Sulbing (설빙) Korean Dessert Café (Day 6)

By now the bingsu (shaved ice) craze has completely taken over the Singapore dessert scene, with new stores opening up every other week, but did you know that it first originated in Korea?

 It’s a very popular snack to have in the summertime and of course, when we visited Seoul in the middle of the heatwave season last year, the top thing we wanted to try was bingsu.

Bingsu is much like a super souped up version of our local ice-kachang. Atop a bed of finely shaved ice, different combinations of toppings can be added such as nuts, seeds, seasonal fruits such as mango or strawberries, chewy rice cake, ice cream, red bean etc. Condensed milk is then generously drizzled on top for added flavouring.

Gyeonggi English Village (Day 6)

It’s quite surreal finding a full-blown model of an English village right smack in the Korean countryside. 

City Hall

Oh wow. Didn't expect to see a replica Stonehenge in Korea!

Map of Gyeonggi English Village

From cobblestoned streets to cozy stone cottages to English landscape gardens and even a replica of the Stonehenge monument, the developers of Gyeonggi English Village spared no effort in creating a living environment that looked like it popped out of a Jane Austen novel.  I half expected people to come dancing out of the houses in their Victorian corsets, bonnets and, top hats!! Haha!

Heyri Art Valley (Day 6)

Heyri Art Valley (헤이리 문화예술마을)  is a lovely and picturesque arts enclave located in Paju province in Gyeonggi-do. It’s mind-boggling to know that this place is just a mere 6km away from the North Korean border!

The village was first set up in 1995 as a place for artists to take refuge and create art in the countryside.  A number of Korean and international artists, writers, painters, actors, architects and musicians have all set up their artistic spaces, work rooms, museums, and galleries here. One can simply spend a full day here just wandering in and out of the galleries!

My Love From Another Star Exhibition at KINTEX (Day 6)

Now, who hasn’t watched the extraordinarily popular k-drama “My Love From Another Star”?

Starring Kim Soon Hyun in his breakthrough role as Do Min Joon, the alien who got stranded on Earth for thousands of years after his spaceship left without him, his on-screen romance with the superstar actress Jun Ji-hyun (Cheon Song Yi) left many die-hard romantics across the world swooning.

It is every fan’s dream to be able to sneak a peek into the homes of these beloved characters and that’s exactly what we did when we visited the “My Love From Another Star” exhibition at KINTEX! The exhibition was previously first staged at Dongdaemun Design Plaza before moving to KINTEX, a gigantic convention and exhibition center located in Ilsan, Goyang City, which is north of Seoul. [Do note that the “My Love From Another Star” Exhibition has since closed.]