[BLOGGER POST] D-9 in Seoul, Korea

Woke up at 9:30AM today because I had to take the subway which took around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Bupyeong. My sister wanted to dine at Hoya's new family restaurant. It was selling pork cutlet before but now they are selling Pork Soup Rice. They also changed their name from 돈까스타 to 돈수백. Left my hostel at around 10:15AM.

Unfortunately, the restaurant is yet to be opened. The grand opening will be on the 29/4. Too bad, she got misleading date from the staff working at the restaurant, saying that she would be able to come on the 28/4 and the restaurant will be ready by then. Anyways, we dined at a nearby restaurant, ate 보쌈. It tasted quite good. We ordered Soy Bean Paste soup (된장찌개) and Kimchi jjigae.

At around 1PM, we took the subway to Nambu. My sister and I was invited to be on Catch The Wave with DJ Adrien. I thought I could have a peep at Aron doing his live recording so I went there early. Sadly, Aron wasn't in today and it was pre recorded. Listening to his voice made my heart beats so damn fast. The voice was so clear I thought he was inside talking. Since I went there 3 hours earlier, I decided to stroll around first then back to the studio later.

Arirang tower

It was raining today, it was windy and very very cold. I stopped by at a nearby Starbucks and chilled there. Oh I went to the Seoul Art Museum too but nothing much to see, or maybe I went to the wrong floor. At around 6PM, I went back to Arirang. DJ Adrien was already in there and I was so nervous. It was fascinating to be in a live studio, seeing how the producers do their job and what does the behind the scenes looked like. Everything was so overwhelming.

Music Access time! but Aron was not in

Corridor with posters

DJ Adrien at work!

I have been listening to Catch The Wave for awhile now because I find Adrien very cute! I like how he laughs when reading the messages sent in by the listeners. Anyway, in the middle of watching Adrien, the producer came to me and did a small interview with me, asking me some basic personal questions and telling what Adrien is going to ask me on air. During the break between, Adrien came out and had a small talk with my sister and I. He was really really friendly. I didn't know he looked soooo good in person!

His voice is so nice to hear, just like how I've heard him on air. We had some interesting talk ;)
I'll skip the interview part cause I'll upload the mp3 version of it later.

NU'EST's picture appeared on the screen since I requested NU'EST - Hello 

Adrien took selcas with me after Catch The Wave ended. His face was so red and he said he was sick. How can someone be that good looking when one is sick?

Selca with DJ Adrien

It was so hard to leave the studio because Adrien was sooo cute and he kept waving goodbye. So cute ㅠㅠ

A selca in the toilet before leaving

After leaving the studio, I went to Seoul Station to change my train ticket date. I wanted to extend my stay in Seoul and shorten my Busan stay because it was raining in Seoul these few days, I've missed the chance to visit places I have to go before I leave.

It was so late by the time I finish settling the stuffs. I have planned to visit WooHyun's family restaurant but guess I'd have to delay visiting it.

That's all for today. *ok, today's post is mostly about Adrien ㅋㅋㅋ*

 A photo taken by the producer in the studio

No comments

Posted at 11:00 PM |  by Colene Hyori

[BLOGGER POST] D-8 in Seoul, Korea

The weather forecast for today was rainy, I woke up around 11:30AM and get myself ready for some outing. I've planned to visit N Seoul Tower today. It was drizzling here and there but no storms or heavy rain, thank god. I stopped at MyeongDong station and walked towards Pacific Hotel. If you want to take the cable car to the top, take a 10-15 minutes walk up to the small hill road by Pacific Hotel's side. On the way up, you can see cable cards on top of you and just follow the cable lines, it will get you to the cable car station! A round trip costed 8,500\. I took the cable car up. 

Cable car ticket

The cable car station

There were live performance going on and many many travelers from different countries visiting too. There are a few food stalls and cafe at N Seoul Tower so no worries if you get hungry suddenly. There are also a lot of pork cutlet restaurant on your way up to the cable car station. N Seoul Tower is famous for the love lock area where visitors can buy a lock and write some messages on it before locking in on the grills at the locking area. My sister and I shared one because you can write both sides if the lock and one lock costed 8,000\ (around RM 24). We locked it and took pictures of it before leaving. Oh! and a few dramas filmed at N Seoul Tower before. 

