Travel

Trip Report: Korea Oct '22

Summary

Korea is wonderful. It was autumn, the orange fields and evening haze was beautiful. Nowhere felt far away from the rest of Korea. There were English signs everywhere. The trains were always a joy.

Seoul is a really cool city, super easy to navigate. The buildings are old Joseon castles and gates, or super new global-city style towers. Many tourists and visiting lovers of K-culture.

Jeonju has a lovely and traditional hanok village. All the old buildings are now shaved ice cafes and souvenir stores, but they still look gorgeous. Easy to reach on high-speed rail.

Busan has great street food and worth coming back for the beaches (I'm told).

2022-Oct-24

Flight TR 848 SIN-ICN (Scoot)

I caught the 06:25 direct from Singapore to Korea. The MRT doesn't run that early and Grab drivers are sparse, so good ol' taxi got me to Changi.

We flew right over Taiwan, catching a glance of the south-west coast. It looked like a cool place, worth visiting soon.

Incheon

Seoul has two airports, Gimpo and Incheon, where I landed. During the Korean War, Incheon was where the United Nations forces fought the Battle of Inchon to reverse the North's advance on the South. It was MacArthur's crazy idea that succeeded against all reasonable advice to the contrary. Now it's a major international airport.

When I landed I realised my TransferWise debit card had expired one month ago, but I had a stack of American dollars in my bag from my Vietnam trip, so I exchanged it for Korean Won and caught a bus to Seoul. I scraped by with just $100 USD in Won the whole trip. God bless the greenback.

2022-Oct-25

Seoul

I stayed in Myeongdong which is centrally located north of the river but really quaint with side streets and food vendors. Would recommend the Metro Hotel to anyone staying in Seoul.

In Seoul the 7/11s had far more health and cosmetic products than in Singapore or Australia. Skin whitening cream, nail clippers, eyebrow tweezers, you name it.

Everyone wore greys, blacks and navies. The fashion was more sombre and classical like in Melbourne. A lot of people wore outdoor hiking puffer vests or jackets. The days were cool but the nights got real cold real fast. Some mornings it was only four degrees at sunrise.

Every street had a piece of corporate artwork out the front.

Tongin Traditional Market

After work I met a friend at Tongin Market. We paid some new Won to get some traditional coins to buy some traditional food for our traditional enjoyment.

I've probably misremembered at least one of these names.

At the market there was a school group enjoying the traditional foods ahead of us. Rare to see so many kids in Seoul as Korea has the lowest birth rate in the OECD, only 0.81 children per woman. By comparison, Italy is the next lowest with 1.24 per woman and Israel the highest with 2.9 per woman.

Sejong-Daero

We then walked down the Sejong-Daero, a public place before the Gwanghwamun, the main gate to the old Joseon palace, Heungnyemun. Many Koreans wear traditional clothing near the Heungnyemun because if they do so they get a discount on the entry fee.

We then crossed the Cheonggyecheon, a reclaimed urban waterway and passed a statue of Jeon Bong-jun, the leader of the Donghak Peasant Uprising in 1894. Notice he tied his knot like a clock at 03:35, I think that's traditional because that's how many people on the street did theirs and it's a character detail in Train to Busan.

Cheonggyecheon (left) and Jeon Bong-jun (right)

Tour

I met up with a City Unscripted tour guide near my hotel and we headed north past Bosingak 보신각, an elaborate belfry from the 1300s.

Jogyesa Temple 조계사

Our first stop was the Jogyesa temple dedicated to Seon Buddhism, a Korean variety of Buddhism and known in the West as Zen Buddhism. Seon emphasizes meditation rather than academics as in other schools of Buddhism. The temple was established in 1395, three years after the founding of the Joseon, who ruled Korea from 1392 to 1897. Then the Japanese came, the war happened and it’s all post-war from there.

In the center of the grounds are two trees over 500 years old.

The 500 year old Chinese Scholar tree (left and center) and White Pine (right)

Around the base of the temple, Koreans place flowers accompanied by prayers for health, wealth and happiness. We didn't go inside the temple, but we could see the red letters (?) hanging from the ceiling inside.

Kyungin Museum of Fine Art 경인미술관

We walked through the tranquil grounds of the Kyungin Museum of Fine Art. Many artists take up residence here to work on their art in the heart of Seoul surrounded by serene foliage.

Unhyeongung 운현궁

This was the royal residence before the Joseon and then a home of the Prince Regent under them.

The style of the building today is closer to the late-Joseon period when buildings were more spartan and less decorated. The building's eaves and soffit (btw, buildings can have soffits) are white or natural timber, whereas in earlier-Joseon styles they're painted bright colours.

During winter the house servants would heat rocks and start fires in small recesses under the walls. The system is called 'ondol' I belive. A dangerous warmth given that the buildings are made of wood and paper.

