Galati Travels: South Korea

Finally, we made it to Jeju! Yes, after two years in Korea, we decided to see what the ruckus was all about. Much to our pleasant surprise, Jeju exceeded our expectations by a large margin! A bit about Jeju. Well, for one, its an island that lies south of the mainland, in the Korea Strait. It is a volcanic island, which contains a number of natural World Heritage Sites, and some interesting landmarks. Many of these sites are free to visit, or have entrance fees as low as $2. The only sights with higher fees are indoor theme parks, many of those which can be avoided since they don't offer anything that Seoul can't.

How to get Around

There are a few ways to get around in Jeju. The best would be by car, but only if you get a cheap car rental $10/day) and can easily access a licence. If not (which was the case with us), you can very easily get around by bus. In many forums, you'll read that its impossible to see more than 2 sights each day, but that is entirely incorrect. We were able to see 4-6 sights each day, and could probably fit in more.

The caveat however is to be somewhat savvy in Kakao or Naver Maps to keep abreast of buses and timings. Second, always make sure you read the timetables at each stop, so that you know how much time you have in a particular destination until the next bus arrives. Not every timetable is available on Kakao and Naver, so you have to go old-fashioned. Since we are fairly handy on buses, this was a non-issue for us and we are able to take $1 buses to sight see the entire island.

A Bus Itinerary

Without much further ado, here's a lowdown on our five day itinerary with the buses to get you there.

Day 0: Jeju City

We arrived late in the city in the evening and spent the night at Yeha Goodstay Hotel. We had a separate room to ourselves (its mainly a hostel), but the stay was delightful! The place had character, and there's a downstairs lounge with lots of board games and reading material as well as a community kitchen (where you can help yourself to free breakfast the following day). If you're staying just a night in the city, this should be your bet. A bus goes directly from here to the guesthouse. To top it off, this place is right next to the Bus Terminal so you can pretty much get to anywhere from here.

The city does have a few places to visit, but don't spend more than half a day here, because there's much more to see in the island. If you want a base, I'd say choose Jungmun or Seogwipo which are 30-50 minutes from the airport. Some of the attractions to check out include:

Jeju Folklore and Natural History Museum
Sarabong Peak
Dongmun Market
Gwandeokjeong Pavilion
Yongyeon Pond
Iho Tewoo Beach

Day 1: North East Jeju

We left around 10 am and took the coastal 201 bus to Gimyeong Beach. You could also decide to see the Hamdeok beach instead, but we decided on Gimnyeong due to its proximity to some of the other sites inland.

Both however, are similar in being strikingly beautiful, with clear blue water and yellow sand. I would add that Gimnyeong beach tends to also be less crowded than Hamdeok beach.

This area is known to be good for catching striped beakfish and spotty belly greenlings.

There, we spend a few hours, rested in a cafe, and then caught the next bus inland to Gimnyoung Maze. The bus 711-1 goes from the beach to the Maze Park (10 minutes) or you can take a taxi ($4). The maze was funded by an American Professor at Jeju National University, Frederic H. Dustin, who loved Jeju. The maze park contains plants from all over Asia. The maze is lots of fun and will take around 30 minutes to an hour to explore, but there are also skywalks and lots of photo opps.

Once you're done with the maze, you can head over to Manjanggul cave, which are a mere ten minute walk. The cave is part of a larger network of caves that are regarded as a UNESCO world heritage site since 2007. Personally, I did not find the cave sight to be amazing. It's very dark so you can hardly see much, and its also very wet and cold. I would recommend it in the heat though.

At the caves, we had some lunch and then took the same bus 711-1 to Bijarim Forest. Bijarim means nutmeg and the forest consists of about 2,800 nutmeg trees that are between 500 and 800 years old. This is the largest nutmeg tree forest in the world. There is a nice walkway through the forest that has been installed for visitors to enjoy a stroll through the wonderful forest.

