Travelogues : Bukchon, Bukchong Village, Gwangjang Market
It’s my first trip to Korea and I’ve been planning this for about 10 months now. Feeling excited just thinking that the language that I’ve been learning for the past 2 years will finally be put to use. Me being a person who dislikes conformity, have planned this trip to be about sightseeing; no shopping and no chap chye (잡채) or bbq pork; I’m going to discover what’s really Korean food. I had planned to visit 5 cities in just 13 days so it took me quite some time to do research on the logistics (*spoilers: we could have prepared better but in the end we still had to improvise).
It is the start of autumn and my first destination was Seoul. I had been following an organisation, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and they have like a guesthouse in Bukchon (북촌) which is famous for their Hanok Village (한옥마을); I made my mind to lodge there as soon as I confirmed that I was going to Korea. I wanted to experience a very traditional accomodation and as you can see, it’s a nice Hanok (한옥) styled guesthouse with a nice garden with some of the herbs and vegetables they planted.
It is the start of autumn and my first destination was Seoul. I had been following an organisation, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and they have like a guesthouse in Bukchon (북촌) which is famous for their Hanok Village (한옥마을); I made my mind to lodge there as soon as I confirmed that I was going to Korea. I wanted to experience a very traditional accomodation and as you can see, it’s a nice Hanok (한옥) styled guesthouse with a nice garden with some of the herbs and vegetables they planted.
We arrived later than the check-in time. The host was kind enough to leave us a message on the door with the password (Seoul is quite safe!) and we let ourselves in. I had booked an ondol (“heated floor”) room with shared bathroom facilities at KRW110,000 a night. The heated floor was very comfortable as it was cold in autumn.
The next morning, breakfast was self-serviced. Since this is an organic farming guesthouse, they served organic food too! The night before, the host had baked some organic bread which we simply cut and helped ourselves to. I also opened the fridge and got some organic soy milk and eggs for ourselves. I pan-fried the egg to sunny side up and voilà! Breakfast was served.
The next morning, breakfast was self-serviced. Since this is an organic farming guesthouse, they served organic food too! The night before, the host had baked some organic bread which we simply cut and helped ourselves to. I also opened the fridge and got some organic soy milk and eggs for ourselves. I pan-fried the egg to sunny side up and voilà! Breakfast was served.
It got late, so we quickly left the guesthouse and headed to our first destination, Bukchong Village (북정마을).
You might have never heard of it; it’s one of Seoul’s last Dal Dongnae (Moon Villages), housing some of the country’s poorest people. I heard about his place from “Roommate” (룸메이트). In the episode, the celebrities visited the place to deliver charcoal for the elderly during winter for heating in the house. I was very intrigued by this place and had to visit it!
Bukchong Village isn’t far from Bukchon. We hopped onto the metro and then got into a mini-bus which was challenging for us as we needed to find the right bus and alight at the right stop. When we finally reached the top of the hill and looked down, the view below was amazing!
The main road surrounds the village like an elliptical shape and we didn’t have too much trouble finding our way.
People still living here are mostly elderly and they are quite surprised to see foreigners there. I tried to use my limited Korean to purchase a drink and the people were praising my Korean.
On the way, we saw a few couples sightseeing there too, so maybe this wasn’t as secluded as I thought it would be. We saw an elderly woman escaping from the heat under the Pyeongsang (평상), a Korean outdoor bench resting.
You might have never heard of it; it’s one of Seoul’s last Dal Dongnae (Moon Villages), housing some of the country’s poorest people. I heard about his place from “Roommate” (룸메이트). In the episode, the celebrities visited the place to deliver charcoal for the elderly during winter for heating in the house. I was very intrigued by this place and had to visit it!
Bukchong Village isn’t far from Bukchon. We hopped onto the metro and then got into a mini-bus which was challenging for us as we needed to find the right bus and alight at the right stop. When we finally reached the top of the hill and looked down, the view below was amazing!
The main road surrounds the village like an elliptical shape and we didn’t have too much trouble finding our way.
People still living here are mostly elderly and they are quite surprised to see foreigners there. I tried to use my limited Korean to purchase a drink and the people were praising my Korean.
On the way, we saw a few couples sightseeing there too, so maybe this wasn’t as secluded as I thought it would be. We saw an elderly woman escaping from the heat under the Pyeongsang (평상), a Korean outdoor bench resting.
We got hungry, so we headed towards the next destination I had planned, Gwangjang Market (광장시장).
On arrival, we were spoilt for choice; there were so many things to choose from and they were cheap too!
The first menu on my itinerary was Mayak Kimbap aka “Drug Kimbap” (마약김밥). What made this so special was the mustard sauce that gave a little ‘kick’ to the kimbap. We ordered a Sikhye (식혜) to compliment the kimbap, which really quenched our thirst from the hot sun.
Next on our menu was Bindaetteok, Mung Bean pancakes (빈대떡). It’s quite a popular snack to try in Gwangjang Market. We had to wait for a while for our pancake to be served as there were a lot of people ordering. Finally, our pancakes were served. It’s more crispy than your usual Kimchi pancake and though sweet, you dip it in a onion soy sauce to eat it.
By the time we finished, we were quite full and couldn’t try other things. There were a lot of people selling Sundaeguk “Blood Sausage Soup” (순대국) and I heard they were really good.
Well, we’ll have to go back another time to try it.
Writer : Wei Wei
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On arrival, we were spoilt for choice; there were so many things to choose from and they were cheap too!
The first menu on my itinerary was Mayak Kimbap aka “Drug Kimbap” (마약김밥). What made this so special was the mustard sauce that gave a little ‘kick’ to the kimbap. We ordered a Sikhye (식혜) to compliment the kimbap, which really quenched our thirst from the hot sun.
Next on our menu was Bindaetteok, Mung Bean pancakes (빈대떡). It’s quite a popular snack to try in Gwangjang Market. We had to wait for a while for our pancake to be served as there were a lot of people ordering. Finally, our pancakes were served. It’s more crispy than your usual Kimchi pancake and though sweet, you dip it in a onion soy sauce to eat it.
By the time we finished, we were quite full and couldn’t try other things. There were a lot of people selling Sundaeguk “Blood Sausage Soup” (순대국) and I heard they were really good.
Well, we’ll have to go back another time to try it.
Writer : Wei Wei
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- Travelogues(3) : Thanks Nature Café, N Seoul Tower, Bukchon II
- Travelogues(4) : Myeongdong, Chuncheon
- Travelogues(5) : Gangchon Rail Bike
- Travelogues(6) : Nami Island, Sokcho
- Travelogues(7) : Seoraksan
- Travelogues(8) : Sokcho II, Gangnam
- Travelogues(9) : Yangjae, Gangnam II