Thread: Going to Seoul!

I was in Korea for a year while I was in the Army, back in 1991. I returned for a quick weekend trip while in Japan in 1996 and did the tourist thing...quite a different experience.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend trying one of the open-air markets. There's 2 HUGE ones, one at the East Gate, another at the South Gate (Nam-dae-mun and Dong-dae-mun respectively). You'll see all kinds of stuff...chicken, fish, and other animals, as well as vegetables, and even possible souveniers. All the times I went, I didn't see another white person (other than who I was with).

There's an old-style village (Min-suk-chun) about an hour train ride away...you can buy tickets directly from Seoul station. If you want a feel for what the 'old' live was like, that's a good experience. The train there and back goes through some interesting scenery.

If you want any tailor-made clothing (suits, coats, dresses, etc), Korea is THE place. For shops where you know they'll speak English, go near Young-san (the main military base), and nearly any in that area will work. I didn't have time to pick up on my weekend trip, and was a bit wary about paying and not getting it. The tailor shipped me the suit to the US--and even sent a Christmas card that year.

If you want a diversion from Seoul, Pusan is on the South coast and a beautiful city--people are extremely friendly and good beaches. Again, buy tickets at the station, it is about 5 hours each way, in first class. Alternatively, the isle of Che-chu-do has some good climbing and also great beaches, about an hour flight from Kimpo.

For getting around, you can't beat the subway for price or convenience. There is so much traffic that you don't even want to think of a cab. There's a station right at Kimpo Airport and is about $.60 to $.75 each way all the way into town (when I was there in 1996), about an hour ride, I think 1 change.

I stayed at a really small place that was right in the thick of the dept stores, US embassy, and some of the temples...can't remember the name, but they were very friendly.

Oh, definitely get a phrasebook and try to use a little...it goes a LONG way. Most Koreans know English, but may not use it.

The BEST thing I did in Korea was the trip to the DMZ/Truce Village. They do allow civilians from time to time...if you are interested contact the US Embassy for info.

Have a good trip!



Tim

I am planning on heading to Seoul for 5 or so days at the end of October. Here are some of the things my friend suggested:

Some of the interesting things to do here are:

1 - You can go up about 1-1 1/2 hours north and take a
tour of the DMZ. They let you walk partway down
tunnels that have been dug by North Koreans. You can
also visit the truce village of Panmunjun where the
two sides hold meetings and from there you can look
into North Korea and hear the propoganda they
broadcast.

2 - About 10mins from my house is Gyungbokung Palace
which is an enormous palace that has been rebuilt
along with an interesting museum.

3 - There is a War Memorial near the army base that is
dedicated to the Korean War. I haven't been, but I've
heard it's very good.

4 - There are some large markets, both indoor and
outdoor and the night wholesale markets.

The food is also unique and fun to experience and
every day is somewhat of an adventure even though I've
lived here for a while. The city is easy to get
around in with an expansive, clean and efficient
subway system, buses, and taxis.

Good luck, let me know how goes...

One other thing I just remembered is that there is a HUGE indoor amusement park called Lotte World (after the Lotte department store). It is on the South side of the Han river...down near the Olympic Park. The Olympic Park may be worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing.

Also, if the weather is nice and you just want to relax, you can always take a boat tour on the Han.

The trip to the DMZ/Panmunjom village is interesting in itself...then going inside the meeting room, you see the North Korean soldiers there. I remember they told us stories on the bus ride up there, more likely to scare us, but perhaps somewhat true. On the North side, there's a HUGE building that is a facade, but looks beautiful on the outside. Both sides have HUGE flags too. I'll never forget one morning while on a field training exercise waking up and hearing the North's speakers going full blast.

Anyway, hope you both have a good trip.


Tim

Hey Hamilton_SAS, Curious to see how your trip went. I am going next week and looking for some recent info. Thanks.

I had a great trip to Korea; it was a lot of fun. The culture and people are very friendly and interesting. I had opportunity to visit many of the Royal Palaces (former, Korea is a democracy). Those I went to were; Changdeokgung, Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, and Gyeonghuigung, with Changdeokgung being my favorite. I saw the changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung palace which was pretty interesting, too. Korean palaces seem to be better cared for than those in China. Of course, there are less people and I have decided the time to visit Asia is in the fall when the weather is not too hot and not too cold, but just right… plus there are usually less people.

Anyway, I went to the War Memorial Museum which was very interesting. It was mostly about the Korean War, but covered other conflicts too. One of my favorite experiences there was a trip to the saunas at a Korea bathhouse. It was very relaxing with many different rooms of varying temperatures ranging from one room around a 140f to another room at a subfreezing temperature. It was quite therapeutic.

I had a chance to visit the DMZ on a tour which was fascinating experience. It is very interesting to see a country, at least in that part of the country, prepared for an invasion. To see and hear of the totalitarianism of North Korea was surreal; again I’m grateful for my country and those that protect it. I highly recommend this for those to visit Korea.

The food was quite good, but you do need to know where to go and what to order otherwise it is less than tasty. On of my favorite things was trying different foods off the street vendors (dangerous I know). They create some very tasty snacks and some that aren’t, but hey it was only a buck or two. They have a corn dog with French fries inbeaded in the bread so you can eat your fries with your dog (so much more efficient). Well, that is about it. What a great trip, but word of advice; don’t go to a free fireworks show unless you are prepared to be crushed with a half million people….