Autumn in Korea: Everland Resort + Hwaseong Fortress + SM Town Stardium in DDP (DAY 1)

After the honey almond nuts and packs of Lotte chocolates (Ghana) are gone, writing keeps great memories of a trip intact.




To me, this year is a breakthrough for my blog and to a lot of my fellow bloggers. I am saying this after years of struggling to keep blogging alive when Instagram and feed goals entered the scene and made everything by the numbers, way easier to digest in their bite sizes, and of course, produced more aesthetically pleasing and even faster content than our good ol' online blog can provide.

In my KTO-Cebu Pacific Korea trip, I met fellow content creators but not Instagram-ers, but vloggers and newspaper writers and staff of popular online magazines. It made me take pride in what I do, representing my industry and craft while on the trip.... I'm a blogger! I write and take photos, and create a post with all sorts of things: personal feels, travel tips from experience, insights, memories.

When I saw the vloggers' output from this trip, Raiza Contawi and AnnaCay just showed how they enjoy telling their stories in the form of videos, how they work hard to edit everything and post their vlogs right away. I was so inspired to do well in my own medium. A blog is so intensive and personal, it also takes a lot of time to produce a post! There's the selecting of photos, editing, writing from the heart, researching more info about places and stuff, before finally hitting that PUBLISH button. I am happy with the thought that blog is not dead, it co-exists side-by-side with all these different media. WOOT! 

So after that long intro hehehe, sharing to you our first full day touring South Korea for Cebu Pacific x Korea Tourism Organization's "Ladies Special" campaign. Again, thank you all for still reading--especially my blog! ❤ Enjoy!!!

Everland Resort During Autumn

We woke up extra early for our first full day, and as expected, sched was super packed! I have no complaints though, I think I am the type of traveller who doesn't want to get bored or feel unaccomplished even for just a day. I want the rush of waking up early, staying out late, just to maximize a trip! I have yet to become that tita of Manila who would rather stay in her hotel room, or in a coffee shop, and waste a day away. It's cool, but maybe in the future when I get tired from all these already! Haha!

Meanwhile, so we had our breakfast, brought down our bags to the bus, and traveled from Incheon to Everland Resort to start our day.







I've been to Everland Resort last year during Spring, and now I can't seem to recognize most of the places because of the Autumn backdrop! They also have Halloween installations here and there, as if I'm in a whole new theme park. I love Koreans when it comes to being holiday/season-crazy and detail-oriented!

Anyway, we only have a few hours to enjoy Everland, so we divided and conquered the park according to our own interests. I went to the Team Extreme Ride and was able to ride the Hurricane! Sayang we had no time na to T-Express, but that's the only ride I was able to try last year so okay na, maybe next time na ang repeat. We also enjoyed the Halloween food served in one of the restos, and took gazillion autumn-themed OOTDs in the park's huge garden (Thanks Nikki of Askmewhats for my pictures!).

Everland Resort

199, Everland-ro, Pogok-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do

Nearest Subway: Jeondae-Everland Station (Yongin EverLine), Exit 3. Then take the shuttle bus to Everland.

Bitin, but we were immediately back on the road for our next stop. Have to conquer several stuff in our day's itinerary. If you're going to Everland, make sure to set a day so you can go around the whole theme park. They also have animal shows, a petting zoo, and other stuff from food to rides that you might want to visit and try. 

Next stop was in... 

Suwon Hwaseong Haenggung

We only had less than an hour for this stop so Pax, Nikki and I just took photos on the first area we saw coming down from our bus. The Suwon Hwaseong Fortress was used by the Joseon kings, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage. Quit a historical place to be in!

As mentioned in my first blog post, this is also one of the shooting locations for the Kdrama Love in the Moonlight. We weren't able to go around much, but I learned that inside there's a museum, some shops, the palace, a huge area for archery, etc. Just from the outside, you'll already see the wall of the Hwaseong Fortress, and can imagine how these structures guarded the palace back in the day. Entrance to this site is 1500 KRW.  

