1st March;)

Hello hello:)

Wah, I really didn't realize time passed so fast! Almost a week since the last post hehe.
Today 1st March.. my birthday:) I'm really happy^^ And also a Korean National Holiday - Independence Day
I'll begin with Big Bang as continuation to the previous post. Yesterday Big Bang released the second MV, for a song 'Bad Boy'.
The new, 5th Mini Album was released on 29th February. I heard all of the songs already, and really enjoy their come back^^ My favourite songs are 'Blue', 'Bad Boy' and 'Love Dust', the chorus of 'Ain't No Fun' is also very very nice:) And a song 'Fantastic Baby' is a clubbing one.

Below the MV for 'Bad Boy'. I wish they'd make MVs for all of the songs:)


Today I'd like to present - King Sejong the Great. A creator of Korean alphabet - Hangul [한글]. Hangul was published in 1446 year. During his kingship there were also many other inventions, and pretty big progress in technology and science.

[source: http://www.onlinetefl.com]

In front, not too far from Gyeongbokgung Palace, there is a huge statue of the Great King (for drama fans: the ending of 1st episode of 'City Hunter' was filmed in that place).

King Sejong

really huge monument!

Korean alphabet

Big Bang is back

I have to start with news about Big Bang: )

My life was surrounded by their come back hehehe;)) Just few hours ago Big Bang released first MV for song - 'Blue' (in total there will be 7 tracks in the album, including 'intro'). And a link for 'Blue' (already with subtitles!!):


I really like the new song, already replayed it few times^^
Also, yesterday fans spotted Big Bang members participating in one of 'Running Man' episodes. It'll air in TV on 4th March (episode 84). And for 'Secret Garden' fans - Ha Ji Won will appear in episode 85:)

As a short introduction, with which I probably should've begun - Big Bang [빅뱅] is one of Korean boys band, with total of 5 members.

source: allkpop.com; the photo is from previous album

Starting from the left:
1. T.O.P
2. Seungri
3. Taeyang
4. Daesung
5. G-Dragon

I mostly like Taeyang's and Daesung's voices. Without any prediction, I had a chance to meet Taeyang face to face:) During my stay, he released his first solo album - 'Solar'. At that time there were few competitions in music stores. People whose note were picked from a box, got a chance to get Taeyang's autograph. The list of rewarded people was published on a website... and I was so lucky to be one of them:)
All of the chosen fans were able to get inside the music store. We were waiting there in queue with Taeyang's album and note with our name.
When my turn came.. it was really amazing:) I stepped towards table and saw him face to face. He signed my album, and we spoke few words:) Yes.. I also mentioned I'm a fan from Poland. Taeyang shaked my hand, I was really happy hehe:)
Unfortunately we couldn't take photos inside... however I have a photo from his other appearance.

I posted before songs: 'Haru Haru' and 'Beautiful Hangover', so below other of my favourite Big Bang's songs (starting from the oldest ones):

Big Bang - 'Lie':


Big Bang - 'Heaven' (the song orginally is in Japanese so only that version is available with MV, however I prefer Korean version, and that one is below):


Big Bang - 'Let Me Hear Your Voice' (in my opinion their best Japanese song)


Big Bang - 'Tonight'


Big Bang - 'Love Song'


There are of course more Big Bang's songs, also very very good ones:)

And here some of solo songs:
Taeyang - 'I'll be there' (which was out during my stay, I remember I was listening it often in subway hehe)


Daesung - 'Baby Don't Cry' (no mv available)


G-Dragon - 'Heartbreaker'


G-Dragon - 'Butterfly'


Seungri - 'Strong Baby'


Seungri - 'What Can I Do'



~new travel post coming soon~
: )

Running Man [런닝맨]

Today after watching Kim Jong Kook's dance I was inspired to post about Korean program called - 'Running Man'. As some of my friends already know, I'm a HUGE fan of 'Running Man' : ) The show is aired in Korea every Sunday, on SBS channel. Place of the show changes in each episode, sometimes it can be a shopping mall, museum or even a ship.
The main cast of 'Running Man' have to complete as fast as possible all of the missions and quizzes (that's why they often have to run). Besides that, there might be a secret spy among Running Men;) and participants have to eliminate everyone to win the race (by tearing off a name tag of each person). Additionally, sometimes guests (such as actors, singers etc.) are invited to take part in the show, and they often get a secret mission;)
The program is really so funny^^ I recommend watching it: )

