One of the best surprises from this one month Korea trip is getting chosen to go to the BTS In The Soop Season 1 shooting location for FREE.
I am not updated with Instagram contests, but one day a friend sent the link to our group chat that we should all join for more chances of winning (since we can bring friends with us if one of us wins). True enough, some of us got a direct message from @Lake192 a few days later telling us that we won the Instagram giveaway!
The event is actually a Tourism Chuncheon organized tour. Not a surprise, all the winners were ARMYs. On the day of the tour, we were requested to be at the Chuncheon Station by 12nn. The big group was divided into two huge buses. We signed up the registration, and received an ID. There were families, solo travelers, and group of friends. And there were a lot of Filipino ARMYs, too!
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| A rather long train ride to Chuncheon Station for our tour. Even met a new ARMY friend from Hawaii who approached me during the last few stations because of my BTS bag :) |
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| Reached the meet-up point on time. The big group was transported by 2 big buses. |
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| What a dream... an ARMY Fieldtrip! |
Here's the schedule that our group got:
So from Chuncheon Station, off we go to the Happy Chowon Ranch in time for lunch. I honestly have no idea, but this restaurant turned out to be the burger place that J-Hope and V bought their food from (take out) before they ate at the back of the car, and danced to Surfaces' The View! Waaa! This place is definitely a must-visit for ARMYs!
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| A resto in the middle of nowhere! I wonder how VHope spotted this gem. |
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| Our lunch, paired with a can of Chilsung Cider of course! |
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| The carefree vibe of this scene that still lives in my head rent-free |
After our lunch (fee was also covered by the contest, thank you!), we finally proceeded to the
Lake192, the name of the In The Soop rest house. Ever since watching ITS1, I've been dreaming of going to this place after finding out
you can rent it via Airbnb. I often travel solo when going to Korea, so transportation and rental fee wise (around PHP 40,000++/ night) it was near impossible for me. So winning this day-trip contest was truly a dream come true! I'd like to think it was law of attraction.
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| Felt like I was day-dreaming when I finally saw this signage irl |
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| In my head I was hearing BTS In The Soop theme song the whole time! |
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| Jungkook's cabin by the lake |
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| Photo with the really nice owner; and a table of snacks and coffee in front of the house |
We had 2 hours to go around the houses and the lake--hangout, take pictures, etc. There were off limits areas, areas where we can't take pictures, which we respected coz rules are rules. We were free to hangout at the huge lot in front of the house with the view of the lake. We were also free to go to the small cabin which Jungkook chose for his room. A little later, the host also brought us to the other house with the kitchen and Jimin's room! We were given a little time to take photos, so we rushed so everyone can have their turn! :D
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| Jungkook's room; wooden tables with a nice view of the lake where Jimin had ramyeon |
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| Woonden swing where RM read a book, a spot in front of the main house where Jin hangout |
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| The kitchen where Jin and Suga often lead the cooking; the outdoor long table where the boys had their meals and wood carving session |
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| A small outdoor area where the boys painted; the big cauldron where they cooked |
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| Jimin's room! |
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| Even walkways like this had us excited, haha! |
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| Group photo with our bus friends! ARMYS In The Soop! |
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| A memorable time reliving Bangtan's vacation |
It was nice to see familiar corners where we remember scenes from the reality show. Uy dyan siya nag basa ng book, or uy dyan sila nag paint! The memories were overflowing, it was nice to pickup these Bangtan breadcrumbs with co-ARMYs. It was a short but sweet time. And although staying over is still an impossible dream, still grateful to have this experience that I didn't even see will fall straight to my lap while in Korea.
Our last stop was the Samaksan Lake Cable Car, said to be the longest cable car in Korea! View was breathtaking, but after awhile (since the ride was indeed long), it was also nice to spend time just talking to ARMY friends (old and new) especially about their own BTS autumn in Korea trips.
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| Met fellow Filipino ARMYs during our first ride. They flew in all the way from America! |
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| On the other side, we had purple ice cream while enjoying the cool breeze hehe |
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| With my new ARMY friends "Cindy" and Amanda |
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| Borahae! Group photo with "Cindy", Amanda, Ariel, T, Paxie, and Jin on Paxie's phone :) |
We even played Jin's The Astronaut up in the skies, my first time listening to it in full after avoiding it since it was released days ago. 😩😭 The vibe was just perfect to finally go sentimental over the end of BTS Chapter 1... moving forward to Chapter 2 with new ARMY friends by my side.
Again, this day-trip came to me as a surprise. It wasn't in my itinerary at all, and definitely the best last out-of-Seoul stop before my trip ended. Truly a bittersweet end to a beautiful adventure.
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