Once we were done with Bijarim, we took the bus to Seongsan. This required taking two buses with a transfer but the buses run as often as ten minutes and as seldom as twenty minutes. Our wait time was 15 minutes, which certainly won't set you back by a lot. Still, we made it to Seongsan in 1 hour. There, we stayed at Golden Tulip Hotel. The hotel is a four star hotel, with a great bathroom and modern bt basic interiors. The staff was extremely kind, so on that end, we have no complaints, plus the price was quite low for a 4 star hotel. That being said, I'd prefer to stay in a pension, since this hotel lacked any character and the rooms were small. We did not get any view as such, and there's no lounge to enjoy yourself. When we went, the pool wasn't working either.

Since we arrived in the evening around sunset, we had dinner at Playce Camp, a really nice food court and then explored the canola fields below Seongsan Ilchulbang, the sight we left for the next day.

Day 2: East and South Jeju

We began our day quite early and walked over to the Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. This is a peak that was a result of a volcanic eruption over 100,000 years ago. There is a huge crater at the top of the peak and many sharp rocks surrounding the crater that make it look like a crown.

After you enter, there is a bit of a climb. Most of the ascent is through stairs so make sure to bring water, and try to do this before it gets too hot. It takes around 30 to 40 minutes to climb with rests. Along the way, there is also the option of horse riding on the meadows.

Image result for seongsan ilchulbong peak

Although we went earlier, we still missed the sunrise which was around 4:30-5:00 am. However, if you are more adventurous, you can go earlier and see the sunrise from the crater.

From here, you can also see the haenyo or women's divers. This is unique to Jeju Island, where there is a community of older women, some aged in their 80s, which go diving under the sea to gather seafood for a living without the help of oxygen masks. With knowledge of the sea, these divers harvest for up to seven hours a day, 90 days of the year holding their breath for just one minute for every dive and making a unique verbal sound when resurfacing. Before a dive, divers pray to the goddess of the sea for safety and an abundant catch.

Along the side of Seongsan, you also get to see some beautiful cliffs overlooking the ocean, which makes for excellent time to relax and meditate, which is exactly what we did.

From Seongsan Ilchulbang, we went to Seopjikoji, which you can access through bus (10 minutes) or taxi (5 minutes). If you go by bus, you'd need to walk for around 15 minutes to get to the edge of the cliff. It's a pleasant walk, but there are no cafes or restaurants here. Instead, you walk along the island edge through canola fields that overlook the shores. Right next to the island where the Seopjikoji rests is the Hanwha aquarium, one of the largest in East Asia. It has more than 5000 ocean animals from Korea and abroad and here too, you can see the female divers in action.

From the east coast, we went South to Jungmun area where we stayed in a delightful pension called Hera Castle. I highly recommend it, and as you will see from Booking.com, hundred of other people agree with me.

Day 3: Seogwipo and Jungmun

The last day was spend enjoying beach and waterfalls in the southern part of Jeju. The next day, we first explored Cheonjeyeon waterfalls which were right next to our pension. Cheonjeyeon Falls, means "The Pond of God," and consists of 3 sections. Around the falls, a variety of plant life thrives, such as the rare ‘solimnan’ reeds. To the east, there is a cave where cold water pours from the ceiling to create the first waterfall. The water gathers into a pool and from there, falls two more times, creating the second and third waterfalls, which then flow into the sea.

You can also see Seonimgyo Bridge (arch bridge with 7 nymphs carved on the side) and the octagonal Cheonjeru Pavilion. From Seonimgyo Bridge, you can exit into the Jungmum Tourist Complex. If you have time, you can also visit Yeomiji Botanical Garden and the Teddy Bear museum, but they can be missed if you are pressed on time

From there, we went to Jungmun beach which personally wasn't my favourite beach. It is very nice but a little more inaccessible by bus or walking. There are resorts all around it, and very few Korean restaurants to enjoy seafood. We were really hungry so we ate at the Cliff, a very nice Italian/American pub overlooking the beach, but there was no seafood on the menu. If you want to eat with a view, Seogwipo is better (will explain more later).

After lazing on the sofas next to the beach, we spent some time walking along the shore until we arrived at Jusangjeolli Cliff. These vertical cliffs are black rock pillars shaped either rectangular or hexagonal and are formed by lava!

After looking at kakaomap, we headed to the bus stop right near the beach. Its not so much as a bus stop as it is a sign (thats it). We stood there for around ten minutes and luckily got the 510 bus to to Seogwipo, which goes along the coast from Jungmun to Seogwipo and back. On the way, we passed by a number of theme parks like the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, Chocolate Land and others, but skipped those because you can see them elsewhere, and really, Jeju is about nature, not about indoor parks.