N Seoul Tower!

As far as I know, My Love From The Stars filmed here, that's why you can see standees of Kim Soo Hyun at the photo taking area. There are also a few cute benches where couples love to sit at and take pictures. The view is magnificent. It was a waste because it was drizzling and cloudy. I bet the night view is great too! The N Seoul Tower will be light up at night with colourful lights. How romantic!

Love lock with messages

My love lock

A photo on the infamous bench at N Seoul Tower

On my way down after hopping off the cable car, I've stopped by one of the pork cutlet restaurant to try out since the banner showed that "2 days 1 night"'s crew members visited them before. On my way up to the first floor, I can see lots of autographs from various artistes hanging on the wall. Apparently, a lot of artistes have been here before. My sister and I shared 1 portion (costed 8,000\). It tasted really really good! The pork cutlet was quite big and very tasty. I would rate 4/5 for the dish! Worth a try! You should try it only when you are down, not when you are still at N Seoul Tower because the price up there is quite pricey. Pork Cutlet costed 9,900\ and the tornado potato costed 3,000\ up there.

Pork cutlet with rice

Since we are at MyeongDong, I've decided to shop some more! There are a lot of cosmetic shops at MyeongDong. Just in one stretch of street, there are at least 3 Nature Republic. I don't know how many are there in the whole MyeongDong shopping area, probably around 10 branches? Anyway, I went into The Saem and bought some beauty products for my mom. It was pricey but yeah, they gave me lots of free gifts too.

NU'EST merchandises

So excited to see NU'EST official merchandises

I also had my dinner at MyeongDong, it is a famous restaurant called Myeong Dong Kyo Ja (명동교자). I had the Kalguksu (hand-rolled noodle soup) and Mandu (steamed dumplings), one portion each. It was just nice for two person. You can easily locate it once you exit from Myeong Dong station exit 8. It is a small restaurant but the food is very nice! Both of the dishes deserve a 4.8/5 rate from me :) It costed 16,000\ for both dishes. The weird thing is that you have to pay as soon as you order before they serve you your food. I guess it is because people come in and leave very constantly so it is better for them to get the money first just in case they lost count. You can get more details of the restaurant, the history and directions here
(http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=349046)

Hand-rolled noodle soup

Mandu

Hmm, not much going on today since it was drizzling and windy. Went back to my hostel at 8:30PM.

No comments

Posted at 11:00 PM |  by Colene Hyori

[BLOGGER POST] D-7 in Seoul, Korea

YAY! 26th! It's my mom's birthday, but too bad, I'm still in Korea. This would be the first time I'm gonna miss her birthday and I felt really bad. Anyways, I thought of visit Pledis Entertainment today, it has artistes like NU'EST, After School, Son Dam-bi and Seventeen (not yet debut). Woke up around 11AM today and left hostel at around 1PM. There are 13 stations away from my hostel to Pledis Entertainment so by the time I reach the station and find Pledis, it is already 2PM. I was all excited when I finally saw the label at the front porch because I've saw it in one of the episode of NU'EST LOVE STORY where NU'EST was having barbeque at the parking area and Baekho soaked himself wet when washing the cars. Pledis Entertainment company's building is not like SM or JYP or Cube. It is more like a house than a company which I find it very interesting. Maybe they want their artistes to feel like home even when they are actually working. There is a basement door to the basement and also a front glass door where only staffs can enter. 

The big signboard of Pledis Entertainment

Remember the porch?

Before this, After School's poster was pasted at the front but now, it is NU'EST poster. It felt awesome! I had a peek inside the glass door where the poster was pasted. It is actually the room where tables and chairs are placed and you can see the big flat screen tv on the left. It is like a meeting room. If you have seen all the episodes of NU'EST LOVE STORY or have watched their live streaming, you would definitely recognize it immediately. NU'EST even filmed a parody CF of their official goods and fanclub items in that room! (Not sure if I am allowed to upload the photo of it so I'm not going to) 

Gifts and fan letters

Selca at Pledis Entertainment

I've tried to ring the bell in front but nobody came out. I have some gifts and fan letters for NU'EST and I've waited in front the company for 2 hours. Then, a car came in. Out walked two individuals, one male one female, they went in through the front door. I thought Aron might be stopping by since his Music Access live radio ends at 4PM and he might arrive here around 4:30PM but I was wrong, he didn't show up at all. After 30 minutes, the two individuals came out, holding a baby, and drove off. I regretted. Why didn't I approach them and at least hand them the gifts so that they could help me pass it to NU'EST.

