Chosung Kimchi Village

Ewha Peace Buddy Farm Experience at Chosung Kimchi Village

For our field trip with the Ewha Peace buddies they took us to a farm experience to Chosung Kimchi Village. It is located about an hour and a half from Ewha Women's university which seems far but it was technically still in Seoul. However it was pretty empty and felt like you were definitely out of the city. We rode a pretty nice bus in Hawaii standards its more like tour bus so the ride didn't feel too long.

Our Bus

We arrived at our destination and broke up into smaller groups to do all the different activities. It was a little hard thought out the day because it was pretty much raining the whole day and even colder then usual but I think we made the best of it.

On to our First Activity..

For our first activity we did something similar to tye dying but with traditional dye and we used handkerchiefs. We first had to rubber band them for smaller rings and we had these plastic foam ties for rings that we wanted thicker. 

After that we had to soak our handkerchiefs in warm milk and then we could put it in the dye which was the orange type mud mixture and massage it into our handkerchiefs. It was pretty cold and raining so it made it harder but the milk made our hands really soft. In the end my handkerchiefs looked pretty much just all orange and but it was fun making.

On to our next activity

To our next activity to make kimchi. That was for sure the activity I was looking forward to the most. We went into a room where we all had our own individual places to work and even aprons and headbands for each of us to wear at each station. On top of that our ingredients and materials were all there as well.

It was pretty easy to make just a spoon of four things which were sugar and ginger and two spices I believe and the pepper paste and we just mixed it all together. I learned the ginger is used to keep it from rotting and the sugar is used instead of salt.

We even got our own containers to take our kimchi home. I was really impressed with how professional it all was. And the kimchi was really yummy too!

Lunch Time!

Next Activity..

For our next activity after lunch we learned to play some traditional Korean games. This one involved four blocks which had writing on one side and the point was to throw them and get them all on the letter side and depending on how they landed different points were given.

After that we moved to a different room to play two different games one that was semi like a hacky sack but with tassels on a piece of plastic. I am not sure what that really was but no one could really do it for more the one try but I feel like I've seen it in a few dramas before. It was pretty hard to do.

The next game what were there was a pot and you had to get these sticks into the pot. I am not sure exactly what the name was but I have seen it before. Even standing pretty close I couldn't get it in. It was a lot harder then it looked.

Last Activity of the day..

The last thing we did that day was making rice cake or Ddok in korean. We got to see them make it in the traditional way by pounding the rice cake on a board. It was really fresh, you can still see the steam and the grains of rice in it. It was similar to the way that the Japanese make mochi I noticed but Japanese did it in a round stone pot where as the way a long wood shallow plate instead.

People even got to try and pound the rice cake too. I was surprised that the plate board thing didn't break cause some guys were going at it and it sounded pretty hard.

At the end they coated the rice cake in a soybean powder and we got to eat some. It was so fresh you could even taste the grains of rice still in it.

Thanks Nature Cafe in Hongdae

Thanks Nature Cafe

The Thanks Nature Cafe is located on the main road in Hongdae is a cafe that is known for apparently having lambs or sheep at the cafe the guest can feed and play with. Someone had told me they usually have them during the warmer season and there were picture of the them around on the walls so I assume they should be coming back soon.

The cafe had a really homey feel and it wasn't too crowded when we went. It had a modern feel to it with lots of different art pieces on the wall but still a some what green feel with lots of tree decorations around as well.

Drinks Menu

It was pretty unique and they had a lot of different drinks but the waffle looked the best. I think they had a few small sandwiches and a few other things to eat as well. Even our Americano came in a cool milk bottle looking glass. The waffle was a Belgian waffle with strawberries, blueberries and ice cream. It was a winter seasonal item according to the menu.

Iced Americano

Mixed Berry Waffle

Hello Kitty Cafe in Sincheon

Hello Kitty Cafe

This Hello kitty Cafe is one of seven if I remember correctly from what it said. This one is located down the a side street from the main road in Sincheon coming from the Ewha side. I actually didn't know this was hear until I was walking around the area. I know the more popular and well known one is located in Hongdae. However this one was nice too, less crowded but I think it was a little more well kept in Hongdae. 

The furniture was really cute. All Hello Kitty bow chairs and couches and even the tables had hello kitty face on it too. Everything in the cafe was pretty decked out in Hello Kitty from the decorations to the food items and even in the drinks too. The prices were typical for cafes in Korea but the special Hello kitty moose cake was 10,000 won which was a little pricey since it was pretty small maybe shared between two people at the most. 

Green Tea Latte

I got a green tea latte which even had a hello kitty face in the drink too. It was pretty good and really cute. They had have waffles and other desserts too with some sort of Hello Kitty theme in them as well too.

This is the front entrance to the cafe if you are looking for it on the street. The outside looked like it could use a paint compared to the one in Hongdae which was really pink and noticeable this one was a bit more subtle and wasn't as easily pointed out but still pretty easy to find.

Seoul Museum of Art: Tim Burton Exhibit

A step into the world of Tim Burton

The Seoul Museum of Art had a special exhibit on Tim Burton. It was all about his life and his different works he has done through out his career. It was an exhibit filled with short films, props from many of his movies he has worked on and all of his drawing, sketches and personal works of art.

Ticket booth

Entrance to the Museum

Info pack of the exhibit

From what I heard I leaned this exhibit has been all around the world not just here in Seoul but also in California and New york which I must assume that it goes to many places around the world. I was really interesting to see all of his work. I was only familiar with his animated work but I didn't know he also worked in batman and Plant of the Apes as well. Some of the actual props from the different movies he has done were on display as well.

entrance to main exhibit

Stairs up to main exhibit

This was the entrance to the first exhibit hall which showcases many of his original sketches and personal works. Sadly, we were not allowed to take picture inside but the were many smaller displays of figurines of characters  and many personal pieces of work done by Tim Burton like personal notebooks and even drawing done on restaurant napkins all kept and on display.

Main Entrance to Exhibit

This is the most I could get photo wise of anything in the museum. It was really neat to see the whole museum in a Tim Burton character theme. 

More of his character plastered on the walls through the first and second floors of the exhibit.

This was the gift shop. They had a lot of his famous pieces in replica form to purchase in frames or on post card or typical type souvenir type gifts with his pieces of art on them. It really showed how popular not only this exhibit was but how much he was as well even in Korea. A lot of the merchandise was sold out and there were constantly people coming in while we were there. I believe the exhibit is now closed but I heard on the last few days they were completely booked out for the entire day.

toy figures for sale in the Art shop

"The end or is it?"