October 25, 2017 | Third day of our Autumn experience in South Korea.
CHANGDEOKGUNG PALACE
Changdeokgung or also known as Changdeok Palace is one of the most well preserved, giving it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is located within a large park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
VISITORS INFORMATION
Operating Hours Feb-May, Sep-Oct 09:00-18:00 Jun-Aug 09:00-18:30 Nov-Jan 09:00-17:30 * Closed on Mondays
* Tickets can be purchased prior to one hour before the palace closes Admission Fees The Palace Admission Adults: 3,000 won / Youth 1,000 won
Group (10 persons or more): 2,400 won
Due to some time constraints, we were not able to fully explore the place. Well, we just made sure that we will be able to see the Secret Garden. Upon entering the Donhwa-mun Gate we went straight ahead to the Secret Garden Entrance. We were only able to see glimpse of some structures inside the palace.
DONHWAMUN (Main Gate of Changdeokgung)
SUKJANGMUN (The North Gate)
HUIJEONGDANG: King's Residence
SEONGJEONGGAK: Crown Prince's Study
HUWON (Secret Garden)
Since we only have a limited time exploring the place, we opted to tour the place on our own. However, you can actually have The Secret Garden Tours. Please see details below:
Korean 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 (Mar-Oct), 16:30 (Jun-Aug)
English 10:30, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 (Feb-Nov)
Chinese 12:30
Japanese 13:30
BUYONGJI POND
YEONGHWADANG HALL
AERYEONJI POND
YEONGYEONGDANG COMPLEX
Our way out of the Secret Garden
ONEDAY HANBOK RENTAL
We are scheduled to get our Hanbok rentals at 12NN. We walked from Changdeokgung Palace to Oneday Hanbok (Hanbok Rental place) which is located at 2nd Floor, 4 Bukchonro5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. We got our vouchers for our Hanbok rental via Klook. We were accommodated right away upon presenting the vouchers to the receptionist. Our rental was good for 4 hours.
BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE
Bukchon Hanok Village is a Korean traditional village in Seoul. You will see hundreds of Korea's traditional houses, or "hanok" in this. Bukchon, or "northern village", is surrounded by Seoul's landmarks Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace and Jongmyo Royal Shrine. Today, these hanoks are used as a traditional culture center (residential, guesthouses, restaurants, tea houses) allowing visitors to immerse themselves in Korean tradition and experience the atmosphere of the Joseon Dynasty.
Wearing our hanbok, we walked in the alleys of this village. It was such a nice experience.
We had our lunch in a small restaurant beside the Art Sonje Center in Sogyeok-dong. The food is a bit pricey compared to other small restaurants that we have visited but I swear the price is just right. My friends and I really enjoyed the food.
GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE
This palace is the largest among the five palaces. Gyeongbokgung is commonly referred to as the Northern Palace due to its location is furthest north compared to other neighboring palaces. This was served as the home of the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty.
Operating Hours January-February 09:00-17:00 March-May 09:00-18:00 June-August 09:00-18:30 September-October 09:00-18:00 November-December 09:00-17:00 * Last admission: 1 hr before closing * Operating hours are subject to change depending on conditions or circumstances.
Admission Fees [Korean Citizens] Adults (ages 25-64): 3,000 won / Groups (10 people or more): 2,400 won [International Visitors] Adults (ages 19-64): 3,000 won / Groups (10 people or more): 2,400 won Children (ages 7-18): 1,500 won / Groups (10 people or more): 1,200 won
Unfortunately, we were not able to fully explore this palace due to an incident happened to one of my friends while we were inside the palace. We just made the most of our stay. We did not pay anything when we entered the palace. Admission fee was free since we were wearing hanbok.
NATIONAL FOLK MUSEUM OF KOREA
Hyangmon-jeong was under renovation that time (sad...). We went to a small complex near Hyangmon-jeong instead.
DUKSUNG GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL
After our 4 tour wearing our hanbok, we went back to Oneday Hanbok to change and get our things. We stopped by a near convenient store to buy some stuff/ food then headed to Duksung Girls' High School. This is location shoot where Goblin and Eun Tak met the first time. It is an alley in between Duk Sung Girls' High School and Pung Moon Girls' High School near Anguk Station. Though it was already dark we still managed to get some photos hehehe...
MYEONG-DONG
Seoul’s main shopping district, dotted with boutiques and department stores. Aside from the beauty stores, you can also visit this place if you wish to try Korean street food. An army of street food vendors can be seen during the night time.
We were so tired and hungry when we reached Myeong-dong. We were not able to look for a place to eat decently so we just tried the Korean street foods and also managed to buy a couple of beauty products too. Some stores offer tax refund if you will be able to buy at least 30,000 won worth of products. Beauty stores offers free sample (like face masks). Store clerks would give them away to lure you inside the stores. Just be wise and make sure to buy the things that you need especially if you're on a budgeted trip like me.
