Kingdoms, Palaces and Cherry Blossoms

The best part of travelling is the actual cultural immersion. This is when you blend yourself together with the locals and understanding their history to better understand them today. 

In this part of the blog, I will show you 3 of the palaces that we visited during our travel to Seoul and how we were amazed by the massive structures of each complex and the history behind it that shaped Korea as a nation. What's even better is, these 3 palaces are almost close to each other by distance thus a walk to the complexes becomes easier.

Changgyeonggung Palace.  📷 - my wife - Deborah

Changdeokgung Palace and Huwon:

This is the closes in terms of proximity to our hotel. We stayed at City Park Hotel in Jongno and Changdeok as the locals call it, is just about 300 meter away. To give you an overview of how close this palace to the hotel, please check the map below:

Walk from City Park Hotel to Changdeokgung Palace. 

The whole complex is part of UNESCO World Heritage List and regarded as one of the "Five Grand Palaces".

According to history, this palace was built by King Taejong, the third ruler of Joseon Dynasty in 1405. Unlike other palace structures in Korea, Changdeok complex was built at the foot of a mountain which made it stand in perfect harmony with nature. 

Changdeok Palace facade. 📷 - my wife - Deborah

We were not able to go to Huwon (Secret Garden) due to time constraints. As you probably know, the garden can be accessed via Changdeok Palace but with separate gate and entrance fee. This garden is only accessible to visitors via a guided tour. Unfortunately, the next English guided tour was scheduled almost at the same time we were scheduled to leave Seoul for the airport. We'll probably see it next time when we get the chance. 

Changgyeonggung Palace:

Interestingly, this palace is already accessible via Changdeok Palace's entrance - nice!

Initially, this palace was named Suganggung Palace but was renamed Changgyeonggung Palace by the late King Seongjong of Joseon dynasty and used as the residential home of his father King Taejong.

To be honest, to me, they all look pretty the same in terms of architecture although for some, the details maybe different in terms of the design and structure. 


Changgyeonggung Palace.  📷 - my wife - Deborah

Gyeongbokgung Palace:
This is the biggest among the 3 palaces we visited not mentioning the vastness of the palace complex. Actually, this is biggest among the "Five Grand Palaces" of Korea. It also served as the main palace of the Joseon dynasty. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace facade. 📷 - my wife - Deborah

If you look at the map as mentioned above, this is still relatively close to where we stayed in thus walkable. 

City Park Hotel surrounded by palaces of Korea

This is where you will also find numerous cherry blossom trees when you're lucky. Visiting Seoul from late March to early April is the best time to see these famous flower bearing trees. Although I must say this may still be a "hit or miss" for most people, as majority of cherry blossom forecasts do not predict the actual blooming days of the trees. If you really are eager to see them bloom, plan your trip at least for the whole forecast week/s. Remember, this is one of the most talked about attraction in Korea during spring time so better get your cameras ready and get yourself a photo with some of these trees. 

Here are some of our Cherry Blossom photos inside Gyeongbok Palace's complex. 

Aren't they beautiful? 📷 - my wife - Deborah

The lonely one. 📷 - my wife - Deborah

Not quite in full bloom yet. 📷 - my wife - Deborah

Gyeongbok Palace is also home of the famous Changing of Royal Guards. This is one spectacle to watch as all performances are done in full costumes. This activity will bring you back to the time when these guards are doing it regularly and not just for ceremonial purposes. 

Below are the performance times according to visitkorea.or.kr website. 

Performance Times

Sumunjang (Royal Guard) Changing Ceremony
10:00, 14:00 / 20 minutes per ceremony
Gwanghwamun Gate Guard-on-Duty Performance
11:00, 13:00 / 10 minutes per ceremony
Sumungun (Gatekeeper) Military Training (outside Hyeopsaengmun Gate)
09:35, 13:35 / 15 minutes per ceremony

This drum is getting ready for the performance. 
📷 - my wife - Deborah


Lastly, if you still can't get enough of Korean culture - head to the 2 museums located inside Gyeongbok Palace. The National Palace Museum of Korea is located south of Heungnyemun gate while the National Folk Museum is located at the eastern side.

There's really a lot to see in Seoul. We had a great time. Ask Andrei. He definitely will tell you how happy he was during his Seoul escape!

He may look Korean to you but he is definitely Pinoy. 
📷 - my wife - Deborah

#SAF44: Politicking for Politicians. HEROISM for Filipinos and the Philippines. They deserve justice!

