What you need to know before travelling to South Korea

1. Incheon Airport
See a huge crowd surrounding the departure or arrival gate at Incheon Airport? Then you better run towards there to have a look. Reason being, it is the perfect chance to get up close to a celebrity as some of the celebrity would not be taking the secret gate. Who knows? You might run into Big Bang on the day you arrive in Korea. ><

2. T-Money (Transit card)
For buses, you can actually pay the fare for 2 using just one T-money card. All you have to do is to inform the bus driver by saying 두명 (tu myeong) and the bus driver would make the necessary arrangement before asking you to tap the card.

3. Summer Sales (especially at H&M and Uniqlo)
Depending on when summer arrives in Korea & Japan, there would be huge, crazy sales at well-known brands which would reduces their prices < 50%. For H&M, there are sales whereby shoes and clothes would be sold at the price of 5,000 won. I have recently bought a bag that costs 10,000 won when its original price was 60,000 won. That's indeed a good deal.

P/s: During summer, the weather may turn excruciating warm in the day and cooling in the night but not to forget that it is the rainy season as well. So, don't forget to bring your umbrella with you apart from your shopping bags.

4. Chicken + Maekju (Beer) = 치맥 (Chimaek)
Apart from Korea's drinking culture, 치맥 (Chimaek) drinking is intensively popular among the local with its unique combination of fried chicken served with glasses of beer to compliment the taste of the food and side dishes. The phrase 치맥 (Chimaek) derives from the first syllabus of the word Chicken and Maekju. Alternatively, you can replace soju with beet and there are several other unique drinking style such as mixing soju with beer at a ratio of 3:7.

5. Fruit-flavoured Soju &Makkoli (Rice wine)
Apart from having side dishes on the dining table, Koreans enjoy drinking so much that you would not be surprised to see glasses of drinks on the table while they enjoy their meals. Manufacturers have diversify the Soju and Makkoli by introducing multiple fruit-flavoured soju such as grapefruit, peach etc as well as the latest banana-flavored Makkoli released on 2016.

6. Service 
"Service" in Korea generally mean in-house / free of charge / complimentary. This is generally used in eateries or street food stall as some of the stall owners would welcome foreigners by getting you other food items while saying "service".

7. Weather Forecast 
Knowing the climate and weather of the district that you are planning to visit would definitely prepare you well for your trip. Hence, I would recommend visiting the official website managed by Korea Metrological Administration - http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/

Information regarding the seasonal climate can be found here: http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/biz/climate_01.jsp

Seoul Grand Park, South Korea

On summer 2016, i embarked on a journey down to Seoul Grand Park to witness the beauty of the Seoul Grand Park Rose Walking Festival which is located within the Rose Theme Garden . Seoul Grand Park comprises of zoos, theme garden and a theme park that is widely visited by the locals. This park is definitely a hidden gem well loved by the locals for a family outing or hiking trips which i would recommend it if you are seeking for a out-of-ordinary adventure that is close to the locals' way of living in Korea.

Giraffe Land

기린 나라 (Giraffe Land)

While making our way up to the garden, we stumbled upon the a building that looks like a magnified grey bowling bowl with the word 기린 나라 (Giraffe Land) written on it.Based on the name of the attraction (Giraffe Land), i naturally assumed that it was one of the zoos that specialized in giraffe. To my surprise after searching on the net, it is actually a theme park meant for children.  I am glad that we decided to give this attraction a miss.

The Little Prince

Theme Garden & Children Zoo

The main attraction for me to visit was definitely the rose theme garden to admire the various species of roses and flowers. The special event for Summer 2016 was the additional of sculptures from the well-known novel, The Little Prince. Within the theme garden, there is a Kids Zoo that houses animals such as goats, donkeys, rabbits etc  to educate the public on the various animals and spreading awareness of wildlife conservation. Do not missed the chance to visit the Japanese monkeys in the Kids Zoo!

Tickets can be purchased at the counters with prices ranging from 1,000 won to 2,000 won. For more details: http://grandpark.seoul.go.kr/eng_grand/tema/enjoy/enjoy01.jsp

Seoul Land

Families with children may wish to visit Seoul Land which is an amusement park that has various rides and performance at a smaller scale as compared to Everland and Lotte World. For Singaporean, it is akin to "Escape Theme Park" rather than USS which is widely visited by the locals during our time. If you know what i mean. :)

How to get there? 

Line 4 (Light blue) : Seoul Grand Park Station

1. Simply take the subway and alight at 대공원, Seoul Grand Park 
2. Upon alighting, turn right to exit the station
3. Walk straight up and you will be able to find the directory

You will be greeted by this view upon exiting the station via the escalator

Directory of Seoul Grand Park

Getting around 

Elephant Train Station

• You may choose to either walk/hike/ cycle around the park by turning to the right upon seeing the Elephant Train Station to embark on your journey to the gardens and zoos.
• Alternatively, you may visit the Elephant Train Station to purchase tickets for a ride around the parks that makes various stops at different attractions.
  • Tickets ranges from 700 won to 1,000 won for each demographic.
  • For more details:  http://grandpark.seoul.go.kr/eng_grand/grand/contact/contact03.jsp

Sky Lift (The building pictured on the right)

• There are cable car services where you can purchase tickets at the Sky Lift building. (refer to the above picture)
• For more details http://grandpark.seoul.go.kr/eng_grand/grand/contact/contact03_2.jsp