Travel around Korea
-
The Last Korean Road Trip: Celebrating Buddha’s Birthday in Busan
Welcome to the LAST leg of our final road trip! To recap: with a year to spend in South Korea, our goal was to see as much of the country as possible. We planned our last big road trip for the major holiday week of Buddha’s birthday. Making several stops, we covered some well-known sites we hadn’t visited yet: Songnisan National Park, Andong Hahoe Folk Village, and Busan, South Korea’s second largest city. The weather during this trip unfortunately was not on our side. Indeed, this was hands-down the rainiest vacation we have ever taken, with significant rainfall on six out of seven days of traveling. However, our desire to see something…
-
The Last Korean Road Trip: Adventures in Busan
Welcome to the next leg of our final road trip! To recap: with a year to spend in South Korea, our goal was to see as much of the country as possible. We planned our last big road trip for the major holiday week of Buddha’s birthday. Making several stops, we covered some well-known sites we hadn’t visited yet: Songnisan National Park, Andong Hahoe Folk Village, and the city of Busan. The weather unfortunately was not on our side. Indeed, this was hands-down the rainiest vacation we have ever taken, with significant rainfall on six out of seven days of traveling. In this post, we visit Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, about a…
-
The Last Korean Road Trip: Adventures in Hahoe Folk Village
Welcome back to our final road trip! To recap: with a year to spend in South Korea, our goal was to see as much of the country as possible. We planned our last big road trip for the major holiday week of Buddha’s birthday. Making several stops, we covered some well-known sites we hadn’t visited yet: Songnisan National Park, Andong Hahoe Folk Village, and the city of Busan. As you will see, the weather unfortunately was not on our side. Indeed, this was hands-down the rainiest vacation we have ever taken, with significant rainfall on six out of seven days of traveling. Fortunately, a year of walking and hiking in…
-
The Last Korean Road Trip: Adventures in Songnisan National Park
With a year to spend in South Korea, our goal was to see as much of the country as possible. We planned our last big road trip for the major holiday week of Buddha’s birthday. Making several stops, we covered some well-known sites we hadn’t visited yet: Songnisan National Park, Andong Hahoe Folk Village, and the city of Busan. As you will see, the weather unfortunately was not on our side. Indeed, this was hands-down the rainiest vacation we have ever taken, with significant rainfall on six out of seven days of traveling. Fortunately, a year of walking and hiking in all kinds of different weather was good training, and…
-
Mountain Parks Blooming: Places to See in Jeollabuk-do (Part Two)
Our road trip started with South Korea’s south coast and the province of Jeollanam-do, but we ended by driving back up to Seoul through the western province of Jeollabuk-do. This area offers a rural and small-town feel, very different from Seoul and distinct from the coastal towns and villages we visited earlier on this trip. Here, we explored the foodie city of Jeonju, hiked the rugged peaks of Naejangsan National Park, and trekked through the towering stone pagodas and blooming cherry tunnels of Maisan Provincial Park. In part one of this post, we visited historic Jeonju Hanok Village. In this post, visit nearby Naejangsan National Park and Maisan Provincial Park.…
-
Jeonju Blooming: Places to See in Jeollabuk-do (Part One)
Our road trip started with South Korea’s south coast and the province of Jeollanam-do, but we ended by driving back up to Seoul through the western province of Jeollabuk-do. This area offers a rural and small-town feel, very different from Seoul and distinct from the coastal towns and villages we visited earlier on this trip. Here, we explored the foodie city of Jeonju, hiked the rugged peaks of Naejangsan National Park, and trekked through the towering stone pagodas and blooming cherry tunnels of Maisan Provincial Park. In this post, visit historic Jeonju Hanok Village. In part two of this post, visit Naejangsan National Park and Maisan Provincial Park. Jeonju Hanok…
-
Yeosu Blooming: What to See on the South Coast
We were lucky enough to visit South Korea’s south coast during the peak week for cherry blossoms. Though we hoped to see blooms while we were there, we got extra lucky on the timing as the blossoms popped out all over the country about a week ahead of what was predicted. From Mokpo on Korea’s southwest coast, we drove 150km (nearly 100 miles) east along the coast of Jeollanam-do province to Yeosu, a peninsular city close to the center of South Korea’s south coast. We viewed some surprisingly stunning agricultural areas along the way, as well as stopping for a walk through the famed Boseong Green Tea Fields. Then not…
-
Mokpo Blooming: A Trip to the South Coast
South Korea is justifiably proud of its spring cherry blossoms. When I set out to plan a trip to the south coast of the country to coincide with the blooming season, I didn’t understand that you don’t necessarily have to plan a lot to see cherry blossoms here. They just are. Particularly when driving along the coast from Mokpo to Yeosu, we saw more blooming cherry trees than we could have imagined. We drove the 350km (about 220 miles) from Seoul to Mokpo to start our coastal road trip. A wicked windy and rainy day wrecked one of our two days there, so we weren’t able to take a boat…
-
Ancient Temples of Gyeongju: Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto
The birthday of the historical Buddha (according to the Lunar calendar), will be celebrated on May 19 this year, so it’s a good week to continue our theme of exploring Buddhism in South Korea. Buddhism originated in India and was introduced to China via the Silk Road in the 1st century CE. It then spread to the Korean Peninsula in the 3rd century and subsequently to Japan. Korean Buddhism is a distinct branch in the Mahayana tradition, having developed its own line of thought distinct from the ideas that originally traveled from India. The Jogye and Taego Orders represent most of Korean Buddhism. With the rise of Confucianism during Korea’s…
-
Old Korea: Buddhist Temple Stay at Gyeongju
You can’t get very far in South Korea without encountering a Buddhist temple, especially if you spend time in the mountains. From the tiniest shrine to the largest temple complexes with multiple halls, South Korea’s mountains are filled with religious sites open to visitors. Although now there are also temples in cities, historically mountains were the refuge of Buddhist monks and practitioners looking for a safe place to worship. During the heavily Confucian Joseon Dynasty, Buddhist practices were not welcome, forcing Buddhism into the hills. Only after many Korean Buddhist monks helped to end Japanese colonialism in the 20th century were Buddhists allowed to practice freely again. These days, Buddhism…
