The N Seoul Tower in Namsan

 

Whoever that has ever visited Seoul knows the N Seoul Tower in Namsan. It is the symbol of Seoul and located in the center of Seoul. People can see the most beautiful scenery at the top of Seoul.

The N Seoul Tower was built to broadcast TV and radio programs at the capital area. The 48% of people listen and watch these programs through this electronic wave tower. It is opened to the public at 1980 and becomes the healing space for Seoul citizens. It is also known for tourist attractions for foreign visitors.

Newest LED lights are shining the N Seoul Tower all night long. It makes people who visit it be romantic, so it is always crowded with couples and families. There are Korean, Italian, French and American restaurants. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful sight while they are dining whatever they want. Also, some cafes provide hot and ice coffees and snacks.

Most people go N Seoul Tower by bus, but you can also ride Namsan Cable Car. A round-trip ticket is 8,000 won and one way ticket is 6,000 won for an adult. I have not ridden this cable car before. If I have a chance to ride it, I really want to do it.

The N Seoul Tower is close from my house, so I often go there to refresh my mind and exercise. Since it is surrounded by mountains, people who get tired of city life can take a rest in Nature for a while. If you need some healing places in Seoul, please visit the N Seoul Tower in Namsan. It would offer bracing air for you!

Les Miserables

 Les Miserables is a one of the four great musicals in the world. (The four great musicals in the world: Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera) It has been continuously popular from its premiere to now. Especially, Les Miserables’s movie version was out in 2013 and was a box office hit! Also, since Yuna Kim who is famous Korean sports star uses its OST in her free skating programe, there is no one that who does not know its OST in Korea.

 This Wednesday, finally I watched it at Samsung Blue Square in Hannam-dong. Actually, everyone knows its plot and highlight because it is the most popular musical in the world. I am already familiar with it, so I did not expect that I will be impressed a lot. However, this masterpiece moved my heart once over and I dropped tears in the intervals.

 It was weekday performance, so the theatre was not fully filled with people. It is more comfort for me to appreciate the musical concentrically. My seat was on the second floor and located in the right side. I personally prefer the second floor seats to the first ones, so it was perfect for me. I could see the whole site of the stage.

 정성화 is the most famous Korean actor as the role of Jean Valjean. I heard that his acting and singing is absolutely amazing a few times before. I realized that his greatness as an actor by seeing his real performance. It was beyond description! So I strongly recommend you Les Miserables when he is playing. It was wonderful experience and I refreshed myself sufficiently!

Buddha’s Birthday

 In May, there are lots of anniversary days in Korea. Children’s Day was 5^th May, Parent’s Day was 8^th May, Teacher’s Day was 15^th May and this Friday Buddha’s Birthday is coming! Buddha’s Birthday is the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. It is a big holiday such as Christmas because many Buddhists are existed and believe their religion.

 I do not have any special religion; on the other hand, my mother usually likes to go to Buddhist temples, so I am very accustomed to go to there with my mom. When the Buddha’s Birthday is coming up, she and I visit the one of Buddhist temples that we want to go and enjoy the atmosphere of it.

 At Buddha’s Birthday, all of the Buddhist temples provide freely the food named Bibimbap, Rice Cake and other kinds of the Buddhism Food. It is a great pleasure that we can taste the food of the Buddhism and feel roughly the Buddhism.

 Also, Lotus Lanterns are displayed along the street, a stream and anywhere that people can set up the lanterns. People who have different religions just look at a fine view and enjoy the holiday. I think Buddha’s Birthday is opened for everyone, and I also have liked and enjoyed it for a long time.

 It is not only good for Korean but also foreign visitors. I usually see that most of foreign visitors are captured by the beautiful scene of Lotus Lantern and the Buddhist temple. This Friday, I will also visit the Buddhist temple which is located in near my house and enjoy his birthday fully!

When in Rome (2010)

 I watched two movies about Rome last week. One is Woody Allen’s new movie which name is To Rome with Love, and the other is that When in Rome. I prefer When in Rome to To Rome with Love, so today I want to write something about it!
 

