Author: Traveling Rockhopper

Jeju is a Korean volcanic island.
I’d say, it’s a home of the most spectacular Korean landscapes and nature.
Have you been to Jeju Island? If so, do you agree with me?
If not, check me and consider Jeju as your next holiday destination. 🙂

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) can be visited as a guided tour (1 day trip from Seoul), however there are some restrictions, e.g., South Koreans are not allowed go there. So don’t be surprised that your guide is a Japanese woman!
In general, it’s a sad, historical and interesting place for visiting. But please follow the rules while being there, and don’t try to cross the border on your own! DMZ is still a war zone, however by many is treated just as a funny attraction…

DMZ means Korean Demilitarized Zone and it’s a 4 km wide strip of land along the border between North Korea and South Korea.
DMZ was established in 1953 at the end of the Korean War, as a buffer zone between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

It’s very convenient to travel by train or metro in South Korea.
If you have a chance, take a high speed train KTX (Korea Train Express). They are not so cheap, as slower trains, but nicer. 🙂
You can buy tickets at the counter in the train station, from a ticket machine or online.

Busan used to be known as Pusan, so don’t be surprised when you heard “P” instead of “B”. 🙂

Busan is the South Korea’s second largest city and its largest port city.
It’s famous among Koreans for beaches and festivals, e.g., Busan International Film Festival.

Busan is located about 450 km away from Seoul and the trip with fast train takes up to 2.5 h.

Nearby Seoul, there is located a very interesting Korean Folk Village.
I think it’s a great place to learn about Korean traditions and culture. Some places, may be too tourist or too kitschy these days, but I still recommend to check some performances. I liked all “crafting/ceramics” activities. I had also a chance to eat Korean traditional rice cakes. 🙂

I had the impression that many (or many older) Koreans are fit and love nature and hiking mountains or skiing.
When you’re in Seoul, visit beautiful Bukhansan National Park and try to climb the Bukhansan Mountain.
I can only add that in autumn, the mountains look wonderful with all colorful trees. 🙂

Gyeongbokgung Palace is on the top of my list with attractions of Seoul.
Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1395, however later was destroyed and then restored.
Besides the buildings of the palace, I enjoyed watching the ceremony of the changing of the guard, but probably I was more impressed by their clothes and weapons; very unique and colorful.
I was in Korea 9 years ago, in fall, and there were not so many tourists, what was very nice.

Changdeokgung Palace with its lovely Secret Garden is also a must-visit site in Seoul.

The other places I can highly recommend are:
-Bukhansan National Park
-Folk village
-Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) located 60km from Seoul.

Is it worth to visit Seoul?
-Absolutely!
In the city or in its close vicinity you can find lots of different attractions. If you search for unique architecture, food, nature and culture or history – you’ll find it all!

Seoul is the largest city of South Korea and its capital.
Seoul is full of contrasts. One can describe Seoul as a very modern city, however it’s still has its charm with all amazing temples, palaces or traditional architecture.

In Korea, major religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Islam) peacefully coexist with shamanism.

Koreans have very unique traditional clothes, especially female clothing is quite interesting. Unfortunately, these days, people don’t wear these clothes so often; even for special occasions like wedding, brides often choose western dresses. But if you’re lucky, you can still meet people wearing traditional clothing in South Korea. 🙂

Each country has its own cuisine; it’s somehow unique but still we often can find similarities between others cuisines.
I could say, that Korean cuisine is a bit like a mixture of Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Many dishes looked to me a bit like Japanese, but Koreans eat more meat (just my impression).

Kimchi (kind of sauerkraut) is probably the best known Korean dish.

After visiting South Korea, I was saying that Koreans are the most friendly nation. 🙂
I had a very good experience and met only very friendly locals. Maybe, I was just lucky…

I was in South Korea 9 years ago, so maybe the situation changed; however that time, it was quite difficult to find someone speaking English. On the other hand, traveling was quite convenient, there was lots of written information in English, so I found everything I was searching for (sooner or later 😉 ).

The flag of South Korea with a red and blue Yin-Yang symbol, is very characteristic.
Each symbol on the flag, even the white background, has its own meaning.
Some of the explanations you can find on “korea4expats“.

Taekwondo is a sport that has its origins in Korea.
These days, football and baseball are apparently the most popular sports in Korea.

What’s the main difference between Chinese and Korean language?
(Sorry for this naive text; it’s just from a person who has not so much idea about languages! 🙂 )
In Chinese, there is no alphabet; they have many (many, many!!!) characters, but no single letters. So I thought, it’s the same with Korean language. But it’s not! Korean alphabet exists and the number of letters in Korean is not so much different from e.g., English alphabet.

The official language of Korea (North and South) is Korean.
This language is also spoken in some parts of China.