September in Seongyojang - [Day 6]

It's our last day in Gangneung, we'll be going back to Seoul. But before leaving Seongyojang, there's another recording on our participation of Korean Traditional Tea Ceremony.

After we had some breads and milk for breakfast in our room, we gathered again around 9 am. We didn't reserve for breakfast, as we usually have light breakfast. They insisted us to have breakfast as Seongyojang because they'd prepared Seongpyeon that we made yesterday and Chodang Sundubu (초당순두부) for us.

Wow! We're a bit shocked to see our breakfast spread!



We're quite disappointed as we didn't eat Chodang Sundubu yesterday. It's the specialty food in Gangneung. It's to our surprised that we could taste this original Chodang Sundubu (watery tofu  made from locally grown soybeans and seawater, and is prepared and eaten within the same day) in Seongyojang. Therefore, although our tummy still full, we tried to clear most of the food with thankful heart.

~*~*~*~

Traditional Korean Tea Ceremony  

OMG! Never imagined that we could step our feet in this beautiful and quaint Hwallaejeong Pavilion (활래정) to experience 'Dado' - the etiquette and enjoyment of tea in an easy, formal and natural setting.

  

 Dado (다도체험) - Korean Tea Ceremony

The sound of the hot water as it is carefully poured, the sight of varyingly clear

and colored liquids filling empty cups, inhaling the unique and delicate fragrance of the tea,

the hands that extend with poise to slow sip the tea lightly and rolled over the tongue

while savouring and appreciate the aromas to the taster’s lips that appeals to all five senses.

  

You know after learnt Dado, I was so tempted to buy a set of teaware  (차기 = chagi) to practice this art of preparing and enjoying tea in this delicate and cultured way. Please check this website for the procedure of the Korean Tea Ceremony and video guide ^^

Tea is said to be an aid to digestion after a meal and some claim it helps the complexion as well. It has no calories and is much lower in caffeine than coffee. Drinking green tea should be a calming experience that brings peace to your soul, and calms your nerves while allowing you time to think, dream or simply enjoy the fragrance and taste of the tea.

  

 Inside Hwallaejeong Pavilion with SBS crews and Mr Lee (KTO)

after filming ended enjoying drinking tea and eating Dasik (tea food),

while gazing the beautiful Lotus Pond. Please let the time stop there~!

Dasik (다식= Korean traditional sweet and cookies) is  appreciated for its artistic and decorative colors and patterns as well as for its pleasing sweet taste.  It is regarded as a healthful snack and classy dessert

The Teacher (선생님 = Seonsaengnim) explained to us about the philosophy of Korean food with yin-yang concept. It interacts and opposes itself in terms of its five flavours (Sour, Bitter, Salty, Spicy and Sweet), and also ingredients of five colours (Yellow, Black, White, Red and Green). Example: Sesame tastes bitter and it's benefited for brain development and stimulating function.

  

~*~*~*~

 Traditional Korean Game - Yutnori (윷놀이)

 

Let's play Yutnori (video link)

After tea ceremony, we supposed to go outside to play Yutnori, but it was drizzling. So, they arranged it to the next room inside this Pavilion.

Yut game is quite simple, but there are some special rules and you need some strategies to win the game. Please check the link for the instruction and you can try to throw yut stick from iBuzzKorea. Well, it's kinda interesting and fun that these two kiddos didn't want to stop playing, but after third rounds we had to stop as we're rushing back to Seoul.

We went back to our room to get the luggage, and met Director of Seongyojang to say thank you for the great hospitality given to our family during our stay. It was a great honour that SBS and KTO given our family this memorable and priceless chance to experience Korean Traditional Culture in Seongyojang.

For those interested to learn more about Dado or other Korean traditional cultural experiences, please check Seongyojang's website for more information.

Seongyojang must be very scenic in Winter with white snow blanketing it~! Annyeong...

Related Posts:

~ [Gangneung] 300 years old Seongyojang Hanok House.

~ Hanok Stay and Hanjeongsik tasting at Seongyojang.

