My trip to Korea (suite) : the D-Day
Monday April 9thI’ve dreamed so much about Nami island since I watched Winter Sonata and finally my dream’s coming true : today we go to a Winter Sonata tour. Even the weather was cheerful : sunny and warm.
The agency came to pick us at our hotel at 8am and we have an English speaking tour guide. We had about 2 hours ride from Seoul and once we left Seoul, the landscape’s beautiful.
Spring is a good season to visit Korea, flowers blossoms everywhere and there are some which I have never seen before.
There is something I also noticed, that there are a lot of bridges in Korea, more than any other country I ever visited.
The ferry to Nami island took about 5 minutes. Leaning on the ferry’s rail and looking around, I wondered if Jun Sang and Yu Jin have enjoyed this beautiful scenery as me ?
I think all of you have already seen those pics, but I can’t resist to repost here on my blog.
For all of you who didn’t visit Nami island yet, I recommend it to you. Even my friend who is not a Bae fan was enchanted by this place.
I don’t know how to describe exactly my feelings, I think you must be there to enjoy this kind of peace, of quiet happiness, seeing all these romantic and beautiful scenery.
Bravo and thank you to director Yoon Suk Ho for finding such place, and what a great memory for us to cherish.
After Nami island, we went to Chungcheon (about 20 mn by car) and we walked on Chuncheon Myeong-dong street. Along this street you will see a lot of WS's photos.
There is also a market and we tried some Korean cakes which’re yummy, he he but better not eating them too much before lunch because the spicy chicken BBQ (Dakgalbi) is delicious. The tour guide told us this meal is ChungCheon’s speciality and is always included in WS tour.
And we have to wear a cute red apron in case there are some splashings, very nice consideration isn’t it ?
After the lunch, we stopped by Jun Sang’s house.
The admission fee is not included in the tour and you have to pay 5000 wons to enter the house and there you can take any pictures you want.
Ah the famous pink gloves !
I myself have tried them but they’re a little big for my hands and at this moment I was thinking wow, YJ’s hands are big ha ha.
The place where Min Hyung trying to remember his past, impressive scenes !
In front of Jun Sang’s house, you can buy a lot of YJ’s stuffs, some of them you can’t find anywhere, even in Seoul. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know it.
In Korea, banks are opened from Monday till Friday, from 9:30am till 4:30pm. And as I came in Korea in Saturday, I just change some money at the airport and the hotel. The rates at the hotel are rather low, I recommend you to change your money at the airport if you arrive during the week-end like me.
So, standing in front of all these stuffs, I felt somehow a little despaired because I couldn’t buy all what I wanted to buy. And Euro is still not a familiar money to Korean people. Poor, poor me, coming so far and staying there, helpless !
After Jun Sang’s house, we took the car again and they showed us the crossroad where they shot Jun Sang’s accident and the place where Jun sang and Yu Jin got out from the bus the first time.
And last stop, Chuncheon High school but we just took a look around, especially this place. I have to say I didn't try to climb the wall although the tour guide exhorted me to do.
In the way back to Seoul, a little sleepy, suddenly I got a phone call from our dear youngsun. I know youngsun for a while now, she is a Korean sister who has translated all my French AS reviews and posted them on KOB. bb has even blogged about youngsun in her fanmories.
She is a very caring, considerate and nice sister and she called me everyday since I arrived in Korea. Even if we didn’t meet yet, hearing her cheerful voice, her laugh warmed my heart.
She got the news from another Bae sis , one of the most resourceful I have ever known, that YJ will arrive from Japan to Gimpo airport at 10:30pm. So if I wanted to see him on the flesh, it’s the OPPORTUNITY !
OMG ! what a surprise, I didn’t know how to answer her at this moment ! Sure I wanted to see him, how many people can have this luck in their life ?
When I planned this trip, I never thought I could see YJ, it’s just a secret dream. Because I didn’t plan to go to any YJ’s spots to look purposely for him, I just wanted to visit his homeland, to know more about his country which he loves so much.
No need to say how I was excited after the phone call. BUT my friend is not a Bae fan, she was tired by the trip and didn’t want to go with me to the airport.
I was very disappointed but I couldn’t force her, I respected her decision. I have to say that the hours which followed the phone call were one of the worst in my life. My heart told me it’s my only chance to see YJ but my mind kept warning me that it’s late, is it recommended to go out alone past 10pm in a foreign country which I don’t speak the language ?
