SK 2012: Dramarama in South Korea

As you all know, I got addicted to The Moon That Embraces The Sun (해를 품은 달) thanks to my love for Kim Soo Hyun. Want proof? Click here and here. So I made it a point to include MBC Dramia to our itinerary. But come Day 5, we were down from 12 to just 9! Talk about survival of the fittest. Who would have thought that in our party of 7, Erin, Vanie, Faye and I turned out to be the strongest? >:) Jona, Rona and Ate Light decided to stay behind because of fatigue.

We left the guesthouse before 9:00 AM (way past our scheduled time) and went to Nambu Bus Terminal to catch the bus going to Baegam Terminal. The ride from Seoul to Baegam was almost an hour long and we had to keep an eye out for landmarks.

For tourists who can't even construct a proper sentence in Korean, it was a pretty risky trip. But we didn't want to pass up this opportunity to get off the beaten track and start a new adventure. Chos! I think it was our wanderlust and the fangirls in us that made this trip possible. Even Karen was surprised to learn that we were on a bus to Baegam when she checked up on us. Haha

Thanks to our sharp eyes and my Hangul-reading skills, we got off at the right stop even though the road was under construction. It was truly then that we realized we're in Korea. Unlike in Seoul, everything was in Hangul! Sure, I can read them. But I absolutely can't understand them.

Lunch at a No English zone.

Since it was almost 11:00 AM, we decided to grab a quick lunch at the town proper since there were no restaurants in MBC Dramia. Again, everything is written in Hangul so we looked around for pictures of food. We settled for the nearest restaurant which was also near a restroom sign. As expected, the owners cannot speak a word of English so I put my Hangul-reading skills to use. I recognized most of the items on the menu except for the specifics. In the end, we ordered kimbap (김밥) and bibimbap (비빔밥) while Faye's cousins had bowls of ramyeon (라면) and udon (우동). It was so funny how we ordered and asked for our bill. It was like playing charades with the owners. We even tried asking help from our smart phones but for me, nothing beats old school charades.

MBC Dramiaaaaa!

To get to MBC Dramia, you can either take the city bus or hail a cab. Since the road was under construction, sharing a cab was the better choice. It took around 10 minutes before we finally saw the complex. It's located in a pretty huge and isolated piece of land which I suppose is what makes it perfect as a filming location.

After getting tickets for ₩5,000 (regular price is ₩7,000 but we got a discount thanks to another coupon), we started our little hike up the hill. You'll know you're near the main entrance once you see some of the famous characters from the dramas that were filmed in MBC Dramia. A couple more steps from there and you'll be greeted by standees of the celebrities in character. Too bad, the TMTETS cast were not yet included as it's a pretty new drama.

The King and I.

But once we were inside the complex, I started screaming like the crazy little fangirl that I am upon seeing my King Lee Hwon! Haha Some tourists may have looked at the little commotion I caused but I could care less. I'm a happy girl! It's Kim Soo Hyun errrbodyyyyyy!

The cast of The Moon That Embraces The Sun.

After I calmed down a bit, I posed with the rest of the cast. Hello, Yeon-woo, Yang-myung, and the ever-kontrabidang Queen!

At the government official's house.

After we got over ourselves, we went ahead to the main area which meant having to climb up a set of stairs made of uneven bricks. Nakakaloka! Our legs have been extremely sore from all the sight-seeing we did in the past couple of days that we had to climb up really slow.

We made it though and after catching our breaths, we checked out the first infrastructure which was the government official's mansion este house lang pala. It was so huge, it looked like a temple. Antaray!

At the scholar's house and  on the street.

We then went on to explore the scholar's house and the local street market where colorful items were on display. We saw a couple of people in costumes at the street market but we ignored them thinking they must be tourists like us who just rented out those costumes. We later confirmed that there was an on-going shoot when we saw around a dozen or so people in traditional costumes most of whom looked like scholars. Funny how all of them were tinkering with their gadgets during the break.

Feeling scholars.

The commoner street was connected to the scholar's pavilion if you would call it that. The mats and scrolls were very reminiscent of the scene from TMTETS where Heo Yeom and Jin Chae-woon received their scholar and military honors so I couldn't help but want to experience sitting on one of the mats as well. No one told us off so I guess it's okay.

Celebrity encounters.

Faye's cousins on the other hand was a different story. They didn't even have second thoughts about asking the people in costumes for pictures! Haha Here they are and their celebrity encounters. I asked one of the staff what drama they were filming and he told me it was for a movie instead. Pretty cool!

Up the hill.

When we thought we've already seen a lot, we checked the map and realized we weren't even half-way through! We quickly went up the hill and gazed at the beautiful scenery below. We had to be wary of time though so we don't overstay in a particular place.

At the King's quarters.

After going down the hill, we took a shortcut to get to the King's quarters. This I definitely remember from TMTETS. Hihi Too bad, we weren't able to go inside as there were already some staff that were carrying in props towards the building. I guess they'll be filming the next scene there.

Circles.

Then I saw the first circle entryway and shrieked like the happy little fangirl that I am. We all posed with it not knowing that there were several of these all across the complex. Haha

At the main pavilion.

Another thing I love about MBC Dramia aside from its beautiful architecture is the fact that only a handful of tourists go there especially on weekdays. So you can take all the pictures you want without those annoying (yet unintentional) photobombers.

The main pavilion is where the final scene from TMTETS was filmed. I cried my eyes out during that scene so it feels so good to see the vast palace grounds with my own eyes sans the bodies of bloody warriors.

Perfect group shots yo!

Thanks to Vanie's running (and photography) skills, we were able to take perfect group shots. Hihi I love how you can freely use everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) inside MBC Dramia. Since it's fairly new, you wouldn't have to worry about the preservation of the buildings. You still have to take proper care of your surroundings, of course. After all, you wouldn't want to destroy anything that's beautiful, right?

