Disney around the World - Day 3 Part 2 - Namsangol Hanok Village and Lunch 2018-10-16

Continuing our trip from 2018, we are in Korea! When we last left off, we were at Namsangol Hanok Village, a traditional old Korean village. 

In my last post, we were just finishing getting all dressed up in traditional Korean hanbok costumes. Oh, and it's also Alli's birthday. She just loved playing dress-up.

Getting dressed up in these hanbok cost only $8.70 each. With that, we also get ~30 minutes to wander the village and take even more pictures! We gathered our shoes from the entrance (I'm sure that's the only thing non-traditional about us) and set off to explore!

Don't we just look adorable!

In this courtyard, there were activities set up for schoolchildren. Ian saw it and totally wanted to participate. Not right now Ian. 

As we walked through the village, boy did we get a lot of attention. So many people taking pictures of us. 

We found a few quiet places to take some family pictures at. I'm sure this will be going on one of our family calendars. 

I love that we visited in the fall. The colors of the changing leaves looks beautiful. 

Theresa - Alli, your dress is so pretty! I love it!

Alli - I love your dress too Mommy. 

Ian, you look adorable in your little hanbok. 

I love these big trips, especially when we can go with friends. And I love that everyone is open to do these types of fun/crazy things. 

Our story is that we're three kings from neighboring regions. 

Oh Ruston. You're so funny. Remember those cutouts from before that you can stand behind to make it seem like you're dressed up. He's asking for another picture. 

Even though he's already dressed up. 

And so we all got a picture like that. 

Our popularity continues. This time Ruston struck up a conversation with a group from Canada. 

Our time is nearing the end. This whole time while we've been in costume, Ian has been distracted. He's ready to be done with the clothes. 

Ian - Can we go back to that area and do the activities? Can we go shoot the bow and arrow? 

He's been a trooper all morning. Better make sure we don't leave without doing something for him. 

Our 30 minutes was up and it's time to go get changed out of our costumes. This was such a fun experience. The women who got us all dressed up and took all those pictures of us were so kind. We looked it up ahead of time and Korea is pretty much a no-tipping culture. We paid our 10000 Won each and in lieu of a tip, tried to express how much fun we had and how much we appreciated it all. 

Okay, Ian has been pretty patient and he's not going to let us leave without stopping by the activities. You can see the groups of school kids who are here for the day. It looks like these kids will be decorating their own bows and then firing arrows at the targets. 

While Ian waits patiently, trying to look like a kid on his best behavior, Ruston is speaking, in Korean, with one of the women in charge. He's asking if this little boy can shoot a couple arrows. 

Thankfully she said yes! I don't know if it's the culture or what, but everyone here has been very friendly and accommodating to 6 Americans exploring Korea. 

Showing Ian how to hold the bow and shoot the arrow at the target. 

And then she let us do some on our own. 

Ian was happy to finally get to try out this activity. 

And of course Alli wants to try it out too. We found the worker again and thanked her once more for allowing us to shoot the arrows a few times. 

It's 11:30am and we're starting to think about lunch. We've also got one more thing on the agenda today and it's on the other side of the Han River. To get there we're going to need to take the train. From our earlier trips to Japan and France, we're getting pretty good at navigating via the railway. It's super convenient as a tourist to be able to travel this way. 

In order to not have to transfer trains, we're going to take a little walk to the main station. That will give us the option of looking for a place to eat along the way. We'd hoped to find a Taco Bell or a Burger King that we could grab food from and eat on the train. Yes, we're those kinds of tourists right now. 

Unfortunately we didn't find any fast food places along the way, so instead once we got to the station, we stopped by one of these quick marts and grabbed some snacks. We'll find food at our destination. It's always interesting seeing the flavors that are standard here. I thought that Corn Soup I got from McDonalds in Seoul yesterday was a special item, but I found Corn Soup flavored chips here that were yummy. I also found a Milkis drink, which is like a carbonated sherbet ice cream. I loved it and so did the kids. If we're ever at a store back home and they see it, they ask if we can buy the ice cream soda to taste again. 

Once we got on the train, it's only a 35 minute ride to our destination. Ruston is so good with people. I think he was practicing his Korean with this woman on the train and was telling her about our morning. He got out his phone and showed her pictures of us dressed up in our hanbok. 

Crossing over the Han River. We're getting close! 

After getting off the station, we set out in search of lunch.

Wow! Right in the middle of Jamsil station, the second busiest transit station in Korea is a replica of that famous Roman tourist site, the Trevi Fountain! 

Theresa and I have had the fortune to have been to the original a couple times. The kids have never been, though we told them that it's definitely on the agenda. Give it a few more years so they can appreciate culture a little more and we'll get there. 

I know at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, the folklore is that if you toss a coin over your shoulder your travels will eventually bring you back to Rome. I don't know what that means for here in Korea. Will our travels bring us back to Korea? We'll work on the proper form when we get to the real Trevi Fountain, tossing a coin with the right hand over the left shoulder. Closing your eyes is just a bonus I guess. Maybe he's making a wish. 

Alli is just tossing it in. 

The fountain also happens to be very close to a food court. From behind the counter at one of the shops, one of the workers was handing out these Bungeo-ppang "carp bread". 

These fish-shaped pastries are filled with sweetened red bean paste. 

They're made on an automated assembly line in something resembling a waffle iron. We thought they were pretty tasty, so Theresa bought a bag for everyone to share. 

In addition to the carp bread, there's another counter that is selling spring rolls. 

For $1.50, Theresa thought it was a great value and she loved the taste. 

Ruston went to the information booth and asked if there was a McDonalds somewhere. Yes, we're still those tourists. There's no McDonalds, but instead we were pointed to a place called Lotteria. 

Owned by the Lotte Corporation, Lotteria is actually more popular than McDonalds here in Korea, achieving 45% market share for Lotteria versus just 20% for McDonalds. 

You order through these interactive screens, and there is an English option, but many of the screens still showed only Korean characters. 

I am especially impressed with the Google Translate app. Before the trip, we downloaded all the different languages we might encounter on the trip. Point your phone's camera at whatever you want translated, and it will give you a real-time translation of what you're looking at. It's really convenient. I couldn't really tell what was a part of the T-Rex Combo pack, but it promised enough food for 2 people for only $8.86. Jacob and I decided to split it. 

It did come with a bit of food. I'm glad there were labels on the packages. A Shrimp Burger, that is apparently very popular here and thankfully Jacob was okay with eating. A T-Rex sandwich, whose claim to fame is that the meat is bigger than the bun! It's made from a whole chicken thigh and it's breaded and fried. To go with that are Mozza cheese sticks, chicken nuggets, shake-shake fries that come in a bag and you add your own shake-shake seasoning, and a drink. Not bad at all. 

With full bellies, we're ready to continue our adventure! Just a short walk from the food court, and still inside the Jamsil station, is our destination.  

I know this is a Disney Around the World trip, but...

"Who is going to Lotte World?!?"

And just like when I ask the similar question for Disneyland back home, all hands shot up into the air. 

Our final stop of the day is Lotte World!