Land of Hanbok, Hanok, and Osulloc

Korean culture is infiltrating the world, like K-dramas, K-pop music, K-food, K-beauty and K-whatever. Thus, South Korea has become a popular tourist destination nowadays. This is especially true for Filipinos who are incredibly fond of Korean culture.

My family and I visited South Korea recently, not just to ride the Korean Wave, but due to a different reason which I will divulge later. I am writing here my honest impression of South Korea.

We spent 2 weeks in South Korea, so enough time to immerse ourselves of this country. We stayed a week in Seoul, which is its capital and largest city, and a week in Jeju, an island located south of the mainland South Korea (see previous post).

While we were in Seoul, we stayed in a district that is considered the heart of its downtown which is near the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This is a former primary royal palace, established in 1395, which was the first royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and is now one of the most significant tourist attractions in the country. 

Entrance fee to the Gyeongbokgung Palace is waived if you are dressed in their traditional attire known as Hanbok. That is why many people were walking around wearing the Hanbok, not just in the palace, but also in some touristy areas. I guess they just want to feel being Korean. Did we dressed up in Hanbok? No, maybe some day.

Where we stayed was also within the vicinity of Bukchon Hanok Village. Hanok refers to the traditional architectural style of Korean houses first designed and built during the Joseon Dynasty. These kind of houses and villages were being preserved despite the era of modernization.

These villages are real residence areas, so the visitors are only allowed to walk in these streets between 10 AM to 5 PM, unless you live there. Though these areas are almost always bustling with tourists, they request visitors to be quiet while touring these streets.

What could be a better way to feel that you are in Korea than to stay in one of the classic Hanok? And so we did.

We found a more than 100-year-old Hanok, which was renovated and turned into an Airbnb and that was where my family stayed. We were told that it was used to be the home of a famous Korean philosopher. This Hanok is complete with a spa room and tea room.

Speaking of tea, South Korea is known for its Osulloc tea, which is a tourist attraction in itself. This tea is South Korea’s premier tea brand, known for cultivating and harvesting organic teas on Jeju Island since 1979. Their stores are always teeming with guests. I am not a fan of tea, but my wife is, so we visited their original flagship store and plantation in Jeju.

While we were in Jeju, we drove around with our rental car, as me and my wife were able to get international driver’s license. Driving in South Korea is not bad at all, as most drivers are courteous and they follow traffic rules. I wish I can say the same in the Philippines.

In Seoul, we used their public transportation, which includes bus, subways and taxis. It was easy to navigate around the city, even though I cannot read or understand Korean. South Korea is considered one of the most modern country in the world and I would agree with this notion based on what I witnessed there.

One thing that I really admire is their trains and subways. It is state-of-the-art, clean, safe, cool and quiet. While riding the subway, people are respectful and are shunned to talk loud or have to use headphones or ear buds when listening to music or watching movies on their cell phones. Eating is not allowed in the subway, which helps maintain its cleanliness. Even though the subway can get crowded during rush hours, it still feels comfortable riding them.

Another thing that caught my attention is that around Seoul, they have lots of accessible public toilets (notice photo above for the sign for toilet) which are very modern and clean. Again, I wish I can say the same of Manila, where some of our street walls and corners reek of the smell of you-know-what, for where else do the people relieve themselves, if there’s no public toilets?

We even went to a stream, the Cheonggyecheon Stream, an urban waterway that runs through the city, which is a popular place to hang out for regular city residents. It is so clean and so refreshing that people would wade or dip their feet in it. Maybe someday Pasig River will be like this too. We like free shows so we went to Banpo Bridge that has a free light and water fountain show every night.

The Incheon International Airport, which is the main airport serving Seoul, has almost all of the high-end brands, including Hermes, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Cartier, Tiffany and Co, and others. You don’t need to wander anywhere else than the airport terminal itself to shop, if luxury shopping is your thing.

We went to a few shopping malls, though we did not buy much as we just want to see them. My favorite is the one in Gangnam (yes, that Gangnam style!), which even has a library (Starfield Library) right in the center of the mall. My son ended up studying there for a while as he brought some assignments for his medical school, while my daughter who is a librarian felt right at home, while me and my wife explore the large mall.

What blew me away was one day, while we were eating at a food court in a mall (Paradise City Plaza), I witnessed people would leave their phones, bags, purse and other belongings on the table unattended (!!!), while they pick up their food. Since I grew up in Manila, this kind of trust is unreal for me. Why can’t be all places be safe like this?

If there’s one thing in Korea that I don’t subscribe to is that they are particular with their looks and conception of beauty. It is almost like an obsession. Most would try to mold to the expectations that they should be fair-skinned and should have an ultra-youthful look, unblemished and “glass-skin” complexion. Unsurprisingly, this kind of beauty is what other cultures try to emulate too, including Filipinos.

Beauty clinics and shops, like Olive Young – a cosmetics, health and beauty product company and chain store, are in every corner of the city. Korean brand cosmetics like Innisfree are very popular. While Americans and Europeans love to sunbath and get tanned, in Korea it is the opposite. People are afraid of the sun, using umbrellas, big hats and face covers everywhere they go. No wonder, South Korea has one of the highest rates of vitamin D deficiency globally, with studies showing that up to 70% to 90% of the population, despite having plenty of sunshine the whole year through.

Being from the “Lahing Kayumanggi” (Brown Race), I am proud of my skin color, and so should every body else whatever skin tone we are born with. For my dear countrymen, why do we have to use whitening products, even resorting to IV infusion of glutathione, just to feel that we are beautiful?

As for the real reason why we went to South Korea, it is to meet the family of the girl from Jeju, who my son is dating for some time now. He met her in Iowa State University where she is completing her doctorate degree. She was with us most of the trip.

Would I travel to Korea again? Would I be donning a Hanbok someday? Would I be more absorbed with K-culture? Would I have descendants who would be light-skinned and has “glass-skin” complexion? Or would they all be “kayumanggi?” I still would not prescribe whitening products.

(*all photos taken with an iPhone)