Hallyuwood Day: 大長今
We reach Yangju, general area of the DaeJangGeum (大長今) theme park. Actualy the theme park used to be the set of the DaeJangGeum TV show. Back in ‘Pinas, it’s more commonly known and titled "Jewel in the Palace". Admittedly, prior to coming over to Korea, we had no idea what the show was about (except for those who watched the show), since we have not seen one episode… Well, actually I saw a special titled Cooking in the Palace, which is a one-shot spinoff showcasing the cooking of Royal Korean Cuisine. Thanks to our guide, we understood the gist and premise. For those still not familiar, you can go to Wikipedia and read about the show.
The show is so popular the studio set became a tourist attraction. So, we alight from the bus. The set is about 100m from the entrance. Along the way, there are walls of pictures from MBC Studios’ shows and personalities. And then there’s this field where you can play some Korean traditional games, one where I saw from a GMA TV show which also featured about this park. Past this playing field is a row of snack and souvenir shops on one side, and a wall of plaque with handprints of the principal cast and director of the show. 
Finally we reach the main entrance to the studio set. It is amazing what the producers had to make do with so little space. The throne would be in front, and then the prison set would be at the right door, and the kitchen on the left and so on. It’s more than just a set, it’s a slice of what 16th century Korea was like. There is a set where the king dines, and there is a mockup of the Korean royal cuisine. I had to make sure I got a shot of a sample of the king’s daily menu of some 30 odd dishes.
I can identify soups of some type, 2 kinds of rice, jellyfish, sunnyside up, a chicken dish, kim, blood sausage. The Empress Dowager of China has a larger choice of dishes. Obviously, neither royalty can finish or even sample all the dishes. And imagine, the chef must come up with something different everyday!
Most sets have lifesize cardboard cutouts of the characters. We posed in some of them as if they were really beside us. Soon, we had enough, and along the way, one of the vendors in the food stalls I mentioned talked to us, offering food, and figuring we’re from ‘Pinas, boasted of having been classmates with Carmna Villaroel. We highly doubted it and moved on. We pack into the bus, and make our way to our final destination, Seoul, where we have a pretty early dinner.
