My last day in Korea happens to be Seollal as well, which is the Korean New Year. It is the same date as the Lunar New Year. Spending Chinese New Year in Korea this time round, to learn more about how other countries celebrate their new year. For the Koreans, first of all, they will prepare lots of food for their Jesa on the morning of Seollal. It is a ceremony that serves as a memorial to their ancestors. After which, they will gather round for a bowl of Tteokguk - Korean ricecake soup. The most commonly seen ricecake will be the oblong-shaped ricecake, which is used for dishes like Teokbokki. Another type of commonly seen ricecake will be coin-shaped ricecake, which is used for dishes like the Tteokguk. The white ricecake represents purity, and the coin-shaped ricecake represents prosperity. So since I’m celebrating my new year the Korean way, I made Tteokguk this morning too!
在韩国的最后一天，恰巧是 Seollal，也就是韩国新年，和华人的农历新年同一天。今年的新年选择到了韩国过年，体验，学习，其他国家如何过年。韩国人怎么过年？首先会在新年之前开始准备许多食物，在当天早上祭拜祖先。祭拜仪式结束后，大家就会聚在一起吃碗年糕汤。这碗年糕汤所用的年糕一定要是圆形，像个银币一样，和我们常见的长形年糕不一样。白色年糕象征纯洁，圆形年糕象征财源滚滚。既然今年选择以韩式方式过年，早上就学了韩国人做起年糕汤！
As I’m staying in a Airbnb and I’m on a holiday, I try to minimise the amount of preparation work and cooking time required as much as possible. The ingredients required are pretty simple - ricecake, broth and the toppings. Tteokguk usually consists of a 3-colour shredded topping, such as egg for yellow, egg white for white, scallions for green, chilli for red, braised meat or mushroom for brown, seaweed, and so on. For my toppings, I’m using the red parts of crab stick (mock crabmeat), store-bought tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette), and seaweed. I also got a premade broth called 사골곰탕, which is beef bone soup. So from what I saw online, you have to soak your ricecake in water first prior to cooking, so it turns soft quicker.
由于在度假，而且又住在 Airbnb，所以尽量减少筹备和烹饪时间。所需材料非常简单 - 年糕，汤底和配料。年糕汤通常会配上三色配料，比如黄可以是蛋，白可以是蛋白，绿可以是葱，红可以是辣椒，酱肉丝，蘑菇，紫菜，等等。我的配料就选了蟹肉棒红色的部分，日式欧姆蛋和紫菜。汤底是现成牛骨汤叫 ‘사골곰탕’。从网上看到，煮之前先把年糕浸泡在水中，很快就能煮软。
So this is how I made my Tteokguk:
- Pour broth into the saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Soak ricecake in water.
- Meanwhile, slice crab sticks, egg and seaweed into strips.
- When the broth starts boiling, add in ricecake and cook for about 3-5mins, or till ricecake turns soft.
- Adjust taste of soup if needed.
- Pour Tteokguk in a bowl and topped with prepared toppings.
我的年糕汤做法：
- 把牛骨汤放入锅里，煮至沸腾。
- 把年糕浸泡在水中。
- 在等的当儿，把蟹肉棒，蛋和紫菜切丝。
- 汤开始滚时，加入年糕煮3-5分钟，或变软。
- 调味。
- 把年糕汤倒入碗中，放上准备好的配料。
#1: Beef bone broth.
#2: Ricecake.
#3: Crabstick.
#4: Tamagoyaki with bacon.
#5: Kids Seaweed. Korean seaweed tends to be saltier, so I prefer getting the kids version so as there's less salt.
#6: Tteokguk end product!
Super simple right? After breakfast, did the final packing up and check-out. The nearest subway station to my Airbnb is Hongdae Station, and they do have self-service baggage lockers available there. Stored my luggage, and then time for my first destination! As I mentioned previously, starting storage fee is KRW4,000 for 4hrs. It adds on after 4hrs - +KRW1,000 between 4-12hrs (per hour), +KRW4,000 for more than 12hrs, and +KRW12,000 for 1 day.