 Beth is a hot New Yorker that is working as a curator. She is successful woman except love. When she is dumped out her ex-boyfriend, her younger sister informs that she would get marry in Rome which is the most romantic city in the world. She is a little begrudging that her younger sister gets marry ahead of her. She is hot business woman so she does not have much time to spend her sister’s wedding; nevertheless she visits Rome to attend her sister’s wedding. In a wedding hall, she meets her prince charming whose name is Nick. Both Beth and Nick have a good feeling each other, they think that they almost fall in love. However, she sees that Nick is kissing with a woman in front of the Trevi Fountain; she concludes that there is no magic about love. She sits on the Trevi Fountain with a disappointed look, and picks up some coins in the Fountain. The Trevi’s spell is occurred, because she picks up some coins. After she leaves Rome to New York, the Trevi’s spell makes her face in weird situation continuously.
 

 This is a brief story of When in Rome. If you like light romantic comedy movies, it will be a perfect choice for you. After I saw it, I was brightened up a lot and felt at ease. It was the wonderful movie recently! :)

2013 Goyang International Flower Fair

When the field is freshly sprouting and the wind of spring is blowing softly, lots of flower festivals come to my mind. Goyang International Flower Fair is a leader of the Korean flower festival. This fair has been constant, and it arrived without fail in this year. It will be held from 27^th April to 12^th May for 16 days at Goyang Lake Park.

We can see many flowers from different countries and advanced gardening technology in the World Flower 1, 2 Hall. Also, there is other hall displayed rare and precious flowers. Our own traditional flowers are placed in the Export Flower Exhibit Hall. Chile’s the Moai statues, America’s the Statue of Liberty and Egyptian Pyramids are reborn as flower sculptures. Moreover, children can learn about nature in the environmental ecology garden.

There are other things that visitors can enjoy: the flower girl parade, classic performance, Korean traditional dance and cheerleading. In the flower experience hall, families will be able to make their own vases, flower necklace, hand mirror and pottery etc. Also, we can ride the flower bike along the lake. It will be a wonderful experience for people who like to ride a bike. We can buy various kinds of flowers cultivated in Goyang for reduced prices about 20~30%.

This fair is opened from 9a.m. to 8p.m. on weekday and from 8:30a.m. to 9p.m. on weekend. An advance ticket will be available to get at Goyang International Flower Fair Website, G-market and Auction. I did not have time to enjoy flower fair for several years, so if I have time on my side, I really want to go and enjoy any flower fair as like Goyang International Flower Fair.

Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris Soundtrack - 04. Bistro Fada
Please click this hyper link!

Paris is the most romantic city in the world, so everybody loves it and has fantasies about this beautiful city! When I think about Paris, Paris’s picturesque scenery comes across my mind. Also, the Versailles Palace makes me fall into a flutter.

 

Midnight in Paris is a movie that could satisfy our fantasies about Paris! It was produced from American film company in 2011. All spaces of Paris are a background of this movie. Quality of the color sense is the best and its OST won the best soundtrack at the Grammy. Therefore, both aesthetics of film and the background music attract lots of viewers.

This is a romantic comedy movie about a family who are traveling Paris in France. Gill is a novelist and Inez is his fiancée. Gill wants to enjoy Paris’s romance; however, his fiancée wants to have fun about the splendor of Paris. He is disappointed that the attitude of her; eventually, he takes a walk alone in night streets of Paris. When a bell rings at midnight, an old peugeot appears suddenly and takes him in the 1920s Paris. In that place, he meets many legendary artists whose names are Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali etc. He becomes a friend of those artists and spends dreamlike time with them every night. Then one day, he meets Adriana who is a lover of Hemingway and Picasso and falls in love with her. This is a brief story of the movie. If you have a interest about Paris which is the most romantic city, I strongly recommend this movie! :)

Cherry Blossoms Festival in Gyeongju

    Now, the spring is really coming! The weather is getting warmer and warmer. People take thin clothes for the spring, and most of them make a plan for going to Cherry Blossoms Festivals. There are lots of Cherry Blossoms Festivals in Korea. Above all, I want to introduce Cherry Blossoms Festival in Gyeongju!