~ [Gangneung] Ojukheon House and Museum

~ [Chuam] - Chotdaebawi Rock   

~ Majestic Mureung Valley

September in Seongyojang [Day 5]

We arrived in Seongyojang just in time. The first photo taken there showed 5:52 pm, which taken about 10-15 minutes after we reached there, as Mr Nam asked to top up another 30,000 won for taxi fare on top of 20,000 won we agreed earlier. So, after spent few minutes talk, we just gave the amount rather than wasting time. We didn't want to trouble Travel Hotline 1330 for this small dispute.

SBS started to record our activities in Seongyojang from the above spot.

Video Shooting Part I :  

Arriving in Seongyojang and walking to our room. Passing through the above gate with small slope, then unpacking our luggage in the room.

Ok, let's rewind what happened 15-20 minutes earlier before filming started...



SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) van parked in front of Seongyojang.  

We quickly took out 3 luggage and all our belongings out from the taxi. The staff in-front of Ticket office recognised us, and asked one staff (Ahjumma) to bring us to our quarter. She didn't speak English, but I don't have problem with it because she talked slowly and using basic Korean words.

She showed us how to open the lock and wooden door, turn-on the light and air-con, she then brought us to toilet and shower room.

shower room and toilet are on the other building next to our room.

small TV set, fridge, air-con and 4 sets of traditional Korean pattern

mattresses, pillows and silky blankets are provided in the room.

Public bathroom looks old as they preserved the old wooden door outside,

but inside is clean and it's been renovated with modern facilities such as

water heater and shower head and frosted glass partitions

~*~*~*~

Suddenly a pretty lady walked towards me when I was about to go to washroom. She politely introduced herself and told me that they're from SBS. She told us that they wanted to film us entering Seongyojang. 

She said sorry that they didn't wait for our arrival so we'd to bring our luggage to the entrance and walking to our quarter again. I apologized to her, because it's actually our fault as we arrived a little bit late, and maybe they had waited us earlier. But I guessed she just didn't want us to feel bad. Such a nice young lady!

 

Please click this link for the news and video 

aired on SBS channel on 22 Sep 2013.

Then after recorded that segment, we rest awhile in our room and gathered again around 7 pm to have dinner together. While waiting for the food being prepared, we had some chit chatting outside...

She said full set meal will be served, and was surprised when I said 한정식 좋아해요 (I like Hanjeongsik meal), as she didn't expect that I know how to speak Korean language. We chatted a bit here and there... about Korean food and cooking, Running Man,  Korean dramas, KTO, places we visited and will visit for the next few days, transportations to go around,...

While chatting, we just realized that Assistant Manager of Public Relations Department from KTO, Mr Lee J.H also came together with 3 crews from SBS.

They're wondering how did I find this Hanok house, as it was their first time in Seongyojang too.

I found it from this interesting posting from KTO's website 

"Korea's Most Unique accommodation"

I don't know why... I just can't stop my love for Korean traditional cultures. It keeps growing deep deep down in my heart. I love to visit places with lots of historical sites like Gyeongju, love to see Hanok houses and pretty hanboks. Therefore, I love to watch Korean historical drama where I can see those historical sites or hanok folk villages, hanbok costumes with the histories behind them.

My kids were so excited when I told them it's actually nobleman's house during Joseon Dynasty with the maximum 99 rooms/kan. Law prohibited civilians from building houses with more than 100 rooms. (Kan: traditional measurement that corresponds to the space between two columns). Then, we decided to book this hanok room.

But, based from our experience from last year trip, most of the accommodations like hanok, pension house, minbak, and van camping rental can only be booked through their own websites. It's a bit hassle, as they only accepted cash transfer or local credit card for the payment to secure the booking. Therefore, I'd to bother my Korean friend to settle the payment for me first.

I emailed to BnBHero (No1. House & Experience sharing network' in Korea) to check whether they provide service to book accommodation in Seongyojang. I was expecting a "NO" answer, but to my surprised, they replied they'll find a way to assist the booking, although it's not their regular service.