The main cast of 'Running Man':
1. Yoo Jae Seok [유재석], also known as Yooruce Willis, and Grasshopper. He is very very famous in Korea for being a great program's host (as in Infinite Challenge, Running Man), and also for being a great comedian.

source: allkpop.com

2. Ji Suk Jin [지석진], known also as Big Nose Hyung.

source: ktopia.net

3. Kim Jong Kook [김종국], known also as Commander or Sparta-Kook. Usually he is the most difficult to eliminate from the show. He is a singer.

source: allkpop.com

4. Gary [개리], a hip-hop singer from Leessang duo (they have many nice songs^^)

source: in2kpop.com

5. Haha [하하], also known as Haroro. He always promises his 'last love' to any new female guest hehe.

source: nate.com

6. Lee Kwang Soo [이광수], known also as Gwang-vatar, and together with Ji Suk Jin, they are known as Easy Brothers. He is an actor, and as example: he played in 'City Hunter'.

source: allkpop.com

7. Song Ji Hyo [송지효], also known as Ace Ji-Hyo and she used to be known with Gary as Monday Couple, with many funny and romantic moments. But since her real boyfriend's identity was exposed.. so it's end of Monday Couple T.T Ji Hyo is wise and tough, but from main cast she is the only girl in the program: )

source: allkpop.com

And, a video from 80th episode of mentioned at the beginning - Jong Kook's dance;D (with Tara's Lovey Dovey song)  (from: RunningManFan):

Itaewon [이태원]

Hello: )

Really sorry, I couldn't find time earlier for writing a new post, but: ) there is good news, I graduated!: ) (I'm not sure about the English equivalent of the title, but it's similar to BSc). Just Kanji and grammar tests left..
And also.. the 'City Hunter' drama, which I introduced in previous post, I couldn't finish it yet, due to the exam.. just 2 episodes left~!

Jestem z powrotem: ) po dłuższym czasie, ale z miłą wiadomością: ) Obroniłam się i jestem panią inżynier ^^ Zostało mi jeszcze tylko zaliczenie z Kanji oraz z gramatyki.. I potem wolne, wolne!! 
Niestety.. nie miałam również czasu na dokończenie oglądania 'City Hunter'.. T.T zostały mi dwa ostatnie odcinki..~

Today, I want to show You - Itaewon district. I will use the map again: )
Dzisiaj, chcę opowiedzieć co nie co o dzielnicy Itaewon. Poniżej mapka:)

Wyświetl większą mapę

Itaewon is, I'd say 'foreigners district'. There are foreign products in stores, many international restaurants (I didn't see a Polish one though, but there's really huge variety of food), bars, the main Islamic Mosque, Turkish people selling Kebab, US Army troops. It is the place where I saw many foreigners just at one time.
Besides that, Itaewon is also a night-life area.
To be honest.. well, I didn't like Itaewon too much. The reason is, I felt there different than in other places in Seoul, a different atmosphere, and I just didn't felt there that safe (mostly if visiting when it already became dark). At least it's my impression of Itaewon.

Itaewon, nazwałabym dzielnicą obcokrajowców. W chyba żadnej innej dzielnicy nie widziałam na raz tylu obcokrajowców. Jest tam wiele restauracji z kuchnią najdalszych zakątków świata, z Ameryki Południowej, Europy, południowej Azji, po za tym jest tam również wiele barów.
Miałam również okazję zobaczyć tam Islamski meczet (niedaleko jest również biblioteka islamska, czy typowa kuchnia).
Dodatkowo, po raz pierwszy w życiu właśnie w Itaewon widziałam na żywo transwestyte, właściwie to nawet kilku. I przyznam, że było to dla mnie trochę szokujące. Z twarzy - Azjatka, ale budowa.. nie taka kobieca, i właśnie to zwróciło moją uwagę.
Wiem również, że jest tam 'bogate' życie nocne.
Ogólnie rzecz biorąc nie czułam się tam zbyt bezpiecznie wieczorem, w przeciwieństwie do innych miejsc w Seulu. I przez to ograniczałam się jedynie do wizyt za dnia. Mnie, Itaewon średnio się podobał. Ale było mi bardzo miło znaleźć na chodniku Polską tablicę. Otóż znajdują się tam tablice przedstawiające różne kraje (wzdłuż ulicy, po obu stronach, na chodnikach).

I looked for a video to give a closer look on Itaewon, I chose this one (by winthropalum), because I recognized many places!


