Seoul is Where the Heart is! (Part 2)

I know I left out the most important part about Seoul in my last post. Well I've saved the best for last, so enjoy it now. Some of you must be worried about what you are going to do at night in Seoul, right? I thought that Paris is supposed to be known as the City of Lights but it looks like Seoul has wrested that title from her. Don't believe? Just take a look at the videos of Seoul at Night and I'm sure you'll agree with me. Ready to paint the town red? Come follow me. One of the most frequented spots is Lotte World (the most popular Theme Park in Seoul) which has just reopened after a 6 months closure for renovation works. Lotte World consists of an indoor amusement park “Adventure,” a fully air-conditioned indoor theme park where various performances are held after 7:30 pm. and “Magic Island.” an outdoor theme park, featuring lots of thrilling rides such as Gyroswing, Gyrodrop and Waikiki Wave. Scared of heights, then how about taking a walk to the castle for some photographs to show the people back home that you've been to Lotte World. It is best that you spend the earlier part of your visit here at the Magic Island (before 7.30pm) so that you will not miss the performances at the indoor park which starts then. Some of you Korean drama fans may remember that some of the scenes of “Stairway to Heaven” were filmed here. Too old for Theme park? Or maybe you’re feeling too tired after the long walks sightseeing and shopping in the morning, you just want to put your feet up and relax. Aha, I know just what you need. How about a cruise down the Han River through the center of Seoul? As the sun goes down, the Han River becomes a romantic place with the city lights aglow and soft winds blowing in your face. The Han River comes alive as the whole place is transformed into a fairyland with lights shimmering everywhere. It adds romance to the air...You can find many young couples enjoying the ferry cruise boat in the evening hours for this reason. One can choose to sit inside or outside; but you get the best views from the front deck of the boat. It’s even comparable to a cruise down the River Seine in gay Paris! I have a better idea, why don’t you come earlier say around 6pm and have dinner at one of the several floating restaurants that line the river and make it a night to remember. The prices here may be slightly higher than average but the quality of the food and the atmosphere here are worth it. By 7.30pm you would have finished your dinner and be ready to go for that cruise on the Han River. Reservations are not allowed for the cruise, you have to take the next available ferry. Tickets can be purchased up to ten minutes before departure time. Perhaps you had been shopping around Myeong-dong and Jongno, or visiting tourist spots like Deoksugung, Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung palaces, and Jongmyo Shrine in the afternoon. And now it's almost dinner time, instead of going for the river cruise and dinner there, why not have dinner in one of the revolving restaurants in N Seoul Tower on Mt. Namsan nearby. Mt. Namsan is located in the heart of Seoul and from N Seoul Tower one can have great panoramic views of the city. Inside N Seoul Tower is a café, and three restaurants, Sky Restaurant, a Korean restaurant ‘Hancook,’ and the revolving N Grill (western-style restaurant). Located on the top floor of N Seoul Tower, N Grill is a unique revolving restaurant that makes a 360 degree revolution every 48 minutes. Wherever you sit, you can take in a view of Seoul in all four directions. The restaurant is so popular for its romantic dinners and spectacular night views that weekend reservations were completely booked last month. This is one of the top dining restaurants in Seoul to enjoy a great night view. To book a table, it is best to make a phone reservation at least two weeks in advance. So if you're going to be in Seoul for a few days then you won't have a chance to try out N Grill. Although it doesn’t revolve like the N Grill, Hancook is a great place to dine in style. The Sky revolving restaurant was more recently opened on the 1st floor serving Korean food and Western food. It takes 55 minutes for the restaurant to make a 360-degree rotation, so people can view a 360-degree nightscape of Seoul while dining. There’s also a souvenir shop, convenience store, a bakery and a food court in the N Seoul Tower. The Teddy Bear Museum is only open from 1000 - 2200 but last admission is at 2100. To reach the tower on Mt. Namsan, one has to go up by cable car and the ride up is famous for its night view. N Seoul Tower puts on a magnificent electric lighting show from 6 p.m. everyday so hang around to enjoy it. I think once you're up here on Mt Namsan you can forget about going anywhere else for the night. It's so beautiful up there, you don't want to leave! Daehangno Area is THE PLACE to go to if your are a lover of performing arts where you can enjoy unique performances all the year round. Daehangno is Seoul’s theater district. Daehangno is famous as a street of youth and theaters. In the evenings when the