Sabtu, 06 Oktober 2012

[Buzz Korea] - Unique and Dynamic contrast of South Korea

This time I will make the post into two languange​...English and Bahasa Indonesia. why?...first of all...it can read easily by all my friend who may not quite understand on English... and the second is because at the same time I'm gonna take this post for a contest called "2012 AWARD BUZZ KOREA" that hold by Buzz Korea (again)!!!  Yayyy!!!  either because I'm so happy to write all the things that smelled of South Korea or maybe become "addicted" to all contest that the prize is free trip to Korea * arghh of course I want it so bad! :D * anyway this time I'm back to the challenge. no one can't stop me! If you want to know more details about the contest just click here yaaa ... ^ _ ~
  
Okay, before I start to post I'm gonna give an introduction of Buzz Korea. Buzz KOREA is a global campaign and an integrated online community platform site that reveals Korea's tourism attractions and a variety of Korea-related contents through social media like Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Ameba, QQ etc.  If you have an experience and memories about Korea, you can share it with other Buzz friend and then you can talk about life in korea, korean culture,  food, fashion, drama and many more with everyone you communicate with. its one of the easier way to know about Korea and I think  it can help us too to get information especially if we want to go to Korea :-)

Postingan kali ini akan saya buat dalam 2 bahasa...yaitu Enggres dan Bahasa Indonesia. kenapa? pertama supaya postingan ini bisa dibaca dengan gampang oleh temen2 yang mungkin belum terlalu ngerti enggres *sok jago critanya :D* dan kedua postingan ini sekaligus saya ikutin buat kontes “2012 BUZZ KOREA AWARD” yang diadakan Buzz Korea (lagih)! Yayyy...entah karna memang seneng menulis semua hal yang berbau Korea atau jadi nagih dengan semua kontes yang hadiahnya travelling ke Korea *ahh tentu saya sangat mauuuuuu :D* pokoknya kali ini saya kembali ngikutin tantangan deh. maju terus pantang mundur!! Kalau pengen tau lebih detail tentang kontes ini silahkan klik di - sini yaaa...^_~

Oke, sebelum mulai saya akan memperkenalkan kembali apa sih Buzz Korea ituuu. Buzz KOREA adalah kampanye global dan komunitas terpadu situs platform online yang mengungkapkan atraksi pariwisata Korea dan berbagai hal yang berkaitan dengan Korea melalui media sosial seperti Blog, Facebook, Twitter, amoeba, QQ dll. kalau kamu punya pengalaman dan kenangan tentang Korea ,kamu bisa berbagi dengan teman Buzz lainnya dan juga dapat berbicara tentang kehidupan di korea, budayanya, makanan, fashion, drama, dan banyak lagi dengan semua orang yang ingin kamu kasih tau. ini salah satu cara yang lebih mudah untuk mengetahui tentang Korea dan kayaknya memang bisa membantu qta juga untuk mendapatkan informasi terutama kalo qta mau pergi ke Korea :-)

One of a contest that ever held by Buzz Korea is "Touch Korea Tour with 2PM & Miss A". and I'm so proud cause one of the best blogger in Indonesia which is Erry Andriyati won the prize and representing Indonesia. Yeayyyyyyyy!!! and here's the link video of Fun Tour Team (she's on a group called "Fun Tour"). as a matter of fact, Buzz Korea and The Korean Tourism Organisation decided to have the last competition for all the members. the team members who won the highest number of votes will be awarded with a free trip to Korea on the last week of october and a prize of (nearly) 5000$ each. if we want to vote we can also get the prize! the prize are SAMSUNG GALAXY LAPTOP, A SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE AND A SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB! Whoaaaaa..so interesting!!!
All we have to do is just sign up in Buzz Korea and then click on the social network icon you choose and your vote is submitted. and prizes will be given to the randomly selected voters who voted for the winning team. I will vote for Fun Tour Team which is you teh Erry Andriyati and of course I hope I can win too  ^^