是不是很简单？吃完早餐后，收拾好了行李，准备离开住宿。离我住宿最近的捷运站是弘大站，哪里有自助行李储物柜。存好行李后，就开始今天的第一站！之前提过，储存费从韩币4,000开始算起，能放4小时。4-12小时之间，每小时加韩币1,000 。超过12小时，加韩币4,000。放到一天时间，加韩币12,000。
#7: Baggage storage locker pricing and instructions.
Today’s first location is Changdeokgung, it’s free admission since it’s Seollal! Changdeokgung is one of the five grand palaces built by the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). It is added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. Besides the palace, there is a 78-acre secret garden that lies behind the palace, admission to the garden still applies though. But, the palace is quite huge that it’s actually already quite tiring just walking around the palace itself. The garden is only open to public via guided tour, so if you are planning to visit it, do check on the timings on the available tours before you plan to visit the palace. I guess autumn period will be a nice time to visit it! The most commonly visited palace will be Gyeongbokgung, but actually I think there is nothing much there. I have also been to Deoksugung, which offers FREE hanbok (Korean traditional costume) trying on. The other 2 grand palaces will be Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung.
今天的第一地点是昌德宮。由于今天是新年，所以免费入场。昌德宫是朝鲜王朝（1392-1897）建造的五大宫殿之一，它于1997年被列入 UNESCO 联合国世界遗产名录。除了宫殿以外，也有个78英亩的秘密花园，这里入门费照付，而且只有跟着当地导游才能入场，不能自由行。如果想到花园看看的话，记得先查看带团时间。我猜，秋天时期一定很漂亮！宫殿本身规模庞大，光是走完整个宫殿就其实蛮累了。观光客常去，爱去的其实是景福宮，之前去过，觉得没什么，而且人很多。也去过德寿宫，这里能免费试韩福！另外两个宫殿是昌庆宫和庆熙宫。
Changdeokgung 창덕궁
99 Yulgok-ro, Waryong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
0900-1730hrs (Nov-Jan), 0900-1800hrs (Feb-May, Sep-Oct), 0900-1830hrs (Jun-Aug),
Closed on Mondays
Admission: KRW3,000
Secret Garden: +KRW5,000 (via Guided Tour only)
Only 100 tickets available for each tour, 50pcs online booking, 50pcs sold on site
English Guided Tours: 1030hrs, 1130hrs, 1430hrs
Additional Session for Feb-Nov at 1530hrs
Chinese Guided Tour: 1230hrs
Japanese Guided Tour: 1230hrs
Anguk Station Exit 3
#8: Changdeokgung.
#9: Changdeokgung.
#10: Changdeokgung.
#11: Changdeokgung.
#12: Changdeokgung.
#13: Positions where the officers stand in front of the main court, according to their rank.
#14: The King's throne at the main court.
#15: The actual stairs on the left, and wooden stairs built for visitors.
#16: Changdeokgung.
Next, was to Namsangol Hanok Village! A lot of people would only know about Bukchon Hanok Village when it comes to seeing some hanoks (Korean traditional houses). But, there is actually another hanok village located near to Myeongdong. The difference is Bukchon is a residential area, whereas Namsangol is a preserved area. And on Seollal, they are having a special New Year’s Day Festival! Upon arrival, I could see it was packed with lots of people! There were performances going on, the emcee in a pretty hanbok, engaging the crowd for some activities. There are rows of stalls, that offer both traditional and modern Korean and International food, retail items, kids activities and so on. Moving into the village, there were lots of game spots set up for both kids and adults, like archery, kite flying and ring toss. After which, will be the hanoks. The good thing about Namsangol is that because no one is staying there anymore, you get to see the insides of these houses, and how life is like in the past, like having lots of fermentation earthenware at the backyard. These huge pots were used to ferment items like gochujang (chilli paste), doenjang (soy bean paste), kimchi and soy sauce; which is not commonly practiced now. Everybody just buy from the supermarket. Though kimchi making is still commonly practiced at home, but the process has definitely changed a little throughout the years.