Really thanks to BnBHero for extra mile service and Seongyojang that allowed us to make the payment on the day we check-in. Everything was so smooth, therefore our family can have such an unforgettable moment to experience what it’s like to spend a night in the traditional Korean way.

 ~*~*~*~

Video Shooting Part II :  

Enjoying Hearty Hanjeongsik dinner

Sumptuous & Savory Hanjeongsik meal @Seongyojang's dining room

(please click the link for dining reservation)

Woohoo!!! lots of banchan that I never seen and ate before...

 Full Course meals with main dish, hotpot, side dishes, desserts and sweet sikhye drink ^^

We lost counts of how many dishes being served, as they kept coming new dishes and replacing the empty plates. We're being pampered like royalties with such good food. We tried to finish them, as we didn't want to waste food and considering the amount of work and care to prepare the dishes.

You may think that Japchae  (sweet potato noodles) as a simple food, but the preparation for cooking it's not easy, and it's no joke when you have to cook everything separately. It's not like dump everything and cook them together like what I normally do to cook Dong Fen (冬粉).

Just hope that they didn't think that we didn't have enough food, because we normally didn't leave a single grain on the plate if possible. But, we didn't manage to clean every single plate, as we'd stored up to maximum capacity of our tummies.

We reserved dinner when we booked the room. But, when we paid for the room, they told us to pay when we dine there. But, after dinner when we wanted to pay, they said no need as it's a treat for us. Really thankful to SBS, Seongyojang and KTO for this healthy hanjeongsik meal.

After having our meal, and we learnt how to make Songpyeon (송편), Korean traditional rice cake which contains stuffing such as sesame seeds, black beans, walnut, as it's near Chuseok holiday. Yes, Songpyeon's usually eaten during Korean Autumn Festival.

We had so much fun learning to make this half-moon-shaped songpyeon,

but our songpyeon ended up with unique shapes of cubes, cat and house.

While making the Songpyeon, they interviewed me on our view about Songyojang, as they knew that we dropped by here yesterday. I fell in love at the first sight as it's even more beautiful than what I expected... It's absolutely amazing for this 300 years-old building to maintain it's beautiful architecture and scenic landscape. I really love peaceful and serene places that surrounded by nature that offer relaxation and fresh air to breath. Kids were happily run and play around.

Ok, that's all for the recording...

 ~*~*~*~

We'd to go back to our room as it's raining after our dinner, else we could walk around Seongyojang's garden and find a nice spot  for stars gazing.

Prince Chai Hao Zhi needed to wear his "crown" to the toilet

as it was raining outside ^^



Well, that's just one of the inconveniences that we had in Seongyojang, because the toilet is not inside the room and it's raining. Other than that, everything is fine. We're asked whether it's troublesome to take off our shoes each time we entering the rooms. We didn't find it's inconvenience, because it's just like we need to take off our shoes when entering our house.

 

Though the room looks quite small with the door partition in between, can considered it as 2 connected rooms. You can put 2 mattresses on each room, but we put 3 mattresses on one side of the room and four of us squeezed together. Hahaha... we like it this way!

Peaceful night for a while in this hanok room, but soon after that I heard random snoring sound from my hubby and kids. And I turned those snoring sound to MLTR-Sleeping Child inside my head!
   "I'm gonna cover my sleeping child...
    Keep you away from the world so wild"

Good night and sweet dreams~^^

Wanna experience Hanjeongsik but not traveling to Gangneung? No worry~!

Check out these two options of Hanjeongsik availablein Seoul,

and you can conveniently reserve your meal here.

Related Posts:

~ [Gangneung] 300 years old Seongyojang Hanok House.

~ Traditional Cultural Experience at Seongyojang.

