Living my KDrama life by wearing a Hanbok at the Gyeongbokgung Palace
I remember posting a blog wherein I said that I haven't experienced wearing a Hanbok in my life. And after three years, I finally did! I now experienced how the people from South Korea feels when they wore hanbok before.
Hanbok is Korea's traditional clothing. There are different Hanbok for ceremonies and everyday dress. It can also be categorized by gender, age, and season. A hundred years ago, Hanbok is what Koreans wear in their everyday living.
Honestly, I wanted to choose the pink one. But as much as I want to wear a Hanbok with my favorite color, I decided to go to a darker shade so that the color of the Hanbok will standout more.
Renting Hanbok in South Korea
There are two ways you can rent Hanbok in South Korea. It's either by booking online or just look for a rental shop outside Gyeongbokgung Palace.
In our case, we decided to just check the rental shops on the day itself. If you're going to rent on the day itself, I highly suggest that you go early so that you can choose a good Hanbok and be first in line. There are times that a lot of people are lining up in the rental shops.
Hanbok Rental Details:
The rent ranges from 10,000 KRW - 50,000 KRW depending on the Hanbok, hairstyle, and some other additional accessories.
My friends and I have different prices. Mine was 24,000 KRW. For the breakdown:
Hanbok Rental (for two hours) - 20,000 KRW
Underskirt (the one that will make the skirt like a balloon type) - 4,000 KRW
Hairstyle - Free
I chose the free hairstyle since I already spent 4000 for the underskirt. There are a lot of options with the hairstyle and the prices varies as well.
Other accessories like the bag is also free of charge. So choose the one that matches your Hanbok.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
If you wear Hanbok, your entrance in the Gyeongbokgung Palace is already free. Here are some details if you want to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace.
🏰 Gyeongbokgung Palace 경복궁
🗺️ 서울특별시 종로구 사직로 161 (세종로) | 161, Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
⏰ Nov-Feb: 9:00-17:00
Mar-May, Sep-Oct: 9:00-18:00
Jun-Aug: 9.00-18:30
Last admission: 1 hr before closing. Closed on Tuesdays.
Fun fact, a lot of K-Dramas like Kingdom, Chicago Typewriter, Goblin, were filmed here!
🕘 Ceremony Times:
Changing of the Royal Guard Ceremony (Gwanghwamun Gate - main gate): 10:00, 14:00 (20 mins)
Gwanghwamun Gate Guard on Duty Ceremony: 11:00, 13:00 (10 mins)
Gatekeeper Military Training (Hyeopsaengmun Gate): 9:35, 13:35 (15 mins)
🎟️ Ticket Price
Adult (age 19-64): 3,000 won
Child (age 7-18): 1,500 won.
Free for Adult above 64 and Child under 7, and if you're wearing a Hanbok.
🚇 How to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace
There are a lot of ways to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace. It's either through bus or subway. But everything is convenient. Here are some of the recommended options in going to Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Gyeongbokgung Station (line 3, exit 5). 3 mins walk.
Gwanghwamun Station (line 5, exit 2). 7 mins walk.
Seoul City Hall (1.2km, 17 mins walk or 6 mins by taxi)
My overall experience wearing Hanbok
Wearing Hanbok while roaming inside Gyeongbokgung Palace is definitely a fun experience. It’s even more fun when you’re with the people who also likes to do these things. I definitely feel that I am in a KDrama.
Although I should have rented it for 4 hours because I would like to take more photos in different spots of the palace. But I will still be staying here in South Korea for a longer time so I can still wear Hanbok on a different season.
How about you guys? Have you experienced wearing Hanbok? How was it?
First time spending Chuseok in South Korea
Chuseok is one of the biggest holidays in South Korea. This is the time where families gather together to give their thanks to their ancestors for the autumn harvest. It is also somehow called the Korean Thanksgiving.
Chuseok is considered one of the most important holidays in South Korea which holds a big part of their culture.
How I spent Chuseok?
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| Our university made Chuseok-related events for us International Students |
During the Chuseok holiday, we had almost a week break from our Korean classes. So because of that, some of my fellow GKS scholars decided to go around Busan and visit different tourist spots.
To summarize what happened this Chuseok and holidays, I got to visit these places again
For the first time, I was able to visit
🏖️ Songdo Beach
🏛️ Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Bonus before the short break ends, I was also able to go to a cupsleeve event for Jeonghan’s birthday.
VLOG
Check out the places I have been to during Chuseok!
Studying Korean in South Korea is fun and challenging
I have been studying Korean for quite some time now. But I have always been stopping and not really taking things seriously. Although I have passed my examinations in KCC in the Philippines before, I still have some things I wished I knew before I actually started studying the language.
