Day 6: Haenggungjeong (Suwon Beef)

when in Suwon, a must eat is *drumrolls* Suwon beef!

we had ours at this lovely (and by lovely i meant HEAVENLY) place we stumbled upon 

(much thanks to the info booth next to Hwaseong Haenggung)

- Haenggungjeong

we were super blessed as we had our meal at lunchtime and they served set lunches

we had Suwon beef (2 servings of plain beef and 1 serving of marinated beef) and two servings of bulgogi. after a brief comparison, the set lunches cost much less than what it would if we had had our meal at some other time.

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back to the meal.

this was truly a feast.

the side dishes (correction: refillable side dishes) were a lavish spread.

the set consisted of these side dishes and three bowls of doenjjangjigae (bean paste soup) plus rice

- it was an overkill (in the best way possible)

but note that the lady boss would require you to order one portion for each customer and hence the more-than-we-can-have spread

specific shoutout: i don't know what this is called but it was sooooo good

(lotus with black sesame sauce topped with pumpkin seeds and almonds and raisins)

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Directions:

Talk the path forward from the info booth just located outside the Hwaseong Haenggung

the street will look something like this

 take a turn at the first turning on the right

 the turning is opposite Gongcha

directly opposite this building

 upon turning right, you should be able to see this building on your right

walk straight along this road

you will be able to see the Hwaseong Haenggung car park on your right soon

 soon you will be able to spot Haenggungjeong (self named: Suwon beef heaven!) with the colorful signboard as in the photo

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Enjoy!

Thoughts:

i've done some research on places to get Suwon beef and stumbled upon a few such as Bonsuwon Galbi and Kabojung. I don't know about those places but this one is really good. plus it is really near Hwaseong Haenggung, unlike the other places which needs extra travelling to get to.

TBH i would frequent here in a heartbeat if i could.

Day 6: Hwaseong Haenggung, Suwon

woke up super early to get to Suwon via subway as the journey took about 1 hour.

Suwon is know for its Hwaseong Fortress built by the great King Jeongjo.

as the fortress was huge, we decided to visit the palace only - Hwaseong Haenggung.

a 'haenggung' was mainly used by kings as a shelter during wartime or during retirement.

hence as you can see, the Hwaseong Haeenggung is very different from the Gyeongbokgung

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the model of the palace floor plan

it was also the filming site for daejanggeum (大長今) among many others.

they even had this place where you could try out traditional Korean games such as Tuho which Gabriel tried (you basically try to throw arrows into pitch pots)

even the on site helpers were dressed as guards!

TBH this was one of my favorite spots as you really feel as though 

you are transported back in time here.

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i really dig these delicately painted designs which you may recognize in most ancient Asian architectures. it makes you feel as if the builder put in tons of time, passion and attention to the design - why can't we have more of these nowadays! 

*psstt* this is the administration office!

mandatory group shot...

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the armors on display - they looked super heavy.

how do people even fight in these!?

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moving into the palace - it is somehow more laid back in comparison to the Gyeongbokgung but its 'grandness' is no less than any other palaces ever built.

a figurine of King Jeongjo which depicts his Highness 

paying respects to his mother, Hyegyonggung Hong.

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the highlight of our visit - muye 24 gi (24 act martial arts performance)

Directions:

Exit the Suwon Stations and head to the bus stop just in front of the station.

Look out for buses number 11, 13, 13-3, 36 or 39. 

these buses stop by Paldamun and Hwaseong Haenggung. the bus stop opposite Hwaseong Haenggung is near this church across the street.