오늘의 사진

Lee Seung-gi! And Seung-gi’s product endorsements were EVERYWHERE. In Korea, celebrity endorsements are a huge deal as it represents and reflects their celebrity status. Therefore the more you see them, the more popular, well-known and/or well-liked they are. It also means that they are richer, as these CFs (Commerical Films, meaning advertisements) make up the lion’s share of their income. Korean celebs don’t earn much acting in dramas / films or having albums but are necessary for companies to knock on their door for CF offers.

Namsan on foot!

남산이 서울에서 아주 유명하는 산이거든요. 남산봉우리에 엔 서울타워가 있잖아요. 엔 서울타워에 가고 싶으면 남산을 올라갈 수 밖에 없어요.  많은 드라마에서 (내 이름은 김삼순, 꽃보다 남자) 자주 나오는 장면이지만  케이블카를 타는 것이 저한테 그냥 별로이예요. 케이블카를 타는 사긴이 짧고 서울의 경치를 볼 수 있겠지만 케이블카에서 사람들이 많으면 맘껏 볼 수 없어요. 케이블카로 탈 수 있는데 걸어 가는 것이 더 특별하고 건강을 좋다고 느껴서 남산을 걸어 갔어요!

Namsan is a very famous mountain in Seoul, and at the peak of Namsan, is the N Seoul Tower. And the only way to get to N Seoul Tower is to go up Namsan. The cable car ride to Namsan is/was featured heavily in several Korean dramas (such as My Name is Kim Sam-soon, Boys Over Flowers) but to me, there was nothing really special about the ride. It lasted only a while (FYI the cable car ride from Mount Faber to Sentosa is longer) and if there are too many people (which is usually the case), one is unable to have a complete view of Seoul from the cable car. Therefore I feel that a more special and healthier way of going up Namsan is by foot! And my friends and I did just that.

남산을 올라가는 입구가 많기 때문에 남산 근처가 있으면 입구를 쉽게 찾을 수 있어서 복잡하지 않아요. 올라가는 길에 남산 포토 아일랜드를 우연히 찾았어요. 이 곳에서 머진 서울 풍경에 한껏 심취해서 그런지 서울 점점 좋아졌어요.

As there are many entrances to Namsan, it is not complicated to access as long as you are in the Namsan area. And on our way up,  we accidentally found the Namsan Photo Island. And I think it must be because I was able to enjoy the gorgeous scenery to my heart’s content that I slowly fell for Seoul…

 “사랑 자물쇠”를 보고 싶어서 엔 서울타워에 도착하자마자 루프테라스을 갔어요. 거기서 애인들의 사랑이 변하지 않기 위해서 그들의 사랑을 상징하는 자물쇠를 채우고 열쇠를 버릴 거예요. 그렇게 하면 애인이랑 사랑을 영원히 할 수 있다고들 믿어요. “우리 결혼했어요”라는 버라이어티 프로그램을 기억하면 부부들이 이 것도 했어요. 재미있는 문화이죠?

I headed for the Roof Terrace as soon as we reached the peak as I wanted to see the “love locks”. At the Roof Terrace, lovers will lock a lock that represents their love and throw the key away. They believe that if they do that, their love will not change and last forever. And if you remember the Korean variety programme “We Got Married”, a few of the celebrity couples went to do the exact same thing. Interesting culture eh?

남산에서 내려왔을 때 어디로 가야 할 지 몰라서 모험을 시작해 봤어요. 걸어 보면 걸어 볼 수록 길을 더 잃었는데 드디어 도착한 곳이 바로 동국대학교이었거든요. 예를 들자면 이승기, 박신양, 전지현, 이다해, 한효주와 소녀시대 윤아가 동국대학교에서 졸업한 것을 싱가포르 돌아왔을 때 알렸어요! 근데 그 때 모험을 좋아하는 저에게 얼마나 기뻤는지 몰라요!

When we descended Namsan we had no idea where we should go, and the more we walked, the more lost we got. But when we arrived at the foot of the Namsan, we realised we were in Dongguk University! It was only when I was back in Singapore that I found out that entertainers such as Lee Seung Gi, Park Shin-yang, Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Da-hae, Han Hyo Joo, SNSD Yoona, just to name a few, graduated from Dongguk University! But at that time, one had no idea how happy this adventure-loving me was! It was such an unexpected yet cool surprise to end up in an univeristy by accident!

그럼, 다음에  엔 서울타워에 가고 싶을 때 걸어 가 보세요! 잊을 수 없는 모험과 운동을 될 거예요!

Try heading up to the N Seoul Tower the next time by foot! It’ll be an adventure and exercise you’ll never forget!