01.25.2011 Deoksugung, Changdeokgung in Secret Garden Palace and Nanta Cooking in South Korea

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Today was all about historical places! Our first visit was Deoksugung palace. Our arrival to the palace only took 10 minute to walk to, and is located right next to one of the subway. We arrived a little earlier than usual so Kaori suggested going to the gift shop to warm up and grab a snack. Backing up a little; the front entrance was boasting with beautiful arrays of colors; from blue, green, yellow, red and more. We walked to the tour location and found out that Kaori and I were the only two for the tour, so it was a personal guided tour. Our tour guides name was Lenny, and she knew it all. She gave a brief history lesson about Japan and South Korea and all the “events” that lead up to today. This temple was occupied by King Seonjo for a temporary time in 1593, which later went under renovations to change the layout to include requisite formal structures. However, the Japanese government began dismantling buildings after the 1910 Japan Annexation Treaty. Our tour was very in depths but quick enough not to catch frost bite. We walked around to all possible spots and found out some very interesting and special facts about the palace. This palace has several spots of interest such as the reception hall for foreign diplomats (Deokhing-Jeon), the only western structure built within the palace walls (Seokjo-jeon), and the emperors sleeping courters (Hamnyeong-jeon). During the winter season the palace has no scheduled guard changes that take place at the palace.

After the Deoksugung palace visit we stopped into Dunking Donuts for a quick warm up then it was off the next destination. We both knew that we needed some extra cash for one of the upcoming night event called Nanta cooking, so we needed to go to the bank for some cash. The banks in Korea have great service and are very generous with conversion rates from Yen to Won. It was afternoon and the hunger bug was creeping up. Since we had authentic Korean food our first night in Korea, we decided to see some international food chain differences. It seems like McDonalds would be a good chance to see differences in three countries. The menu was customized to a Korean audience which included a bulgogi burger and a kimchi item. In light of the local options Kaori and I purchased some bulgogi burgers; took our first bit and just about died. This was extremely good and must recommend for all travels to try. It seems that more and more international food chain locations have the local ideas down, Japan has the American burger, and Korea has the bulgogi burger; what is going on America? With the bulgogi burgers burning in our stomachs, we pushed onto the next palace called Changdeokgung.

Before we could find the palace we got lost, lucky there are locals that were very kind to help us out. Both of the locals spoke English and pointed us in the right direction to the palace. Kaori and I felt the atmosphere in Korea is much more welcoming to foreigners than some other places of travel. Changdeokgung palace consists of two parts that anyone can tour. The first part is entering the palace which is very different from the usual settings for palaces. The palace’s shape and location were unheard of during the time since each location needed to maintained a certain procedure and area. The second part was the Secret Garden in the back of the palace. We chose the Secret Garden tour; it was the most popular and came highly recommended online. Unfortunately, we had a bit more people on the tour but it made for interesting conversations and new people to meet. One couple we met was students from California, they were both traveling to Korea to see some of the family heritage and learn some cultural history. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the palace and Asian culture. She joked about some of the historical events and some cultural differences that were rooted strongly throughout Korea. The rear garden was intended as a place for kings and royal family members to relax, but it was also a venue for various outdoor activities. One site called Yeongyeong-dang is a traditional mansion with separate building for men and women. In the old days even tigers and snow leopards would occasionally appear. The garden cannot be seen all at once, one must walk down the individual paths to the lotus pond and its pavilion in order to truly appreciate the beauty of the gardens. One piece I would like to mention is that one guard always accompanies the party. He would count numbers and somewhat hide in the background making sure no mischief occurred. The secret Garden tour took about an hour to complete with the longest tour path I have experienced. That would make sense since the Secret Garden accounts for 60% of Changdeokgung palace grounds. Kaori, the guide and I were so wrapped up in the tour that we ended up talking about economics and history for the last parts. This is the first winter this tour has been available to the public since it is colder and there is a drop in tourism during this time. The tour ended then it was a rush to get to Nanta Theater in time for the performance.

Kaori and I had some initial beliefs about Nanta Theater and the performance. It cost us 50,000 Won ($50) per person, but I found a student discount and managed to get 10,000 won off. When you walk in all you can see are people, people and more people cramming into the small two stage theater. Since we arrived just minutes before the performance started we got 2nd floor tickets, most visitors would choose the 1st floor since its closer to the stage. I would suggest reserving a spot like we did online otherwise there is no guarantee to see the performance. The show starts out with four performers beating drums; then each picked up kitchen appliances and knifes to drum with and keep the music flowing. According to Kaori It is not very appropriate in Asian cultures to use kitchen appliances for this sort of thing, but the chiefs made it fun and enjoyable. Moving forward, the three chefs start prepping the kitchen then along strolls in a new chief that hopes to be accepted by the group. The new chief is in fact the manager’s nephew so it’s basically nepotism. The manager informs the chiefs they only have two hours to prepare a wedding meal for dozens of people. It was a colorful mish mash of music, karate, cooking, and acrobatics. Some would say its Jackie Chan meets cooking. There are also two parts within the story that allow viewers in the crowd to walk on stage and help with the performance. They also work with the stage crowd to dance, clap, and keep beat with the chiefs. During a critical part of synchronized plate throwing, one of the performers dropped a plate but made a swift recovery. One highlight included the cooking of the bulgogi dish with crazy knife acrobatics followed by skillful throwing and placement of foods to create the dish. During the performance ther are no vocalizations, say for a few lines here and there, and the comedy bits were well orchestrated to get the crowd laughing. I was impressed with the group’s performance and how it played out with the story line. In conclusion, the performance was well worth the visit but I have to mention that even though the title says Nanta cooking, there is actually only one dish that is cooked throughout the performance.

We stopped back in Myeong-dong to get some food after a long day. We found another local restaurant called Yoogane. It was of course family style and so we ordered one item with some add-ons including oodon noodles and sweet potatoes. The dish itself consisted of a mixture of veggies, slices of beef, with the spicy noodles but the sweet potato slices were perfect added flavor to cool it down. The dish is cooked in front of you and under a burner, so there was no kitchen and all the eating utensils were right under the table. I should add that all glasses and utensils are stainless steel in Korea since I heard that the Government restricts all wooden chopsticks in restaurants. I would also recommend that if you are not a spicy food lover, make sure to do some homework and learn to say “not spicy please” in Korean. The food was filling and for the second time in Asia I felt full!

The night was closing in and the streets were starting to lose the night life. For the last highlight of the day, Kaori stopped by a vendor making traditional Korean candies. It starts out with a slab of honey and corn starch powder then works down to a fine fiber the size of hair and wraps around peanuts, almonds, or walnuts. I was very impressed with the making of this candy so much I recorded video. Be sure to check it out later on! Walking around we heard music and arrived at what appeared to be a “dance off” next to the station. From the looks of it, there is one guy that has to “out dance” the other contestants on the stage. I thought it almost looked like American idol, except with dancing; yet funny and entertaining. It gained quite a large crowd gathering so we figured it must be a Korean thing like karaoke is for Japan. The night closed and we finally arrived back at the hotel exhausted but happy with our day.

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