Come over: A South Korean market
vendor (right) waits for customers at her food stall at Namdaemun market in
Seoul. (AFP/Park Ji-hwan)
A group of Indonesian journalists,
including The Jakarta Post, was invited by the Korea Tourism Organization to
join a familiarization trip to South Korea. A number of Asian journalists and
bloggers from Malaysia, Singapore, China and Japan also took part in the
three-day trip.
It was raining on the day we arrived
in Seoul, South Korea — a typhoon was approaching and a festival meant to
welcome autumn was canceled.
In many other cities, such a
situation would turn a perfectly planned holiday into an expensive misfortune.
But not in Seoul, a city so vibrant that not even bad weather could spoil its
charm.
If anything — especially if you’re a
pluviophile or do not mind getting a little wet in the rain — it actually makes
the city even more charming.
In the past few years, Seoul has
expanded its charm beyond its pretty parks and fancy shopping malls. It has
actually been promoting its traditional markets as one of its tourist
attractions.
At a glance, the idea may seem odd.
Seoul, like other major Asian cities, is highly modern and urbanized. Only
after visiting the markets did I find the idea plausible, if not brilliant —
something that perhaps only Koreans could pull off.
The argument for the tourism
strategy is quite simple. South Korea is known for many things, with K-pop and
K-drama now being its biggest cultural exports. It is not uncommon for tourists
(read: feverish K-pop fanboys and fangirls) to come to Seoul just to see their
K-pop idols.
But Korea, an ancient civilization
that has survived wars and destruction, is much bigger than boy band BTS and
other K-pop sensations.
And one of the cheapest, fastest and
most fun ways to learn about Korean history and culture is, of course, by
visiting its remaining traditional markets.
South Korea has many historic
traditional markets. In Seoul alone, there are three traditional markets that
you may want to visit while you are there: Namdaemun Market, Tongin Market and
Mangwon Market.
Namdaemun Market, opened in 1414, is
the largest traditional market in the country, attracting more than 300,000
visitors every day. There you can find Korean art, clothes, cuisine and many
other things in a single location.
If you’re looking for Korean
souvenirs, Namdaemun is the place. But if you like to eat but do not feel like
going to a fancy restaurant or are simply on a tight budget, then Tongin Market
is the place you are looking for.
Memories: A sculpture pays tribute
to Korean drama series Winter Sonata in Chuncheon, Gangwon province, in South
Korea. The romantic drama’s huge success brought in tourists to the country.
(The Jakarta Post/Ary Hermawan)
The market is an alley of small
shops offering traditional Korean food like bibimbap (mixed rice with meat and
assorted vegetables), kimchi (fermented vegetables), gimbap (rice roll) and
japchae (stir-fried glass noodles).
There you can get a tray and buy
food using traditional Korean coins called yeopjeon — a simple feature that
makes you feel like you are traveling back to the old days in Korea.
Other than traditional markets,
South Korea has given tourists another reason to visit the country: its vibrant
theater scene, especially in October, when the city’s cultural center Daehak-ro
holds its annual Daehak-ro festival.
The Korean performing arts scene had
developed way before K-pop and K-drama grabbed global attention, producing many
talents that have made Seoul one of the leading art and cultural centers in
Asia today.
During our trip, we had the chance
to watch two plays in Daehak-ro: Only You, a popular musical filled with 1990s
Korean hits, and Finding Mr. Destiny, which was adapted into a rom-com in 2010.
We also had the chance to watch the epic play 1446 at Theater Yong at the
National Museum of Korea.
Wait, are you wondering if I speak
Korean? No, I do not. Some theaters in Seoul provided English, Chinese and
Japanese translations for foreign audience members.
Hot and spicy: Korean dish bibimbap,
which literally means “mixed rice”, is served as a bowl of warm white rice
topped with sautéed vegetables, gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste) and soy
sauce with raw or fried egg and slices of meat. (www.souschef.co.uk/file)
While the subtitles might not
capture the nuances of the dialogue, they still let you follow the important
parts of the play even if you do not understand the language. It also gives you
some of the funniest lines, though not all of them, since at some parts you
could hear the rest of the audience laughing without you.
On the last two days of our trip in
Seoul, the sky was clear. We took a city tour with the Artee Riders Club, which
takes tourists on a rickshaw ride into the popular attractions in Seoul,
including its historical villages and alleys.
