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By Joseph Javier
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DJ Mo
Twister takes photos of the
snow-covered countryside of
Yong Pyong region of South Korea |
Inspired by my latest partner in radio and
television, the Korean beauty Grace Lee, the Good Times crew packed
our bags and made our way to visit South Korea to tape a special
episode showcasing the winter charm of her home country.
Joined by DJ Mo Twister, show director R.A.
Rivero and our executive producer Angel Rivera, we left Manila
through NAIA and began our journey.
After a four-hour flight via Asiana Airlines,
Good Times found ourselves at Korea’s Incheon Airport which is
about an hour outside Korea’s capital city of Seoul. As soon as we
deplaned, we were jolted by the remnants of Korean winter cold.
At 3 degrees Celsius, we unpacked our scarves, gloves and jackets to
protect us from the chill and made our way to Seoul’s Yoido
district to check in for the night at the posh Lexinton Hotel before
heading to the mountainous countryside for a weekend of good times
and adventure in the snowy cold.
The night provided the crew with a short respite
or rest and relaxation before we headed off to the mountainous Yong
Pyong region of Korea some 200 kilometers away from the metropolis.
While Seoul was still biting cold by Manila standards, there was no
more snow on the ground as the winter was already giving way to
springtime. Good Times was in eager anticipation to experience the
falling snow which awaited us in Yong Pyong.
During our 3.5-hour drive to the countryside, we
could see the cityscape give way to a more inviting landscape as
skyscrapers and edifices gave way to rolling hills and sprawling
forests of evergreens and naked deciduous trees. The
temperature slowly dipped until we reached the heights of Yong Pyong
(some 700 meters above sea level) where the ground was still covered
with ice and snow at a sharp -8 degrees Celsius! The town was
decorated in Christmas style with images of anime snowmen, ribbons
of red and silver, wooden sleighs and reindeer and the sparkle of
scintillating white lights.
Given our tropical bodies, it took us a while to
get acclimatized to the sub-zero temperatures of Yong Pyong.
We decided to check into our resort and settle in before trying our
hand at the ski-slopes the next day.
We were billeted at the world-class Dragon
Valley Resort located at the foot of Yong Pyong’s mountains and
Dragon Peak. The Yong Pyong resort was born in 1975 as the
first ever modern facility of its kind in South Korea, birthing a
new leisure culture known as the country’s “Ski Mecca.”
Situated on 1,620 hectares of pristine natural surroundings, with 31
ski slopes, 15 chair lifts, and 3.7 km of gondola and 2,800 rooms
for guests, the resort offers skiers the best conditions for showing
off their technique.
We ended up taking our nightcap at Dragon Valley
Resort’s “Café Cheo-um” or Dragon Bar which was made famous
by the koreanovela Winter Sonata which was filmed there.
Overlooking ski slopes, we sipped on sweet soju (traditional Korean
rice wine) by the café’s crackling fireplace before retiring to
our European style condo for the night.
The next morning, we drove into town for a quick
brunch before hitting the slopes. Equipment rental set us back
about $150 each plus another $500 to gain access to the ski resort
and its many lifts.
We immediately made our way to the highest
gondola which would take us to the summit of Dragon’s Peak, the
highest mountain to ski from in the area at over 1,000 meters high.
Our 15-minute ascent to the peak offered us an impressive bird’s
eye view of the mountainous surrounding of the Yong Pyong
countryside.
Upon reaching the summit, we were greeted by
tourists from all around the world (we could spot people from
France, Switzerland, Japan, America and even some fellow Filipinos)
as well as a flurry of snow which wonderfully precipitated from the
clouds above. The experience was a first for many in our
entourage and even elicited tears of joy in one awed skier as it was
his first time seeing snow fall. Grace and our instructor bravely
went down the Dragon Peak intermediate course, as they were
well-versed in winter sports, while DJ Mo and I took the gondola
back down to try our luck at the beginner slope.
Opting to learn snowboarding rather than skiing,
we strapped on our boards and took a crash course on the slopes
courtesy of our Korean instructor, Kevin Choi. We quickly got
the hang of things (we were surprisingly fast learners according to
Mr. Choi), and decided to race one another down the hills.
After some spills and tumbles down the slopes, DJ Mo came out on top
as the first snowboader in our group to cross the finish line.
All in all, our winter-sports trip to Korea was
indeed a wonderful experience. Make sure to watch Studio 23 on
Tuesday nights at 11 p.m. for Good Times the TV show to see just
exactly how fun our frolicking in the Korean mountains and snow
really was!
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