Soul to Seoul

Assalamualaikum... Blog saya dah berwajah baru!!! Yeay!!!

Dah bagi salam baru boleh greet korean way ~ annyeonghaseyo!!!

I bet with the popularity of K-Pop scene inching upward right now, most of us know what annyeonghaseyo means ~ HELLO KITTY!  Eh silap! H E L L O!!! Ngeeee~

I recently went to South Korea with my fellow colleagues.  I've been dreaming to go to Korea dah lama since tengok cerita Winter Sonata yang sobs tu.  :) Alhamdulillah sampai juga akhirnya tanah kelahiran Samsung. Ramai juga staff yang tak dapat bawa spouse. Tiba2 kitorang jadi single ladies in South Korea yaw for almost a week.

Here are some other useful basic vocabs of Korean language that I have learned before and during our recent awesome trip to Korea. Special thanks to my nephew Zaren Clyde who is currently working there and our fabulous local tour guide, Jennifer for sharing these vocabs.

• Kamsahamnida - Thank you.  The best way to say thanks is to slightly nod while saying Kamsahamnida.  Easy to remember if you relate to Malaysian names like "Kamisah Hamidah"... Use the same gesture to greet Annyeong... tips tips tips!

•  Cheonmaneyo - You're welcome. 

• Yeong eo halsu isseoyo - Can you speak English? The hardest thing to remember and did not use them at all in Korea! Iya2 je menghafal sambil iron baju... :P

• Onni - sister. Kelantanese may define it as "Mek"

• Oppa -  "bro".  Like 'wazzup bro' gitew! Whazzzuppp... Hence that's why the title of Psy's song "Oppa Gangnam Style".  Sorry not my favourite tho...

• Ajumma - A married woman I suppose (more of women in their 50s and above) 

• Ajossi - A married man maybe (more of men in their 50s and above)

• For shopaholics:

1. Olma-eyo - How much
2. Pisayo - Expensive
3. Kaka juseyo - Discount please

Oh wow, macam kelas bahasa Korea pulak... OK... Proceed with the tour please...

Gyeongbok Palace is the largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces which served as the main palace of Joseon Dynasty.  Joseon was the last dynasty of Korean history and the longest-ruling Confucian dynasty.  If you have been to the Forbidden City, Beijing, you might find the similarity of those 2 palaces.  In my humble opinion, Beijing Forbidden Palace nampak lebih cantik maybe because Forbidden Palace was designed with many more colours. Maybe...  

Korean Tradition:

Traditional Korean side dish: Kimchi

We had the chance to learn how to make an easy Kimchi then taste it.  Kimchi is a traditional fermented dish which is made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings.  Tapi ada jugak squid and fish...  Frankly speaking not my kinda food.  Rasa pedas dan pahit macam makan ubat.  I prefer tomyam please...

Our tour leader, Jennifer taught us that the word "KIMCHEEE" is also used when taking pictures just like when you say "CHEESE" to get the most attractive smile when you are posing for a photo... We also learned to pose Korean Gals way... (give a cute peace sign and grin now!) :D 

 Traditional Korean clothing: Hanbok

We also had the chance to try Hanbok costume for freee~ amboi freeloader! Hanbok is a vibrant traditional costume for Koreans and now only worn during national holidays or weddings. To me, Hanbok does not discriminate against plus size people because of its empire cutting. Hence, you kecik ke, you besar ke, tetap menawan bila pakai Hanbok.  How's my fashion statement? :)

N Seoul Tower where your love comes true?

When the bus dropped us off at the entrance of N Seoul Tower, we had to walk up a steep road to the tower.  It looks very similar to our KL tower.  Mengah jugak la.  Many young couples wore the identical shirts, holding hands and wrapped their arms around each other while they walked to the tower.  Ada apa dengan couples ni?  They make promises by buying the colourful love locks, write romantic messages of love then leave locks in specially designated areas around the base tower where now thousands of colourful love locks and pictures of couples are placed there.  We were told that the keys were thrown away to symbolise unbreakable love. Awwwhhh so sweeeet...

Konon kan... Our tour leader kata jangkamasa unbreakable tu tak sampai 3 bulan... Caner tew?... hehehe... 

SHOPPING!

1st night jer dah pegi shopping.  I was extremely tired at the time but ikutkan jugak my colleagues yang memang dah buat research nak pegi jugak2 Go-To-Mall, the Gangnam Underground Shopping Arcade since it's only 10 minutes walk from our hotel.   I don't really fancy the stuff there. Macam uptown je... Macam Pertama Kompleks je... Then again, maybe I was just too tired!  We spent a lot of time at the Nature Republic shop as we had to struggle to speak to the non-english speaking retailers.  We had to learn to use sign language. Serious macam itik dengan ayam.

We also went to Myeong-dong Market if I'm not mistaken on the 3rd night . Haaa... Ni la baru best...  Myeong-dong Market is the awesome place for shopaholics! There are loads and loads of shops seen there.  I saw Uniqlo, Forever 21, Starbucks, PUMA, Adidas and MNG but I found that the attractive shops were those which sell local cosmetics and skin care items. I don't want to go to another Pavilion Mall! I obviously want to enjoy Korean stuff! What to buy there? Facial mask, lip crayon, CC cream and eyeliner with absolutely gorgeous price!

To be continued...