Chuseok Fiesta @ Our Apartment (part 2)

It was really a feast to the eyes + to our tummy:-)

At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to yield myself or succumb myself into the seductive calling of this affluent food.

All kinds of cakes...and specialties from numerous countries... 

Let's take a family pose, first. 

and then..I invited my new colleague at KBS, Mr. Nugroho, who just arrived about 3 weeks earlier. I asked him to come down here so as to let him know what kind of communities we're living with. He liked it. 

Oops, where's Freya? 

Then, it's Seonhee's turn to show up. 

The party's begun. Everyone's delighted. Apparently. 

The fluttering flags over the tent made it even more gleeful in the sense that what would an international Chuseok fiesta be without any symbol of our diverse backgrounds? 

So, thanks to the apartment manager who took the trouble of setting up all of these. 

Cheesecake!!! yeaaach. 

Got a chance to take a pic of it just before it's zapped...;-) 

And for sure...lots of us couldn't resist the temptation from the I-didn't-know-what-that-was-but-it-was delicious cake. Simply delectable....:) 

Chuseok: Lunch Time with Kids

We're still in Pocheon and now it's lunch time. The 2nd day of Chuseok. 

We're still at Sanjeong, Malgeun Maeul Pension.

Eyra....starts the day with smile.!!!

Then came along other kids.

they're adorable. 

Eyra, Nayla, Ghania, Gazi. 

then...along came Freya. 

What a lovely day with such lovely kids.

'Happy Chuseok, kids!"~^

Chuseok: Wearing Hanbok to School (part 2)

Wait...you're ready to go home, Freya?

What's in the bag? 

Meeting her friend on her way home after the 3-hour activity of celebrating Chuseok.

Oh, she was holding the songpyeon (rice cakes) that she made today. 

Hmmmm...It was indeed such a memorable day for her... 

then..the playground became deserted once again..

all kids were gone. 

But..the memories linger on.

Chuseok Gift (part 1)

yeaach....instead of songpyeon, what they got first...was a toy!!

er..what? No songpyeon tteeok? apparently so.

Chuggingtown train! The toy train that Freya, especially, loves to have. 

they just couldn't wait to tear off the wrapping and cut off the wires that hold them inside the box....and ready to play with it.

Oh, well...Chuseok means gift and presents for them.

okay..wait..wait..wait..a minute!!!!

This is what they wanted. 

Ok ...go play, gals.

Movies To Watch in Chuseok!!!

I think movie distributor in Korea did it on purpose. My friends back home in Indonesia watched Despicable Me 2 and Monster University 2 months ago!! But, as for us in Korea, we got to be very patient...since those two movies are coming to Korea this coming Chuseok (Thanksgiving Day in Korea).

I don't know why...Despicable Me is 'translated' or changed into 슈퍼배드 (Super Bad) in Korea. Hmm..well, it does have a rather similar idea...in meaning..but..the funny thing is that..even when it is written in Hangeul, still it IS English, right? 'Super Bad'

Or..was the movie actually titled 'Super Bad' even in English? 

I need some 'enlightenment'!! *-^ 

The Korean movie to be watched out for..during Chuseok is '관상' (gwansang) or loosely translated into 'The Horoscope of Face' Hmm...the premise of the movie is that..the Fate of Joseon Dynasty lies in the hands of these people's gwansang. Hmm...sounds a bit hard to comprehend without any English translation. But, still..it's a worth-waiting-for movie. Oh, I don't have to wait until September 17 or Chuseok..coz I heard that it premiers on September 11!!

Who doesn't want to see a movie full A-list Korean stars: 송강호, 이정재, 백윤식, 조정석, 이종석, 김혜수.... 

Then..another movie to watch with my children would definitely be (몬스터 대학교) Monster University. Mike and Sully are back to retell their story of how they met in college before we knew them in Monster Inc. years back.

anyway..that'll be something to look for..in the coming Chuseok.

Myeongdong @ Cheuseok oops Chuseok @ Myeongdong

It was late at night art around 8 pm. Well, for the kids...it was a bit late already , after all we'd been going round for about a day. And yet..we were headed to Myeongdong for another shopping. or...window shopping.

Sure. We needed some heat-tech sweater or any winter outfits for the kids that we we were then... taking our directions...into the shopping district of Myeongdong. They loved the purple and red turtle-neck outfits...of their own selection.

Just to give a glimpse of how Myeongdong even during the Chuseok. Wait!!! how come there were so many people there? Weren't they supposed to be home or be going somewhere to meet their families? ^^ 

As I learned, Myeongdong would not be as it is if people were not these many.

After all, most of them are Tourists just like us.^^

'Happy Chuseok' everyone.

Another Day in Chuseok 2012

Going to the station walking through the yellow-turned leaves at the onset of the Fall.

Another angle taken while walking pass the trees in the starting Autumn in our campus. Since it is Chuseok, not many students were seen in the vicinity. It did not look like....campus, though.

zaaapppppeeed......we were transported into the Seoul Dream Forest again. Yes, again, we love this place that we visit here often.^^

What makes it different is the fact that it always offers something new.

