Korea, 2015 : Petit France, Nami Island, & Everland

My dream of going to Korea (the land of K-Pop) was finally fulfilled this year. So the whole family, together with some family friends, went on a guided tour to Korea back in April. The tour was already planned by the agency so all we had to do was follow the itinerary, take photos, eat, and sleep. Since it’s my first time, I guess a guided tour was okay since it allowed us to get into and see iconic spots hassle-free!

Day 1 | Petit France , Nami Island

Our first stop RIGHT AFTER ARRIVING IN KOREA wasn’t our hotel. No, no. The tour immediately began after we touched down. It was a pretty tiring day for all of us since we only got to rest on the plane. But anyways, we weren’t headed for Seoul. We had to go to Gyeonggi-do to visit the first stop on our itinerary.

Petite France (쁘띠프랑스) is one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit ever since I saw the place on My Love From Another Star. A small, french themed village out in the mountains is the perfect place to take photos! And that’s exactly what my parents did. Haha!

The next stop on our tour was Nami Island. We had a delicious Dak Galbi lunch at the pier before cruising to the island.

Nami Island is another place where a famous Korean drama was shot in. Though I haven’t seen Winter Sonata, it was here where the actors spent a lot of time together.

A leisurely walk around the island will take around 2 or 3 hours, and since we were on a tight schedule, we opted to rent bikes. It was, honestly, a very fun experience riding a bike around the island. It just felt so dramatic especially since the island was very breathtaking.

With trees towering all around you, air as fresh as can be, and the most perfect weather, it was definitely a relaxing place to be. I hope to visit the island during the fall season, when the leaves are all dyed different colours of red, yellow, and orange.

Day 2 : Everland | Kimchi Making | Hanbok Wearing

Our hotel, which I found out was a ski resort, was beyond words. It was mostly deserted because there wasn’t any snow anymore for skiing, so the place felt like our very own playground.

But, again, since we were on a schedule, we didn’t have time to explore except for breakfast. Our first stop on the second day was Everland.

Everland is South Korea’s largest theme park. And, oh boy, was it massive. I don’t think we had enough time to explore every section of the park! Waiting in line for T Express (Korea’s first and largest wooden roller coaster) definitely ate up most of our time, but it was worth it! Plus, we got my mom and my god mother to ride with us. That was priceless. I think I screamed more than they did.

We didn’t get photos or videos of the ride (though I planned to use my GoPro to record it all) because it wasn’t allowed.

Here are some photos we took in Everland!

The tulips were in full bloom and they were beautiful.

We also found this really great snack inside the park. I can’t exactly remember the correct name but it’s basically dried squid (but soft) with a peanut butter flavour. Sounds disgusting but it was really delicious. We couldn’t get enough!

And since couple shirts or matching shirts weren’t an awkward thing in Korea, my sisters and I decided we’d do it!

And here we are with our tour guide, Cathy! (Codename: Free Wi-Fi) She was the friendliest, funniest, most helpful guide ever! We would have been so lost (and wifi-less) without her!

After Everland, we were taken to the Kimchi making place. It was fun and educational and for a good cause! I think mom enjoyed it a lot!

In the same building, we finally got to try on traditional Korean Hanbok. Here’s mom and dad being all colourful.

And here’s my version! Mom said I look like a farmer. =,=“

We ended our day with a delicious dinner, filling ourselves to get us ready for our trip back to Seoul the following day.

My Korea Trip:

Part 2 – Namsan Tower, Lotte World, Gyeongbokgung Palace

Part 3 – Myeongdong, Hongdae, Insa-dong