We got off near Cheongjeyeon Waterfall, and Jeongbang Waterfall. Both Cheonjiyeon and Jeongbang are located within walking distance from Seogwipo and don’t require a strenuous hike to get there. What's more is that they are right next to "Chilsimni Food Street," a designated eating zone that runs in a long loop west to east along the harbor, and contains various types of restaurants,but lots of seafood. It overlooks the ocean so instead of Jungmun, Seogwipo offers much more in terms of things to do and things to eat. That is why we loved Seogwipo and in retrospect, might have selected to stay here instead of Jungmun, but we loved staying at Hera Castle

Walking downhill from the main bus stop towards the sea the Cheonjiyeon waterfall is to the right, tucked round a bend where the stream meets the harbor. The Jeongbang waterfall is to the left after passing the food street.

Jeongbang Waterfall is the only waterfall in Asia to fall directly into the ocean so I was excited to check it out. Needless to say, it was a nice afternoon exploring Seogwipo and seeing what all the hype is about.

After the waterfalls, we headed back to Jungmun, where we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner, and got ready to sleep after a long day. The next morning, we took an early morning bus to the airport (bus 600 goes directly there and takens 30 minutes in the morning since Jeju is blessed with much less traffic than the rest of Korea).

A few takeaways for us were:

Stay in pensions/guesthouses instead of hotels
Spend more days in Seogwipo
No theme parks needed but some like the EcoPark with the monorail are worth a visit
Other forests besides Bijarim since nutmeg trees aren't the prettiest.
Skip the caves and spend more time on the beach

And that's pretty much how our three days in Jeju concluded!

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I have a confession. One of the most fun activities I have done in Korea was partake in the Ice Fishing in Hwacheon. I have gone to Hwacheon twice, once with an official tour which provided a ton of benefits, and then with an unofficial tour that took us to a few other sites including the Hwacheon Dam.

Hwacheon is known to be the coldest city in South Korea, in the province of Gangwon-do, and also right next to North Korea, within nine kilometers of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.Given the reputation of being one of the coldest places, Hwacheon is home to the annual Hwacheon Sancheoneo ice fishing festival. Sancheoneo means wild trout, and the festival takes place in the Hwacheoncheon (stream) during nearly the entire month of January.

The official tour operators made there pickups at three locations: Hongik Univ. (Hongdae) Station Exit (8:00 am meet-up time), Myeongdong Station Exit 2 (8:30 am meet-up time), or Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station Exit 12 (8:40 am meet-up time). Unofficial tours leave from different areas. We've done both official and unofficial, and it took an equal amount of time to get to Hwacheon, which was 2 and a half hours, with low traffic.

We began the trip by making a stop at the Hwacheon Peace Dam, which is meant to prevent flooding from the corresponding dam in the north, Geumgangsandaem by North Korea. There's an interesting piece on the Peace Dam by New York Times which is worth a read here.

There was a bell you could ring as well at the Dam sight, and a small park, where we explored and took some pictures.

Then,we were back on the bus we drove for another 40 minutes and arrived at the festival area. The bus drooped us at a random corner and we had to walk up a street lined with tented restaurants. We then walked under a tunnel and came out in the festival area. The fishing took place mainly on a frozen river.

We wandered for a bit and found the tent where we got our fishing poles. We were in the special foreigner section, which was nice as it meant we had a better chance of catching some fish. We spent ages bobbing our fishing rod up and down in the hole, and nothing happened. Finally, I caught a fish and then Omar caught three fish!

Sadly though, we had to return these fish. I'm not sure why, but I was pissed to kill and torture fish and find out I still won't get to take them home. Later I found out there was some mix up with the tour groups and technically, we should have been allowed to take the fish with us

Though ice fishing was undoubtedly the most popular event, and also the bare hand ice fishing (shivers), there were tons of other things going on all around us. There were areas for sledding, skating and ice hockey as well as curling. Food vendors and ajummas were all over the place and the entire city was on party mode.

