View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
|
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:37 pm Post subject: Friend is coming to visit Korea for 2-3 weeks in June |
|
|
Is there anything going on that will be a must see during that time (like festivals and the like)?
He's a young guy, grad student studying medicine. I think he likes the city scene more than the Buddhist temple kinda scene.
So far I'm thinking of taking him out to Hongdae, to the DMZ. Any other ideas? Especially in Seoul/Gyeonggi. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Location: In front of my computer, again.
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
sigmundsmith
Joined: 22 Nov 2007
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
Im going to be negative here. But why is your friend coming to Korea for 3 weeks? Yes, there are some truly great things to see but honestly, they are limited. My Father was here last year and he asked how long I should come and I told him no more than a week. I have lived and traveled to many parts of this country. Yes, there are some nice places, great food and unusual people that you can meet. But to be honest, it really all just melts in together.
But the obligatory points of interest are on the cards. An easy google search will find what you are looking for. I dont think what you cant find on there someone here will not have already shared |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Location: In front of my computer, again.
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:02 am Post subject: |
|
|
sigmundsmith wrote: |
My Father was here last year and he asked how long I should come and I told him no more than a week. I have lived and traveled to many parts of this country. Yes, there are some nice places, great food and unusual people that you can meet. But to be honest, it really all just melts in together. |
You're right, that was negative. It's also kind of ridiculous. If someone is here for a week it's more likely to blend together than if they are here for 3 weeks and can really chill out, see things slowly, enjoy, make some connections. Then if you've been here for several months and you have a routine then yes, it'll start blending together again, but not necessarily for this OP's friend or your dad!
OP- I would recommend that you introduce them to the couch-surfing and send them off to other corners of the peninsula where they can stay with someone else and be shown around the local area. My mom is coming for 15 days and I have this total jam packed schedule for her, she'll barely be able to just have a half day to write in her journal and chill. If she was here for 3 at least she'd be able to get that downtime. And I say this even though it's her second visit to Korea and she doesn't want to go to the DMZ and I've shown her the sights in Daegu, Busan, Gyeongju and Andong and surrounding area (which is all we had time for her first trip). |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
rumdiary

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
Plan some weekend trips outside of Seoul. Samcheok (*beep* park and a cave), Andong (Hahoe Folk Village maybe the Mask Festival will be going on), and Cheongju are all interesting.
Ask a Korean to recommend a booking club.
Spend a day in Insadong. If you get off the main street and waldown the narrow alleys you can find some amazing tea shop, makoli bars and restaurants.
Go to Itaewon and walk him up hooker hill.
Don't miss Noryangjin Seafood Market. Buy live seafood from the tanks and have an adjumma prepare it for you in her restaurant. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Location: In front of my computer, again.
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
mask dance festival is the last weekend in Sept. roughly.
But Hahoi Byeolshin'gut Talnoli mask dance drama is performed in the village 3xs per week at 2pm or 3pm, can't remember, see link above. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
aussieb
Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Location: Brisbane,Australia
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I would be offended if my son told me I should only stay for one week. Why would I travel half-way around the world for a one week visit? I usually make it 8 weeks per visit and have heaps to do.
We usually do some touristy things including travelling to other parts of Korea but I really look forward to just chilling out with my son and his family and their friends. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
seoulsucker

Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
aussieb wrote: |
I would be offended if my son told me I should only stay for one week. Why would I travel half-way around the world for a one week visit? I usually make it 8 weeks per visit and have heaps to do.
We usually do some touristy things including travelling to other parts of Korea but I really look forward to just chilling out with my son and his family and their friends. |
My mom is coming this summer. I told her to plan for two weeks, of which 5 days will be spent in Korea. Why so short? She's not interested in Korea. She's interested in my life in Korea, which I can show her along with some required touristy things in less than 5 days.
The rest of her trip will be spent with my girlfriend and I at a real tourist destination in the Philippines. [/b] |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
aussieb
Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Location: Brisbane,Australia
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well there you go. Just shows everyone is different.
I am interested in Korea and its culture because my son has a Korean wife and my grandchildren are being raised in Korea. My nephew also has a Korean wife and currently lives in Seoul so I have several reasons to visit.
Skype is great but nothing beats being with them in person. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
take him on the traditional korean folk tour in suwon (you get to shoot bows and arrows, hurray!) as well as the fortress. then in the evening go to the station and show him the red light district right that is literally right there. it's pretty intense and puts the one in itaewon to shame. i was a bit shocked when my sister first showed it to me, and i'm a hard one to shock. well worth just walking down the labyrinth of glass walls just to see such a thing in such a busy and populated part of korea that doesn't cater to foreigners. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Scamps

Joined: 01 Feb 2008
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 7:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
How about taking him to a show like Nanta, or an amusement park like Caribbean Bay/Everland or Lotte World. If you have time you could go to Jeju for a few days. Namsan Tower...maybe even take a ferry from Busan to Japan for a few days. Go to Sanchon a vegetarian temple restaurant in Insadong for dinner. I think around 7:30 they have a performance too. Hiking.. Pick up a copy of some magazines in June like Seoul, 10 and Groove. You can get them at the Seoul Global Centers or various locations around town, like some hotels and restaurant..located mostly in Itaewon. Take him to Myeong-dong for shopping..or Dongdaemun. Oh and definitely take him to a jjimjilbang! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well it seems like he's gonna travel China then only go to Korea less than a week now. So we'll be pretty busy just in Seoul.
I can't take him all over the country, I work here. I just have a four day weekend when he comes plus regular weekends and Tuesdays off.
Was definitely gonna take him to either Nanta or Jump.
Not taking him to a jjimjilbang, I've been to them many times and there is not a single instance where a guy didn't touch me or my girlfriends feet in the night and jerk off. Plus we're young guys, I don't wanna hang out naked with my bro. Is that normal? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Scamps

Joined: 01 Feb 2008
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm not sure if it's normal for brothers to hang out together naked. In a sauna I would think so. I mean whole families go to these places together. Anyway, I'm a girl and only have a sister. I took her to a jjimjilbang and she absolutely loved it. You don't have to sleep there and have anyone touch you. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
|
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
He's just my friend, not my brother. In Canada it's not that normal for two grown best friends to hang out naked together. And that might put him off and get him weirded out, especially if the reason is just to have a dirty bath or sweat. He'll be sweating all summer here. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|