Beautiful garden

Since I have time, I've decided to wait for them. My sister went to Hoya's restaurant because it was supposed to be their new restaurant's grand opening day but they postponed it because the restaurant is not fully operating yet. She came to Pledis after visiting Hoya's family to meet me. It was around 5:30PM at that time. I was so hungry and tired and cold. Luckily the company is located at a housing area, not many are walking by so I feel less awkward, sitting alone across the street. Around 6PM, my sister arrived. She brought me some bread from Paris Baguette. 

Baekho, where are you?

The Stairway to heaven? :D

One last picture before leaving Pledis

While I was waiting, I took another walk into the parking area of Pledis Entertainment, took more photos and videos since god knows when I'm gonna be back. I was so tired and decided to leave for dinner. Then, the minute I step out from the parking area, a black car came in. My heart pounded so fast, the windows were so tinted and the car was huge. I thought NU'EST might be inside. I was all excited and then, a male staff came out. He saw me standing behind the car after he parked so he asked whether am I waiting for NU'EST
*Idk why he guessed NU'EST instead of other artistes haha maybe I love them so much it is all over my face*, and of course, I said yes. Then he said "AHH, NU'EST is not coming today (in Korean)!" then I was like "HARR? Not coming?" "NU'EST is not coming today (in Korean)" then he crossed his arms and gave me an "x" sign, saying they are not coming today. Sadly, I asked him whether can he pass the gifts for me. He said yes and asked whether which is for whom. After I told him, he said okay. I said thank you and then he went into the basement. I assumed that the basement is NU'EST's practice room, that GREEN practice room! :) Since I am going to Arirang Tower on 28th, I shall try to meet Aron there!

After leaving Pledis, I went to Namdaemun for some more shopping. My aunt asked me to buy her stuffs she didn't manage to buy before she left Korea. I've went around Namdaemun with my sored legs, trying to find it and negotiating with the sellers. Luckily, I've managed to buy it in the end. There are a lot of food stalls at Namdaemun too but I was too tired to continue walking. On the way back to hostel, I've stopped by at a cafe just a few shops away from my hostel to buy a piece of cake. Since today is my mom's birthday, I bought a cake, a flavour that she would like so much - Chocolate Almond Cake and it costed 4,500\ for a piece, to celebrate with my sister here in Korea. We recorded a video of us, wishing my mom a Happy Birthday and showed her the cake we bought.

After "celebrating" her birthday, I finally went back to my hostel. I've asked the hostel staff to order Jjambong for me for dinnner! I had jjajangmyeon yesterday so today, it is jjambong's turn. Otehr than jjambong, I've also ordered fried dumplings. One jjambong costed 5,000\ while one portion of fried dumplings costed 5,500\. The jjambong was spicy but really really nice. The portion was big like the jjajangmyeon I had. Well, yeah, we didn't manage to finish the dumplings but I shoved the jjambong into my stomach. The delivery was within 15 minutes, or like 10 minutes? It was really efficient. 

JjamBong, with octopus, mussels, onions, vegetables, clams and noodle *a little spicy*

Mandu

Oh yeah! there was also a "mourning walk" going on outside my hostel's main road. Many monks and prayers were holding lanterns, walking on the road while chanting. There were also many volunteers, distributing lit latterns to form big Korean letters on the road. It looked so beautiful. Many visitors and travellers wrote wishes and blessings on a yellow ribbon for the Sewol ferry incident victims and family. It was sad and beautiful at the same time. Roads are blocked everywhere, i have no idea how the delivery man came in.