The 60-minute tour ended at
Gyeongbok Palace, where many Koreans could be seen strolling in their beautiful
traditional dress, called hanbok. A rickshaw tour is perhaps shorter than a bus
tour, but it could give you a more intimate picture of Seoul, as told by an
English-speaking driver who knows the city’s history.
A city tour in Seoul is nice. But if
you are a food or musical lover, the city is certainly best experienced in many
of its traditional markets and theater halls.
Daehak-ro Street the mecca of plays
Together: A scene from Finding Mr.
Destiny, one of the most popular musicals shown in Daehak-ro in Seoul
Daehak-ro Street is widely known as
“the mecca of performance arts”, “Korea’s Broadway” and a “symbol of Korean
youth and culture”.
For decades, it has served as
Seoul’s cultural center. In Korean, Daehak-ro means “College Street”. It was
given the moniker as it used to be the headquarters of Seoul National
University — which included its College of Liberal Arts and Science and College
of Law — before the university relocated its campuses.
The area is now home to 160
performance halls. It holds, according to the Korean Tourism Organization
(KTO), four times the number of theaters than New York’s Broadway and three
times that of London’s West End.
For Indonesian tourists, the area
would perhaps remind them of Jakarta’s own cultural center, Taman Ismail
Marzuki (TIM). It is more or less the same as TIM, only bigger and way more
vibrant with many shows throughout the year.
October, however, is the best time
to visit Daehak-ro. Throughout the month, the KTO organizes Welcome Daehak-ro,
a festival in which foreign tourists can enjoy a number of musicals and plays
with English subtitles.
Some of the most popular musicals
are Finding Mr. Destiny, Love Comes with the Rain, Oh! While You Were Sleeping,
Only You, Laundry and 1446. The ticket prices range from 15,000 won (US$13.22)
to 60,000 won.
Some performances, such as Finding
Mr. Destiny and Only You, are shown in small theater halls where the artists
can interact with the audience.
During these shows, you cannot help
but envy the local audience, because there is improvised dialogue without
subtitles that always draws laughter.
Outside the halls, at Marronnier
Park, some amateur artists, mostly musicians or hip-hop dancers, usually
perform for free. During Welcome Daehak-ro festival, some non-verbal
performances are also shown at the park.
No subtitles are provided for
outdoor performances, of course, but they are still enjoyable. After all,
millions of people around the world have been drawn to K-pop, even if they only
know one or two Korean words.
Choose your traditional Korean
markets
Traditional markets can be found in
all provinces in Korea. The Korean Tourism Organization has listed at least 17
top traditional markets that you can choose to visit while in the country.
Among them are Cunccheon Jungang
(Nangman) Market in Gangwon-do, Suwon Nammun Market in Gyeonggido, Singi Market
in Incheon, Seomun Market in Daegu and 1913 Songjeong Station Market in
Gwangju.
Each market has its own unique
features. Singi Market, for instance, operates a unique payment system where
buyers can use special coins called singi tongboto pay for certain merchandise.
Korean style: A South Korean shop
tailor checks fabric at the hanbok (traditional dress) market in Gwangju city,
South Korea. (AFP/Kim Jae-Hwan)
Seomun Market is one of the largest
and most historic markets in Korea. It goes back to the age of the Joseon
dynasty.
The market’s main products are
textile goods and hanbok traditional costumes, but it has recently been known
for its night market, which offers treats like napjakmandu (flat dumplings) and
tteokbooki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes).
Nangman market, meanwhile, is known
for its romantic atmosphere. Chuncheon itself is known as the “City of
Romance”. The city is especially known for being the filming location of the
2002 K-drama classic Winter Sonata and the city’s romance theme can be found
even in one of its traditional markets.
We had the chance to visit Nangman
Market on the second day of our trip. Located just one hour away from Seoul,
the market has stores that are decorated with drawings that lend a fun twist,
preventing the space from feeling somber. If you explore deeper into the
market, you will find various sculptures and wall murals, adding to the
creative vibe of the place.
But do not forget that Nangman
Market is still a market where you can find various products ranging from daily
necessities to hanbok, bags, shoes, clothes, electronic appliances, jewelry and
food.
A wide range of people, whether
locals or foreign tourists, go there to shop.