And also Itaewon Freedom, a funny-crazy video;)


The nice thing to see in Itaewon are boards of variety country name, flag, capital city, and 'hello' in mother tongue, with spelling hehe. It's on pavements on both sides of the street.
Wspomniana wcześniej polska tablica:

And another songs, this time rap style: )
Na koniec dwie piosenki, tym razem rap: )

First one is by Outsider - Alone. I ever read that he is the fastest rapper in the world. I don't know if it's true, but when You see the song, I read on time all English lyrics, but at few moments, I seriously can't follow Korean! ~ hehe^^
Pierwsza to piosenka Outsider - Alone. Jest on prawdopodobnie najszybszym raperem na świecie. Ilekroć oglądam ten filmik, dochodzę do wniosku, że to prawda hehe^^


The second one is a duet, Tablo with Jinsil - Bad. The music is very very nice. And here is also a link from live version: http://youtu.be/1aA_KoTGnQI
Z kolej druga piosenka, to duet Tablo z Jinsil - Bad.


See You soon~

Gyeongbokgung Palace [경복궁]

Hello everyone: )

Time to continue the trip. Today I want to share with You, a Korean heritage - Gyeongbokgung Palace. The palace is located quite in the centre of Seoul. Do You remember the map where I described location of Yeouido Park? Here is the location of Gyeongbokgung Palace (marked as A):

Czas na kontynuację podróży. Dzisiaj chciałabym podzielić się z Wami jednym z koreańskich skarbów; ) jakim jest Pałac Gyeongbokgung. Znajduje się mniej więcej w centrum Seulu. 
Pamiętacie może mapkę na której opisałam Wam gdzie znajduje się Park Yeouido (po lewewj stronie, na dole, poniżej rzeki)? Tym razem mapka z zaznaczoną jako litera 'A' lokalizacją Gyeongbokgung (google maps jak dobrze, że jesteś:)).

Enlarge the map
The palace was built in XIV century - at the beginning of Joseon Dynasty, and later, reconstructed in XIX century.
As  for additional information, mostly for Polish people, - next to the Palace, very close by.. the Polish Embassy is located. Lucky them for such a nice area: )
Have a closer look at the first photo: on the right side there is Polish Embassy (building with Polish flag: white-red on the top), on the left across the street there is Gyeongbokgung Palace, and have a look in front.. to me the view in front is so marvellous: )

Pałac został zbudowany w XIV wieku (początek Dynastii Joseon), a później, w XIX wieku został dodatkowo zrekonstruowany.

Dla ciekawostki, dodam, że tuż obok pałacu znajduje się Polska Ambasada w Seulu: ) Ale fajne mają miejsce: )

Jak spojrzycie na pierwsze zdjęcie: budynek po prawej stronie to nasza ambasada, po lewej stronie, po przejściu przez ulicę znajdują się wysokie mury otaczające pałac. Mi na tym zdjęciu bardzo podoba się widok na wprost: )

left side view

A detailed map of Gyeongbokgung, from which You can follow the trip:
Dla lepszej orientacji w Gyeongbokgung, poniżej szczegółowa mapka:

source: http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/korea/korea.html#seoul

I've seen the Palace twice as well. But let's not talk about the weather ok, haha, I'm 'lucky' for rainy days; ) Well, rain is not bad, after all there might be a rainbow afterwards; ) And because of my adventures with the rain (maybe I should change from 'blonde adventures' into 'rainy adventures' hehe), I took a photo of a very very convenient thing in Seoul. I don't know how to name it, maybe a rainy-umbrella-helper^^ When it's rainy, and You have with You either long or short umbrella, and You don't want to get wet while going to store or restaurant You just use the plastic bag. It's really comfortable to walk with covered umbrella.. and it's for free. They should use it in Poland too!

Pałac widziałam dwukrotnie. I... nie rozmawiajmy lepiej o pogodzie ok hehe. Mam "szczęście", jeżeli chodzi o deszczowe wycieczki. Wyraźnie teraz zwróciło to moją uwagę, chyba powinnam zmienić nazwę z 'blonde adventures' na 'rainy adventures' hehe.

W każdym bądź razie, przez te przygody z deszczem, uchwyciłam w Seulu bardzo fajną rzecz: ) Worki na parasolki, i to w dwóch wersjach!XD Zarówno dla małych, jak i większych parasolek, a w dodatku za darmo. Jest to naprawdę bardzo przydatne. W niektóre dni deszcz lał niesamowicie, tak więc wchodząc do sklepu, czy restauracji można było osłonić ociekającą parasolkę.

