Gyeongbukgong Palace

Re-enacting a scene from my favourite sageuk Korean dramas at the beautiful Gyeongbukgong Palace in Seoul

Tall, strong and silent.  Exactly how I like my men. 

Enjoying the historical sights of Bukchon Village with Hanoks (traditional Korean houses) dating from the Joseon era.

Big thank you to Yong Jin for showing us around Seoul. It was fantastic to see the city through the eyes of a local.  We especially enjoyed the Gangnam plastic surgery district, Hang Gang park and the super-authentic jajjangmyeon and tangsuyuk from your favourite Chinese restaurant in Jongno.

Kdrama filming sites

 

Nami Island - where the mother of all Korean dramas "Winter Sonata"- was filmed

Film site for Park Bo Gum's highly successful "Love in the Moonlight" kdrama

Garden of the Morning Calm is really a beautiful place to visit.  This arboretum located in Gyeonggi province houses 5000 species of plants.  It's a popular location for filming of kdramas.

Shopping & eating in Seoul

Showing off my designer handbag that's a birthday present from Li Ki.  We had so much fun shopping in Insadong after discovering indie fabric designers who create the most fabulous textiles before turning them into wearable fashion and accessories.  It was seriously hard to choose what to buy!

Found a cutout of Park Bo Gum - my current favourite kdrama actor - outside a shop selling a brand of cosmetics we had never of.  So of course, we had to get some.  Especially since they gave me free calendars, posters and postcards of this flower boy.

 

Getting a makeover at Klavu beauty store in Myeongdong.  I was reluctant at first, but the very persuasive sales girl who spoke Mandarin, talked me into trying a new look.  Turned out to be a really fun afternoon!  And yes, I did end up buying quite a few new products.

 

Rose gelato in Myeongdong.  Very pretty.  Looks better than it tastes, to be perfectly honest.

Had the best meal on this trip at a mandu (Korean dumplings) shop in the back lanes of Insadong.  So tasty, satisfying and cheap. Just followed the locals instead of the tourists.

Kdrama Addiction

It all began innocently enough one afternoon at the end of July. I had taken a day off to nurse a slight fever and cold. After a futile few minutes of channel surfing, I decided to rummage through my DVDs in the hope of finding something to keep me entertained. My eyes spotted a Korean drama DVD set called "Winter Sonata", which was still in the original plastic wrapper from the time I bought it in 2009! I put the first disc into my DVD player and fifteen hours later, a Bae Yong Joon (BYJ)-loving ahjumma was born!

Bae Yong Joon - the original Korean Valentino who's my biggest crush of 2011

I suppose it would have been a passing phase if I hadn't declared my middle-aged crush so openly on Facebook. The confession opened a floodgate of romantic gushing from my friends, many of whom were die-hard fans of Kdramas, who thought I was too "atas" (Singaporean slang for snob) to ever join the fray. So I spent the entire month of August catching up on the Hallyu (Korean Wave) that started back in 2002 with the release of Winter Sonata. Over many sleepless days and nights, I started chasing down all the BYJ series I could find, both online and on DVDs. These included The Legend, Hotelier, April Snow and Untold Scandal (which is a "hawt" re-make of Dangerous Liaisons).

After listening to my obsessive rantings about Bae Yong Joon for six weeks, Lu Meng, one of my best friends from the Ahjumma Club, gently told me that BYJ is actually passe and it was time to move on to some newer dramas. And so she introduced me to a whole array of delightful new dramas such as Dream High, Boys over Flowers, You're Beautiful and Secret Garden.

Moved on to ogling hot young Korean actors half my age in Boys Over Flowers and You are Beautiful

So in a matter of a few short months, I have become enough of an expert to spot a few trends in Korean drama storylines. It all seems so corny and canned, but I get sucked in every time!

• All the lead actors are blindingly beautiful, super fashionable and filthy rich. Look up "eye candy" in the dictionary and you'll see a list of Korean actors. If you don't, then they should be!
• The lead actresses are innocently pretty and often economically and intellectually challenged. They seem to need a lot of rescuing!
• Boys always end up piggy-backing their drunk girlfriends home
• Boys running after bus
• Boy always gives girl a star or moon necklace
• Boy often has a "bitch" mother who messes with his self-worth and causes him to be supremely obnoxious
• Pitiful second male lead who always loses the girl no matter how much he loves her and is always there for her
• Someone always has a memory loss/amnesia resulting in an ending with a twist
• Sauna spa back rub scene for all the guys
• Girls fight by pulling each other's hair!?
• Lots of soju (rice wine) accompanied by barbecued pig skin/intestines (which inevitably leads to piggy back for drunk girl)
• TEARS!! Every actor and actress can cry to order and weep so prettily that your heart just breaks watching them  *

And the funny thing is that I had mixed feelings about Korea when I worked there in 2000. But thanks to this new obsession, I just might consider another visit soon.

SARANG HE! (I love you!)

*  Additional contributions from my KDrama group friends

• Boy always sings girl a song, even if he's grossly out-of-tune
• Beautiful boy has deep thoughts in the shower while camera focuses on his killer body and abs! (yummy)