Here I would like to assure all of you who didn’t go to Korea yet that Seoul is a lot more secure than Paris, especially Seoul subway. If you have watched Lovers in Paris, just don’t believe that you can wear the kind of dress and diamond necklace the lead actress did in this drama in Paris subway or Paris street.
But at this moment, I didn’t spend enough time in Seoul to be reassured and I was still influenced by the rather insecurity in Paris at night.
So while my heart was still struggling with my mind, youngsun saved me. She called me to tell she will come to my hotel to take me to Gimpo airport ! Oh wonderful youngsun, ma très très chère amie !
Quickly, we went out for dinner and I forgot where and what I have eaten.
While waiting for youngsun, I got an SMS from another Bae sis giving me some infos about YJ’s leaving Haneda and how he’s wearing, ha ha my friend was very surprised by all this ingenuity of our family.
Before going to Korea, I’ve sent my photo to youngsun because we have an appointment on Tuesday 10th to visit In-su’s house, but I have never seen her. She was on time in her car, in front of my hotel, exactly as I’ve expected she is. Although my English speaking is a little poor, we chatted cheerfully on the way to the airport. There're a lot of traffic jams in Seoul at night and it took us almost 1 hour to arrive at Gimpo airport. But we still have time.
There are already some Korean sisters and about 20 Japanese fans. The Korean sisters seemed rather surprised but glad to see youngsun, and I found out she never went to the airport to greet YJ, it’s the first time she did it, just because she wanted to help me to see him.
She introduced me to the Korean sisters, and I met for the first time some sisters whose ID were already familiar to me. I was very happy by their warm welcome.
She also introduced me to Mr Hwang, YJ’s manager who looks young and handsome. Style and Youngsun advised me to give my gifts for YJ to him (now I’m sure YJ has received my gifts). Ah and I also saw Mr Shin, his famous bodyguard.
And the waiting began, there are more and more Japanese fans who came. We’re warning not to take any YJ’s photos. I stayed at the right corner, between youngsun and a Japanese fan with beautiful flowers to greet him. His plane landed around 10:10pm, and every time there is a passenger who came out, my heart skipped a beat. youngsun even joked that my heart was beating so fast she could hear it.
And then suddenly YJ came out (around 10:30pm), all dressed in black. I have the feeling that this color made him even taller and thinner. Unfortunately he came by the left so I just saw his back, and the first thing I noticed was his long legs, am I naughty ?
I think I was a little in shock, I still can’t realize it’s him, HRH ! Then a big scream waked me up, he turned slightly back and smiled to us, OMG I saw his face, thin but gorgeously handsome. And his smile ! I don’t know who was the first one who has called it a killer smile but this person is absolutely right, it was really a killer smile. If he smiles to me like that, I think I could faint !
As we’re not allowed to take any pictures, I repost here his photos taken at Haneda airport.
But he is more good looking in real.
Due to the great number of fans, he walked very fast to the exit. The fans started to run after him and surrounded him so I didn't see him anymore. youngsun pushed me towards his direction but with this crowd, his bodyguards didn't let us come nearer and when we came out, he was already in his car. It’s over !
In the way back to the hotel, I remembered I didn’t talk that much, I was still immersed in a kind of dream. I couldn’t believe I saw him, I couldn’t believe in my luck.
I hardly could sleep that night and I would like to say thanks again to youngsun and my very sweet sister (you know who you are) who has given me the opportunity to see him.
I saw him just maybe 5 seconds, but these precious 5 seconds will be always in my memory and my heart.
posted by Toujours_BYJ @ 4/23/2007 07:35:00 PM
25 Comments:
oh so tis is how u spotted our dear man..good for u...and next time u'll see him even better ^^
youngsun unni told u its her first time huh? well i guess she experienced a lot of 'first time' with the foreign sisters ^^ and i still remember her very first time of her first time seeing him in flesh. unni if u r reading tis..do u still remember?? ^^
oh camille...n i do agree with u about seoul's security..well tho i havent stay there long enough to judge but those times that ive went ive never had any trouble and i just love their subway no matter what. my dear indo sis inneke will agree on tis with me ^^
ok waiting for the next day..
Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!
How happy I am for you, my dear!
