Korean Job Discussion Forums

IrishJen · Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Location: Gumi, Gyeongbuk

I know there are already lots of posts about Chuseok, and I know it's only a couple of weeks away, and most things are probably booked or over-priced, but has anyone got any suggestions?

I just this week found out that I might have 10 days off, and I don't intend to sit in my apartment for that long. I only arrived in Korea a month ago, so I don't know much Korean, don't know where I should go, and am not entirely sure what the best thing is for me to do.

I know I should probably witness this very Korean of festivals, but that might be best done if I had a Korean family to take me in. And with this length of time off work, I feel like I should make use of it, and go somewhere else!

I don't have a huge amount of money to spend, but because I have so much time, I'm willing to take slow boats to anywhere, preferably somewhere cheap.

So, any suggestions??

Canadian Club · Joined: 12 Aug 2006

E-mail some travel agents... I got some quotes to China on Friday for less than 400,000W.

soviet_man · Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Location: Seoul

If you wanted to travel domestically, I would suggest Sokcho (and anywhere in Gangwon province).

http://sokchotour.com/english/default.asp

It is about 4 hours on the bus from Seoul (I think 20,000 won each way).

If you wanted to travel internationally, I'd go to Shenzhen in China on the new Chinese budget carrier "Shenzhen Airlines" which only **just** started service to Seoul. Fares are not bad and as of yesterday, seats for during Chuseok were still available. (Shenzhen is on mainland China - but its only 1 hour away from Hong Kong by ferry) which is the major selling point.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

heydelores · Joined: 24 Apr 2006

If you like to hike . . .

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=63779

brento1138 · Joined: 17 Nov 2004

Dev · Joined: 18 Apr 2006

Go to Andong. I saw an ad that said they were having their mask dance festival during Chuseok week. Call 1330 for more info.

poof · Joined: 23 May 2005

If you've not yet had Chuseok in Korea before, and you are in a small town like Gumi, I think it will be incredibly boring. Especially, this time around there is a holiday bridge through the weekend, so it will probably be a shut down for longer than usual. I HATE chuseok in Korea.Even in other cities which offer some cultural events, they're really not that exciting. If you can get out of Korea altogether, it's really the best option. Although some surrounding Asian countries will have the mid-autumn festival which can also entail shutdown, so be warned.

Howabout: Jeju - beach, hike and bike. Shouldn't take long to get to Busan from Gumi and then hop on a boat. It would surely take a good week to explore? Find someone on this board who's going and go together???

poof · Joined: 23 May 2005

Also, check out all the festival notices on Tour2Korea site for within Korea options:

http://english.tour2korea.com/

Yesanman · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Location: Chungnam

If you have to stay in Korea for Chuseok the best place to be is Seoul. It's usually nice and quiet, except for Itaewon where lots of teachers from other cities flock. Usually a good time.

If you don't live in Seoul one suggestion for going to Seoul is :Westin Chosun Hotel. They have Chuseok Packages for 150,000-180,000/night. The 180,000W room includes free drinks in the lounge the night before (5-8PM) and breakfast the next morning. It's a nice place to go if you want to relax for a couple days.

http://twc.echosunhotel.com/korean/Guestroom/package/package_chuseok.asp

IrishJen · Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Location: Gumi, Gyeongbuk

Thanks for all the info, it's all been taken in and considered. One thing I'm thinking of is going to Shanghai - I know it's one of China's big festivals too, but I have someone to stay with in Shanghai, and it's only a couple of hours flight. Now, question is, how can I track down a flight, preferably with an English speaking travel agency? I'm probably leaving the weekend before Chuseok, so I'm hoping that will make flights easier to get.

JeJuJitsu · Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Location: McDonald's

Canadian Club · Joined: 12 Aug 2006

Shoestring gave me 350 plus tax to Shanghai (plus tax = 440ish), Kangsan said 560 plus tax to Bangkok, Xanadu had a flight for 490 to Beijing.

All of these are from last Friday, except the first one (Shanghai), which I recieved yesterday.

JeJuJitsu · Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Location: McDonald's

Canadian Club · Joined: 12 Aug 2006