Salah satu kontes yang pernah diadakan oleh Buzz Korea adalah "Touch Korea Tour dengan 2PM & Miss A". dan saya ikut bangga karna salah satu blogger terbaik di Indonesia yaitu Erry Andriyati memenangkan kontes ini dan mewakili Indonesia disana. Yeayyyyyyyy! dan di sini adalah link video dari Tim Fun Tour (dia ada di kelompok "Fun Tour"). sebenarnya Buzz Korea dan Korea Tourism Organization memutuskan untuk mengadakan kompetisi terakhir untuk semua anggota Tim. anggota Tim yang memenangkan voting/ jumlah suara terbanyak akan memenangkan perjalanan gratis ke Korea pada minggu terakhir Oktober dan hadiah yang hampir $5000 / masing-masing member. nah kalo qta mau ikutan nge-vote qta juga bisa dapet hadiah. hadiahnya SAMSUNG GALAXY LAPTOP, A SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE DAN SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB! Whoaaaaaa...menarik kan?!
Yang harus kita lakukan cuma daftar di Buzz Korea dan kemudian klik pada ikon jaringan sosial yang di pilih dan suara qta masuk deh udah. dan nanti hadiah akan diberikan kepada para pemilih yang dipilih secara acak yang memilih untuk tim pemenang. Saya pastinya akan bantu vote Tim Fun Tour yaitu teh Erry Andriyati dan smoga sih tentunya bisa menang juga ^ ^

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Okay, now I'll start with my main post for the "2012 Buzz Korea Award"...lets begin :-)

In this post I took the theme "Travel To Korea" with the main title called Unique and Dynamic Contrast of South Korea. Why I choose this title? well..simple answer. the first is because I've been there..well actually backpacking with my two best friends on last June ^o^ and the second is because I really want to share all the story about the unique and contrast of the culture and lifestyle between one place to another place which are in the same city - Seoul. Actually this is a review story about my wonderful trip during the Second day in Seoul (if you guys want to know the previous entry is in here ...but sorry, only Indonesia languange there :-) ) So for all that has been waiting for my story which is the second day..well here's the sequel! ^ _ ~

Di postingan kali ini saya sengaja ngambil tema “Travel To Korea”dengan judul utamanya Keunikan dan Dinamis Kontras dari Korea Selatan. Knapa? Simple sih jawabannya. Hehe yang pertama tentu karna saya udah pernah kesana dengan perjalanan ala backpacker bersama 2 sahabat saya, dan yang kedua karna saya pengen banget berbagi crita kepada smuanya tentang kontrasnya budaya dan gaya hidup antara tempat yang satu dengan tempat yang lainnya dalam 1 kota yaitu di Seoul. Sebetulnya ini sekaligus crita ttg perjalanan saya di hari kedua selama di Seoul (klo mau tau postingan sebelumnya yang hari pertama ada di-sini :-)) Jadi buat yang nunggu2 postingan saya di hari kedua karna memang belum ada lanjutannya skalian dsini aja yaaahh sekuel-nyaaa..*sambil nyelem minum air-laah* - ^_~ 

Day 2 : Hongik University - Itaewon - Apgujeong - Han River

In the beginning I was actually wanted to go to Yonsei - Ewha Woman University, a little bit review why I really want to see Yonsei - Ewha Woman University? its because I once read in a book from Indonesia author called "Jalan-Jalan Korea" and from browsing on the internet that Yonsei - Ewha Woman Univ. has a very interesting architecture, made of stone with lots of gothic and creeper. and they also have a beautiful garden, and it says that it becomes one of the set for some korean drama as well. I already imagine that the three of us will surround the campus with their beautiful gardens then have a cute picnic lunch at a park bench with all the food that we cooked and brought from the guesthouse. well .. I guess its a rare experience for a backpacker who is looking not just for the tourist attractions but also loking for a campus ... hihihihiii. but unfortunately... it looks like we didn't lucky that day. for some reason when we got off from the subway at Hongik Univ. Station we seemed wrong exit, and when you're using the Subway in Seoul then ended up with wrong exit .... okay, its a trouble! ... maybe you can only follow where your foot want to go, moreover we are also pressed with the time and there are still so many places that has to be visit, finally we gave up to find Ewha and trying to Hongik University. ihiks kinna sad actually... but yaaa...hopefully someday if GOD give me the opportunity to visit South Korea again I can visit those campus. *cross my fingers* ^ ^

Awalnya sih sebenernya tujuannya mo ke Yonsei - Ewha Woman University, sedikit review knapa saya pengen bangeeeeet liat Yonsei – Ewha Woman University? karna di buku yang pernah saya baca yaitu "Jalan-Jalan Korea" dan dari hasil brosing di internet ..Yonsei - Ewha Woman Univ. punya arsitektur yang sangat menarik, gotik berbahan batu dengan banyak tumbuhan menjalar gtu deh. dan mereka juga punya taman yang baguus dan indah, dan katanya lagi sering jadi tempat syuting korean drama juga. saya udah ngebayangin kalo kami bertiga akan mengelilingi kampus beserta taman yang indah itu trus makan siang berpiknik ria dibangku taman yang ada disana dengan semua ransum yang hari itu bener-bener udah niat kita masak dan bawa dari guesthouse. ya jarang-jaranglah backpacker yang ini bukan hanya cari tempat wisata tapi malah nyarinya kampus...hihihihiii. tapiii...yaah...sepertinya emang blum jodoh hari itu. entah mengapa begitu kita turun dari Subway di Hongik Univ. Station kita sepertinya salah exit dan kalau kau menggunakan subway di Seoul dan berakhir dengan salah exit....oke, masalah udah!... kayaknya cuma bisa ngikutin kemana kaki melangkah aja udah. apalagi kita juga dikejar waktu dan sementara masi banyak banget tempat yang harus dikunjungin, akhirnya waktu itu kita merelakan Ewha and coba ngikutin sign ke Hongik University. ihiks sedih siiih...tapi yaaa sutralah....semoga kalo suatu saat dikasih kesempatan ke Korsel lagi daku bisa mengunjungi kedua kampus tersebut. Amin! ^^