PLEASE READ THIS:

https://www.eaglenews.ph/lp-president-pangilinan-defends-partymates-aquino-roxas-raising-mamasapano-incident-anew-is-pure-simple-politicking-he-says/

My Take:

I contemplated in NOT writing anything about this but could not contain the urge to not say my piece. If you look at it in one side, this is politicking. Kiko’s right. This is a matter for the court to work with and provide avenues for the accused to defend themselves. On the other side, #SAF44 is another part of our history which should always be remembered just like #EDSAPeoplePower. Although #SAF44 is one dark side of our history and government, it thought us valuable lessons to NEVER FORGET the HEROISM of the 44 citizens of this country who were tasked to fight for the Philippines’ causes. 

The problem with us Filipinos, we always tend to forget the dark parts of our history so we can move forward. This is what we were taught and should always be the case every time. We only resorted to providing the fallen with military honor but has not given them the justice that they and their families truly deserve - at least not yet after all the years passed since.

When politicians mention #EDSAPeoplePower during election campaigns, they capitalize on the glamour of how the unity of the people overthrew a government but failed to mention the negative after effects of the sudden change of leadership to the economy that also affected the most vulnerable parts of society. On the other hand, when some politicians mention #SAF44 during election campaigns, others immediately cry out foul and accuse others of mere politicking because it hurts their chances of getting re-election. To me, this is outright injustice. 

Yes, #EDSAPeoplePower put the Philippines in the global democratic map that showcases the citizens power against an oppressive government. It showed how we, Filipinos can unite to make the change we at least hoped for. On the case of #SAF44, they may just be small in numbers but they represent the objective of millions of Filipinos who still hope for a peaceful Philippines for their children. They put their lives, united on the frontline in support for the government’s noble cause to eradicate terrorism. Unfortunately, it was the same government who did not do anything while they are getting feasted upon inside the lion’s den. 

The two examples featured the same HEROISM against threats so why brand them differently? Why #EDSAPeoplePower could be tagged as fact stating while #SAF44 politicking? I am sorry but I probably could never understand. Please enlighten me.

The Happiest Place in Korea (Everland Adventures)

I am not a fan of themed parks although if given the chance, I don't say "no" to it. I began to gain interest on themed parks again after my 1st child was born. I thought he needs to see these places to gain experience and enjoy his childhood.

On this post, I will share with you all our adventures at Korea's Everland and how this became one of the best places to visit for kids and kids at heart.

It was Sunday, March 30, 2019. We arranged our Everland trip via Klook for both our transfer/s to and from Seoul and the actual themed park pass. The bus was scheduled to leave at 9:40 am. The departure point was the subway line 1, 3, or 5 at Jongno 3 (sam) - ga Station exit 12. We got there from the hotel 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. Few meters from the departure point, we already saw tourists queuing for the bus. We lined up as well and showed our vouchers as issued by the provider and boarded in. The bus left at exactly the same time as scheduled and stopped at 2 more pick up points for other passengers to board. We left Seoul for Everland officially at 10:10 am. The journey took about 1 hr and 30 minutes.

There was a huge parking space for tourist buses close to the resort. The bus stopped there as we needed to transfer to another bus going to the themed park. Our bus driver told us to meet him again at 3:00 pm on the same drop off point for our ride back to Seoul. Off we went to Everland bus! Queue up people! The bus ride took about 5-10 minutes before it reached Everland's main entrance gate.

We got to the entrance gate at Everland and had our first photo opportunity there. At the Everland's gate, our voucher's QR code were scanned and got in. Convenient right? There's no need for you to print anything unless you already have done so, that's okay too.

Ivan and his wife Adel were with us during the whole Korean trip. 

On to our next adventures, friends!

When we got in, I was amazed by how massive the area is and how attractions were arranged. Below are the arrangements of the of the attractions and rides. You can also download the full map here.

• European Adventure
• Magic Land
• American Adventure
• Zootopia
• Global Fair

Then, another photo opportunity came up right after we got in.

My wife - Deborah immediately noticed this big and 

colorful tree and posed for another photo!

As mentioned, this is a massive themed park and the only way to go around is by foot. If you will be bringing toddlers - I would suggest you bring baby stroller with you as we did for a more convenient movement. Don't worry, as the whole themed park has paved walkways and alleys. There's also "walkalators" at Zootopia so you will be okay. Unfortunately there are slopes that you may need to pass through as you go around so just breath as you push your baby strollers up. Tiring indeed but well worth it if your family's happy! 

My wife and our son - Andrei posing with some Dutch inspired buildings 

at the background.

