Korean Hanok Homestay Experience definitely a weekend to remember!

Last April 16 and 17, two graduate students from Catholic University of Korea, Abigail Go & Karina Chua, were very fortunate to be selected as part of Korea Tourism Organization’s Hanok Homestay Experience program. Several students from various prestigious universities around Korea also joined the said event. Participants include international students from Bangladesh, China, Germany, Indonesia. Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, United States, among others. Most are exchange students or graduate students pursuing higher education in premier education in Korea University, Ewha University, KAIST, Seoul National University, Ajou University, Kyungwon University, Chungnam National University, Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University, Kangwon National University, etc.

Each participant was given a name tags and schedule of events during the orientation day.

Our Bukchon Village tour course

It was an eventful weekend for all the involved individuals. The affair started with a short orientation about the hanok homestay program. Afterwards, the participants proceeded to the Bukchon Hanok Village tour where they were informed of the richness of the history of the Bukchon Hanok village. The mayor of Jongno-gu and a number of other prominent personalities in charge of the Bukchon hanok village were also present during the occasion to welcome the participants. Aside from the Bukchon hanok village tour, the members of the program were also able to experience cooking prominent Korean cuisine –Tteokbokki and Kimchi. It was a very meaningful activity for foreigners - preparing and cooking their very own Korean dish. Watching a nonverbal performance, Sachoom, is also another notable experience. It made foreigners more aware of the prominence of nonverbal performances in Korea. Apart from Sachoom, other famous non-verbal performance include Nanta and Jump, Drawing Show (Hero), Fanta-stick, Miso, Battle B-Boy, Ballerina Who Loves a B-boy. A new show is also being publicized now, Return to Street, which has a discounted tickets of only 10,000 won for its April 23 to May 1 shows.

International students with their "babies" - the Kimchi they made during the visit to Chongga Kimchi World

Sachoom dance performance

Another exciting episode for the attendees is the Gwangjang market tour. The participants were given opportunity to mingle with the vendors and interact with the locals. A number of cuisine were available to suit your palate. Thanks to the benevolent organizers, the participants were also given a sum of money to try the goodies in the Gwangjang market. The Korean pancakes/pajeon were very tasty. The green bean congee, mungu bean congee, pumpkin congee were also great, especially the pumpkin congee. The chicken feet curry and the pork skin were delicious and exotic at the same time. As usual, there were the traditional and famous Korean dishes like kimbap, pork feet, sunde, tteok, kimchi and a couple of banchan (side dishes). Seeing the liveliness in the Gwanghang market is amazing. After the market tour, the group went back to the hanok village to enjoy the Korean traditional performance prepared by the homestay committee. There were various performances - playing Korean instruments and singing Arirang, among others. After listening to the marvelous presentations, the group finally met the Bukchon homestay guest house owners. They were able to experience living in the hanok houses for the first time. Everyone was so excited to finally see the interiors of the hanok. If before, foreigners only see hanok houses in Korean television series, now, these Hanok houses came into life.

Korean food - Kimbap, Tteokbukki, Chukpal (Pork feet), Sunde, among others.

Enjoying green bean congee, mungu bean congee, pumpkin congee. I like pumpkin congee best.

Group 4, "the best group" - photo taken in Gwangjang market

Karina with our host in their hanok home

The next day, the participants enjoyed breakfast in their respective hanok homestay families. Delicious breakfast was served in their home. For us, the breakfast was Mandu-guk (dumpling soup), it was very delicious. After breakfast, the group headed to the Korean traditional handicraft - some made fans, others prepared jewelry boxes, while another group was involved into tie dyeing. It was a fun and educational morning. When the art classes ended, the participants were ushered to the Korean restaurants were they enjoyed kalbitang, dulsot bibimbap, naengmyeon, manduguk, among others.

"Our work of art" - International students together with Korean elementary kids posing with the artworks

Bukchon hanok village + homestay + Sachoom +

Gwangjang market tour + Korean craft making = FUN FUN FUN

This experience is definitely a superb experience for the participants. Not only were the attendees able to experience living in a hanok, but they were also able to further understand the Korean culture in a different light. An added bonus is that they were also able to meet a lot of new friends. Because of all these, the participants are undeniably grateful to the Korean Tourism Organization for such a wonderful experience. We surely hope that more activities like these will be available to international students. It is a great opportunity to share experiences and culture among individuals of different social and cultural spheres. Indeed, this is a weekend to remember!

Special thanks to Karina Chua for photos in Gwangjang market and craft making classes ^_^

By: Abigail Go, GEO Blog Editor