    Gyeongju is classically historic places in Korea. It is located in Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. It is a beautiful city with lots of historical monuments and sites. It is always wonderful at every season, but I think the spring in Gyeongju is absolutely the best!

    If you visit Gyeongju in the spring time, you could see that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Gyeongju Bomun Tourist Facilities Complex is the best place to appreciate that scenery beyond description. The Bomun Lake is the center of this place, and many restaurants, hotels and sports facilities are placed along the lake. The whole area in Bomun is the site that we can enjoy the Cherry Blossoms Festival. G.B.T.F.C.(Gyeongju Bomun Tourist Facilities Complex) is gained publicity through word-of-mouth.

    According to statistics, there are about 32,000 cherry blossoms trees in Gyeongju and more than 900 lights are shining the cherry blossoms trees at the night. It means that all the tourists can see the splendid view from sun to sun. G.B.T.F.C. is crowded with various kind of people; families, couples and friends. All of my family members really like to see the cherry blossoms, so we have visited G.B.T.F.C. many and many a time. On the basis of my former experiences, I confidently recommend you to visit G.B.T.F.C. to see the cherry blossoms at any cost!

My Favorite Musical : The Phantom Of The Opera

  If I have time to relax, I usually do several things that I really like. For instance, listening to music, reading, watching a musical etc... Among these things, appreciating a musical is the best one for me!

 

  At last summer vacation, I had had a chance to visit London in UK. That chance enabled me to experience various cultural performance. Especially, London is famous for high-quality musicals. I saw two musicals and the first one was The Phantom Of The Opera. It was that what I really had wanted to appreciate in my lifetime.

 

 

  In this musical, there are 3 main characters ; Christine, Raul and the Phantom. Christine is a noted prima donna, so everybody adores her. Raul is the fianc of her. They love each other a lot. There was nothing wrong with them before the Phantom appears. However, the existence of the Phantom makes everyone tremble for fear. He kills some people who did not obey his order, and also kidnaps Christine when she fell asleep. His kidnapping comes from his love headed for her. But he did not know that how he can express his mind to her, so he forces her to marry him. Meanwhile, Raul sets off in search of his fiancé. Raul and the Phantom are opposed to each other extremely. Their love triangle heightens the audience’s spirits. Finally, the Phantom lets her go and vanishes as if by magic. This is the story and that’s that.

  If somebody asks me that why you like this musical a lot, I will say that I feel very familiar with it. While I grow up especially in my adolescence, I saw it over and over again. It gives me unexplainable impression each time. Perhaps, when I am old enough to be called grandma, I will still love it!

My Favorite Korean Sport Star : Yuna Kim

  Here are lots of famous sports stars in Korea. However, if somebody asks me that who you do like the most among these stars, I definitely choose the only one whose name is Yuna Kim. She is the Queen of figure skating all over the world. Before she came the figure skating competition, most of Korean did not know well on figure skating. It was the very uncommon sport, so it was really hard to see any program or competition about figure skating on TV.

  However, since she have presented on the ice, everything had changed and those changes are still going on. She is the Olympic Champion and won the 2009 World Championship in America. A few days ago, she succeeded to take her crown back at the 2013 World Championship in Canada. She clearly showed that she still has strength to take first place.

  As mentioned earlier, the sport which is called figure skating was unpopular in Korea. It means that there were no sufficient spaces to exercise for figure skating athletes. For this reason, young Yuna had had hard time training until she would be recognized as the best in that field. She had practiced her skating in Vancouver, Canada for a long time. She had referred that it was really tough to live and train another country. Fortunately, conditions of skating in Korea have been improved, so now she is practicing her skating here in her mother country.

  She overcame numerous troubles and becomes one of the successful athletes in the world. Surprisingly her age is only 22. Even though she is very young, she is truly an inspiration to all of us. Every little skater wants to follow the example of her, and all figure skating fans love and cherish the Queen Yuna. As I am a big fan of her, I just wanted to say like this ; Long live the Queen!