The view from Gwanghwamun Gate [광화문](which on the photo is behind us) - the largest gate to enter Gyeongbokgung Palace. Btw, if You go straight, straight, straight (yes, long way straight hehe) and then turn on the left there is Chung Chung Chung (Cheonggyecheon), about which I wrote in a post in previous year.

Poniżej widok od strony największej bramy Gyeongbokgung - Bramy Gwanghwamun na zewnątrz. Idąc prosto, prosto (tak, całkiem spory kawałek hehe), a następnie skręcając w lewo dotarlibyśmy do Chung Chung Chung (Cheonggyecheon), o którym pisałam w jednym poście, w zeszłym roku.

view on the left

Gwanghwamun Gate

Buildings in Gyeongbokgung area are surrounded by high walls, and outside, very close, there are modern skyscrapers.
Gyeongbokgung otoczony jest wysokimi murami, za którymi, czyli blisko tradycyjnego, pałacowego kompleksu znajduje się wiele nowoczesnych wieżowców.

view from Gyeongbokgung on Gwanghwamun Gate

Walking inside, I want to show You a nice video, so You can feel like being there [video is made by Chantal]. 

The video shows ceremony of changing guards:

Wchodząc do środka, chcę pokazać Wam fajny filmik, żeby trochę poczuć się jak w Gyeongbokgung, na miejscu. Filmik przedstawia uroczystą zmianę strażników:

Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul - South Korea from Chantal on Vimeo.

You can also take a photo with guards

I think the most impressive is Geunjeongjeon Hall [근정전] - Throne Hall, a place for audiences of officials and the king.

Największe wrażenie zrobił na mnie Geunjeongjeon - Sala Tronowa. Gdzie odbywały się różne audiencje, króla czy dostojników.

Geunjeongjeon Hall

Throne Hall inside

Decorations... so colourful! Few close-up photos:
Nie sposób nie zauważyć ślicznych, kolorowych ozdób:

And now, a video from inside of other buildings [by: Dasim]:

I kolejny filmik, pośród innych budynków:

Gyeongbokgung (palace, Seoul, Korea) from Dalibor Simacek on Vimeo.

 

Below a photo of Gyeonghoeru [경회루], a hall used for banquets in Joseon Dynasty.

Poniżej zdjęcie Gyeonghoeru - sali w której odbywały się ważne przyjęcia:

Gyeonghoeru

zodiac figures, which one is Your?

Inside, there is also a museum. I mostly liked the vases.
Wewnątrz znajduje się również muzeum.

 

As for the end, another video, to sum up Gyeongbokgung [by: koreanheritage]:
Na koniec, jeszcze jeden filmik, podsumowujący Gyeongbokgung: )



Hope You liked it, as did I enjoy it: ]
Mam nadzieję, że spodobał się Wam Gyeongbokgung: )

And a bit of music for today: )
I jeszcze odrobina muzyki na dzisiaj: )

I have to start with a song by Kim Bo Kyung - 'Suddenly'. It's my favourite song from a soundtrack of Korean drama called 'City Hunter' [시티헌터]. I'm currently watching this drama. And it's a very very interesting one, (Lee Min Ho - I became Your huge fan <respect> hehe), I think it's one of the best Korean dramas I've seen so far. But I don't know yet how it's going to end :/.., though I can already recommend watching it.  I really hope the ending will be good.. Must be!!
I chose very nice fan-made video [by: xomegxo1989], with translated lyrics. However the video consists scenes up to around 8th episode (total are 20). So it might be a spoiler to some of You, then don't watch it: ) But if You want to give a try for watching an Asian drama, or are curious, then have a look, and afterwards who knows You might want to watch all episodes: )

Muszę zacząć od piosenki Kim Bo Kyung'a - 'Suddenly'. To moja ulubiona piosenka z soundtracka do koreańskiej dramy zatytułowanej 'City Hunter'. Jeszcze jestem w trakcie jej oglądania i nie wiem jak się skończy (nie lubię spoilerów). Drama jest bardzo interesująca, więc polecam! Filmik zawiera sceny bodajże do 8 odcinka (całość ma 20), więc jeżeli ktoś nie chce niszczyć sobie niespodzianek to lepiej go nie oglądać: ) Ale jeżeli zainteresowały Cię azjatyckie dramy i zastanawiasz się nad obejrzeniem którejś z nich, to być może filmik Cię to tego zachęci: )


The second, a song by As One ft. Donghae - 'Only You', very pleasant music^^ [source: belcuore88]:
I druga, bardzo przyjemna piosenka: As One ft. Donghae - 'Only You':


Ok,
Bye bye!
And see You.. somewhere under the rainbow, not in the rain: )