7D Korea Golden Rama Tour: Seoul Trick Eye Museum, Hongdae
Trick Eye Museum is actually nothing new and it has been around for probably more than 5 years now. I was kinda feeling meh upon knowing that we have to visit the Trick Eye Museum in Hongdae because I have visited it before 4 years back. And nowadays, Trick Eye Museum is very common up to the point that a lot of other countries having it too as part of their tourist attractions. For example, Trick Eye Museum has also opened its franchise in Singapore at Sentosa Island. At least, the museum is trying to up its art technology by incorporating some apps and 4D effects. Oh well, enough complaining, let's just check it out again, shall we?
The admission fee to Trick Eye Museum also includes admission to Ice Museum, which is located at the exact opposite of Trick Eye Museum. The admission fees for the Trick Eye Museum and Ice Museum are as follows:-
Adults: Individual 15,000 KRW/ Group (more than 20 pax) 11,000 KRW
Students (18 years old and below): Individual 12,000 KRW/ Group (more than 20 pax) 8,000 KRW
Visitors are encouraged to scan the barcode to install an app designed by Trick Eye Museum. Basically if you are using that app to take picture with the painting of raging dragon on the sea, you will be able to see even more enhanced effects (like video) and you can upload it straight to you social media accounts such as Instagram. The app is quite big in size and our wifi connection did not allow us to complete the downloading so I did not really use it at the end. Too bad.
Oh right, if you never visit any trick eye museum before, let me give you a brief and short explanation on what to expect from Trick Eye Museum. The museum is basically an art gallery with paintings created using "trompe l'oeil" techniques which give each 2D art piece the illusion of being in 3D. So instead of just being able to view the painting, you can pose together with the painting to show illusion that you are after all, being a part of the painting.
There are not only paintings in the Trick Eye Museum but also some props like this one where you can probably act like you are washing your hair or taking a shower with this uhh naked lady. The museum is pretty fun especially if you come in a group with your friends/ family members. That way, you can pose together with certain painting/ exhibit and make funny memory.
After we were done exploring Trick Eye Museum in probably less than 30 minutes, we decided to check out the Ice Museum. Every visitors are given thermal cover because it's freezing inside the ice museum. The reason of why the temperature inside the Ice Museum is kept at -4 degrees celcius is because everything in the museum is made of ice.
Inside the ice museum you will see a variety of ice sculptures from Penguin, igloo house, Hello Kitty look alike, ice house and even slide which is built behind the the icy wings and Hello Kitty look alike ice sculptures. As mentioned above, the admission fee for the Ice Museum is included as part of the admission fee for Trick Eye Museum.
Since the Ice Museum is not that big either, we kinda finished checking out the whole place in 30 minutes. There are some arcade games like the doll catcher which seems to be a popular game to do when you are dating your bae in Korea. I suppose it's sweet if your bae managed to catch a cute little Pikachu plushie for you. But I am not really a doll person so I will be happier if he buy me ddeokbokki instead. Hahaha.
After the whole tour participants gathered at the meeting place, it is time to go watch one of the famous Korean performances, Cookin' Nanta show. It is a non-verbal performance which integrates Korea's traditional rhythm, Samulnori, with comedy. Nanta made its first appearance at Broadway in New York on 2004 and since then on, it has been shown and obtained many awards internationally. If I'm not wrong, the show was shown at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore before too.
Even though it may be a non-verbal performance, there is a storyline involved in Cookin' Nanta. The storyline and various comic scenes revolve in the kitchen where 4 chefs and a restaurant manager have to prepare dishes for a banquet. There is love, rivalry and action incorporated in the drama and audience participation is required at some stage of the performances.
Using mobile phone and any other recording device is strictly prohibited once the show is about to start. The ushers are there to watch you closely so don't even bother to try. In the event that you got selected as one of the volunteers on stage, you don't have to worry about not having anything to commemorate the moment. They will give you a polaroid of you doing some action on the stage as souvenir. Quite a nice touch although there is no guarantee if the polaroid will turn out okay. Hahaha.
Oops turn out it is a chicken stew instead of beef stew. Oh well, I suppose we have to eat a tad healthier after the street food feast that we had at Myeongdong the other night.
Cookin' Nanta show admission fees at Hongdae Theater:
VIP - 60,000 KRW
S - 50,000 KRW
A - 40,000 KRW
Cookin' Nanta Hongdae theater address:
B2F, 357-4, Seokyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
For the location of other theaters showing Cookin' Nanta show and the timing of the performance, you can check its website here.