Thread: Korea Trip Report

Korea
The Undiscovered Jewel of the Orient

September 2002

Korea? I’d never really thought much about it - never had any real interest in going. There are other countries in Asia that are far more fascinating to me than Korea (or so I thought). Quite frankly, I’m sorry to say, most everything I knew about the country was picked up from old M*A*S*H reruns. But, the opportunity presented itself and we somewhat reluctantly decided to go.

Friday, September 13th was to be a long, long day. It took 2 trains, 1 airport tram, 1 plane, a bus, a taxi and more than 24 hours before we walked into the lobby of our hotel – The New World Motel - on the outskirts of central Seoul. Our accommodations were nice, clean and spacious, tucked away from the street in a back alleyway. At a mere W50,000 per night the price was certainly right. (The currency of Korea is the Won.) But, there’s a story to tell about this place. I found it on a hotel booking site run by the tourism ministry and it looked nice enough but what I didn’t know is that the word ‘motel’ in Korea doesn’t have the same meaning as in the West. This was in fact a ‘love hotel’, a place where you bring your “date” for some discrete fun. What initially caught my eye was one of our beds was round and pink with a mirror. The next morning on our way out we noticed the condom machine hanging on the wall and the rather spicy videos behind the front desk available for rental. But, the place was quiet, clean and very convenient to the subway so we really didn’t have anything to complain about. After a couple of nights in my pink bed I finally read an entry in “Lonely Planet” about such places. According to the authors motels are acceptable budget accommodations. I guess I would agree but we certainly did get a laugh out of the whole experience.

Before I begin delving into our travel details there a few things you may need to know, especially if you have been to Korea before or are familiar with the country. In 2000 the Korean government established a new method of Romanising (transliterating) the Korean language. Most of the old system was retained but a few changes were introduced to ensure more consistency and better accuracy. Familiar names like Kimpo Airport are now Gimpo and the city of Pusan is now Busan. The government has set a deadline of 2005 for complete implementation so until then you’ll probably see both. Other words and names have undergone more dramatic changes but it’s important to mention that the Korean hasn’t changed, only our pronunciation and understanding of their Romanised language has changed. I will use the new system in this report. As of this writing only “Lonely Planet” has issued an updated phrasebook with the new changes. It proved to be invaluable especially when we took a taxi. If you go shopping for a travel phrasebook make sure it was published after 2000.

The second change is the new airport. Early in 2002 the new international airport at Incheon (ICN) opened and Gimpo changed to domestic flights only. The new facility is quite remarkable. ICN is very spacious and easy to use, and all the signage is also in English. The train to the airport is not scheduled to begin service until 2005, so for now you have to take a taxi or one of the numerous coaches for the 60-minute drive (depending on traffic) to central Seoul.

Finally, ATM’s are easily found throughout the country, however finding one that takes international cards is a different story. Don’t expect the one’s you find in banks to take your card. According to the guidebooks the only ATM’s that generally take foreign cards are the one’s found in airports, train stations and subways. We discovered this to be a very true, if not slightly frustrating, statement.

Our first full day in Seoul was Sunday, so being Anglican we set off in search of the Cathedral in downtown Seoul. This was our first experience with the extensive and simply amazing Seoul Subway. We found our destination without any trouble (thanks in part to an elderly Korean gentleman in the subway) arriving more than 30 minutes before the English Mass in the lower chapel. The cathedral has 5 masses every Sunday in the main church; the smallest is the English language service with about 50 people in attendance. It was quite interesting to see the mix of a few Koreans along with English, Australians, Africans, Americans and the priest from New Zealand. With the exception of the Koreans the congregation was a fascinating cross section of colonial England.

After mass was over we met a Korean woman from Chicago now living in Seoul following her career. Her parents who emigrated to the U.S. from Korea still live in Chicago, as does her brother. Additionally, her parents helped to start the Korean mission parish in our diocese. Yet more remarkable is that we have mutual acquaintances from our own parish. Being nearly 7,000 miles from home it’s still a small world.

