#KelilingKorea Demilitarized Zone

I didn't get to visit northern part of South Korea during my #KelilingKorea trip so I went to Paju on Chuseok holiday instead!

I think the timing worked well, considering the weather. I enjoyed the trip although I was exhausted from the days before when I had to work on a project and sit for more than 10 hours daily.

The course started on 8.10 (departure from Seoul) and ended at 16.30ish (arrival in Seoul). DMZ area is located in Paju, less than 50km to Seoul. It was a memorable one-day-trip, probably the only time I got to be sooooo close to the North Korea's land. (or even accidentally stepped on their territory?)

You can see on the map above, Seoul is veryyyyy close to the border. We visited 3rd Tunnel, which was built by North Korea for a planned attack to Seoul. Fortunately South Korea found the tunnel before its finished being built, thus the attack did not happen. I was really fascinated with how the South Korea government managed and opened the tunnel for DMZ tourism, They provided monorail to access the tunnel (70m deep, very cold and wet) and built tunnel extension to make it easier for tourists to go down there. (ignore my grammar here) 

I went with my Indonesian senior. He actually asked me to come so that we can take picture of each other. Damn smart. But he didn't really need me as he was (unexpectedly) super skilled in taking selfie tho hahaha.

The whole trip was conducted in English and it was very insightful and very thrilling. I didn't like the super strict rules but I guess that's how they keep DMZ open for tourism. As expected, soldiers everywhere. Passport was checked for more than 4 times. We were only allowed to take pictures in super limited spots in super short time.

I liked how I could gain so much in one day and how everything that I've been reading on Korea's modern history finally made more sense to me. Like how significance Kim Daejung's Sunshine Policy was, how vulnerable Seoul is etc.

My favorite stop was Dorasan Station, a station that once designed to be part of Trans Korea Railway. I felt really touched and awaken. They were so close to loosen up the tense. There were times when chance of reunification was much bigger. I don't know how to put my feeling into words but seeing how they planned all... I am amazed.

One day I hope to see the civilians crossing the borders easily.
One day I hope to witness foreigners being welcomed to access Pyeongyang without any suspicion.

One day, I hope to hear the announcement in Dora Station saying, "The train to Pyeongyang is now ready to depart"

#KelilingKorea Daecheon

Our first destination on our half-priced Railro pass was Daecheon, a small-city that even most Korean don't know (must say near Boryeong) and often confused with Daejeon ("Do you mean Daejeon?" asked every single Korean after hearing our plan to visit Daecheon, maybe because our pronunciation was too bad).

Being the sole organizer, I did not fully remember why I picked Daecheon. I just thought we would able to see the muddy beach...

But to my shock there was nothing. Nothing but beach. Not even a praise worthy transportation system that always amazed foreigners when they visit Seoul.

August 23, 2015 - Sunny Sunday
We expected to see large crowd maximizing their summer break but no.

We expected to be able to walk to the beach from the station but no. We were told to take either bus number 100 or 101 - as if the number really matter. Truth is; there were only 2 routes from that station. 100 or 101. As Seoulites, we felt that the bus only come once in every century... (hyperbola tapi emang lama bangeeeet deng nunggunya)

We expected to see some cool scenery along the way to the beach and I think seeing endless paddy field, empty wide roads and many inhabited-and-penuh-ilalang bus stops was also cool, no? We couldn't stop talking about all the lil things that we found (and looked, and heard) in Daecheon during the trip.

Arrived at the beach that looked like a death city, we were all excited. Abby and Iso are beach girls while Tugce and I clearly prefer beach over mountain.

The weather was really nice, the beach was relatively pretty but that's about it.

We were hungry and tried to find chicken. Knocking at the door of 3 out of 3 available chicken stores (2 of which were labeled '24 hours'), we barely found any trace of human.

So we went to a very Korean and 'must-visit' chain while traveling... LOTTERIA.
(none of us were happy about it but we were starving and there was no other option)

In less than 2 hours, we packed our bags back to the station.

It was short but indeed memorable trip that opened our eyes to something that we never ever expect before: Korea's countryside.

My Love from Korea: Sundubu Jjigae

I have been asked so many time "What is your favorite Korean food?" and every time I give an honest and frank answer, people throw a strange look OR react weirdly by saying "Wow that's quite unexpected" to laugh spontaneously. This actually happened during my Korean scholarship interview where both of the Korean panels were laughing at my answer...

I didn't know what's so unusual but my favorite #KoreanFood (or let me shorten it to #kfood) is Pajeon (파전). Often dubbed as Korean Pancake, I fell in love with the familiar taste of Pajeon. It tasted like Indonesia' Kekian (the one we always use in capcay) and now that I think about it, one should not say kekian as his/her favorite Indonesian food.

Ok I get it.

