짐잉글리쉬

On Wednesday, Day 3, we went back to Seoul, tried to catch the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony at the Gyeongbokgung Palace first thing in the morning, and then, we joined the English tour of the palace. After that, we rushed off to the Namsan cable car station, rode the cable car and enjoyed the 360 degree view of Seoul at the tower while munching on some popcorn and drinking some soda. As soon as we got down from Namsan Tower, we went directly to the Namdaemun Market where we scored a lot of good stuff to bring home as presents or what we Filipinos call ‘pasalubong’ for our friends and family back home. We went back to Yongin and dropped by an Emart store there to complete our ‘pasalubong’ lists, and once done with the shopping, we had buffet dinner with our bosses at a really good restaurant. Sadly though, it would be my last night in Yongin. My husband was scheduled to arrive the next day in Seoul.

On Day 4, Thursday, we went to Nami Island and spent most of the day there. Nami Island is a famous destination for Filipino tourists because of the Korean drama ‘Winter Sonata’. This drama was dubbed in Filipino and shown in the Philippines more than 10 years ago, but to this day, Nami Island is still one of the top itinerary picks for Filipino tourists in South Korea. We were able to prove this because we saw many of our ‘kababayan’ or countrymen on the beautiful island. After Nami, we took a side trip to Petite France which was a popular destination in Gapyeong. I really enjoyed walking around the French cultural village and seeing the Little Prince and the other characters in the Antoine de Saint-Exupery novel. I got to read so many of the quotes that I love from the book too while exploring the small village. I also instantly recognized the spot where the alien Do Min-joon kissed spoiled celebrity princess Cheon Song-yi in one of my favorite Korean dramas, My Love from the Star.