Finally we walked continue to follow the direction sign which showing Hongik University. and the street name is Hongdae! All this time I only see and read about this famous "youth street" on TV, books or the internet, until the last June...I finally really can see it with my own eyes! whoaaaaa! and its really true, building houses, the cafe's ... dont ask more---its too cute!! but Hongdae in the daytime and not on the weekend is a little bit 'quiet'. I mean its like not "alive". well..still crowded anyway, but that because many kids student or college student who's on the street.. but by the time I was kinna had a feeling that this Hongdae street is definitely more crowded and will be more "alive" if in the evening or night time. especially Hongdae is known as its street for young korean couple especially who's on a date ;-)

akhirnya ya udah karna udah terlanjur salah exit akhirnya kita tetep jalan aja ngikutin terus sign yang nunjukkin ke arah Hongik University. jalanannya disitu bernama Hongdae! Jalanan hip anak muda yang terkenal yang selama ini cuma bisa saya baca dan liat gambarnya di TV, buku atau internet skarang bener-bener ada di depan mata  saya sendiri!! whoaaaaaaa!! dan emang bener, bangunan rumah, atau cafe2-nya ih jangan ditanya...lucu-lucu bangetttt!! tapi Hongdae di siang hari dan bukan di waktu weekend memang rada sepi bok. hehe ya rame sih, tapi ramenya karna disiang hari banyak anak kuliahan sama anak skolah yang seliweran dimana-mana.. tapi menurut saya waktu itu udah feeling aja kalo jalanan ini pasti lebih rame dan bakalan lebih "hidup" kalo udh sore atau malam hari. apalagi Hongdae memang terkenal sebagai jalanan gaul-nya muda mudi Korea yg buat pada pacaran ;-)

And finally we arrived at Hongik University. Hongik Unviversity is known as one of the best college of art and design in Korea! we didn't get into the room or their hall, it's only around the campus and the garden. since the clock was already at 12 noon and my stomach already rumbled we finally still having a small picnic in their garden, look for an empty seat and eating our food. Thx GOD, although its only rice - nuggets - and the fried noodle but when hungry cames all the food become soooooo delicious!! hahahaa...

Gak brapa lama sampelah qta di Hongik University. usut punya usut Hongik Unviversity ini katanya adalah salah satu perguruan tinggi seni & desain terbaik di Korea. qta gak sampe masuk ke dalem2 ruangan atau hall-nya sih, cuma sampe seputar kampus dan tamannya aja. sayangnya tamannya memang tidak seindah Yonsei - Ewha *kalo liat di buku2 lho ya*...tapi berhubung udah jam 12-an dan perut udah keroncongan ya akhirnya qta tetep piknik di tamannya dan mencari bangku yang kosong sambil makan ransum bawaan qta. Alhamdulillaaaah, walaupun cuma nasi - nugget - dan mie goreng tapi namanya lagi laper mah enak banget deh. yaa lumayanlah...kapan lagi bisa lunch di bawah pohon rindang Hongik University sambil dikelilingi cowok-2 abegenya Korea? hahahaaa....


Finished with the lunch we're continue directly via subway to Itaewon. what did we want to see in Itaewon? As one of a moslem - of course I want to visit the one and only big Mosque which is "Seoul Central Mosque". Yep .. and indeed its the one majestic mosque located, and I was curious too with this Itaewon street who's known as middle eastern aura.

