Our first SKKU field trip happened on my 10th day in Korea. Coincidentally, but unluckily for me, we were heading to Gyeongbukgung (again!). This was my second visit to Gyeongbukgung since I had already came here with Shan. In addition, the tour guide who led us around was so good and knowledgeable that I don't think I can gain anymore knowledge this time round. And... I was true.
We met up in school for some short talk, and each of us were given a Subway Cold Cut Trio (with all vegetables included T.T) and a can of coke plus some chips for lunch. Soon after, we met at one of the highest point of SKKU (all the steep slopes and constant climbing) and everyone set off in buses. We went to some museums around Gyeongbukgung and also Gyeongbukgung itself. The exact name of the museum - I can't remember. I was never particularly interested in history and especially museums, and the fact that I've been to Gyeongbukgung before also turned me off this trip. And I attribute it to the poor planning of the school. If we were told ahead all these schedules, I wouldn't have headed to Gyeongbukgung for my pre-summer school trip. Sigh. So let the pictures say some words for me.
The next item on the itinerary, after all those historical tours, was NANTA. Honestly, I've heard of NANTA way back in Singapore. Nanta (And if you understand Chinese, it directly translates into 乱打, also known as Cookin' Nanta) is a South Korean non-verbal comedy show that incooperate traditional samul nori rhythm. The musical has a simple back story of three cooks attempting to finish preparing a wedding banquet within a strict time limit while the manager installs his incompetent nephew among the kitchen staff. The show involves acrobatics, magic tricks, comedy, pantomime and audience participation. The performance is almost completely non-verbal. The very few words which are spoken are mostly in English.
The NANTA stage in the picture below!!!
NANTA was a show that well exceeded my expectations! When I heard about it way back in Singapore, I was skeptical about how a non-verbal musical would be enjoyable, and also why people would pay so much to watch it. When SKKU arranged it for us, I was still not excited at it, at all. I even fell asleep in the first 15 minutes while waiting for the show to start. But subsequently, I awoke from my sleep and I have never really stopped laughing throughout. It was that good!!! Funny, interesting, and definitely a musical not to be missed! (Especially if you are in Korea itself, it feels especially gooooood to watch a Korean musical in Korea.)
But when the musical ended, we were told that there will be no buses fetching us back to SKKU. Good job school! This was my second displeasure with the not-well-planned programme. Seriously, which school drives you to far far away (we don't even know where we are), and left us there without clear directions (even if I asked the Student Assistants, they don't know too) and have everyone just leave like this? We managed to find our way to the subway station though, and from the subway, you should be able to go anywhere. As it was still early (6pm or so), we decided to head back to Daehangno (Hyehwa area) to explore our area and also to have dinner.
Budaejjigae (부대찌개) was our choice. Budaejjigae, otherwise known as army stew, is a common dish in Korea. Koreans love soup (I think) but their soups are usually thicker than normal Chinese soups, and similar to stews, and these thick soups are called jjigae (찌개). Partly, I love Korea because I love soups, and jjigae is everywhere in Korea. Some other variations are Kimchi jjigae, Doenjjang Jjigae (Soybean paste soup), Sundubu Jjigae (Tofu soup). Budaejjigae usually contains spam (Korea's luncheon meat but somehow tastes so good), ham, cheese, some meat, tofu, ddeok (ricecake), sausages, eggs, instant noodles, etc. All those cheap and basic food (and sometimes unhealthy) all dumped together. And surprisingly it just tastes so good. Budaejjigae in Singapore is expensive, about S$15 per pax, and it's about half the price back in Korea. So, if you are there, why not eat it? (:
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