It's almost always a short 5 seconds, but the grandness of it is in the aftershock thereafter! And the number of times this story will be recounted and the lasting impression for years to come.
I wonder if, like me, your mind would suddenly get hijacked in the middle of the day with this image and whether you'd react by smiling like a fool for no reason?
A mere mortal really ought not have powers as such, but they picked the right one to grant them to.
Errrrrr........know what else.......? I just remembered something.
Eons ago, in some blog comment somewhere, wasn't it you who said that you'd be by our side when you finally see him for the first time?
What happened? Forgot about us bloggers, lah? : )
I'm kinda jealous actually : )
Dear yokee
It's not the first time youngsun saw him in flesh but the first time she went to the airport to wait for him, dear youngsun if you read this, is that right ?
And yes, I love love Seoul subway, it's so clean, when I saw it I'm ashamed of Paris subway.
dear dear mishio, I didn't forget you and bb, I remember I've said that you two were so lucky, everytime you went to Korea you have been able to see him in flesh, even taking picture or shaking hands with him that I wanted to go with you, to be by your side to have your luck too.
It's me who was green with envy lah, haha...
I feel as if I was there in the airport with you.
Haha.... was your friend surprised to see your face when you returned from the airport? =)
dear camille,
oh, i am soooo happy to read about your trip....
i could feel your excitement of meeting him in person!!!
I hope i could visit Nami island and Chungcheon soon.
thank you for sharing your story.
Chère Camille,
Ah, absolument fantastique ! Merci de nous donner la chance de revivre ces moments précieux avec vous.
Comme Galusan, j'aimerais savoir la réaction de votre copine quand elle a appris l'heureux dénouement de cette excursion. Je comprend sa fatigue mais elle a manqué une aventure incroyable - un peu comme voir une aurore boréale - même si elle ne s'intéresse pas à HRH !
Comme vous, je suis touchée par la gentillesse de nos bae sis.
A bientôt !
Oh dear Gaulsan, welcome to my blog ! Thanks for dropping by.
I'm sorry we didn't meet at Gimpo airport, I have seen your name so many times on KOB and Quilt that I would be very happy to see you.
Although my friend was tired, she still waited for me to know if I have seen YJ or not and she was very happy for me, I had a very big smile on my face when I came back and I couldn't stop smiling and smiling. She even joked that she was sure I would dream about YJ all night ha ha.
Dear tomato
Thanks for your nice words, oh yes Nami island is very beautiful, please visit it if you can.
Even my friend loves it, she already told her mom to do this tour if she has an occasion to visit Korea.
Chère Gosijo
Raconter cette rencontre m'a fait revivre en quelque sorte ce moment fantastique.
Et plus que tout, je suis très heureuse de faire partie de cette grande famille, toutes les Bae sis sont d'une gentillesse incroyable.
Mon amie savait que je le verrai surement mais comme elle est très discrète, je pense qu'aller à l'aéroport pour rencontrer un acteur la gêne un peu, elle n'est pas habituée à ça.
Par contre, elle est très heureuse pour moi, elle avait dit à tout notre entourage que j'ai réussi un coup de maître pour ma première visite en Corée.
hi, yokee, camille, and bae sisters^^
as yokee said, most of my 'first times' related with hrh have been with foreign bae fans^^
my first sight of him was with yokee and inneke at the pusan iff in 2004,
my first visit to the nami island of 'winter sonata' was with bb,
my first visit to the yongpyong resort was with another bae sister,
and so on....
well, i planned my first visit to the samcheok of as with you, camille,
but unfortunely it didn't come out.
instead, with you, i went to the airport to see him for the first time^^
thank you, camille, for adding another 'my first time' to my memory.
i enjoyed the time we shared during your stay in seoul very much.
korean sisters also enjoy reading your trip reports posted on the kob,
and express thanks for your efforts to introduce french news and reviews of as,
and their wish for you to have had a nice time in bae land.
take a good care of your aching arm!
youngsun *^^*
Dear youngsun
I'm very glad your first time seeing him at the airport was with me, I hope your first time going to samcheok will be with me too.
Thank you youngsun for your kindness towards us, oversea fans.
opps...unni made a mistake...
unni..it was 2003 unni not 2004.
exact date was 5th Oct 2003.
remember why we get to see him? bcos we couldnt get the tixs on that day. hehehe and we waited and waited and waited...but that was all worth it n i miss those time.
camille...waiting for ur next report ^^
Chere Camille:
Merci beaucoup pour l'inoubliable page de votre rencontre avec notre prince, postee a notre intention.