Out of the Subway Line 6 - Itaewon Station finally we met with Itaewon street .... Wow, what a different aura - 180 degrees with the previous spot! even with Seoul as a whole I think. Itaewon is a true multi-ethnic area. I think many asian and many middle eastern races seems here. but I guess its dominated by middle eastern people like India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, etc. there is korean people too but as far as my eyes can see it's really not a lot. I feel like I'm in India! so unique :-)


Selesai lunch qta langsung capcus lanjut ke Itaewon via subway. apa yang pengen qta liat di Itaewon? Sebagai salah seorang muslim tentunya saya mau liat satu2-nya mesjid besar disana yaitu “Seoul Central Mosque”. Yap..dan memang disana-lah katanya satu2nya mesjid megah itu berada, sama yaaa penasaran aja kayak apa sih jalanan yang terkenal dengan aura timur tengahnya ini.

Pas udah kluar dari Subway Line 6 - Itaewon Station dan ketemu dengan jalanan Itaewon....Wow, sungguh keadaan dan aura yang berbeda 180 drajat dengan Hongdae! bahkan dengan Seoul secara keseluruhan kayaknya. bisa dibilang Itaewon ini adalah area multi-etnik. segala macem ras Asia ada kayaknya disini. tapi emang banyak didominasi oleh orang-orang Timur Tengah kayak India, Arab, Pakistan gitu deh. orang Koreanya ada tapi sejauh mata memandang sih bener-bener gak banyak. berasa di India rasanya *kayak pernah ke India ajah :D*

After 10 minutes looking for the location of the mosque by taxi finally the taxi stop near the mosque area. we kinna had a little way up a bit because the mosque position on a hilltop.

and this is it .... "Seoul Central Mosque" .... sooooo pretty .... :-)


Skitar 10 menitan mencari-cari letak mesjid by Taksi (again) akhirnya taksinya brenti deket area mesjid. qta agak jalan naik sedikit karna ternyata posisi Mesjid brada di puncak bukit.

and this is it....Seoul Central Mosque....cantik yaaaa....:-)


Thx GOD.... I think found the mosque in a country that has not been visited is one of the biggest excitement for the moslems. its feels like 'home sweet home'!

Perhaps there's one thing that makes me a little sad when I looked for the toilet room and the woman prayer room. The toilet room is dirty, full of dust, and I think the lights also died. Honestly its makes me a little scared  inside alone. Luckily we had the prayer at noon so there's no problem even without lights. Prayer room for women is also quite small. we are realize and understand that Islam is a minority religion there, but I think it would be better if the one and only mosque in Seoul could be nice and well maintained. this is just a little suggestion from me ... of course if the mosque can be treated well it will give a value added in the eyes of moslem tourists like us ^ ^

Alhamdulillaaaaaah....kayaknya ga ada kegembiraan buat umat muslim yang lebih besar selain menemukan mesjid di negri yang khususnya blum pernah dikunjungin. ga tau deh...brasa 'home sweet home' ajah!

Mungkin satu hal yang membuat agak sedih disana adalah pas ngeliat toilet dan ruang sholat wanitanya. toiletnya kotor, debu, dan kayaknya lampunya juga mati semua. Jujur jadi bikin sedikit takut sih. Untung kita sholatnya siang disana jadi masih teranglah walopun tanpa lampu. Ruang sholat untuk wanita-nya sebetulnya masi lumayan bersihlah, ber-karpet juga. yah kami sadar dan mengerti kalau Islam adalah agama minoritas disana, tapi sepertinya akan lebih baik lagi kalo tempat ibadah besar khususnya Mesjid yang ada di Seoul ini bisa jadi bagus dan terawat. yaa ini hanya sedikit masukan aja sih... tentunya kalau bisa terawat dan bagus kan juga akan memberikan nilai plus di mata turis muslim kayak qta ^^

After about an hour of prayer and rest in the mosque finally we decided continue around Itaewon while looking way back to the subway. oh before we left the mosque we found some promotional brochure from "Salaam Restaurant". Itaewon is very famous with the Middle East region so there lots of Halal restaurant. so for moslem tourists and want to find food that is guaranteed 100% halal .... just go to Itaewon. you'll find many restaurant! one of them is this "Salaam Restaurant" :-)

Setelah sekitar sejam sholat dan istirahat di Mesjid akhirnya qta putuskan lanjut kliling Itaewon sbentar sambil cari subway. oia sebelum qta ninggalin Mesjid dibawah ada kayak brosur promosi dari Salaam Restaurant. karna penasaran seperti apa restonya akhirnya kita jalan sedikit dan gak lama ketemu restonya. Oiya karna Itaewon terkenal dengan kawasan Timur Tengah-nya jadi disini memang banyak restoran-restoran halal. jadi buat para turis muslim dan mau mencari makanan yang dijamin 100% halal ....just go to Itaewon. pasti akan nemu banyak halal resto! salah satunya ya Salaam Restaurant ini :-)
It was 4PM already, next destination is Apgujeong. subway route is Line 3 - Apgujeong Station.
 