接着到了南山谷韩屋村！到哪里找传统韩屋，很多应该对北村韩屋村不陌生。其实离明洞不远也有个韩屋村。分别在于北村是住宅区，而南山谷是保存区。新年当天，也有特备活动，超多人！有表演项目，主持人穿着漂亮的韩福和观众互动，还有许多一排排的小吃档，商品档，儿童活动，等等。走到村内，可以看到许多为大人小孩而设的游戏区，如射箭，放风筝和环抛。接着，就能看到漂亮的韩屋。到南山谷的好处是，因为已经没人住在这了，所以能看看韩屋内长什么样子，以前的韩国人怎么过生活，像是后院的各种发酵陶器，像是发酵韩式辣椒酱，韩式豆酱／大酱，泡菜和酱油。传统做法现在已经很少见，大家都到超市买就行。虽然韩国人还是会在家自制泡菜，不过做法多年来已经改良许多。
Namsangol Hanok Village 남산골한옥마을
28 Toegye-ro 34-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
0900-2000hrs (Tue-Sun), Closed on Mondays
Chungmuro Station Exit 3 or 4
#17: Pigs in hanbok, super cute, as it's the pig year!
#18: Beautiful lake but all frozen up!
#19: Tteokbokki stall.
#20: Tteokbokki stall.
#21: Ricecake stall.
#22: Korean pancake stall.
#23: Can't remember what food is this, but you got some Korean fishcake (odeng) on the extreme right.
#24: Got some Odeng at KRW1,000 each. Nice hot soup on a super cold day!
#25: Cookies decorating activity.
#26: Kids archery.
#27: Ring toss.
#28: Mockup of the Jesa ceremony.
#29: Namsangol Hanok Village.
#30: Namsangol Hanok Village.
#31: Namsangol Hanok Village.
#32: Lots of fermentation earthenware at the backyard for fermenting food items like chilli paste (gochujang), soybean paste (doenjang), kimchi and soy sauce.
After which, it is actually about time to head back to Hongdae, as I will need to catch an hour’s train to the airport, for my flight departing at 8pm. Walked around Hongdae and realised that actually there are still lots of shops opened on Seollal! I have asked so many Koreans and they all say that most of the shops will be closed during New Year, but I guess now with more modern Koreans and foreigners, only shops at quieter streets were closed. Hongdae, being a popular hangout area, especially for young adults, was still lively and full of people. Managed to catch some funny street performances before I head to the train station.
最后，回到了弘大。从弘大到机场需要1小时，飞机晚上8点起飞。在弘大闲逛后，发现新年当天其实还是有很多店有开门营业！旅程之前其实问了很多韩国人，也上网查过，都说新年大多数都会是关的。不过可能现在越来越多现代韩国人和旅客的关系，只有比较静的小街才是关的。像弘大这种热门地点，年轻人的地方，其实还是很多人，很热闹。到捷运站之前，看了一下搞笑街头表演。
Hongdae Shopping Street 홍대
Hongik University Station Exit 9
So… That concludes my 10-day Korea trip. It was ‘Seoul’ cold and ‘Seoul’ tiring! There were so many places that I wanted to go, but didn’t have time to do so! I guess this gives me an excuse to visit Korea again!
10天的韩国之旅就这样结束了，真的是又冷又累！其实还有许多安排好想去的地方，结果都没时间去！我想这给了我再次到韩国旅游的借口！
Exchange Rate: S$1 = KRW825
Expenses for Day 10
Luggage Storage: KRW4,000
T-money Card top-up: KRW10,000
Odeng: KRW1,000 x2
Additional Luggage Storage Charges: KRW3,000
T-money Card top-up: KRW2,000
Total Expenses for Day 10: KRW21,000 = S$25.45
Previous Expenses: S$2,366.73
FINAL Total Expenses: S$2,392.18