~ [Gangneung] Ojukheon House and Museum

~ [Chuam] - Chotdaebawi Rock   

~ Majestic Mureung Valley

September in Gangneung - Seongyojang Hanok House [Day 4]

Let's travel back to the old Joseon Dynasty through the gates of these two historical residences in Gangneung~~~

Seongyojang (선교장)

After decided Gangneung as one of our destinations, I  browsed on tourist attractions to visit from KTO's website. Somehow, I was summoned to this ancient, gigantic and picturesque Seongyojang!

Imagine myself walking around Hwallaejeong in my previous life.

Upss... pardon me in this Gisaeng costume, should be in normal Hanbok (for servant?)
 

 or maybe match with this Fusion Hanbok from MoranBaepil?

OMG!!!  It's so unbelievable and so excited when I read that visitors are welcome to stay overnight in this 300 years National Treasure Hanok House! Thank you! I can finally stop imagine myself staying in this residence in my previous life .ㅋㅋㅋ

FYI, drama Hwang Jin-Yi (황진이), Princess Hours Gung (궁) and Princess’ Man (공주의남자) were filmed in Seongyojang.

Do check out these links for filming location of Korean Drama Gung (궁): Unhyeongung (운현궁) Royal Palace | Gyeongju Anapji Pond (안압지) | Gyeonggijeon (경기전) | Jeonju Sago (전주 사고)

I quickly went to Seongyojang's website (in Korean language) and selected (행랑채1~5 정보) room that fit 4 people. A big thanks to BnBHero assisted us to reserve the room, although that's not their regular service...

Interesting information about Seongyojang...

 In 1703, Mugyeong Lee Naebeon, the 11th descendent of Prince Hyoryeong,
a brother of King Sejong, build this vast 99-kan house.
(Kan: traditional measurement that corresponds to the space between two columns)
Until now, the descendants of Naebeon Lee still residing here.

  

In the past, the site was accessed by a boat that crossed Gyeongpoho Lake,
hence its name Seongyojang, which literally means a "Boat-Bridging House," 

using the Chinese characters "seon" for boat, "gyo" for bridge and "jang" for house.

Despite the passage of over 300 years, the original architecture is very well preserved,

and has been designated as the important Folklore National Treasure No. 5.

 

Seongyojang [선교장] is comprised of several buildings, including a main quarter,

a detached house, Hwallaejeong [활래정], Yeolhwadang [열화당], Haengnangchae [행랑채]
and breathtaking garden called the 'Garden of Four Seasons.

Haengnangchae (행랑채) in particular, is used as a Guesthouse for travellers and guests. Yeonhwadang (열화당), the most beautifully decorated part of the house, and ideal area to receive guests. It is currently being used as a library. It's frequently used as a backdrop for historical dramas including drama ‘Hwang Jin-Yi’.

Interestingly, every single part of the house has both symbolic meaning and a practical function

Seongyojang has a slightly different structure to it compared to other Traditional Hanok Houses.

* Master quarters and inner quarters are positioned parallel to one another.

* The two quarters have their own gates for the convenience of visitors.

* The gate to the inner quarters, located in front of a well, was designed to provide residents with the utmost privacy.

Picturesque Hwallaejeong was built in 1816 has 'ondol' (Korean underfloor heating)

is located just beside the main entrance.

Hwallaejeong Pavilion served as a tea room for guests.
It's a nice place to enjoy the beauty of the lotus flower filled pond in front of the building.
Lotus Pond is an important component in Korean garden.

We received an unexpected email from Seongyojang on our second day in Seoul. It's actually informing that SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) will be recoding in Seongyojang for Chuseok program. They would like us to participate and  take a little part for the program as foreign visitors in Seongyojang. We agreed to it... will post about it in separate article.

 

Since it's nearby Ojukheon House, we stopped by Seongyojang to make payment for room booking. From the staff, we're told to arrive in Seongyojang around 6:00 pm tomorrow for the recording. 

Then, I decided to have a stroll inside Seongyojang, so tomorrow we'll have more time for touring from Gangneung to Samcheok. The kind staff  waived our admission fees, although we're only staying in this Hanok house tomorrow.

 

The guide explaining some details of Seongyojang to a group of local tourists.