Restaurants, gift and souvenir shops are strategically located in between attraction sections for those shopping enthusiasts. For hungry folks, restaurants cuisines depend on the area they are in. European cuisine are available in the European Adventure section of the park while American restaurants can be found in American Adventure section. If you're lucky, you may find KFC inside the park. You can also see snack bars offering various delightful treats for the street food lovers. Just be advised though that depending on the number of guests in the restaurant, the food will be served to you in as late as 40 minutes. We went to Venitian Pizza for our early lunch fix and got the food after that long. If you think about eating in one of the restaurants here, try to go in first and see the number of people inside and decide if your stomach can wait a little longer than the average food serving time. 

Winter could be harsh especially for people from tropical countries. Remember, you will walk in chilly temperature with cold winds blowing on your face, so make sure you prepare before your travel. I was a victim of harsh weather in one of my previous travels to Europe and was told by one of my Swedish friend "Don't blame the weather - blame your layers". 

My wife and our son - Andrei posing with the Everland sign at the 

European Adventure section of the park.

Everland has numerous gardens too. Maybe the most prominent one is the Tulip Garden located in Little Holland. These are real living tulips my friends. If you're okay to just sit back and relax while enjoying the little piece of Holland with you, then this is the place for you. 

They even sell real tulips in Everland for just 4,000 won

per piece. Any takers?

Little Holland at Everland

The best time to go to Everland is during the summer as hopefully all the rides and attractions are open to tourists. Depending on the weather, Everland closes some attractions for safety purposes so it's better to plan your tour ahead. You may end up not seeing some attractions during rainy, snowy or windy weather. 

Before we leave Everland, another spectacle greeted us - that's the Everland parade where grand floats and fairy creatures danced with the tune of Everland theme songs. It was magical and entertaining. What's surprising is, you will likely see few local dancers in the group. We saw mostly caucasian men and women as part of the dance troupe. Regardless, it was indeed entertaining and fun. 

One of the grand floats which roamed the park at 1:00 pm

in Everland

Some of the dancers singing and dancing in the tune

of Everland theme songs! What a spectacle!

We ended our tour at 2:45 pm and headed to the main bus station few kilometers away from the park, which unfortunately is also the worst part of the whole experience.

As agreed with the bus operator, we will meet him again at 3:00 pm on the same place where we left him. We arrived there 10 minutes before the scheduled departure but we saw our bus already leaving for Seoul. We ask the other drivers there why the bus was leaving early and we were told that the bus is heading to a different drop off point. We were then told that we would need to transfer to a different bus and we need to wait. At exactly 3:00 pm we still did not know which bus to take going back so we asked some drivers there. We just got a rude reply from one Korean driver saying - "I don't speak English" as he walked away. 

We ended up taking another bus to our destination back to the city but since it was not the same route our new driver was familiar of, we arrived in Seoul at around 6:30 pm. That's 3.5 hours compared to the 1.5 hours travel time going to the park. 

If you will remove that unfortunate travel experience, our trip to Everland would have been perfect. Yes - we might come back again to see this park covered in snow. When? - only time will tell.

Nami - miss kita! (Petite France and Naminara Republic Invasion)

Choosing Seoul as our next travel destination was easier as I know that my wife was dying to see actual live cherry blossoms plus the winter/spring feels of Korean climate.

March 28, 2019. We arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 11:00 PM. We needed to wait at the airport for our pick up which will take us to the our hotel. The travel time from Incheon to Seoul took about 45mins. We settled after check-in at the hotel at around 2:00 am. We had less than 4 hours to sleep before our travel to Petite France and Naminara Republic (Nami Island) began. 

Time Check. 6:00 AM. After a quick wash up and preparations - we were out on the road again trying to find the drop off point of our tour to Nami Island. Good thing, the tour company who consistently communicated with us through messaging app directed us to where the drop off point was. We arrived at the area 5 minutes before the scheduled departure at 8:00 AM. At 10 mins passed the hour of scheduled departure, the bus came and took everyone scheduled for the tour.

Our first stop -- Petite France.

This is a French styled attraction erected on top of a hill. Although I don't have much to say about this attraction, anyone can easily find a good spot for photo ops worthy of FB and IG posts.

The complex has numerous restaurants, gifts and souvenir shops, mini museums and a small amphitheater. Inside the complex, you can somehow feel that you are not in Korea but somewhere in Europe.

My wife took this map as a souvenir. That's pretty much its worth - souvenir, because my wife doesn't know how to use a map. Ooops!

Below are some of the other photos we've taken during our short stop at Petite France:

My wife and son beside a red post box. It looks like my boy got bored

and wanted to move on to another spot.

The brick stone steps going up to some more museums, gift shops

and restaurants. 

A mini Eiffel Tower will greet visitors at Petite France for a good

photo opportunity.

My son will probably not admit this but he really likes pothole covers. 

Ask him why!