For us, the next stop was the snowhill and snow tubes. With each ticket, we were allowed three slides and this was definitely the best part of the festival. After standing in line, we were given these tubes, and we climbed to the top of a hill. Once the whistle was blown, we went sliding down the hill with the snow tubes. It was a lot of fun.

After that, we spent the time exploring the entire area as well as the city, which is fairly fun. We were also told to arrive for lunch, to a designated spot for they grille the fish for us.

The last sight on the trip was the ice sculpture exhibition which was extremely entertaining and you could slide on the buildings. Most of the structures were the Gates and fortresses of Seoul.

By 7 pm, we were pooped and exhausted from the cold, so after some warming in cafe's, we headed home. But let's just say we like this festival and it was a perfect way to embrace the January chill and spend the day doing something a little different.

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One of the most magical experiences I have had in Seoul is at L’atelier, an indoor impressionism-art-theme park located in Dongdaemun, Seoul. For art lovers and technologists alike, the theme park is unusual - it brings alive the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and others in the most interesting of manners. L’atelier is a word that combines ‘light’, a keyword that symbolizes the Impressionist paintings, called the ‘paintings of light’, and ‘atelier’, which refers to the workshops for the contemporary artists. The theme park has thus been designed to allow visitors to enjoy themselves in Paris, by recreating the same streets.

Some of the famous areas recreated are: Palace du Tertre, Montmartre, Madeleine Flower Market, Place du Lamartine and Palace du Forum. Every detail has been paid attention to, starting from the patterns of the floors and the walls, to each chair’s cushion, which are designed to look similar to a pillow in Van Gogh’s “The Bedroom.” Even the digital animations of paintings on the walls interact with the visitors.

The sets have been carefully done up, paying attention to even the smallest of details, and the lighting and technology is very appropriately placed. Most of the windows display a video, which is responsive. That means, when you go near the window, someone starts talking to you!

The exhibition also highlights the life of the greatest Impressionist artists such as Van Gogh, Edouard Manet and Edouard Leon Cortes, through a recreation of Paris, in the 1,400-square-meter space.

There's a lot of landscapes and scenes which are projected on the walls throughout the indoor theme park. They also have a gallery of the artwork, and many of the paintings are animated. This means you can see slight animations - However, they have an amazing feel to them.

There are also three performances you can see. One is Monet’s Lily pond media-art-show and the other two performances revolve around the life of Van Gogh. An actor, impersonating famous French novelist Emile Zola, uses hologram images to pose a question about why Van Gogh ended up committing suicide, then a musical created by the company shows the creative genius’ life, from an enthusiastic young man to an old miserable loner. Though everything is in Korean, you will get simultaneous English and Chinese translations.

The exhibition is totally worth it! Tickets are for 24,000 KRW ($20) but discounted on the last Wednesdays of the month - because of Culture day! To get here, go to Dongdaemun Hyundai City Outlet is five minutes away from Dongdaemun History and Culture Park station, lines no. 2, 4 and 5. L’atelier is on the 11th floor of the building.

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Seoul has some amazing hidden treasures, but many of these hidden treasures have been deliberate in an attempt to boost one thing or another. One such place, which is one of my favorites, is Cartoon Street. It is called in Korean, Zaemiro, meaning "street of fun".

The street was meant to bring back "Manhwa", the Korean word for cartoons, comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels. In Korea, the cartoon culture is different from other places and almost not recognizable. I grew up watching Hannah Barbera and Flintstones, but in Korea, it seems there was an alternative cartoon culture, that I may never connect to - but I truly appreciate it and can sense the nostalgia.

Supposedly, this road started in 2013, by Seoul's city government to promote the "imaginative industry" and boost tourism and the local economy.

The street connects Namsan Mountain and Myeong-dong. The entrance of the street begins as a tiny alley found between Exits 2 and 3 of Myeongdong Station, along subway line No. 4, at a fork in the road by the Pacific Hotel. From here, you see a really adorable picture, and then continue on to an unassuming alley.

Continue on and you see stairs!

Voila, you continue and then you will find an alley of artwork. This is basically, the "cartoon hill" which opens in front of the Seoul Animation Center. It has cartoon characters from 40 artists, including Lee Hyun-se, Huh Young-man, and Hwang Mi-na.