I guess a KBS show was also shot here:

Cute wall, we just have to take photos with!

The fortress covering the whole palace grounds:

Just took a quick stroll in nearby sites. It was windy during our stop, so I am good with going back to the bus after a while.

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
910, Jeongjo-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do


Slept during the long drive to Seoul, medyo matraffic na coz rush hour na daw:

Korean snacks when I woke up:

Cebu Pacific Korea Office

Third stop for the day is a quick visit in the Cebu Pacific Korea's office. Seeing their logo by the entrance felt like I am back in Manila!

We had tea and snacks, and talked about random things like our trip so far, our first dinner in Seoul, and about Cebu Pacific in Korea. Most Koreans actually fly to Cebu via our airline, so they are definitely doing well! 

We were welcomed by Mr. Kang of Cebu Pacific Korea:

They gave us a Do Min Joon calendar, yey!

Dinner in Palsaek Samgyeopsal

All praise ako sa lahat ng food choices and restaurants for this trip! Everything's super delicious, I just hope I can easily go back to them on my next time in Seoul. Parang hole-in-the-wall din sila na mahirap hanapin. The signage for our dinner place is in Korean! I don't think mattry ko to if it's during my solo trip. Anyway, Korean food makes me happy, so entering the resto and seeing the long tables lined with fresh and hot food... Ahhh, heaven!

Happy kid!

Bring out more food, oppa! Hehehe.


Pax and Raiza, + Miss Aileen vs Our Food. Hehe!

Palsaek Samgyeopsal

18, Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Nearest Subway: Sinchon Station (Exit 6).

Walk straight along Baekbeom-ro, Palsaek Samgyeopsal is across the street.

Kakao Friends and SUM SM Town at DDP

It was super cold when we were walking around Dongdaemun Design Plaza, I think Seoul's temperature decided to drop that night to match the strong winds! I had plans to look for the LED Rose Garden and show it to Pax, but decided to just go indoors with the group to defrost.



I've been inside DDP before to check out the brands that are mostly all-local, and hang by their coffee shop. Each stall looks very artsy and inspiring, I always miss my selling and bazaarista stints whenever I go around DDP! Anyway, for this trip the highlight is a visit to the Kakao Friends store in DDP which is HUGE for a place dedicated just for the communication app mascots. They have Kakao merch from pillows to pens to kitchen essentials. Nakakaaliw lang how Koreans support their own to the point of having a solo store just for these characters!

Second stop inside DDP is the SM Town Stardium, a shop dedicated to SM idol's merch from clothes, mugs, postcards, posters, albums, and stationery. Everything's original, too! They also have signed stuff for sale, items with a line from your favorite Kpop songs, etc. Took lots of photos, so check out what might interest you! 

Dongdaemun Design Plaza
281, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Nearest Subway: Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station (Exit 1).

Myeongdong + Hotel

Last stop for the day is, of course, our hotel which is right smack in the middle of busy Myeongdong. After settling in our designated rooms, Pax and I decided to go around the streets and check out some affordable masks and lip tints, and shop for midnights snacks that we can bring in our room.

I can't imagine getting tired of Myeongdong:

My favorite Kpop-Kdrama store almost hidden in one corner of Myeongdong:

We were checked-in L7 Hotel for the rest of the trip, and here's how our cozy room looks like. Very Cebu Pacific yellow! Hehe. They have all the basic things you'll need in an accommodation. I believe I slept soundly every night, hehe!

Love the toiletries in our restroom:

Before the night ended, I witnessed a car accident just outside our window! Medyo nakakaloka!

Watch my Korea Autumn Trip IG Stories:

Day 0:

Day 1:

... To be continued!

Special thanks to Korea Tourism Organization, Cebu Pacific Philippines and Korea, JG Summit Holdings Inc., and Stratworks Inc. for having me!