Although I can somehow understand a lot of conversation already, I still struggle a bit with speaking. As an introvert person who doesn't want to go out usually it's hard for me to practice my Korean speaking skills.
If you have been following me on my social media accounts, you would have known that I moved to South Korea to study. I am one of the recipients of the Global Korea Scholarship. Before I start my Master's, I am required to take one year of Korean Language and pass the TOPIK 2 Level 3.
This is how my first term went...
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| My classmates with my teacher Lee Dong Yeon |
That's the first thing that I can say. Everyone else is born in the 2000s. I'm the only one born in the 1990s. Although there's a huge difference in age, I didn't feel it. I felt like I was one of them.
But to be honest, it was a bit hard communicating. Most of them are Vietnamese and they don't speak English. And since we're still in level 2, we're not yet that fluent in Korean as well. But we're all trying.
The class was fun thanks to our loving teachers, Lee Dong Yeon and Kim Mi Ae. I was able to review the things I learned from the past and was able to learn new vocabularies.
Difference with my studies in KCC
There are a lot of similarities from KCC. But at the same time, I also noticed some differences.
First is the schedule. In KCC, my class is only two times a week but here it's everyday. Making the study pace slower, which I personally like because I was able to understand the grammar and vocabulary more.
Another difference is that we also have time to play games and have some cultural activities.
And the last difference that I noticed is that all the teachers here do not speak in English during class. They do their best not to explain it in English but in pure Korean which I believe is helpful. Although there are times I still need the English translation to understand more.
Moving Up Ceremony
I received an award as one of the students who have a perfect attendance. Because of this, I got a powerbank from the university which I can really use. Inspires me to have a perfect attendance again next term.
Overall Experience
I had a great experience during my first term in studying the Korean language. I believe that I have learned a lot and now am able to create paragraphs in pure Korean.
I still have three more terms and I hope my experience will be the same as the first one.
A Day in Busan
I have been really busy the past days with a lot of things and it was only until now was I able to edit this vlog - A Day in Busan. This isn't actually what happens to me everyday because my typical day has a different cycle. But still, I would like to share with you the things I do if I'm not studying or if I'm not in my dormitory.
In this vlog, I went to Mabuhay Restaurant, Gwangalli Beach to visit some photo spots of Jeonghan, and did some noraebang.
VLOG:
I still have a lot of Korea vlogs to come and I hope you can subscribe to my Youtube Channel.
I attended Jeonghan's cupsleeve event in South Korea
I used to attend cupsleeve events in the Philippines. Not all the time, though. But I had attended such events. When I saw that there will be a cupsleeve event for Jeonghan's birthday and it was near my place, I decided to visit it.
What is a cupsleeve event?
Cupsleeve event is an event to celebrate an artist's birthday, anniversary, or a special occasion. At first, these events were handled by fansites or fanclubs of the certain artist. But recently, anyone can handle their own cupsleeve events.
These kinds of events allow you to enjoy your drinks while meeting other fellow fans. Aside from that, you will also receive freebies from the handler of the cupsleeve events. Just note that these freebies may run out immediately.
My experience attending a cupsleeve event in South Korea
I went to this event a little bit late because of my schedule. If I'm not mistaken, I went here on the last day. Therefore, the cupsleeve itself no longer has stocks and I only received few freebies.
But it doesn't matter to me actually.
The important thing here is that I was able to celebrate Jeonghan's birthday and support my fellow Carat's preparation for this event.
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| They were streaming Seventeen's concerts/fanmeets |
In comparison to Philippine cupsleeve events, there is usually a program where you can play games with your fellow fans, win prizes, and just have fun. More like a gathering.
I was with my fellow GKS scholar, Uldana. Like what I have mentioned earlier, you will receive freebies for this event. I got postcards and photoprints.
The funny thing is, I forgot to take a photo of the drink itself because I was too focused on the concert that they were streaming.
Overall, I enjoyed my first cupsleeve event in South Korea and I hope this won't be the last event that I can attend to.
MINI VLOG
Here's is my mini vlog of the event
@annyeongruth I went to a cupsleeve event for Jeonghan’s birthday here in South Korea! Happy Jeonghan Day! (I was supposed to post it yesterday but forgot 🤣) #kpop #seventeen #jeonghan #southkorea ♬ Ima -Even if the world ends tomorrow- - SEVENTEEN
I went here early October but I just posted this on my blog now. I have been so busy recently and I haven't found the time to do my online contents. But I'm slowly updating it all.