whole place is lighted up, it will be packed with mostly youths. During the weekends, the Maronnier Park and its surroundings turn into a performance stage for young talent. The outdoor stage at Maronnier Park is open at all times and many people come here to enjoy an evening of cultural performance. Here you can find performance centers, movie theaters, cafes, restaurants and pubs scattered all over the place. All in all there are about 40 small, medium and large sized theaters where a wide variety of performances are held throughout the year. In Summer this area plays host to the Seoul Theater Festival whilst In Autumn the Performing Arts Festival. As the majority of performances are in Korean, one is advised to check the language availability in advance. But to really appreciate the dynamic and lively culture of Korea, a visit to one of the university districts is highly recommended! The streets around Sinchon, Hongdae, and the Daehangno are popular hot spots and just the mention of their names is enough to get young Koreans excited. The streets around Ewha Woman’s University is a “shoppers paradise”, which can only be rivalled by Dongdaemun market. The Sinchon district is a fun place to hang out with friends, relaxing with a glass of soju or beer. Sinchon, is also known as the Street of Food Festivals. In case you haven’t had dinner yet perhaps you might want to try out the restaurants here. Since the majority of the people who patronize this place are of the younger generation you will find a lot of restaurants here who cater to their tastes in the Western, fusion and Korean Traditional restaurants you can find here.. I have listed some of the typical gourmet restaurants in the area and the type of food served for your guidance:- • GYROS, the first Greek food restaurant in Seoul is famous for its delicious pita bread. The menu includes gyros (roast chicken or pork wrapped in pita bread) and souvlaki (skewered meat and vegetables brushed with olive oil and roasted). • NOLITA , an Italian restaurant which is famous for its pasta and salads • April Lime. If you are a health buff then this is the place for you. The meals here are high in nutrition and low in calories with less fat, sugar and salt. • Sushi California. Sushi rolls is the favorite fusion meal of Korean youngsters because of the great taste, shape, and convenience. At Sushi California, you can enjoy an exciting variety of sushis and sushi rolls. • BaB BaB-jeongsik (regular set) is the most popular choice on the menu, which includes soybean paste soup or tofu soup, nine side dishes including fritters, seasoned pumpkin and bean sprouts, and pan-broiled anchovy. Bibimbap (steamed rice with assorted vegetables) is also popular, tasty and yet inexpensive • Botong Saram This snack bar is best known for its gyeranmari-bap (rice egg-roll) and al-bap (fish-egg rice). You can also enjoy various other choices such as ramyeon, naengmyeon (cold noodles), bokkeumbap (fried rice), kimbap (seaweed sushi), and tonkatsu (Japanese style pork cutlet) • Samho Bokjip specializes in tasty globefish food with fresh fish and vegetables as well as broth. Popular menu includes bok-shabu-shabu (paper- thin slices of globefish and vegetables cooked in a pot of hot broth) and bok-malgeuntang (delicately flavored globefish soup). This snack bar is best known for its gyeranmari-bap (rice egg-roll) and al-bap (fish-egg rice). The area surrounding the Hongik University or Hongdae as it’s known by, is the center of Korea’s youthful nightclubbing and home to Club Day. What is Club Day? On the last Friday of each month, visitors can purchase a ticket for 22,000won, which will give them access to some 22 clubs in this area, including live music clubs and dance clubs. One free drink is also included in this price. Hongdae is famous for its dance clubs and music bars. Every Friday night, the streets around Hongik University are filled with people who come to enjoy the music and dance.. Most of the clubs in Hongdae have their own style and play various genres of music, including jazz, hip-hop, techno, and house. Most of these clubs open around 8pm and remain open until the early hours of the morning. The clubs are generally open every day of the week except Mondays. If Hongdae is for the younger crowd then where do the older generation go to on their clubbing nights? While Itaewon doesn’t have that much in the way of clubs like Hongdae there are definitely good times to be had at Club Spy, Club XO, King Club and the UN Club. Another reason to go to Itaewon bars is to watch international sports. If you’re a fan of rugby, cricket, Formula 1 racing (and to a lesser extent, football), you’ll find that it can be very difficult to get these sports on Korean TV. Numerous bars (including The Hollywood Grill and Scrooge Pub) regularly broadcast these sports on their big screen TVs. These bars are also great places to play pool. While dartboards are fairly common in Korean hofs (beer halls) and neighborhood bars, it’s hard to find pool tables in Seoul Gangnam is an area of many nightclubs, generally of the Korean style. In recent years, a