Princess Sarah at the crown princess' Moonlight Palace.

When I thought I couldn't get any more giddier than I already was, we arrived at The Moonlight Palace! I forgot what it's really called but it's the Crown Princess' quarters in TMTETS and most of the kilig scenes happened here!! AAAAAHHH~!!! Someone give me my own Crown Prince!

The arena.

After that, we went to another part of the complex - the arena. It has a very gladiator-like feel so we didn't spend too much time there and proceeded to the next infrastructure.

At the center for music and arts.

In contrast to the arena, you would want to stay longer in the Center for Music and Arts which looked like a mini garden or should I say shrine? In TMTETS, this is where the children of the royal family played during the last episode.

We went back in time to experience all these traditional stuff.

Like kids, we enjoyed tinkering with all the props that were lying around. We posed as much as we liked as if we're starring in our own little drama.

More circles.

Time check: we have less than hour left before we head back to Seoul. So after taking pictures in yet another circle entryway, we walked along the dirt road hoping it would lead us back to the main entrance.

Time travelers lost in the streets of the Joseon era.

We had so much fun in MBC Dramia, we didn't want the tour to end just yet. But if we want to get back to Seoul in time for our dinner with Karen and her boyfie, we need to hurry up. I love how we look like time travelers in contrast to the traditional look and feel of MBC Dramia. Very Rooftop Prince if I must say!

At the exhibit hall.

Aaaand we were right. The dirt road led to the main entrance but the others were nowhere to be found so we went inside the cafe to use their restroom. While wandering around the building, we saw signs pointing to the museum above. We couldn't fight off our curiosity so we decided to check it out really quick. Several costumes that were used in dramas were displayed in the exhibit hall, including several props as well. They also had a traditional costume experience where you get to wear the costumes from the dramas for a price. It's pretty pricey but if you're up to it, I think it's a small price to pay to be part of your favorite drama. We had little time though so even if they have TMTETS costumes available, I had to pass and save it for next time. :(

We went back to the ticket booth where the rest were already waiting for us. They already called for cabs so all we had to do was wait. After 10 minutes, the cabs arrived and they dropped us off at the store where we can buy bus tickets to get back to Seoul. Thank you kind drivers!

After buying tickets and snacks, we waited for our bus. This time, we knew better and asked each bus that stopped if they're headed to Seoul. When our bus finally arrived, we hopped on and slept all the way through. And I mean all the way through! By the time I was awake, the bus was already getting ready to park at Nambu Bus Terminal. Haha

Before dinner, we wanted to stop by the real Coffee Prince cafe first so we got off at Hongdae Station and looked for it. The air was pretty chilly and we seemed to be going around in circles so we decided to go back to our guesthouse. Upon getting home, we were surprised to find Jona, Rona and Ate Light there! Thank goodness, we all thought of going back there before heading to dinner. We learned from Ate Light that the Coffee Prince cafe has already closed down so it made us feel better that we didn't waste time looking for it.

We then went to this food center (I forgot the name!) to meet up with Karen and Soon Min, her Korean boyfriend. Before we entered the place, we saw a couple hugging each other outside and we immediately thought of Karen.. HAHAHA But as we got nearer, it turns out its a different couple. Thank goodness! Anyway, we went inside and texted Karen that we're already there when this cute little Korean boy started punching Vanie's bag. When his mom caught him, she told him off and told him to apologize (I think). He's so cute so we all went aww. When suddenly, he bowed slowly and said Annyeong Haseyo (안녕하세요)! Too cute!!!

Meet the boyfriend.

We finally met up with Karen and Soon Min who introduced himself to us in flawless Filipino! We were really amazed by his effort. Take note, he even used "Ikinagagalak kitang makilala!" Who uses that?? Haha Cute Koreans are cute! Oh, and he was able to pinpoint who among us were Karen's HS friends as well. Uhh-mazing!

We bought food from all over the place. Some had bulgogi (yum!), bibimbap, burgers, and other Korean dishes we found at the food court. It was fun chatting with Karen and Soon Min. Of course, we urged them to share their love story. Haha

After dinner, we went to Dongdaemun to go shopping! Some items were really cheap while others were still pretty expensive compared to ours so we weren't too satisfied with our shopping spree. We were starving when a woman offered a fish-shaped pastry to us for free taste. Satisfied, we bought some and were surprised to find that there were plenty of fish in that small paper bag! We rested a bit at the nearby Caffe Bene as we waited for the rain to stop. Oh, and it was also during this time that we discovered our favorite beauty product of all time: Innisfree's Green Tea Mineral Mist which is just divine I tell ya! As a result, we bought 2 sets of Buy 5 Take 5 packs to bring home to friends and families. Haha

Bunggeoppang!

As it was still raining pretty bad, we decided to just go home so we split into two groups and tried to hail cabs. I worried about the midnight rate but all I wanted was just to get home so we hopped on the first cab that stopped by us. He asked for a ridiculous amount of money (yes, there are swindlers even in Korea!) and since there will be three of us to split the bill, we had no choice but to say yes. Argh. I believe in karma, ahjussi. I swear, it'll get you someday.

When we got home, we had a little contest entitled "Who Paid the Most Ridiculous Cab Fare Tonight?" Well, I'm somewhat glad I didn't win that one. Faye's cousins did. Haha Funny how we still ended up laughing about our misadventures. Fun Filipinos are always fun, I guess.

Traveling party: Erin, Faye, Jona (organizer), Light (organizer), Rona, Sera (organizer), and Vanie
Travel date: 10 November 2012 [Day 5]
Photo credits: Faye, Light, Vanie