critique my south korea travel itinerary. any good? planning the DMZ visit on day 3
critique my south korea travel itinerary. any good? planning the DMZ visit on day 3
critique my south korea travel itinerary. any good? planning the DMZ visit on day 3
Damn, today I just booked flights for 3 weeks in South Korea too...
Is Jeju really worth it? I wasn't thinking so but open to it. I'm generally getting the impression that I'd rather just go somewhere else like over to Gyeongju, Andong
Excellent itinerary, you will have a good time. I lived there for four years, that's pretty much the plan I would set up for someone visiting. The weather will be perfect in Sep/Oct as well, good timing. Stay at Rainbow in Jeju hostel, it's fantastic.
I lived in Jeju for about six months, it's much more low key than the mainland. The main thing to do there is go on day hikes like Hallasan, the coastal routes, etc. Also if the weather is nice you can hang out at the beach. Personally I'm more of a morning/outside guy than a nightlife/indoor guy so it was great.
>I lived in Jeju for about six months, it's much more low key than the mainland. The main thing to do there is go on day hikes like Hallasan, the coastal routes, etc. Also if the weather is nice you can hang out at the beach. Personally I'm more of a morning/outside guy than a nightlife/indoor guy so it was great.
Cool. Well I am not going until April (booked early) so I haven't done so much research or made any decisions on an itinerary yet, but just looking into it it seems like it will work out well to just do a day trip out of Busan to Gyeongju at least and then spend a few days on Jeju.
Thanks, have another cringe pic
>lived in kor 4 years
I'm moving there for EPIK. Plane leaves on the 18th and I arrive 19th in Incheon in the afternoon so I got like 1.5 days to myself. I was thinking of going to this model store close to the center of Seoul. I have to board a coach bus to orientation for a week until I go to my site in Gyeonggi (they don't tell us where exactly until the day of)
Got any tips aside from buying a shower filter? I'm gonna be there for a year and I studied korean for like 4 years in college so i can express myself pretty well.
>Got any tips
Not really, you'll be fine. Have fun!
>where and why
Jeju City, I worked at a hostel and then went to Jeju National University for a semester. Public transportation is great there, just like everywhere else in Korea. If you want to get around independently there are even some scooter shops that will rent to you without an international driver's license, they don't really care.
>I lived in Jeju for about six months,
where and why? i had looked at going there for a month when i was in korea and getting a months arbnb. i didn't because i wasn't sure what the transport was like and if i'd be stuck due to public transport.
is it convenient to get around the south/west coast on bus?
The islands look cool though.
Since (You) replied to me, I decided I will go to Jeju and climb Hallasan but it is a long way off for me still so not really looking much into it yet (March/April, I booked flights early)
I went to Jeju a few times whiles living in Korea. I've done flight and ferry, flight is faster but less enjoyable to me. The south side of Jeju is relaxing and not busy at all. It's beautiful all around. I did this years ago but if you go to the east coast there is a another ferry to another island, which people do live on and you can rent mopeds to get around, and people camp on the beach. I went with a bunch if random people I just metd it was fun except some were drunk and loud on the beach which is a big NO so don't do that please. It's hard when you are lonely and looking for travel friends but you meet the low qualify travelers in there it looks bad for everyone.
Jeju has buses but they are not always frequent, and you should look up where they are going, taxis get expensive too.
It's decent.
A couple of things:
- in practice you will not need a full transit day for the Seoul Busan transfer if you take KTX. If you do a low budget trip with a luxury coach or if you want to stop somewhere sensible halfway, then yeah, it's gonna take a full day, otherwise not really.
From Busan you probably also want to visit Gyeongju, 1 hour each way by public transport, maybe 2 if you're unlucky. Especially if it's bad weather and the coastal trails are closed or something.
There is that cable car in Busan. I didn't take the cable car itself, I took a
>Smile Bus
>Smile Busan
bus (don't laugh too hard when you see what I mean here). But it was still a nice lookout point.
That temple above Haeundae was a bit meh to get to, but it had a charm.
If you can't be bothered to go to Gyeongju, Gangnam also has those old burial grounds, and you're gonna be in Seoul anyway. It's literally next to the Gucci Fendi Louis neighborhood, it's pretty refreshing to get into that park after seeing all the mountains of Maserati and Porsche.
Bc it's October, and it might either be the nicest weather or rainy, some more rainy weather spots:
Busan has a Lotte or Shinsaegae (?) right next to the Jagalchi Fish Market. Keep going up until you can't go further, and look for the roof terrace. It has some café with a view of the surroundings.
All the others you mentioned also all have cafés, but those are easier to find.
