Korean Job Discussion Forums

[andrew]

.....

[ajgeddes]

I don't really know for sure, but I think the best place in Seoul is at Lotte World, around the lake. I may be wrong though.

[indytrucks]

Yeoido in Seoul is as good a place as any, but be prepared for crowds, crowds and more crowds of people flashing the "V" sign for mobile phones. Personally, I'd rather eat glass. Jinhae is pretty much the same. You might have better luck at a mountain park (Songnisan springs to mind) but try to go at non-peak times (the weekend).

[plutodog18]

The best place to view the blossoms would near the trees............

[aldershot]

gyeong-ju is tops.

[Rteacher]

Gangneung is a naturally pretty northeast coast city, and the streets where I lived were lined with cherry blossom trees . The express bus ride to Seoul is also very scenic, with majestic mountain views ...

[Lynns]

At Everland, near Caribbean Bay theme park, there's the Hoam Art Museum, that houses a Korean art collection collected by the founder of Samsung. The museum is nice and small enough to breeze through it pretty quick. They do have some English language brochures and some English exhibit notes. The grounds around the museum are beautiful, lots of outdoor sculptures and Korean gardens, plenty of those old stone Korean gnome-like creatures (can't remember what they're called). I went last year to go to the museum and it just happened to be cherry blossom time and it was gorgeous around there.

[Vancouver]

dang...i gotta spend a spring in Seoul sometime...

[thursdays child]

[mehamrick]

I say in jinhae... and one hell of a party too..

[Privateer]

Plum blossoms are generally preferred here. You might do better to ask about them.

[shifter2009]

Its all about Jinhae baby. Most famous spot for it in Korea. Only thing its famous for.

[jay-shi]

[ruffie]

I have to say that Jinhae is probably the best for viewing the blossoms. Even the view from the bus as you approach the valley is spectacular. My trip there last year was ruined however when a Korean woman felt the need to shout "You fat! You big size!" in my friend's face as we made our way down the stairs from the viewing tower. That someone could show such ugliness in the face of such beauty left me speechless, and depressed for days.

But that's Korea, land of incredible contrasts, both natural and human.

Jinhae, filled with the spirit of Admiral Lee Sun-shin!

[VanIslander]

Let me be the fifth poster to say Jinhae! Go at the time of their Cherry Blossom Festival. It's wonderful.

But - there are lesser hyped incredible places, especially by car or motorbike, a bit west of Jinhae though still in Gyeongsangnam province. A road to Namhae winds down some beautiful valleys full of them: magical.

And it was a beautiful cherry blossoming that won my heart over in choosing to live and work where I have been for the last year.

Hadong valley, an hour west of Jinju, is dropdead gorgeous with the trees and the river and the rich greenery of the warmest valley in Korea (so local farmers say). From Hadong there are some great hiking trails up toward Jiri National park lined with them too.

I came here to Hadong last March to check out the job and apartment and area to see if I'd wanna live hereabouts and fell in love with the area! Unfortunately, by the time I came back at the end of April to start work they'd already gone. This year the blossoms started in February and should peak a couple of weeks earlier than usual, some say.

Not the best pics of Hadong river valley cherry blossoms, but easily accessible ones:



http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hadong.go.kr/e/02/img/photo_noted_place03.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hadong.go.kr/e/02/02_07_03.asp&h=146&w=148&sz=29&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=rgYwL1Rxms9TlM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhadong%2Bcherry%2Bblossom%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://english.kbs.co.kr/ICSFiles/artimage/2005/03/10/c_lfe_trv_sp/spot_vol16_06.gif&imgrefurl=http://english.kbs.co.kr/life/travel/spots/1345539_11625.html&h=253&w=447&sz=100&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=Lfx7wPtk-Q1XdM:&tbnh=72&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhadong%2Bcherry%2Bblossom%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Come down to visit!

For those of you in the Seoul area, there's a comfy express bus from Nambu terminal right to Hadong, with only one small quick stop at nearby Gurye (to let off the Jiri hikers). And there are plenty of buses from Busan's Sasong station as well. Hadong is a historical centre, with the great Korean novel 'Land' being written about here! with a traditional village and temple that's top-5 in Korea and sometimes on t.v. Plenty to see in a weekend.