Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 17

On our final morning in Danyang we awoke to steady rain which didn't look like it would let up anytime soon. We packed up our room, had breakfast and then set off towards Sokcho, via Gangneung. The majority of the trip from Danyang to Gangneung was on rural roads; it took about three hours and along the way we passed farms, mountains and industrial estates... We drove straight through Gangneung and headed on towards Unification (Tongil) Park which is just outside the city on the coast. Unification Park houses the North Korean submarine which was captured during the 1996 Gangneung Infiltration Incident. The submarine was used to transport a reconnaissance team to the South, but it all went wrong when they tried to collect the team and the submarine ran aground. The 25 North Koreans abandoned ... read more

We arrived in Gyeongju, which is in the south-east of Korea, about 5 hours after leaving Seoul. The drive was quite pleasant as the roads are decent. There are a lot of fixed speed cameras in Korea apparently; and they're all signed which means that drivers seem to go as fast as they like between cameras and then slow down rapidly just before a camera and then speed up again.. Pretty sure that's not the point of the cameras. After checking into our hotel we headed out to grab some food. Scott had noticed a Chinese restaurant on the drive to our hotel and had his heart set on that so we set off hoping that they would still be open despite it being 8pm. They were open but we're not entirely sure if that was ... read more

Last day in Korea was a quiet one. Today is a holiday (National Liberation Day) so many stores are closed. We went for a walk and had some chicken and beer for lunch. Heat was still very strong so we decided to go back to the air conditioned apartment until the evening. Halahbujee had dinner plans at 6p to meet a second set of friends. RoAnJoSo hit Gangnam to see the night life it is so famous for. We went to a different area of Gangnam (more south than where we were the first time) and it did not disappoint. This area is pulsing with bars, karaoke bars, shopping (both stores and street vendors). Side alleys hold an incredible amount of restaurants making it very difficult to settle on one place to eat. Everything from Taco ... read more

Today is day we go to Pyeongchang(hometown of Halahbujee, Harmonee and Ann). While most of the Lee and Hwang families are in Canada now, we have a few family members, Pyeongchang Aunt and Uncle, who still live in Pyeongchang so a visit to Korea wouldn't be complete without a trip back home. (Pyeongchang Aunt is cousins with Halmonee. Halmonee's mother and Pyeongchang Aunt's father were brother and sister.) We took subway to Gangbyeon Bus Terminal to purchase tickets early this morning. We didn't account for the long weekend* and tickets were sold out for morning and afternoon buses to Pyeongchang. The last train at 4:30p had a few seats open so we figured better late than never. *Monday Aug 15th is a national holiday in Korea - Gwangbokjoel - known as liberation day, the holiday marks ... read more

Today is last day of bus tour. First stop was Yeongwol where King Danjong was exiled by his Uncle. King Danjong became King at age 12 when his father (son of King Sejong*) died at age 22. *King Sejong or King Sejong the Great is one of the best known figures in Korean history. He created the Korean language, hangul, and during his reign, Korea saw much stability and growth. He is the man on the 10,000 KRW bill. Lunch was good with an assortment of pretty much everything from fish, to meat to vegetables. But you had to sit on the floor again. Not the most comfortable position for those who are used to table and chairs. After lunch there was one last stop, Hanji Museum where we learned about the origins of paper and ... read more