stew), Kimchi, 

lettuce, garlic, vegetables, and salad, and... 

8-color set Samgyupsal on this special wooden plate that stated 

each of the flavors in English, Chinese and Japanese languages

Not to worry if you don't know how to BBQ them, as the waiters are going around and ready to assist customers to grill, flip and cut the samgyupsal to biteable size for you even without you asking them for help. Excellent service and everything is just so convenience:

The grilling plate has hole and it's a bit slanted, so it's easy to discard the excessive oil 

from pork fat without the need to tilt the plate to the special built-in container on the table.

Self-serving cart for vegetables, kimchi, pepper, onion and ssamjang.

growling tummies asking for juicy and tender samgyupsal~!

Ssam style & BBQ pork with salad ^^

Menu with the price list hanging on the wall:

* 8-color set: 30,000 won

* 3-color set: 28,000 won

* Premium Samgyeopsal set: 43,000 won

* Each seasoned samgyeopsal (150 gr): 10,000 won

Highly recommended! It's really worth the price, especially you compare with the pricing in Singapore. The portion is actually enough for 2-3 adults, and you can taste 8 kinds of seasoned pork belly at one go~!!!

Related Posts:
~ Punggi Ginseng Rib (풍기 인삼 갈비)
~ [Jeonju] - All That Barbecue (올댓바베큐) Salad Buffet
~ 월매네 Traditional Folk Pub
~ Deodeok Bap (더덕밥) or Chez Maak (셰막)?