Don't worry, I still have lots of #kfood that I love, like chicken-based dishes such as jjimdak (찜닭) and dakgalbi (닭갈비). Eh but then people don't stop there and ask, "But how can you get Halal jjimdak or dakgalbi in Korea?"

Well it's basically impossible and I should just puasa (fasting) until I come back to Indonesia or visit the Halal-chain branches in Malaysia or Singapore. Turned out that being in Korea doesn't mean I am getting closer to my favorite #kfood until I found my new love... Sundubu Jjigae (순두부 찌개)!

I remember this dish as the first real Korean dish that I ate after coming to Seoul in February 2015. I had been stuffed myself with breads and milkshakes from the fast-food chains until some friends asked me to eat out at a Korean restaurant. I barely had an option when I asked for vegetarian menu in that restaurant. My options were only Sundubu Jjigae with seafood or Jjamppong aka seafood noodle.

I chose Sundubu Jjigae and loved it! So, what actually Sundubu Jjigae is?

For me, it's simply Korean style tofu soup that almost always served in black-Korean-pot or ddukbaegi (뚝배기). But for the sake of educating my readers properly, I got this description from Wikipedia.

Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) is a jjigae (Korean stew) in Korean cuisine. The dish is made with uncurdled dubu (tofu), vegetables, sometimes mushrooms, onion, optional seafood (commonly oysters, mussels, clams and shrimp), optional meat (commonly beef orpork), and gochujang (chili paste) or gochu garu (chili powder). The dish is assembled and cooked directly in the serving vessel, which is traditionally made of thick, robust porcelain, but can also be ground out of solid stone. A raw egg is put in the jjigae just before serving (also optional), and the dish is delivered while still bubbling vigorously. This dish is typically eaten with a bowl of cooked white rice and several banchan (side dishes).

As it was my first week in  Korea, I felt really great to successfully order Vegetarian dish in normal Korean restaurant. Later I learned that the gochujang that they used commonly is not Halal ㅠㅠ Be careful, fellow Muslim!

Seafood Sundubu Jjigae from 두부의 추억 151 이대점

Normally, I go to two places for Sundubu Jjigae. First, 두부의 추억 151 near Ewha. Don't ask me to translate the name, they really don't have English name nor English menu. But I did see many foreign visitors dine here. I assume they can read Korean as they don't seem to suffer when ordering food hahaha.

They offer only 4 kind of Sundubu Jjjigae. I always go with the Seafood one.

The portion is standard Korean, served with one bowl of brown rice and nice banchan (side dishes). They would either serve ampas tahu (I don't know how to translate this, something like cold soy porridge?) or tteokbokki as their specialty side dish.

What I like about them is that they are very generous with the seafood. This meal is definitely worth my KRW6,000

To be honest, I am not entirely sure of the Halal-degree of this dish so I have only been there with friends' invitations. I can definitely recommend and swear for the second place, Loving Hut Rainbow in Sinchon!

Loving Hut Rainbow - Sinchon, Seoul

Loving Hut is international vegan chain restaurant that can be found in all over Asia. I can always find Loving Hut every time I travel in Asia, except in Saigon hahaha. I always said how lovely it would be to have Loving Hut near my home before moving to Seoul and my wish is granted! This Loving Hut branch is reachable by walking from my dormitory.

They offer many interesting Korean dishes in vegan version, making it possible for me to try Jajangmyeon, Kalguksu, Mandu and other dishes with no worries. Although there is no dish that I don't like from Loving Hut, I always order Sundubu Jjigae before ordering something else...
(that shows how much I love it!)

my set of happiness!

I don't normally finish my banchan when eating in Korean restaurant because I am not sure what's in it, not even in Halal Korean restaurant, due to my diet of not eating any red-meat-based products. But dining in Loving Hut means it is safe for me to eat and try everything. Their banchan is the bomb! (Still not touching the kimchi btw hahaha)

my love, vegan sundubbu jjigae

Everything about this Sundubu Jjigae is just too perfect!

texture and content - must try!

Good news, you only need to pay for KRW6,500 to enjoy this Sundubu Jjigae 'set'. (when you order a portion of #KoreanFood, it is normally served with rice and all that. Free flow of water included - so nice, right?)

whole bowl of environmentally friendly and healthy ingredients!

Oh, one thing to note: do not easily fall into #kfood red colour visual. Its NOT spicy at all.

So if you happen to look for Vegan/Halal #kfood in Seoul, be sure to visit Loving Hut Rainbow in Sinchon! But if you are in Indonesia or UAE, visit the upcoming K-Food Fair 2015 in your countries to taste the Halal #KoreanFood wonders! Check the #kfoodfair2015 Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kfoodfair2015 or their website here.

Don't miss out the dates of this year' #kfoodfair! Selamat makan-makan!