Visitors can experience various Cultural Programs such as Traditional Tea Ceremony, Plaque rubbing experience, making traditional Korean cookies, making rice cakes (tteok), Seongpyeon,  and also playing Traditional Games. It'll be free admission for those using the Traditional Culture Experience Center.

Please reserve in advance if you want to eat delicious Hanjeongsik (한정식) at Seongyojang, as preparation for the meal is needed for this full-course traditional Korean meal.

   

Traditional Cultural Experiences in Seongyojang

Related Posts: 
~  [Yeongju] Museom Hanok Village (영주 무섬마을)
~  [Yeongju] Seonbichon Village (선비촌)
~  Jeonju Hanok Village
~  [Seoul] Bukchon Hanok Village

[Asian-On Air Program] - My Unforgettable Travel Story

Ok, you know that I won't miss any chance to go to Korea! And, you shouldn't too... especially FREE trip, do you agree with me?

Korean Air and Korea Tourism Organization have collaborated this event last year too. Wow~!!!  according to Facebook event page of Korean Air Southeast Asia, there were 805 SNS users joined this contest.

Yup, I did participated through video, as I just started started blogging and sharing my sweet memories in Korea on 17 May this year. Though, I'm not one of the top bloggers, but it's not stopping me to share... Yes, good things must share~^^!

Please check this out on how to join "Asian On Ar Program"

We just came back from Korea for our family trip  full with awesome and unforgettable memories. Here are some of the highlights of this trip:

~ SBS TV (Seoul Broadcasting System) filmed us for Chuseok TV program in Seongyojang.
   They recorded some parts of our  activation as foreign  visitors to stay in  Korean Hanok house and
   participation  in  Traditional  Cultural  experiences, such as: Hanjeongsik  dining,  learning  how to
   make Songpyeon, practicing Korean Tea Ceremony Etiquette, and Yutnori traditional games.

~ 2 days taxi tour in beautiful Gangneung, Donghae, and Samcheok city
   (Jeongdongjin Beach, Hourglass Park, Seongyojang, Chuam Beach & Chotdaebawi Rock, Mureung
   Valley, Samhwasa Temple, Samcheok Beach, Jukseoru Pavilion)

~ Fun day in Everland Caribbean Bay

~ Hangang River Ferry Cruise and Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain

~ Dragon Hill Spa - Stayed overnight in Jimjilbang

~ GoGuan Hanbok Studio photoshoot

~ Stayed in cozy apartment booked through BnBHero

~ Fantastic show of non-verbal live Korean traditional musical "FANTA-STICK" performance.
   These tickets are paticipation prize for "KOINMO Stylist". If you're visiting Korea, grab KOINMO
   Rush Ticket for great 50% discounted prices (valid until 30 Sep 2013).

~ Finger licking sumptuous and delicious cuisines
   (streetfood, buffet, hanjeongsik, seafood, samgyetang, kimchijeon, chicken, makgeolli, ,
    ice cream,...)
  

~ Trick Eye Museum, Bongeunsa  Temple,  Gyeongbokgung  Palace, King Sejong Story, Bukchon
   Village and many more...

You can view more photos from my Facebook while waiting for me to post the details on this blog ^^

I'll be travelling to Korea in February 2014 by Korean Air. I won this Air Ticket from 11st Korea by posting review of my purchased items.

Actually, they gave gift certificate of United Airlines, but the voucher is not enough to purchase return ticket. Therefore, I suggested to change to Korean Air as it's direct flight and cheaper. And most importantly Korean Air is the airline that representing Korea, which takes pride for their Excellence in Flight!

We went there too early to see colorful leaves and quite sad that Sea Train from Gangneung to Samcheok is closed for maintainance until end of Sep, and we didn't have enough time to take V-train and O-train.

Therefore, I do hope to win this trip, then I can take a round trip with train to see beautiful autumn foliage and breathtaking scenery of mountains and valleys. And will keep researching for more stunning, legendary or historical places to explore ^^

Wish all the participants luck and have a wonderful weekend~!