Namsan tower or the Lotte tower in Seoul might not have the best views when it's genuinely rainy, but it wasn't bad either, I liked them as rain shelters.
For October 6-7 you probably want to visit Seomyeon for the nightlife. It's also pretty rainproof. Nampo also has minimal nightlife, but Seomyeon is the place in Busan.
Unless you're filthy rich, I don't think Gangnam is that good for nightlife. So on the way back I would say Hongdae.
We ran into an uber hip neighborhood a few blocks South of the former Pimatgol, but you gotta speak some Korean there.
forgot to add... I cracked up @ the Han river cruise. Seoul doesn't really have an appealing waterfront. I mean, you have enough time, so do it and report back. Maybe it's amazing. But I personally would focus on going up to rooftops and mountain peaks nearby, visiting the old city wall (which goes through all the peaks basically). Cause you get a good view from high up. Han river does have parks around it where it's cool to have a picnic or whatever.
Also seconding Hallasan.
And maybe the green tea fields or the canola fields or some tangerine experience on Jeju.
>Seoul doesn't really have an appealing waterfront
I like it. I oddly enjoy the aesthetic of Seoul.
But yeah, just have a picnic in one of the parks, don't do a cruise.
top notch posts, thanks anon
yeah Korea is basically for partying and food afaik, not really a cultural relevant country (inb4 hurr Durr not true)
on my nightlife bucket list are Mike's cabin in Hongdae (latin music plus locals and foreigners hanging out) and Faust nightclub (techno music joint)
As you can guess, I would say food alone is worth it unless you're vegetarian. My previous comment was only an intro
due to character limits, but there's a lot more to say about the Korean food scene. Korea has a long history, but they only display it very superficial ways, so you won't get an awesome buncheongware museum and workshop unless you go to some small ass village in the middle of nowhere.
thanks for all your responses guys, really helpful
>Explore historic Seoul
lol, you got a time machine?
Jeju beaches suck, unless you want to hike the volcano don't go there.
Spend more time in Seoul, less time in other places.
Also you hardly need a "transit day", flights are less than an hour and the gimpo airport is easily accessible from Seoul. Cut your time in Busan, I say just fly in, spend 2 nights and return to Seoul. Everything else in Korea just looks like Seoul, but smaller and with less things to do.
following this thread, I'd like to take a short trip to Korea from Japan (Hakata/Busan ferry and flying back from Seoul). OP suggestions seems ok.
what are some must see in a 4-5 day trip split between Busan and Seoul? I don't know shit about Korea but it seems cool. Interested in food and culture (?)
Go to restaurants and bars. That along with going to cafes is pretty much what Koreans do. Hiking is also popular. I would say drinking, eating, cafes, working, studying and hiking pretty much sums the country up.
If you're looking for picturesque pretty buildings, Korea is not the place.
I recommend spending more time in Seoul, less time in Busan. You can check out museums I guess, War Museum is cool, the reconstructed palace is cool. If you're up for a day hike, go to Bukhansan, but don't have too high expectations.
Other than what I wrote here
갈비 (galbi) for your BBQ needs.
호떡 (hotteok) on the markets so that your brain would be confused as to why something that sounds like hot dog is actually not a hot dog.
김밥 (gimbap) for the wtf moment, when you realize that something that looks like sushi doesn't taste like sushi. Btw the one they sell at Hakata port is really shit. It's airplane food levels of shit.
냉면 (naengmyeon) to try what South Koreans think North Koreans eat.
some 찌개 (jjigae) for your hot stew/soup needs.
떡볶이 (ddeokbokki) for even more paprika.
길거리토스트 (gilgeori toast) if your hotel doesn't have a breakfast (btw they mostly have breakfast everywhere)
만두 (mandu) to see their take on dumplings
짜장면 (jjajangmyeon) for their ultimate cheapest (pseudo-Chinese) restaurant meal.
Chicken and beer (chimaek) if you're drinking with someone.
Busan also has some cool lokal makgeolli (막걸리, rice wine), their brewery is on one of the hills not too far from the main station.
There's plenty of food happening at eg. Seomyeon at night between all the clubs. Nampo also has some food market at night, too.
At that big Busan fish market in the halls you go and point at some fish that looks tasty to you, and they take it upstairs for you, and serve it as sashimi or however you want basically.
Basically all restaurant menus are on Naver Maps if you want to do some photo translations in advance already.
'Culture' is a bit too vague for me. In Busan the most culture-y thing I liked was the book district, even though there was an art festival going on in the whole rest of the downtown area at the time.
