Moran Traditional Market

Moran traditional market located in Seongnam city is has a great 50 year history. Kim Chang-suk developed the area after she came to there from Pyeongyang, leaving her morther behind. She named it Moran (meaning Peony Flower) since the area reminded her of Peony Peak in Pyeongyang.

Moran Market is open every 5 days for people to trade daily goods, and is a market bustling with people who visit for shopping and food.

Location

Moran Market is located near Moran station exit 5, so it can be easily reached from everywhere in Seoul. The Market runs every 4th 9th, 14th, 24th and the 29th of the month. 

Korea's best Season: What to do in Fall.

My absolute favorite season in Korea is fall. Skies are bright blue. The weather is nice, and I can dress up nicely without having to worry about sweating of my make-up. Especially when I indulge in an activity that I thorougly enjoy, walking around and getting lost in wonderous new areas.

Seoul Grand Park

A perfect place to enjoy walking around in my favorite season is Seoul Grand Park, located a convenient subway ride away, just outside of the Seoul metropolitan area.

Bring your camera and go up Seoul Grand Park Forest park, which is a narrow path that takes visitors up and down the park's trails. The entrance point can be found behind the Forest Exhibition Center (to the right side of the main entrance of the Seoul Zoo in Seoul Grand Park), and another behind the Australian Pavilion.

Enjoy the changing of the color of the leaves, the fresh air, and the beautiful scenery in as little as 50 minutes or take the long route that takes 2,5 hours.

What is your favorite activity in Fall?

Love, Wietske

Must do: Hanok Stay

One of the things I recommend everyone doing when they visit Korea is to stay in a hanok for a couple of days. For many of you sleeping on the floor seems like an uncomfortable feet, and during the cooler months you would probably think you will freeze to death. However, hanoks are extremely comfortable with floor heating, and before you know it you will not want to get up from the floor.

Chi Ong Art Gallery

five-person room

You can do Hanok Stays all over country, however if you don't have much time to travel why not stay in the Gyeonggi area which is in close proximity of Seoul..Chi Ong Art Gallery in beautiful Gapyeong, offers three, five and even ten-person rooms. Very simple and clean but equipped with the a modern kitchen and bathroom for extra comfort.

Activities

café ongongya

Chi Ong Art Gallery also offers activites for very reasonable prices, things such as Ddeok (Korean glutonous ricecake) and the making of tofu and many others. And it also has a very cozy looking coffeeshop that is open everyday from 9.30 am till 10 p.m. which doesn't only serve tea and coffee but also has wine, beer and of course the side dishes that go with them

How to get there

The easiest way to get there is with the subway, or bus. You can take the bus towards cheongpyeong from the dongseoul terminal, or bus 1330 from cheongryangli station and also get out at cheongpyeong station. From there take the bus that goes to sumokwon and get of at the chi ong arts gallery.

For recent prices and online reservation please check the website.

Love, Wieske

Feel #Gyeonggi: My Favorite Summer Activity

*edit* 2015-9-6  I have unfortunately been informed that Wolmi-Do is in fact nog in Gyeonggi. I am truely sorry for this mistake. However I still recommend you reading this article and going to Wolmi Island!

With only one more day of school, and 1 exam, left in this semester I have started making plans of what to do this summer. I want to explore many new places in Seoul and #Gyeonggi, however there is on thing on my to do list that I do almost every single summer when I am in Korea. And that is make yet another trip to Wolmi-Do.

 

Photo Credit: http://HappyDalki.blogspot.com

 

Wolmi-do is located roughly 1km off the coast of Incheon, right next to the sea which gives it a nice breeze, perfect for those hot summer days! And it is fairly easy to get to as well it is only 10 minutes by taxi or can take the subway and then get off at Incheon Station (Seoul Subway Line 1).When exiting the station, take local bus from either 2, 15, 23 or 45 bound to Wolmido and get off when Wolmido City Tour, Wolmi Culture Street, or Wolmi Final Bus Stops are announced. (source)

You might be wondering why I would 100% recommend you to go to Wolmi-do. First of all, it is the many great memories I have there. From celebrating my friends 30th birthday and eating aweful sweet potato cake (which my friend loved) too holding on for dear life in the disco ppang ppang while getting made fun of by the guy who runs it.

 

Secondly, I really enjoy the casual atmosphere. Because there is no entrance fee, you only need to pay for separate rides, there is no actually pressure to have fun. The low cost of hanging out at Wolmi-Do means there is also a great mix of people there.

 

There are parents with their little kids. Teens trying to off amongst their friends. Couples sharing cotton candy. Young adults, and older people watching their grand-childeren and living life vigorously trough them.  Honestly, one of my favorite things is to just sit down and watch these people living there life while enjoying the slight breeze.

 

Try running trough the fountains for a quick cooldown

 

However, if you are slightly more adventurous. There are many other ways to cool down - or work up a sweat - depending on what kind of person you are. My personal favorites are the viking or one of the two freefal rides. If you rather stay inside and not work on your tan, there are also a few arcades located on the premises.

 

If you are in Seoul this summer and are hot and bothered, I recommend you go check out Wolmi-Do! Gyoenggi's most underrated amusement park.

 

 

 

If you have been to Wolmi-Do before, let me know which ride you liked best! Or share your favorite summer activity.

 

Love, Wietske

 

p.s. Check out Gyeonngi's Facebook and Twitter.

 

p.p.s. I wrote this article as part of my application to become an #GGKoreasupporter; however I 100% mean everything I said in this article~