An Evening of Culture and History.

I was feeling quite lethargic the day Chris asked me out on a date. That was Monday, I just got off from the phone with my sister and she passed a bad news that pretty much ruined my day. I could tell Chris could feel whatever bad vibe is in the air, and whenever he wants to make me feel better, he'd ask me out to 'blow-off' some steam like what he likes to call it. We were already half a block away from home when we realized that we didn't have a place to go. It was late and other than bars, all places were already closed. Then a sudden idea sparked in my head, and I just knew the perfect place to go. Suwon is synonymous to Hwaseong (Brilliant Fortress), the most famous and probably the only place in Suwon worthy for a late night bus ride. Hwaseong was built by King Jeongjo during the Joseon Dynasty to honor his father Prince Cado who was murdered by his own father King Yeongjo.

When we arrived, the main gate was already closed so we had to take a much more difficult trail of probably 500 stairs and barely visible pathways with hungry mosquitoes and moths flying in all direction. It didn't sound even the slightest bit romantic to be called a 'date', but when we reached the top, I understood why people subject their legs to that kind of abuse and commune with mosquitoes and other insects I barely know the names. Standing right in the middle of it, with the wind, the view, and the lights was all too perfect.

We continued to climb till we reached the ancient observatory that has an amazing 360 degree view of Suwon. If it's only possible, I wanna have a romantic candlelight dinner here at the exact same spot where I was standing and took this picture..




This wall encloses the palace of the King, and surrounds the center of Suwon. I always see it whenever I take the bus to go to the subway.

One of the many gates...

On the way down, the view was equally breathtaking.

It was pretty late, but we didn't wanna leave the Fortress and end the magical evening just yet. I told Chris about the candlelight dinner that I was imagining while we were up there, but since that's not even remotely close to being possible, we settled for the next best thing. We went to this traditional restaurant that has clay pots everywhere, ancient wooden decors hanging on the wall, and straws weaved on the roof like a hut. He said he wanted to give me a taste of their traditional culture.

We ordered Dongdongju, a traditional liquor made from brewing rice, yeast, wheat flour, and water. It's sweet and has a milky off-white color. It's served chilled on a bowl with a scoop like in the picture below. It's kinda grainy like that of soybean milk, and part of it settles below so you have to give it a good stir before you drink it.

Here's a picture of me, taking my very first sip.

Dongdongju is best consumed alongside "pajeon", but in the tradition of using "pa" or onion leeks to make this dish, we had something a bit more elaborate. This one's kimchi, haemul (seafood), and gamja (potato) jeon in one platter, just like a three-flavored pizza we all love.

Chris has the metabolism of a teenage boy, and as if the three-flavored jeon wasn't enough, he ordered yet another sidedish called "dakbal" (chicken feet in uber spicy sauce served on a sizzling platter). Ok, I don't normally eat chicken feet, but this is one rare occasion where I actually consumed more than I'm supposed to.. It has a weird chewy texture (no bones or anything), but it's really tasty.. With my three year stay here, I think Korea is growing on me.

When we left the restaurant, we were full and a bit tipsy. We walked holding each other's hand, laughed like crazy for no reason (a classic when you're drunk), and waited at the wrong bus stop alongside a sleeping homeless man which resulted to a few more rounds of laughter. Hearing the bad news from my sister, I was hurting to have this kind of fun, and I'm so glad we did.