chain of nightclubs in Gangnam called “Don’t Tell Mama” has opened, catering to a clientele of older singles, divorced people back on the dating market or married people looking for some adventure. One can be found behind the Ramada Hotel not far from Seolleung Station. There are also a number of bars and beer halls in Gangnam like Cafe 74, Goshen and ZZYZX Another place that’s a comparatively recent addition to the Seoul clubbing scene is Club Circle in the trendy, pricey Apgujeong area. A former Hard Rock Cafe, it's since been totally restructured and reopened with much fanfare as an upscale, exclusive dance club. Entry costs 20,000 won, and some people have been known to be turned away on the basis of dress or appearance. Drinks and tables are by no means cheap, either, but if you want to hang with Seoul’s “A-list,” this is the place to be. Now I’m going to introduce you to a completely different type of music altogether. Ever heard of Nanta? You will enjoy every minute of it, it's hilarious. Briefly, it’s about how four chefs react the sounds of samullori using all sorts of kitchen utensils as they prepare for a wedding reception in an open kitchen. As they get ready to start the day, the unpleasant manager gives them some unexpected news. Not only do the chefs have to prepare the entire wedding meal by 6pm, but they also have to give the manager’s nephew some cooking lessons. None of them are happy with the situation, but they set out to work. In the process, they must solve a whole array of difficulties. Gradually, the audience and the players become one. Finally, they pull all their ideas together to finish the cream cake, and the ceremony proceeds without any troubles. In the course of the fantastic wedding party, the audience bonds through lots of laughter and humor, the friendly kitchen atmosphere, and above all five characters whose magnetic spirits create the various rhythms and sounds. NANTA first opened its doors to the world in 1997 at the Hoam Theater in Seoul and has been a huge success ever since. In 2001, NANTA became the first Korean performance to open its own theater. It has been proudly recognized for its unique style of traditional Korean percussion. NANTA has held performances in Korea, Japan, USA, and 16 other countries boasting over 1,500,000 viewers outside of Korea with profits estimated around 20 million dollars. What are the secrets behind the success of 'NANTA?' 1. Nonverbal performance charm NANTA has little dialog allowing people of all nationalities to enjoy the performance. People of all ages can enjoy the combination of physical comedy with the rhythmic use of percussion sounds. 2. Audience participation There are many opportunities for the audience to get involved. Audience members especially love the dumpling making contest in which 4 people are brought up on stage to prepare dumplings as fast as they can while being cheered on by the audience. This is always a lively part of the show giving audience members a chance to get involved. 3. Fusion of rhythms From start to end, 'NANTA' has an exciting rhythmic energy. The sounds of Samulnori (Korean traditional percussions) and techno music merge together pleasing all audiences. 4. Ever-changing Over the years NANTA has learned what audiences like, finely tuning the show to keep its performance fresh for international audiences by adding new and exciting scenes. You can catch it at the Nanta Theater - Urim Cheongdam Theater (Gangnam) on Mon. - Tue. : OFF Wed.~ Fri. : 20:00 Sat. : 15:00, 19:00 Sun.:17:00 All these activities still not exciting enough for you? Well then how about trying your hand at Black Jack or Roulette at the casino? Now I can see the gleam in some of your eyes! There are 3 casinos in Seoul, Paradise Walker Hill in Gwangin-gu, two Seven Luck Casinos, one in Gangnam and the other in Gangbuk,. Let’s go to the Seven Luck Casino at the Coex center in Gang-nam. The casino is only open to foreigners, and you are required to show your passport before entering. So I hope you have your passports with you.7Luck Casino offers Baccarat, Roulette, Caribbean Poker, Taisai, Big Wheel, slot machines, video machines, and jumbo machines. Now what are the ladies going to do while the men are gambling? What else but go shopping some more. Although most of the shops and department stores are closed by 9.30pm - 10pm there are some places like Namdaemun Market, which is open till 3am in the morning whilst Dongdaemun Market and Migliore (Dongdaemun) up till 5am.Lining the streets of Dongdaemun are stalls selling shoes, bags, and accessories, many of which are imitations of designer items. You have to try out your bargaining power to get discounted prices. These shops only open at around 9:00pm and stay open until dawn. If you are looking for Korean home appliances, the Jamsil branch of Home plus and the Dongdaemun branch of Home plus are open 24 hrs of the day only closing on Mondays from 12:00am to 10:00am. Where else in the world can you find shopping till the wee hours of the morning? Seoul can be described as the City that Never Sleeps. With this I end today's post.