When it arrived at the Apgujeong street .... My first impression was .... Welcome back to South Korea! haha after smelling the habitation of an India and Middle East we finally back to the real Seoul area which is (this time) very, very, very exclusive!!!

Apgujeong its like "Beverly Hills" style in Seoul. along the way there are so many cool and luxurious buildings, famous and branded boutique, luxury restaurant, beauty shop, trendy cafe's and bakery shop which is so Gorgeous!! ^o^

Jam sudah menunjukkan jam 4 sore, next destination is Apgujeong. rute subwaynya adalah Line 3 - Apgujeong Station.
Ketika sampe di jalanan Apgujeong....kesan pertama saya adalah....Selamat Datang Kembali Di Seoullllll! haha setelah tadi brada di pemukiman berbau-bau India dan Timur Tengah akhirnya kita kembali ke aslinya Seoul yang kali ini auranya sangat-sangat-sangat Eksklusif!

Apgujeong ini saya bilang Eksklusif karna bisa dibilang kayak "Beverly Hills"-nya ala Seoul deh. sepanjang qta jalan tuh banyak banget bangunan keren nan mewah. dari butik2 terkenal dan bermerk, resto2 mewah, salon2, cafe2 yang trendy sampe toko bakery-nya juga cantik2! ^o^


Time was nearly 6 PM and we finally went to the last destination that day to see the sunset which is go to the Han River.

Arriving at Han River the weather started to cool (for me). hehe ... I'm a women from a tropical country so even though in June was summer and for korean people the weather is warm and even they said its hot.. but for me is just as cold as in the up hill. just couldn't imagine if its winter time! >_<...so yea, I always use jacket start from afternoon until night there....hihihihiii

Waktu sudah hampir jam 6 sore dan qta akhirnya pergi ke tujuan trakhir qta hari itu untuk ngeliat sunset yaitu Han River. Sesampainya di Han River cuaca mulai dingin (bagi saya). hehe maklum...saya wanita dari negri tropis jadi walaupun bulan Juni itu disana musim panas dan buat orang-orang Korea adalah cuaca yang hangat bahkan ada yang bilang panas.. tapi buat saya ya dingin aja rasanya, sama kayak lagi di atas gunung. bener-bener gak bisa mbayangin klo musin dingin kayak apa yah rasanya?! >_<.. jadi klo udah mulai menjelang sore sampe malem slama disana ya pake jaket terus ....biarin deh diliatin banyak orang - hihihiiii...

Ahhh...Han River is now in front of my eyes!!! Being in the land of dreams filled with beautiful scenery plus bonus sunset in the afternoon, WOW... perfect!!! and what makes that night became more perfect was having a - Han River Cruise!!! the ticket price is 11,000 won, it's a bit expensive for me, but...Gosh...it - SO WORTH IT!!!! I could enjoy across the city of Seoul seeing many beautiful bridges and city lights at night for 1 hour trip and accompanied with korean songs .... whoaaaaa - its PRICELESS!!! really beautiful, romantic, unforgettable moment and became my perfect closing point that day!!! having a cruise along Han River is a MUST on your "to-do-list" if you travelling to South Korea! ;-)))

Han River yang selama ini saya lihat di TV dan internet akhirnya berada di depan mata!! Berada di negeri impianmu yang penuh dengan pemandangan indah ditambah bonus sunset di sore hari, Wow...sempurna!!! dan yang melengkapi kesempurnaan petualangan saya di Han River hari itu adalah dengan menaiki yang namanya - Han River Cruise!!! Harga per tiket untuk naik Han River Cruise adalah 11.000 won, memang agak mahal sih, tapi asli...worth ittttttt banget!!!!! Bisa menikmati kota Seoul dengan melintasi berbagai jembatan indah dan lampu kota di waktu malam yang cantik di sepanjang sungai selama 1 jam ditemani lagu-lagu korea....its priceless!!! Indah banget, romantis, moment yang ga bakal dilupain dan bener2 jadi penutup hari yang sempurna deh hari ituh!!! berpesiar dengan kapal di sepanjang Han River HARUS masuk dalam “to-do-list” kalau jalan-jalan ke Korea! ;-)))



Well...I think thats all my post about my Travel to Korea during second day in Seoul. the point is, from this journey we actually not just having a holiday...but we can see and learn about other culture in another country. it can increase our knowledge too. but anyway, last but not least -- I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT SOUTH KOREA. haha no one can change it! I hope this time Buzz Korea can give me a chance to win this contest so I can go there again and promote this Unique & Dynamic Contrast of South Korea over and over again! ^_~


(credit picture by me and comics life)