Winter Sonata Anime

Winter Sonata was the second part of the KBS TV drama series Endless Love. This original hit drama was broadcasted in 2002 in Korea, and the 2004 Japanese broadcast triggered the ongoing 'Korean wave' of pop culture in Japan. Winter Sonata has been a major part of the Korean wave both there and throughout Asia.

I am not really into the teary drama though but I did enjoy this drama with the beautiful locations of Nami island. One of my favorite scenes is where the snow falling on Jun-sang and Yu-jin (two main characters) when they held hand while walking down the pine-line road of Nami island. The white snow, redwood trees, nice songs and every bit have perfectly created the favorite romantic scene of the series! This big hit drama made me decided to visit Korea in winter time almost three years ago and eventually visited the beautiful Nami island where many scenes were shot.

Now the anime version has been confirmed to be aired in Japan in mid October with 23 members of the original cast voicing the characters.

Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo pose for photographers during a news conference in Tokyo to promote the anime version of Winter Sonata. (picture from: Japan Today)

The screen shot from Winter Sonata anime official website.

And here is the Winter Sonata Anime MV I found on youtube:

Lee Young-ae got married!

This news may break your heart! Lee Young-ae finally walked down the isle with Mr. Jeong, a Korean-American businessman secretly in the US on Monday, her legal consulting firm said on Tueday. News reports said Mr. Jeong, 54, studied at University of Illinois and is currently engaged in IT-related telecommunication business. Lee, 38, is planning to settle in the US but will continue her activities as an actress in Korea, Dongin said.

(Picture courtesy of Korea Herald)

Those who love Korean drama would definitely know Lee Yong-ae, one of Korean Top acctress who gained popularity for her performance in Korean famous drama 'Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum)', which drew attention not only from Asia but all over the world.

(Source: Korean Herald)

Lotte World and Coex Mall

Got back to Seoul from Nami-seom, we spent half of our last day in Seoul visiting Lotte World and Coex Mall.

Lotte world is a big complex with one-stop concept so you'd find anything you need from accomodation (hotel), both indoor and outdoor theme park, shopping mall, folk museum, sports facilities and movie theater in one place. The Lotte world indoor theme park is one of the largest indoor amusement parks in the world. If you are a Korean drama lover, you'd notice some spots used for filming 'Stairway to Heaven'.

If you wish to learn about Korean history and tradition then you should visit the Lotte World Folk Museum. A collection of minature and life-sized exhibition along with performance stages for traditional music and dance would amuse you while learning Korean history and culture. The traditional restaurants are located on the market (Jeoja) street on the third floor of Lotte World Shopping Mall, giving visitors the chance to taste Korean traditional dishes.

(Some restaurants inside the traditional market inside Lotte World)

How to get to there? Take subway line 2 to Jamsil station and take exit no 4 (underground plaza). Admisson fee including performance viewing is 24,000 won and 21,000 won after 4 pm.

Off The Lotte World, we jumped on the subway headed to Coex Mall, a huge shopping arcade located beneath Samsung-dong Trade Centre. It's only 3 stops away from Jamsil station (The Lotte World), got off at Samsoeng (Samsung) station and took exit 5 where we walked down to the end of Ocean Walk straight to Coex Aquarium. This Korea's largest aquarium has 40,000 marine wildlife of 650 species. Once again it's also a place used for filming a Korean drama 'One Fine Day' after the first six episodes were filmed at Busan Aquarium.

Coex Aquarium with posters from One Fine Day

Coex Mall off the Samsung station

Nami island

Nami-seom or Nami island is another 'romantic spot' in Korea, located in Chuncheon City this beautiful tiny island attracts 1.5 million visitors on average year. According to wikipedia, its name originated from General Nami, who died at the age of 28 after falsely accused of treason during the reign of King Sejo, the seventh king of Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Also known as 'Naminara Republic' since 2006, it's an imaginary country that has invented its own passport, currency, stamps for promoting its tourism. Naminara Republic is fully equipped with facilities including Tourist Info Centre which provide currency exchange for the tourist.

Famous as the shooting place of 'Winter Sonata', a famous Korean Drama by KBS in 2002, the beautiful forest path of pine trees is a must see spot in this island.

(Some snaps in Naminara Republic)

We opted to get to this island by bus from Dong Seoul Terminal headed to Chuncheon, after one and half hours ride we got off at Gapyeong bus terminal. Staff from our hotel suggested to take taxi from this point to Nami-seom wharf which would cost about 8,000 won, just say "Nami seom ga juseyo" he said, but we decided to take our own adventure riding the local bus from Gapyeong station, it took us only 10 minutes to the wharf where we boarded the ferry for another 10 minutes to the island.

If you'd rather take the train, you can take train from Cheongryang-ri station to Chuncheon and then take taxi from the station to the ferry wharf.

Enjoying the beautiful Naminara Republic for about 2 hours wasn't long enough for us but we had to rush back to Seoul for our last day visit in the city and yet to visit another places on our list.

(Our mode of transport: local bus and ferry)

(Nami seom's map, courtesy of Chuncheon City)

All In House

Jeju is the best natural shooting place, many famous Korean drama series or movies were filmed in this island, just name it: Jewel in the Palace (Daejanggeum), All In, My Girl, Goong and the list still goes on.

Our trip in Jeju was quite short so we only managed to visit Seopjikoji from All In and the other one was Daejanggeum shooting place. All In House is more like a museum that provide everything about the drama. The All In House opened its door on June 3, 2005 and it's the first drama memorial hall in Korea. The House located in a beautiful shore of Jeju's southern district called Seopjikoji.

(All In House in Seopjikoji)

As for Daejanggeum shooting place, it's hidden in untouched coastal scenery, the beautiful ocean and stunning view of cliffs and surrounding rocks is simply breathtaking, if you are visiting Jeju island, it's one of must see destinations.

(Daejanggeum shooting place)

Tangerine Farm

Tangerine is Jeju's signature fruit, you will find this mandarin orange sold in every local shops and tourist spots across the island. Visiting the Tangerine farm was one of our itinerary in Jeju. Located not far from the Folk Village, the farm allowed us to look around, pick the tangerine from the trees and taste how sweet the fruit is. We found the tangerines hang on almost every branch made a beautiful background to pose on.

Tangerine farm in Jeju

Jeju tangerine sold at a market

Beside the abundant tangerine you'd also find some cookie product made with tangerine including tangerine-filled chocolate. We did try and buy some orange choco as souvenirs, I reckon this Jeju orange chocolate is a must buy product from Jeju.

If you happened to watch Korean drama series "My Girl", some scenes were set in a beautiful Tangerine farm of Jeju, and it's one of many famous Korean drama series I've watched.

What is Hallyu?

Hallyu or Korean wave is a term used to refer the increasing popularity of South Korea culture all over the world since around 2000. I still remember the first time I fell for Korean culture was when I watched a popular Korean drama series 'Autumn in My Heart' by Song Hye Kyo back then almost ten years ago. Since then, I become addicted to Korean movies and series as well as K-Pop (Korean Pop music).

Hallyu has been expanding rapidly beyond Asia and Korea has become one of the world's top ten culture exporters. Talking about Hallyu is not only about entertainment industry but also about fashion which known as a trendsetter style icon in the youth-dominated market.

Long story short, I decided to pen down my experiences and sharing my thoughts and anything I come across about Hallyu through this blog.

As for 'Autumn in My Heart', here is the MV I got from Youtube:

Autumn in My Heart, the first installment of Endless Love drama series produced in 2000 by South Korean TV network KBS, starring adorable Song Hye Kyo, Song Seung Heon and Won Bin.