December's things to do

Remember the scene in the romantic comedy About Time, when a girl and a boy first encounter each other in complete darkness. A similar total-darkness experience is available in Seoul, unfortunately, its concept is not about finding your one true love. Rather, Dialogue in the Dark (located in Bukchon) is an awareness raising exhibition. It was created in 1988 by Andreas Heinecke as a result of a life-long search for answers to the question, “On what ground do we judge people and feel inferior or superior?” Interestingly, it was an acquaintance who had lost his eyesight in a car accident that helped Heinecke realize not only the answers to his question but also his fascination of the world of blind people. In order to confront this prejudice about blindness, Dialogue in the Dark was started, in a small warehouse. Now, this exhibition has over 130 locations in 20 different countries with over 9 million visitors. Once inside, you will be stripped of all possible lighting devices (phones, watches, etc.) and will be ‘blind’ for 100 minutes. You will listen to the directions of the ‘road master’ and utilize a white cane to navigate rooms of different themes; leaves, forest, using wind to rotate a sailboat in the right direction, matching smell and touch with places and objects, etc. Dialogue in the Dark isn’t just about being blind; it’s an experience that will indulge yourself in all your other senses. For safety issues, only visitors between the age of 9 to 70 are allowed, with...

At this second-generation tonkatsu joint located near Sinsa Station, you’d never find a knife on your table. Instead, Hanseong’s tonkatsus are cut with a heavy cleaver before they’re served. Once you receive your dish, you’d know why: the pork inside the cutlet is so thick you’d have to wrestle with it otherwise. The star of this dish, however, is found with another of its element: oil has been extremely well removed from the batter which has got the perfect thickness to compliment the pork. The atmosphere of this restaurant is rather humble, but trying their menu will give you another opportunity to realize that it’s the substance that counts. The spicy mustard, tonkatsu sauce and miso soup (which has a good amount of sweetness) are all made in-house. 9000 won is in no way cheap for a tonkatsu, but the large portion and patent-worthy quality is definitely worth every won. While you’ll likely to be full almost all day after eating here, here’s what not going to happen at this place: you won’t try and have a peek at another table that ordered fancier items. Upon trying the tonkatsu, I immediately decided to come back here to try the hire katsu, though.

While restaurants housed in an impressive hanok building are easily found in Seoul, one with a beautiful garden is indeed a rarity. Seated on a hill of Buam-dong, Seokparang offers an impressive scenery letting the visitors feel as if they're far out of the city. Its name comes from Seokpajeong, the once vacation home of Heungseon Daewongun, who was the regent to King Gojong during Joseon Dynasty. With an important part of the estate relocated to its compound, Seokparang showcases authentic Korean royal cuisine including ginseng-steamed bossam (pork), neobiani (grilled beef), jeonyuhwa (seasonal flower pancakes), songitang (pine mushroom stew), eomandu (fish dumplings) and and jeonbok galbijim (steamed abalone and ribs). In fact, the recipes of these exact dishes have been passed down through palace kitchens over the years. Its Korean table d'hôte, which has catered to a number of local and international dignitaries, also includes desserts such as fried ginseng and jujubes which were only served in the dynastic courts. With a quaint and luscious garden complete with all kinds of greenery including the 150-year-old persimmon offering a gorgeous stroll, May especially is a great time to visit Seokparang, one of the city's most historic dining spaces.