Korean Job Discussion Forums

[air76]

[Son Deureo!]

Some more places I thought were worth the trip:

Baengnyeongdo - An island about 4 hours off the coast of Incheon with a beach you can land an airplane on, a rainbow-colored pebble beach, and views of North Korea.

The Moses Miracle of Jindo - Happens once every month or two, a landing tide in which the sea parts and leaves a bout a 2 mile path from one island to another. Each time it happens it's a huge party with drums, gongs, and booze.

Udo - An island off the coast of Chejudo with 3 different colored beaches and a community of haenyeo (women pearl divers who can dive up to 15 meters without SCUBA gear, most of them are over 50)

Gyeongbokkung - The best of the royal palaces of Seoul.

Sokcho - Great beach with a gorgeous mountain to hike, hard to go wrong.

Temple stays - Interesting and educational, but be ready to wake up and kowtow 108 times at 3:30am.

There are a lot of other sights mentioned that I'd second, including the Andong Mask Festival, Chejudo, Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan, Jagalchi Fish Market in Busan, Gyeongju, Danyang, the Hwasong Fortress in Suwon and more.

On a smaller scale, you haven't really experienced Korea yet if you haven't experienced the following:

A night out in a minsokjujeom (makkoli bar), Pimatgol near Insadong is a great place to do this, but not the only one.
Sashimi by the ocean.
Experience jesa (ritual sacrifice to ancestral spirits) with a Korean family.
A World Cup street party during a Korea game (now's your chance).
Hiking the local mountains.
Korean classes.
Getting on Korean TV (surprisingly easy to do)

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Ukon]

[Fishead soup]

Hongdo Island- Lovely island similar scenery to Dokto but much bigger. You should take the ferry that goes around the island. Fresh Sashimi from out of the sea is available at a reasonable price. Can be reached from Mokpo. Must arrive at the Ferry Terminal early sometimes ferry is cancelled during rough weather. If ferry is canceled Mokpo is quite nice famous for San Nokji( Living octopus) and Sashimi.

Haksando Island- Similar to Hongdo can be reached from Mokpo. Not quite as spectacular as Hongdo but a good second choice.

Uilongdo- Can be reached from Pohong. Spectacular scenery

Gangchoeng- This is a small valley at the border between Gyounggi province and Gangwon-do provence. This is between Gapyoung and Cheoncheon. There is a small river running between several rugged mountains. In the town itself are several good Dok Kalbo Restaurants.
You can also rent a bike made for two and see a lovely waterfall.

Tobonsang- A spectacular mountain that is at the border between Northern Seoul and Uijeungbu. There are lots of nice Makoli restaurants that serve home-made tofu and Bussum. You migh want to give the raw sting-ray(Hongo) a miss.

[Thiuda]

[noraebang]

Thanks everyone. I especially liked your suggestions Son Deureo.

I've been to Gyeongju before and enjoyed myself, but I'd like to go again. By the way, I don't consider it "Off the Beaten Path"

Ganghwa Island would be interesting for me, because I like the history of the end of the Joseon dynasty and contact with the West. I have read about those battles before with a lot of excitement.

Otherwise I'm not much of a religion or temple guy. I might do 1-2 temple trips, but I like a lot of stuff like beaches and coastal towns, interesting food, mountain hikes, natural scenery and some historic sites. I don't find all of Korea's history riveting, ie going to an out of the way town to look at a single hill that is an ancient tomb would not be worth it to me. But seeing the movie set village where they filmed Dae Jang Geum would be a sweet experience!

My girlfriend really wants to go to the Southern Coast around Mokpo, as do I. I've seen some great pictures--high cliffs and flower filled fields. However, I'm probably going to get posted to Incheon so I think visiting that area will have to be reserved for long weekends.

I'm still interested in more suggestions. It can be ANYTHING, even a park or gallery or something in your neighbourhood that you like.

Edit: Also if you know of any good gardens (pay to enter, well manicured and designed places) post them up.

