Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 27

And after the quick look at Daegu, it was a short train ride southeastwards to the my final destination in Korea, the port city of Busan, also the second largest city after Seoul. Geographically almost exactly at diagonally opposite ends of the country vis-a-vis the capital Seoul, Busan nevertheless has much importance of its own to boast of. It was pretty much the only large city standing after the initial wave of attacks from the North during the Korean War, and it was using Busan as the military base that the Southern and allied UN forces were able to eventually beat back the Northern troops, retake Seoul, and in fact even temporarily capture Pyeongyang, before a Chinese-backed counter-offensive eventually pushed forces back to the infamous 38th parallel, leading to an uneasy armistice stalemate that still remains ... read more

From Gyeongju, it was another short bus ride (1h) westwards to South Korea's fourth (or third, depending on who you ask) city Daegu. Not especially renowned even within Korea for any particular must-see tourist attractions, Daegu does boast some economic and historical significance, with its Yangnyeongsi district being the centre of traditional Korean medicine since hundreds of years ago. Daegu was also close to the last military stronghold frontier of the American-supported Southern forces during the first phase of the Korean War, when they were beaten back and close to relinquishing almost the entire territory. And Daegu was also the birthplace of Korea's most famous family conglomerate (chaebol) Samsung (which started out as a tiny trading business), as well as its most fondly-remembered (and simultaneously infamous) military dictator Park Chung Hee. On the KTX railway route ... read more

I just had a blast in South Korea where I spent 2 weeks visiting family and friends. I am still a bit jet lagged as I just walked in the door of my house 2 hours ago but I dont want to sleep yet as to not mess up my sleep schedule. I wanted to write while I was there but they were so many things to do that I just didn't get the chance. All I can say is that I must have gained 10 pounds while I was there because it seems that this is all I was doing. Everyone in my family was commenting on how skinny I am and that they must not be feeding me in the US. I even went to a baseball game to see the Doosan Bears play ... read more

18th Jul: We had took the late night bus from Seoul the evening before, and had arrived in Samcheok around 2 am. We headed straight to the love motel next to the bus station. I had stayed there a couple of years ago, when I had previously visited Samcheok. Since we had arrived so late, we slept in until quite late. I love how dark the rooms are in love motels, no natural light to interrupt a good sleep. We headed back to the bus station around lunchtime and bought tickets to Jangho. The staff outside were lovely, asking where we were going and telling us where to stand. The bus soon turned up and we were on a proper posh coach, not the crappy public bus. The journey didn't take too long and we were ... read more

Simply love the korean food especially the various appetisers serve at the beginning while waiting for the ordered food to be ready. The korean food that I like best is bibimbap. A great placeto havekorean foodisthe market. In Seoul , a good market to go is Gwangjang market whereas in Busan the Jagalchi fish market is highly recommended!... read more