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Published: January 3rd 2013
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This is a bit late, as it’s certainly not fall anymore here, but I had a busy few months of Korea-traveling. I suddenly realized I’m really behind at posting pictures. I didn’t realize how much I did! I’ll split it up into two parts.
The first fall trip I took was to the Jinju Lantern Festival. Jinju is a small city split by a river about 2-3 hours southwest of Daegu by bus. Every year they celebrate their city’s (temporary) victory against Japanese invaders a long time ago with the Lantern Festival. (The Japanese returned the next year and the outcome was different).
The lanterns are mostly actually more like papier-mache’d statues that are lit up from within. It was one of the best festivals I’ve been to in Korea. We spent probably 6 hours walking around during the day and at night, and may not have seen it all. During the day the lanterns were nice, but at night, the reflection of the lanterns on the river made the atmosphere beautiful. I was also impressed with the riverside fortress that’s in pretty good shape.
Memorable parts of the festival, which are all to be expected of Korea:
- a section in a forested area with lanterns depicting the many varieties of animal/insect sex
-the “international food” section, which served squid, tornado fries, and tteokbokki
-the old woman who was really into singing Korean-country songs to advertise her husband’s snack booth
Seoraksan, or Seorak Mountain, was my next trip of the fall. It’s in Gangwon Province, in the northeast of the country. It’s a hassle to get to from Daegu, made more so because I took a group trip from Seoul. Because it’s relatively close to Seoul, and Koreans love hiking, and the fall leaves are pretty, the park was super-crowded. I’ve never hiked in such a crowded place before, except possibly Diamond Head near Honolulu. On Saturday, we hiked along Osaek Mineral Springs. It was a nice, pretty easy hike along mostly-dried up rivers. Be sure to try the disgusting but HEALTHY mineral water.
The next day we woke up early to do the Ulsan Bawi (Rock) hike. Although we stayed at the Seorak Youth Hostel (decent place and good location) which was really close to the park (5 minute drive), it took our bus about 45 minutes to get to the
Jinju Fortress
With lantern guards drop-off in the park, because of the traffic. We hiked at a pretty good pace because we had to be back at the hostel to catch the bus back to Seoul. We’d heard it was difficult, but the first 3/4 was pretty easy and a pleasant walk. Then we got to The Steps. They are really more like a ladder, they’re so steep. Luckily for me, whose quads were dying, the path was narrow and only one person could pass parts at a time. There were so many people hiking that there was traffic on the mountain. We eventually made it to the top, which was a bit anti-climactic, but the views on the way were good. And our sense of accomplishment was also strong.
Although I went to Seoraksan, I didn’t do the most scenic hike, called Dinosaur Ridge, and I wish I’d had the chance while in Korea. The pictures of it are stunning, but the hike is 12-16 hours.
The week after my Seoraksan trip, I had a school holiday, so my coteacher and her husband took me to Hapcheon. I’d been to Hapcheon to go to Haeinsa (Haein Temple) and Gayasan (Gaya Mountain) before,
but I hadn’t been to the Hapcheon Image Theme Park. It’s not a “ride” theme park—it’s former movie sets arranged in a town layout. It was a nice day, and an interesting place. Part of the park was supposed to look like Korea during Japanese occupation, and part was supposed to look like Korea in the 80’s-90’s.
After the Image Theme Park, we went to the Hangae Folk Village in Seongju (a little west of Daegu). It’s in the countryside, and it’s a partially-remodeled village from the Joseon Dynasty, but people live in the houses/offer homestays there now. It doesn’t sound like much, but there were flowers and plants everywhere, and the leaves were changing. It was one of the nicest places I’ve been in Korea, but it’s probably because I’m a country girl.
I'd recommend most of these places if you live in Korea. You probably can't spend more than 2 hours at the Folk Village, but it is really scenic and a nice break from a city, so if you live near Daegu, you should check it out in a warm season.
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