Il me semble de revivre moi meme avec vous la merveilleuse experience.
Les cerisiers en fleurs! Ca me rappelle les pommiers en fleurs chez Proust!
Le bouheur de vivre et de partager ces souvenirs! Merci, Chere Camille! Bisous a vous! Je vois si bien maintenant votre sourire!
A Certain Smile! A Killer Smile!
Violet
Wow yokee, what a memory !
I'm sorry I still don't have time to write my next report, please be patient with me.
I wonder how bb can write and update her blog so fast ha ha, really supergirl !
Chère Violet
Comme toujours vos commentaires me font chaud au coeur, merci beaucoup pour votre gentillesse.
Ha ha a certain smile, a killer smile ! c'est vraiment bien trouvé comme expression.
Camille
I enjoyed reading your story and am really, really happy that you managed to see him during your trup there. I guess this is fate?
^^
Chère Camille,
Pouvez vous partager avez nous un peu plus d'informations sur vos cadeaux? Par exemple, nous imaginons toutes qu'il y avait une bouteille de vin, oui ? Non ?
Et votre message ? Pouvez vous nous en donner un passage ?
Quelle surprise pour lui d'apprendre que sa famille s'étend jusqu'en France ! A moins qu'il n'aie vu CREA du mois de September 2006.
Si ces questions vous semblent impertinentes, ce n'est pas la peine de répondre. Je les ai postée en Français justement pour diminuer la pression sur vous.
Ah, simplement d'y penser me rend très heureuse !
Dear Tiffany
Thank you for your nice words, yes, it's really fate and also luck that I could see him, and I'm very thankful to our dear sisters who have helped me to make my dream comes true.
Chère Gosijo
Malheureusement je n'ai pas pu lui offrir une bouteille de vin car je n'ose pas la mettre dans ma valise de peur que ça se casse et nous n'avons pas le droit d'emmener du liquide dans l'avion .
Mais en dehors du vin, je sais qu'il aime aussi les photos alors je lui ai offert des livres (écrit en français et en anglais) avec des belles photos de Paris et de France accompagnées d'explications (peut-être dans l'espoir secret qu'elles lui donnent envie de visiter la France ha ha), notamment un livre sur un autre photographe français célèbre Robert Doisneau qui est très connu grâce à la photo "baiser de l'hôtel de ville".
J'y ai joint une carte postale du quartier Montmartre lui disant que je vienne de France et lui présentant mes meilleurs voeux de bonheur et de réussite, ah eh je lui souhaite aussi de trouver son âme-soeur très bientôt.
J'espère que ces livres lui plaisent et qu'il aurait une petite pensée pour moi quand il les lise he he.
Ah, oui, j'avais pensé aussi à la difficulté de transporter du vin dans votre valise !
Ces livres, quelle excellente idée ! Je pense qu'il va les trouver extra spéciaux. De plus, je pense que vos voeux vont l'aider à faire face aux difficultés auquelles il a fait allusion à M. Sohn à propos du tournage de TWSSG.
Merci d'avoir partagé ces détails avec nous, chère Camille.
Dear Camille,
Thank you for your report of the D-Day. When reading I also felt my heart beat so hard!!
I've never had a chance to go to Nami Island, but I'm sure to go next time.
cloud nine
Merci Gosijo, moi ausi j'espère que mes voeux puissent se réaliser pour lui.
My dear cloud nine, how are you ?
Yes, Nami island is beautiful, even P loves it very much.
I hope I will be able to blog about our day tour soon.
Hi, nice to see you.I'm Yoko from Japan.
I had planned my first visit to Seoul from 5th to 15th ,April.But had to cancel due to my job.
Oh,if not I could seen him! I could see you!Like you my purpose of the visit was not seeing him.to see his counry and visit places related to him and enjyoy the food.
Even if how much I wish, I can't set to see him as my purpose coz it's not me who decides just God does. And if failed,such a big dissapointment!
To read your first encounter I'm very curious and happy for you. Maybe because I recall mine at Taipei.
Hopefully my first visit Seoul would be in October.
Looking forward your trip report.
Yoko
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