Traveling Rockhopper

About 30 km from Seoul, you’ll find a city of Suwon. That’s a nice place for another day trip from Seoul. The biggest attraction of Suwon is Hwaseong Fortress listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

What’s the best souvenir from South Korea?
-A mask!
Hahoetal Masks are traditional Korean masks.
There are different kinds of masks representing different characters.

If you want to learn more about the Korean masks, watch a mask performance while being in Korea, or visit one of the museums, e.g., Hahoe Mask Museum in Andong.

Seongsan Ilchulbong is my favorite place in Jeju Island. It’s a volcanic tuff cone and crater. It looks stunning from above, e.g., from the airplane. When you’re just nearby and hike around, Seongsan Ilchulbong still looks great, but not so impressive as from far.

Hike to Mount Hallasan (1950 meters above sea level), should be also on your to-do-list while being on Jeju Island. It’s a dormant volcano located more or less at the center of the Jeju Island.

And Manjanggul Lava Tube is another (not the last one!) volcanic attraction of Jeju Island.

These 3 places are the best known, however you’ll find much more natural attractions on the Jeju Island.

In Jeju Island, you’ll see characteristic “grandfather statues” (dol hareubang).
As a souvenir, you can buy a small version carved from basalt rock.

Jeju Island has many historical names, e.g., Doi, Joonwonhado, Taekseungnido, Samdado.
I consider the “Jeju” name quite funny, because in Polish we say “oh jeju” (pronounced something like “yeyu”), however in different variations (ojej, ojejku); what basically means “oh”. 😀

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…