Now let's talk about Nami Island this time. To give you a brief history of Nami Island, Wikipedia - on it's website wrote:

"Namiseom or Nami Island (Korean: 남이섬) is a half-moon shaped island located in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, South Korea, formed as the land around it was inundated by the rising water of the North Han River as the result of the construction of Cheongpyeong Dam in 1944. Its name originates from General Nami, who died at the age of 28 after being falsely accused of treason during the reign of King Sejo, the seventh king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Although his grave was not discovered, there were a pile of stones where his body was supposed to be buried. It was believed that if someone took even one stone from there, it would bring misfortune to their house. A tour company arranged the grave with soil and then developed Namiseom into an amusement park." 

From Seoul to the port to Nami Island, the bus travelled for about 2 hours but the actual ferry to Nami Island travelled only for about 5 minutes. The tour company provided us with map of the Nami Island as well as the visa (technically a ticket to the ferry) as our entry pass. 

Another map souvenir for Naminara Republic. 🤣🤣🤣

When we got to the port, we were starving already and needed a quick lunch fix. Good thing our tour guide Finn, suggested a restaurant at the port where we tried some Korean BBQ.

Nice BBQ lunch. Did you know that in most if not ALL Korean restaurants, you will

automatically be given side dishes when you order a main dish? It's part of the deal man!

So never mind ordering Kimchi or that pickled radish separately!

I never thought of going to Nami Island to be honest even if I have been to Korea multiple times in the past. I thought that it was just a glorified "micro nation" in the middle of a river and only got it's popularity because of Winter Sonata (KDrama). Setting foot on the island gave a different feeling though. I felt a sense of peace and tranquility. Okay, enough of my 'emo' vibe - let's move on. 

The whole island is surrounded by trees. Although for the sake of tourism, the government of the island already installed numerous establishments. There are souvenir and gift shops, food stalls, restaurants, bike rental shops, numerous vending machines and tourist information centers. 

Below are two of my first photos at Nami Island.

There's pretty much a lot of things that you can see at Nami Island. The area although small is beaming with life as tourists come in and out of its area to explore is beauty and hidden wonders. During your stay at Nami Island, don't forget to rent a bike or Segway if you want to move around it fairly quickly. Although it looks small, the area has a diameter of about 4 kms and roaming around it on foot may not be a good idea for those without practice. Good luck on getting some muscle cramps after. 

Definitely, we had fun at Nami Island and will probably go back there during the winter to see its different beauty under the snow.

Meet me and my wife enjoying a cool dry weather under the trees 

at Nami Island.

On our next blog post, let's explore (n)Everland! Stay tuned!

TEASER: Our Korean Travel Adventures

When Andrei thinks he is a snow man

Me and my wife at Naminara Republic (Nami Is.)

My small but beautiful family at Petite France

My small but beautiful family at Everland

How to apply for a Korean Visa in Cebu? (Family Application)

Our family was supposed to travel to Kuala Lumpur in March this year to celebrate our 3rd year wedding anniversary. I booked a flight with AirAsia back in March 2018 for myself, my wife - Deborah and our only child Andrei. We were set to depart Cebu on March 23, 2019 but we received and email from the airline last November 30, 2018 saying our actual departure date was moved and the flight which was supposed to leave on the original date has been cancelled due to "network re-alignment". We were sad but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

AirAsia gave us 3 options for our travel plans. I opted for option 3.

After processing the full refund with the airline. I immediately booked another flight for us to Seoul. And this was the reason why we ended up applying for a Korean Visa. Please note that although the process for Korean visa application for Filipinos is pretty much the same for the whole country, I will only discuss our experience lodging the application in their consulate office in Cebu.

Determining the visa type during your application is important as requirements for each visa class may be different. We applied for Tourist Visa for Employees since my wife and I are both working as full time employees. Now let's go on with the visa application. 

Below are the Tourist Visa Requirements for Filipino Employees which I will be discussing to you one by one.

Application Form: This is pretty much normal everywhere. All you need to do is to download the Korean Visa Application Form and fill the application information clearly. Although it may be best to fill the information by hand, since I got lazy, I did a type written application. I don't think the Korean Consulate office would mind. 

Please also note that the application form is generic for ALL visa class application. 

1 piece of Passport size colored picture: All you need to do is go to a photo studio and ask them to take a passport photo of you and you're done. Simple. I don't think the consulate office have any preference for a colored or white background but for the purpose of this post, we opted for a white background photo. You need to paste the passport photo on the visa application form (page 1). 