Eg. their national museum in Seoul is free afaik, it's pretty cool.
I think OP already posted enough stuff for 4-5 days.
Also I wouldn't diss Busan. It might be mini-Seoul, but it's a very nice mini-Seoul with a very okay coast for an East Asian big city.
Yanggochi also, the Chinese lamb skewers. Its what I think is Xinjiang food that has become very popular in Korea.
Mikes Cabin, lol. If you like hanging out with a bunch of European exchange students I guess.
Not going to lie I've had fun there, but I don't really know if its worthy of "nightlife bucket list"
I personally enjoy Grand Old Opry in Hooker Hill in Itaewon. That place is like the twilight zone, it feels like something that doesn't exist, yet it does.
did i miss out by not partying in itaewon lol, i went one night and it was lame and dead and i went back to hongdae. the Thursday Party bar was pretty fun.
the food was underwhelming as hell, as boring as japanese food but without the variety or random interesting stuff. southeast asian food is so much tastier. also the national and war museums werent bad even if it was mostly just them crying about china and japan. they have history but with a lot of seething.
i got no korean matches on tinder there but meeting girls in bars/clubs wasn't too hard, not that i took it forward from the initial conversation but they talked back to me so that was something. there were way too many americans there though
The DMZ is ok but you do it cause you're there and its kinda cool. everyone at the hostel had the same opinion about it.
>there were way too many americans there though
You talking about Thursday Party? lol
Itaewon and Hongdae have a lot of westerners, outside of there, not many
Yeah but I meant Korean Americans from SoCal that kept reminding me they were born in America for whatever reason. I liked the foreigner orientated bars, it was easy to mingle around and theres nowhere like that in Sydney.
aussies cannot suffer
wtf why sydney is boring as hell, i'm sure its nicer if you live near the beach but its a big city and i'm not fortunate enough for that. its also the only city i've been kicked out of or not been let into clubs and bars for being drunk and the diversitys getting a bit much now. also, i've noticed theres never an Australia/Sydney thread on here.
dubs checked but why
hahaha I love the Korean-Americans who live in Korea
y tho
itinerary gays should be fricking shot
Nothing wrong with having an idea of what to do before you go somewhere
21 days in sk holy frick id kill myself
Give to me straight bros.
I've been dreaming of visiting the DMZ, and specifically the JSA for years. I am going this September.
It appears to me that either the JSA is now closed to tourists, or all the tours are fully booked. What's happening?
Some Ameritard jumped the border recently so they stopped taking tourists there for a bit
Not visiting the DMZ without a tour probably. Might take a car and see how far we come to some observation points.
All my dates have changed also, we rebooked for 2w later, I'm seeing late october can be cold so I hope it's gonna be good.
Also OP, with what company are you touring the DMZ?
how to coom there?
Go to a club/bar or use tinder
Its not easy like it is in southeast asia, but it also certainly isn't difficult like many on here claim
if you are in busan, go to jinhae-gu
its pretty nice, especially in spring but should be nice in fall too
pic related
Just got back from traveling SK for a few weeks.
Recommend:
>Go to traditional Korean restaurants, they often have menus with pics or in English (or just translate with papago) but usually they're set menus.
>Don't over do areas of interest. I went to all the palaces in Seoul, they're all similar unless you're a historian and care that much. I didn't go to any military museums or the DMZ but other museums usually will have an entire section dedicated to it anyway.
>Get a good hotel. I booked five hotels and they were all enjoyable. One was a hostel, another a love hotel, one luxury, one traditional hanok, and one normal. I've had previous trips feel worse than they should have because a hotel has bugs.
>Find festivals and events in advance. I went to pentaport and had a blast.
>Try to spend more time in one spot. I tried to do too much in too many cities. It was great but very busy. Wish I chilled at the beach more in Busan.
>Enjoy time with yourself/SO/Frens/Family. Saw a lot of single idle lonely foreigners just sitting around playing games on their phones. Wow. The boyscouts also had their jamboree thing which got cancelled so saw them at various spots and looked like they were all having a great time exploring things. Huge diff between being a loner phone monkey and going with other people.
>Take pictures and be open to off the path spots. Don't be that annoying "it's in my memories/don't want to bother" idiot. Took tons of photos with my SO and her relatives. I have a cute little slideshow and some great scenic photos too. Was worth going to random spots I thought might be dull. Lines were never really that long anywhere I went either.
Avoid:
>Going during the summer...
>Eating things you're familiar with.
>Only staying in Seoul
>Not shopping (stuff is quite cheap)
>Going to the airport less than 5 hours in advance if you're getting tax refunds or duty free pickups.