It's Fall. But, I guess..the management of the park does its best to always keep everything anew, including planting...or taking care of the flowers springing up along the park

Since it's Holiday, a lot of people were there. See the Korean traditional house at the back? People were seen playing neolttwigi (Korea's see-saw) and other stuffs.

The first agenda that Eyra had in mind was....to fly her kite--the one she made by herself the day before. One of the reasons as to why we went here...was to make the best use of the beautiful day in Autumn.

The vast green lawn was all free for everyone to "trample" and play.^^ Well, it is not everywhere that we could just go into the park or any lawn and play around...

(Eyra: the one with pink trousers)

Some other families were also playing with their kids. After all, Chuseok is the time when we could just go and enjoy our valuable time with our family --personal point of view.^^

After several trial and errors, she finally managed to make the kite fly!!!!!

Sometimes I came to wonder as to whether I am raising a daughter hehehe.^^ Well, kite is not always a boy's stuff. It just shows that Eyra loves everything she finds incredible and amazing at first. She loves it.

Oh, did I mention that she was the only girl who was playing the kite? ^^

Up...up..and up...her dolphin-kite was finally soaring into the sky...

The weather was great. the sky was perfect. the atmosphere was near perfect. The nuance and the feeling of being there...were also too good to be true.^^ 

She somehow made me feel proud of being a Daddy. 

Kid's eyes/perspectives are the things that at times help me see through things in a different way.

Eyra's eagerness and perseverance in trying her best to fly her kite were like a perpetual spirit to me in facing every day's challenges.

A close-up look at the kite.

Who does not want to fly a kite in weather like this and in a neighborhood this peaceful. Yes, I love the fact that just 10-15 minute bus-ride from where we live, we could find a park like this. 

The park was situated on a hill that somewhat gives it an additionally high-value importance to its existence. The surrounding apartments were like 'garnish' to the nature (not the other way around)

OOps....Freya ...? what are you doing here? (please read about this in other entry).^^

Celebrating Chuseok @ Namsangol Hanok Village

What could be more fun than having outdoor activities in the holiday season like this?

We searched on the internet and bumped into an info from Korea Tourism Organization that some parks or palaces around Korea were having lots of Chuseok-theme activities for anyone to enjoy.

So, we decided to go to Hanok Village which was just a 30-minute ride by subway. After getting off at Chungmuro station, we were glad to have decided to come here.

Why? our kids loved it.

First: there were varieties of first-hand experiences for children to take park in. There were traditional Korean kite making, sculpture making, Korean mask making, etc. The one that attracted Eyra and Freya was the kite-making activity.

After paying 8,000 Won for two, they were ready to make their own first kite of its kind.

They glued and tied them up all by themselves.

Of course, parents supervised them..^^

The colorful kites seemed to have captured Eyra's creativity. 

In the chilling temperature (for us^^) of around 15 degree Celsius, the children were happy and seemed not to care of its surrounding...but to glued themselves into what they were making.

Tatatata......It's done.! They were so amazed at how things worked. They did it by themselves and they were just impatient of flying their kites off into the sky.^^

Aha....I knew it, Eyra and Freya chose the color and pictures of their favorite, ducks and dolphin.

It was a good thing that the sky was blue and that lots of things to do and see where just right there.

Afterwards, we went into several traditional houses available in the complex. Eyra learned about how things worked in the traditional Korean houses. Her Mom was just as curious as Eyra was.^^

This is pretty much how the house looked. Lots of visitors thronged into the house to take a closer look at it.See the white tent? I just learned that some Chuseok-related ceremonies were held in the morning.:( oh, no.... Had we known about it.

Still, it did not hamper or dampen our spirit of enjoying our time there. After all, there were other things to do and see inside Hanok Village. See the tteok that Mom was holding? We just bought it and ready to eat it...on the spot.

Eyra loved the green and yellow ones. She kept eating and munching the glutinous tteok.

One of the interesting things about this Hanok village is that it is located right at the center of the city (see the Namsan Tower?) that makes it accessible through varied means of transportation. So, we would take the  kids here again to learn more about this. 

Pose@! Action! 

Oops..it was getting dark.

But...we haven't seen all. So, let's go and start exploring...

Off we went to circle around another house. The Hanok village indeed offers to its visitors a rare chance of seeing authentic Korean traditional houses right in the middle of the city. Sky scrappers that dotted the village seemed to be the striking contrast of how modern and traditional legacies could exist at the same time and space.

While happily clutching her self-made kite, Eyra was happy to tag us along into the journey of learning or at least admiring the beauty of Korean traditional house/architecture.

Freya, too, was seen clutching her kite and her Mom was busy taking pictures into the interior of the house. 

I love the chimney (that's what I think it is...though I am not so sure)^^ Gosh, I wish there'd been some guide telling us what that was.^^

Anyone knows what those Chinese characters say? Hmm..wish I knew.

Freya:"Daddy, could you take my picture, please?"

* *Oh, sure, Honey..^^

Mom: "Me, too, please....^^"

**Oh...well, okay^^

This kind of stone-wall is typical of Korean wall. Well, I am not sure about it myself. But, judging from the fact that I found it at many other places, I think it could be it.

The red & blue lanterns hanging above were another typical Korean festivity-must have items.

*.* Have a Great Holiday*-*