Lots of people walking with the monks and volunteers

Lanterns were lit up to form big hangul words on the road

No comments

Posted at 11:00 PM |  by Colene Hyori

AlphaBAT showcase and audition in search of the 10th member

AlphaBAT, a nine-members rookie kpop group were here in Malaysia mainly to hold their showcase and to find their 10th member through audition. The members' named themselves using the alphabets from B to J. They are B:eta, C:ode,D:elta, E:psilon, F:ie, G:amma, H:eta, I:ota and J:eta.

On 27th, before AlphaBAT showcase at The Summit USJ started, there was an audition in search of AlphaBAT's 10th member. There were 10 qualified contestants that were chosen from the video submissions sent to New Pro Star through email. Contestants showed their talents to the judges, representatives of SimTong Korea management. The contestants tried to follow all requests given by the judges. There were some contestants that were nervous while some made the crowd cheered.

After the audition ended, there was an opening dance performance by the local kids dance team ‘Bubblecandy’. It was interesting.

The first song that was brought by AlphaBAT on the stage was TVXQ's Love In The Ice. AlphaBAT's leader B:eta said that they didn’t know they were that famous and so many people at showed up at the showcase. He kindly thanked everybody for the support. He further mentioned that Malaysia is a beautiful country and the girls are beautiful too (Well, that is what most of the groups say when they were asked). 

The second song was "Always", the lyrics were written by all of the members while the song was composed by AlphaBAT's leader B:eta, dedicating it to their fans.

During the break, fans were chosen on stage by AlphaBAT for some game sessions. The winners will be getting handmade soap made by AlphaBAT. It was a White Day present to their fans. How sweet. They resumed their performance after the game session.

They sang their debut song called "AB City" and their latest song "Ddanddara". It was very catchy and they have powerful choreography to go with the song. They were stunningly in sync. Other than that, AlphaBAT performed songs sang by other kpop groups such as Beast's Fiction and Infinite's Nothing's Over.

Leader, B:eta said that they feel very happy to be here. Malaysia is their first overseas schedule and it is very special to them. 

Before the fansign session started, Alpha (referring to AlphaBAT's fans) had a surprise birthday party for members H:eta, D:elta, and B:eta as their birthday falls on May.

AlphaBAT has definitely captured the hearts of their Malaysian fans. We wish them all the best and hope that they can make it big in the future and come back to Malaysia again.

No comments

Posted at 6:17 PM |  by Colene Hyori

[BLOGGER POST] D-6 in Seoul, Korea

Dirty clothes are compiling and I had to wash them today. Woke up early today at around 8AM because I had to wash the clothes and dry them before going out. It is free to use the washing machine but I have to pay for the dryer and it costed 2,000\. I've waited for the laundry for an hour and the dryer for another 40 minutes. After getting everything ready, it was around 12PM. I've planned to visit Nami Island and Petite France today since the weather forecast for today is sunny. The distance of the station that I should exit to reach Petite France to the station nearest to my hostel took around 1 and a half hour, not including waiting time. I took a lot of time, waiting for the train and transfered line to line. 

A cute old Korean couple on the train, mesmerized by the views

By the time I reach Cheongpyeong, it was already around 2:30PM. After reaching Cheongpyeong station, I had to wait for the shuttle bus that will stop me at Petite France first and then Nami Island. I've waited the shuttle bus for ages. Finally, the bus came. I paid 5,000\ for a one day pass so I can hop on the bus to different location that are listed in the brochure without further paying.

A boring selca at the bus station

A view that you won't see in the middle of Seoul

Bus ticket

Petite France was crowded with K-drama fans as a few hit drama have chose Petite France as one of their filming location. The most popular drama now would be My Love From The Star. You can see lots of posters and banners of the drama hanging around the building in Petite France. The main actor and actress of the drama (Kim Soo Hyun as Do Min Joonand Jeon Ji Hyun as Cheon Song Yi) shared a kiss right at the garden near the entrance of Petite France. Many people were standing there, taking pictures of the sceneries and themselves. Other than My Love From The Star, Secret Garden and Running Man also came here for filming before, and that explains why Petite France is a place that you HAVE to visit when you come to Korea. Other than the most famous spot where Do Min Joon and Cheon Song Yi kissed, there are also many places to explore in Petite France. 