The street is also host to many events. In February 2014, individual cartoonists were invited every Saturday to Zaemirang to spend time with their fans and draw pictures while a "Cartoon Concert" of indie bands performed. The "Cartoon Street Festival" in November 2014 featured cartoon stories, a costume play photo tour of cartoon clubs, and Korean traditional dress and games. At the end of the street, you will finally come out on the main road and see the Animation Center. Before that, you will come across a random Elvis store.

I tried to check what was happening there, but the door was locked. It was odd, because finding Elvis in Korea is so unusual, especially as I am exploring a particularly Korean pop culture. Anyways, from there, I see the Seoul Animation Center - Here is the image from outside!

Its an old but colorful building, and was established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 1999. The center is quite functional and runs an information desk, offers educational programs, holds events to support new talents and productions, and hosts diverse events and exhibitions. Once you go inside, there is a lot to do, from dress up to animation gallery to VR games. The gallery is upstairs and worth a look.

Inside, there is also a large AniCinema for diverse cultural events and films. Moreover, there is also Comic & animation education for children, and youth (you can try making stop-motion cartoons there) and there is a library and a movie room. Not to mention lots of photo-ops.

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When most people think of Gangwon-do, they think of Gapyeong and Chuncheon, but further east is Jeongseon, another gorgeous country in the province, which is in fact famous for the "Arirang" song, which originated here. Arirang is a Korean folk song, often considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea.

Galati, aka myself, was visiting this place for a Longboarding Festival, which was certainly an interesting sport. The festival was at "Arirang Hill". Our first stop was Yangpyeong. It's a small city that, east of Seoul that lies on the land between the North Han River and South Han River at their confluence. Its a popular day trip for Seoul residents looking for a respite from the busy city life and has some great treks.

In Yangpyeong, we had made our way to one of the strawberry farms that came along the way. When we first arrived, we were given a short briefing about the life cycle of a strawberry plant, the parts of the plant and some other fun facts about strawberries. Then we moved on to the indoor field itself where the auntie shared with us how to pick strawberries.

Because it was at the end of the season, almost all of the strawberries were ripe but they were small sized. one in every bunch. According to the owner of the farm, most of the strawberries will ripen in February to April, i.e. the end of winter to the start of spring period.

Now, I am not one of those people who is into fruit picking immensely, but this trip was divine. I realized that the strawberries in Korea, especially those coming from outside of Seoul are divine. They may not be so large, but their taste and sweetness are unmatched.

Our next stop was to Jeongseon, where we crossed the state boundary, and left Gyeonggi and arrived at the far east end of Gangwon. Now, Jeongseon, back during the Three Kingdoms period, was ruled by the Goguryeo Dynasty and most of the archaeological artifacts you'll find will be from that time. Moreover, the area is well-known for gambling. There is a South Korean casino and resort company there, and supposedly, its one of the only ones where South Koreans can gamble.

The area has a large Karst zone, formed from the dissolution of the limestone rocks, and thus, this area is well-known for some of its caves. Some of the karst zones in this area were designated Natural Monuments of South Korea. Moreover, there is a really popular coral cave there, though we haven't as yet seen it though I plan to some day!

In Jeongseon, we were staying at Gaemidul village where we were greeted with beautiful views, a lovely hanok hall and then some trout fishing. Gaemidul actually means Ants village (I am not sure why!) and the village has a variety of experiences and entertainment. This includes trout fishing, which is also a popular activity. The place is really quite interesting geographically, as it has many karst features. In fact, the area also has some interesting choral caves. We spent a night at the Ants Village and enjoyed a great buffet breakfast with lots of veggies.

Then, we went for a hike near Byeongbangchi Skywalk. Sadly, the skywalk was closed, due to rain and fog, though it offers a grand view of the stunning surroundings from 583 meters in the air. It has a nice glass floor, so you can see the hill falling away below your feet. Moreover, there was a zipline there, but in our case, that was closed as it disappeared into the fog. Instead, we are and hiked onwards.

After the hike, we were back at "Arirang Hill" where the longboarding festival continued, and I decided to hit up the traditional village and a museum there.

Even though it was rainy, the area reminded me of this place in Pakistan, Nathia Gali, which is a series of hills buried in the clouds and fog. I've written a blog on that too.

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