Original Passport (should be valid for more than 6 months): This is the most important document you need to submit. Make sure that your passport is valid for more than 6 months prior to lodging your application. Just to be on the safe side, in case of visa approval, your passport may also need to be valid for at least 6 months on the date of your intended travel. I've heard about a lot of airport horror stories when travellers presented their passport at the immigration and were not allowed to travel because of this requirement. This maybe a case to case basis but AGAIN, to be on the safe side, it will cause you no harm to get this complied with.  

Photocopy of Passport Bio-page (page 2): Just get that photocopied, will you? I did all colored photo copies of our passports for our application although the consular office's website does not specify this. You may want to do the same. 

Original and photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years (If applicable, and Korean Visas will not be counted): Valid visas and arrival stamps are 2 separate things. If you have travelled to any of the OECD countries in last five years, you may want to include a photocopy of your valid visa - which means the visa has not expired yet. You can access the list of OECD member states here. Please note that in most cases OECD member states issue sticker visas - which are sticked on the passport page. 

If you've used the visa, your passport will be stamped at the immigration counter proving that you used it and arrived in the destination country. This stamp on your passport is called arrival stamps. 

All you need to do is to have photocopies of the pages of your passport with valid visas and arrival stamps as part of your documentation requirements. You need to submit an original copy of this document (your passport/s where the visa/s and arrival stamp/s are available) and photocopies of the same to the embassy / consulate office. 

Original Certificate of Employment (including applicant's position, date hired, compensation, address, office landline number, e-mail address): In most companies, they use a template for COE requests which sometimes does not cover the information that the embassy is looking for. Make sure you instruct your company HR to include the requested information as mentioned above. You need to submit an original copy of this document to the embassy / consulate office. 

Original Personal Bank Certificate (must include account type, current balance, account opening date, ADB): This is different from a bank statement. If you go to your bank's branch of account, you will be issued a document letter stating your account information in the bank. You will have to pay for this document and may depend on the bank and branch. You need to submit an original copy of this document to the embassy / consulate office. 

Bank Statement (original or certified true copy of bank statements/passbook for the last 3 months): This is different from personal bank certificate. This is another document from the bank that details the movement of your account - deposits, withdrawals, interest charges and earnings. You need to submit an original copy of this document to the embassy / consulate office. 

Photocopy of ITR (Income Tax Return) or Form 2316 (Checked by BIR with stamp): We had challenge on this requirement as the consulate office asked for an ITR duly stamped by the BIR. We only submitted a photocopy that came from our company HR. You may want to check with your company HR about a copy of the ITR with BIR stamp if possible. 

Copy of PRC Card or IBP Card (If applicable only): As mentioned, this is only optional for those working professionals issued with PRC license. 

Please note that if you and your wife has joint bank account, then better. In our case, my wife and I maintain separate bank accounts thus we submitted bank documents separately. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAVELLING MINOR:

If you will travel with a minor (your child for example), then photocopy of all the documents of one of the parents MUST be attached to the application form of the travelling minor. 

You also need to show proof of relationship with the minor (if they are your own children). These documents will help show proof of relationship:

1. NSO authenticated birth certificate of the travelling minor
2. Authenticated marriage certificate of the couple

The processing time for tourist visa application: 7 working days (no exception).

Visa Fee: 

For 59 days of stay or less (FREE)

60 days to 90 days - P2,000.00

What's good about lodging your Korean visa application in Cebu is, you don't need to go through a travel agency to do it. All you need are the required documents and head on to the Consulate Office to personally tender it. Below is the complete address of the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Cebu. 

Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Cebu:
12th Floor Chinabank Corporate Center, 
Lot 2, Samar Loop Cor. Road 5, Cebu Business Park, Mabolo, 
Cebu City 6000 
Philippines

I've read a couple of online posts about securing multiple entry visa to Korea even without specific credit cards (BPI or BDO Gold and Platinum Cards). Although I have not seen any proof of this online, you may want to increase your chances of securing multiple entry visa by showing proof of travels to Korea more than 5 times in 5 years. 

• If you have travel stamps for visits to Korea and / or entry slips in the last 5 years - attach photocopy of the stamps and entry slips. Also, you need to provide details of the travels to Korea on page 4 of the Korean Visa Application Form.

After lodging your application, the waiting game starts! You may want to check the status of your visa application online. 

Here's a copy of my visa as issued by the Korean Consulate Office in Cebu. Once this visa is used, the immigration officer at the airport at Incheon will have it stamped with the word 'USED'. Have I used it already? - a resounding 'YES'! Along with my wife and our son, we travelled to Seoul for 6 days from March 29-April 3, 2019.

For those aiming to apply for visa to Korea - I wish you all the best of luck!

I will make another blog post of our adventures in Seoul. Stay tuned!