A familiar scene ;)

Petite France

There were puppet shows, souvenir shops, live performance, cafes and many other location for you to take nice pictures. Since I only had kimbap for breakfast, I was hungry at the moment and I've bought an ice cream and a hot dog at a cafe in Petite France. Of couse, it was pricey. The ice cream costed 3,000\ each and the hot dog costed 2,000\. You can see different travellers from all over the country, gathering together with their tour guides.

 Ice cream!

A selca with the ice cream, see how tall it is

In order to catch the bus to Nami Island, I have to leave Petite France after stopping there and taking pictures for around one and a half hour. The entrance fee for Petite France is 10,000\. Fortunately, I manage to catch the puppet show right before the bus to Nami Island arrive. So, the bus to Nami Island took around 20 minutes from Petite France. If you want to visit Nami Island only and do not want to stop by at Petite France, it would be better for you to exit at Gapyeong station instead of Cheongpyeong station because Gapyeong station is just 5 mins away from Nami Island. I had to take a ferry to reach Nami Island, so the bus stopped at the bus station where I have to walk down to the immigration center to buy the entrance ticket (8,000\) to Nami Island and wait for the ferry at the dock. The ferry ride took around 5 mins. 

On the ferry to Nami Island

Nami Island was very beautiful! You can spot a lot of couples spending their time, strolling around the stretch of roads. As you know, Winter Sonata, the iconic K-drama was filmed there at the very stretch of lane with trees covering the road like a shelter. It is a good location to take pictures during noon or before the sun set. While I was there, taking my pictures, I saw a newly wed couple, taking their wedding photos at the exact location where Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo filmed for Winter Sonata. Since it is spring now, all I see is tall green trees and sandy roads. If I were to visit here during the winter, I bet it would be covered in snow and it would look really beautiful too.

Selca at Nami Island

Selca with my sister

I've decided to take the taxi to Gapyeong station from Nami Island so I would have more time walking around, taking more pictures, rather than rushing myself to catch the last bus back to Gapyeong station. I've spent more than 2 hours at Nami Island. I left around 8PM and I couldn't see any taxi or buses anymore. There were a few travellers, waiting at the bus stop, hoping to catch a taxi. Then, a lady stopped in front of the station and told us that there will not be any buses or taxis stopping by at the hour and all of us freaked out. The lady offered to bring some of the travellers to the station since she was heading that way too. 4 of them hopped on and we were still left behind. 3 Koreans standing beside me asked where I was going and they wanted to share a taxi with my sister and I if there is a taxi later on. Of course we agreed to. But it is not allowed for taxi drivers to load 5 passengers in a taxi so we had to ask permission from the driver. Not long later, a taxi stopped at the station and my sister and I hopped on. The 3 other girls asked whether if the driver could bring all 5 of us to the station. The driver refused to and said there will be more taxis stopping by later so the 3 Korean girls decided to wait for the next taxi. The taxi costed 3,100\ from Nami Island to Gapyeong station. I was relieved that I arrived safely at a station instead of being isolated at a desert-like place in the middle of the night. It was tiring, having to take the subway for around 1 and a half hour to reach Jonggak. I nearly fell asleep in the subway on the way back.

I've actualy planned to visit Namdaemun and have dinner at the area but it will be late by the time we reach there. So I headed back to my hostel. Since I hadn't have dinner yet, I've asked the staff working at the information counter of my hostel to order 2 jjajangmyeon for me(I haven't tried any delivery food in Korea yet). It costed 9,000\ for two. It was quite delicious but tasted a little bit sweeter than the one I had in Malaysia. The jjajangmyeon wasn't really big but if you weren't that hungry, you won't be able to finish the whole thing up. I actually stuffed all of it into my stomach because I don't want to waste any of it tho I was really full at the time. 

Jjajangmyeon with sides (pickles and raw onions)

After stirring the noodle with the sauce...yumyum

Well, that pretty much sums up my day. The pictures taken at Nami Island are so beautiful, I'm so happy.

No comments

Posted at 11:00 PM |  by Colene Hyori