The next stop on the list was the 600-year-old Changdeokgung – ‘gung’ in Korean means ‘palace’ - for a look at royal life and to witness a colorful changing of the guard. It is notable, that while the monarchy has ended, Korea embraces it as a vital part of their past. Royal sites are maintained and restored for cultural and educational posterity. China on the other hand seems to begrudgingly (and marginally) maintain important imperial sites like the Forbidden City. Even though the Korean monarchy officially ended early in the 20th century Changdeok Palace served as a royal palace until the death of Crown Princess Bangja in 1989. You cannot enter the palace grounds except on a guided tour given in one of four languages throughout the day. The crown princess’ former personal quarters are part of the tour.

On Monday morning we set out to accomplish one of our more unusual travel habits. In most countries our custom, when possible, is to locate a Bible printed in the local language and a Book of Common Prayer (the Anglican Missal), again in the vernacular, to present to our priest upon return. Luckily, this was very easily accomplished. We found our Prayer Book at the diocesan offices and our Bible at the cathedral’s convent. With our morning mission accomplished, we set out for Gyeongbokgung.

Gyeongbok Palace is Seoul’s largest and possibly it’s most important. Constructed in 1394 it served as a royal residence and the capital of the kingdom. We meandered through the grounds visiting several beautiful buildings, gardens and ponds. The National Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum are conveniently located adjacent to the palace. Gyeongbok Palace is undergoing major repairs on most of its buildings, walls, gates and gardens; renovation is not scheduled for completion until at least 2020. With that done, it was time for some shopping.

The Itaewan section of town is one big outdoor shopping mall, almost a tourist attraction in itself. There are lots of junky tourist shops and every other person asks “custom-made suit?” but in the fray it’s possible to find some very nice deals. We managed to pick up a few caps and shirts and several lovely watercolor prints in a local gallery. I also purchased two very nice Polo dress shirt knockoffs for a steal from a sidewalk vendor.

The following morning we made our way to Seoul Tower. It, like most everything else in the city, is easily reached by subway. One hint though, as soon as you step out of the subway, hail a cab to the mountain tram. The directions in the tourist brochures are vague at best, you’ll probably end up walking in circles trying to find the tram to the top not to mention the rather formidable and intimidating stairs we climbed.

At 483 meters, with the help of Mt. Namsan, Seoul Tower commands the finest view of the city – “san” actually means mountain in English. The Tower is equipped with observatories and a revolving restaurant for full circle views of Seoul. From up here one begins to get a handle on how large the city actually is. With 18 million people in metropolitan Seoul it’s the 5th largest city in the world by some estimates. We ate lunch, bought a few trinkets and made a leisurely day of it.

After Seoul tower we decided to visit the National Assembly building on the Han River’s Yeouido Island. This is the largest capital building in all of Asia boasting very powerful architecture and a massive dome. We arrived too late for a tour but were allowed to walk the grounds and take some photos. Afterwards we took a scenic river cruise down the Han to see more of the city, and to top it off we were treated to a lovely sunset.

On Wednesday we boarded a train for a four-hour ride to Busan in the far south of the country. Busan is Korea’s second largest city at 3.8 million and the country’s principle port. Busan Harbor is so bustling it’s the world’s 3rd busiest port. From our hotel balcony on Haeundae beach we saw ship after ship coming and going off in the distance.

The Riviera Hotel is a very nice place only a few minutes stroll from the white sand beach. The hotel, however, seems to have something against air conditioning. The units (which were visible from our balcony) were seldom operating which made our room very warm. At night we had to sleep with the balcony door open for ventilation. It’s a beautiful hotel with a great location but I would skip it unless you like the heat.

The rest of Wednesday and most of Thursday we strolled along the beaches and through the open air markets and took advantage of the warm sun. The markets were amazing places to buy basic household goods and every imaginable food item from seafood to vegetables. Some of my favorite photos were taken in the markets.