[rickpidero]

Incheon's Walmido is okay. Kind of a Korean Coney Island. Probably worth a look for you.

Bungee jumping and 4-wheeling in Gangwondo. Tons of fun.

Songdo in Incheon. Go at night. All these lit up, brand knew buildings with absolutely no one around. Like a future ghost town. eerily cool.

[Bloopity Bloop]

I did something yesterday, that I haven't done in a LONG, LONG time. It was way overdue and I regret not doing it more. That thing I did, friends, was taking a long, relaxing walk around my neighborhood.

In all of the places I've visited/lived in around the world, one thing I've been able to enjoy equally in all places was people watching. I forgot that what I love about living abroad/traveling is observing life. In Japan, I spent 8 hours sitting with friends in the Starbucks overlooking Shibuya's famous intersection. In China, I spent the good part of a day handing out flyers on Nanjing Liu. I don't know, it's just a good way to pass the time.

It was actually quite refreshing to rip myself from my television/internet and take a care free stroll around my hood.

I've been disappointed by supposed spectacles and amazing sites in Korea a fair number of times but I loved the walk I took yesterday.

Maybe you guys have taken enough walks around your neighborhoods, but OP, that would be my recommendation. Can't get any cheaper than free, either! Although I did buy some snacks...

[rumdiary]

Chuncheon is good for a weekend. Dak Galbi street. There's a big dam and a lake with a small temple you can hike to. Some parks that rent ATV's and a few places to water ski. There is a town right next to Chuncheon that has bungi jumping and paintball guns.

Samcheok has a huge cave and a nearby *beep* park. There are some really pretty beaches on the bus ride from the bus station to the *beep* park so bring extra food and water and hop off some place random.

I sometimes go to the bus station and get a ticket to a random place. Once I get there I wander around, find a love motel and then go to a PC room and google the name of the town I landed in and find out what there is to do. I usually spend less money than if I stayed in Seould and went out drinking.

[Underwaterbob]

DaeDunSan Northeast of Daejeon came recommended by an ancient Korean guide book someone left me years ago. It's only around 700m, so unless you're horribly out of shape you can get to the top, barring your ability to stomach a few scary-ass bridges and ladders. There's nothing around it, so the view is spectacular. There's also absolutely nothing to do in the immediate vicinity except climb the mountain.

I haven't been there myself, but apparently Chiaksan (치악산) National Park near Wonju has some long hikes (8+ hours) that are actually devoid of Koreans.

Woraksan, about 40 minutes away from Chungju. It's not the most deserted of locations, but it has some great scenery and some mediocre places to swim. Amazingly clear water in the valley (Songgye Valley 송계계곡) and a few decent restaurants, if you're into Korean food. Nearby Suanbo has some of the best hotsprings in the country. 향나무식당 in Suanbo has the best Han Shik (generic Korean food, meaning Jjigae, rice and side dishes) I've had anywhere.

Danyang is probably the cleanest, most scenic town in the country. It's completely surrounded by mountains and was foreigner-less until a few years ago. Wandering around town will get boring pretty fast, you need a scooter or car to get into the surrounding countryside to find the caves and good places for parasailing (not sure how you go about doing this) and white-water rafting (bring a group, fun.) Guinsa isn't far away. It's a fairly new (as temples go) temple that is for female Buddhist monks (nuns?) Definitely one of the cooler temples I've been to.

If you've got wheels, the drive down the east coast from Sokcho to Pohang is worth a trip. It's a near-constant strip of beaches and has a few cool things to see like 낙산사 (awesome seaside temple) and 호미곳 (the easternmost point of Korea, a bit over hyped and underwhelming.)

[nautilus]

[PatrickGHBusan]

OP: try jirisan national park if you like hiking. It is well worth the trip but you better go in the off season or on a weekday if you can swing it.

[marlow]

[PatrickGHBusan]

I second what Marlow said....

Damn man....you brought back a flood or memories there!