To be honest I was not overly impressed with Busan. It’s a busy city of commerce and trade but not much in the way of attractions. I did enjoy sunning myself on the beach but other than that there was not much else to do. Our next stop was Gyeongju, after spending the day there I think I would’ve enjoyed more time there than in Busan.

For nearly 1,000 years the city of Gyeongju was the capital. In 918 the Silla Dynasty fell and the capital was moved north. Today the city is an open-air museum, sometimes called the “museum without walls”. At nearly every turn throughout the region you come across tombs, temples, shrines, and the remains of palaces, gardens, castles and Buddhist statuary. It’s an incredible place to see the remains of the Silla Dynasty.

The first place we visited was the village of Bulguksa, a suburb of Gyeongju, for a trip up a beautiful mountain to the Seokguram Grotto for a visit to the 8th century Buddha. The statue was lovely and the mountain setting was gorgeous and peaceful. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside the grotto building itself.

After calling on the Buddha we took a taxi about half way back down the mountain to Bulguksa Temple originally built in about 535. Most of the sites we visited in Korea were World Heritage Sites and this was no exception. The one distinction is that the Temple has the honor of being both National Historical Site No. 1 and Scenic Beauty No. 1. After visiting the active monastery, hearing its story and taking some photos you would have no doubt that this is true.

Upon entering most temples in the country you will come across a stand with large stacks of slate roof tiles. These tiles will eventually be used for roof repairs as needed. For W10,000 one can purchase the right to print a personal message on it with a paint pen. It’s a clever fundraising tactic. But not to be worried, by the time they use the tiles all the paint has washed off. None of the roofs have any leftover graffiti left on them. And, of course, we had to buy one.

Following our trip up the mountain we headed for central Gyeongju for a brief walk around the city before catching our train back to Busan. As you walk along the streets you come across ancient mound tombs where nobility were buried. We ended up at the 7th century Cheomseongdae Observatory, said to be the world’s earliest known existing astronomical observatory.

The Gyeongju region had so much more to offer and I would like to have stayed a few more days but we had to return to our hotel in Busan for a 4a.m. wakeup call to catch our flight from PUS to ICN for our connecting flight to ORD, another long day. In retrospect we should’ve stayed in Korea longer to take in more of this beautiful country and its people but as they say “hindsight is always 20/20”.

Korea is a very modern, prosperous country that is incredibly easy to navigate. The government has gone to great lengths to Romanise the Korean language for visitors and translate, where appropriate, most signage into English. We had no difficulty at all traveling throughout the country and found many people speak at least a little English.

Yet what is truly remarkable about South Korea is that in a generation the nation has emerged from the devastation of war to become a capitalist giant. The Korean War is just the latest in a series of wars, invasions and occupations. Over the centuries when the Japanese weren’t sweeping up from the south the Chinese and Mongols were invading from the north. It’s a wonder that Korea even exists at all. But then it may be these hardships that have given the people the indomitable spirit that has kept their culture alive. In spite of this Koreans are some of the friendliest and most helpful people we have ever met, we are fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to this undiscovered jewel of a country.

If you want to see some of our photos then check out <a href="http://photos.yahoo.com/ourtriptokorea/" target="_blank">http://photos.yahoo.com/ourtriptokorea/</A>.
The file is organized into 3 different albums for each of the 3 cities we visited.


Links:

www.knto.or.kr Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO).
www.tour2korea.com KNTO’s U.S. site.
www.worldinn.com A government authorized lodging system.
www.hotelro.com Another authorized lodging site.
www.koreahotels.net An online private hotel-booking agency.
www.visitseoul.net/english Tourism site of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
www.visitbusan.net Culture and Tourism Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City.
www.ocp.go.kr/english/index.html The official site about Korea’s Cultural Properties.



[This message was edited by Randy on October 05, 2002 at 02:13 PM.]