Hyundai Head Office 현대건설

We walked under the shadow of the Hyundai Building. I can't remember the story exactly, because I didn't write this blog until I flew back to Singapore, but the guide said that Hyundai (?) were superstitious about working from other offices because they built a bigger, newer office and their financial performance deteriorated soon after moving there. Or maybe it was Samsung? Either way, building skyscrapers on the eve of economic downturns is a tried and true business practice. This is why many Korean corporate workers prefer to work from the original HQ.

Ikseondong Hanok Village 익선동 한옥거리

We cut through the Fitzroy of Seoul (by my estimation), a traditional hanok village now since modernized and made into the setting of many fine K-dramas. Every style of world cuisine was served here with a Korean twist. The tiny buildings had expanded by removing the interior dividers and erecting glass around the exterior as the new boundary wall.

One the edge of Ikseondong was a fortune telling egg dispenser. I put in some coins, selected my zodiac sign and received a plastic egg with a fortune reading / personality assessment. I cracked open the egg with the rubber mallet provided and learnt much about myself.

Bukchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을

We headed north into Bukchon Hanok Village which, like Ikseondong, has changed a lot. But unlike Ikseondong it's now the suburb of deeply wealthy families. Under the Joseon the village was home to government retainers who wanted to live close to the palace and high atop a lovely hill.

Notice the tower in the distance? We'll go there later.

We arrived a bit late in the evening so lighting was poor and we had to talk in whispers because it's a residential zone.

Gwangjang Market 광장시장

We caught a bus from Bukchon to Gwangjang by way of a stopover I simply cannot recall where it was. But it was starting to get cold.

The market was super popular. I don't have Netflix, but apparently Netflix recently featured a food stall in this market which explained the throngs of tourists and one very happy food stall operator.

At the south end of the market was an outlet for the chain Cafe Onion which a popular cafe / restaurant / general purpose young person hangout in Seoul (or so it seemed from my seriously uncool point of view). We checked out the Onion in Anguk earlier, this market housed the Gwangjang outlet.

N Seoul Tower N서울타워

We hitched another bus to the hill of N Seoul Tower. I was glad to have picked up a T-Money card at a Seoul metro station that morning. Those cards are awesome and Seoul public transport is awesome.

It was rather brisk out by this point and I only had a jumper on. So the guide gracefully permitted me to 'run gingerly' up the hill to the tower, thus warming myself.

North view. I kept my mask on because it provided valuable face warmth.

We took in the north view first, which faced the side of Seoul we'd been touring that cool evening. We then walked around the back of N Seoul Tower to a south-facing viewing platform. There, couples can puchase love locks and throw the key from atop Seoul's tallest mountain. This is a great idea, much better than padlocking bridges on the Seine.

This wrapped up the tour so we started back to town. On the way, I gave a very unconvincing description of how I'd reach my hotel, so the guide insisted on escorting me back. She got me there, and provided directions for me to reach Seoul main railway station in the morning.

Doors

Throughout the tour I enjoyed the many fine doorways of Seoul. Aside from looking both stately and ornate, they were like metaphorical portals into Korean homes.

Walls

No good door can stand without a good wall astride it. The walls in Seoul were rife with simple, geometric, beautiful patterns. The black pattern below appeared regularly across Korea.

2022-Oct-25

Seoul Station

My tour guide's directions were impeccable. I reached Seoul station in no time at all and even had buffer to relish the metro station interior.

I personally would love to have played a 32-bit Korean RPG on my Gameboy Colour

I emerged from Seoul metro station and took a short walk to Seoul railway station. In the station waiting zone I noticed not only the very popular Korean bakery chain - Paris Baguette - but also it's Korean rival - Paris Croissant. Naturally I got a croissant (no photo).

The train to Jeonju left right on time. The landscape was super developed. Not a single farm without greenhouses over every field. Multiple railways criss-crossing the land. A low haze settled over every skyline.

The whole journey there was always a small town visible just over the horizon. I never felt like anywhere in Korea was far away from anywhere else. It was the opposite of Australia.

Jeonju

Jeonju is the capital of North Jeolla Province and home to 650,000 people. Jeonju literally means "Perfect Region".

Pungpaejigwan 전주 풍패지관

This used to be a guesthouse for travelling dignitaries. It looks every bit like it was built in 1473 (or thereabouts) because it has the brightly painted green eves and gables of the early Joseon period.

The Jeonju City government informs me that the writing on the signboard is the work of Ju Sang-Beon, a prime minister of the Ming Dynasty. The word ‘Pungpae’ refers to the hometown of the first king of Han Dynasty, representing the fact that Jeonju is the cradle of Joseon Dynasty.

Jeolla Gamyoung 전라감영

This old provincial administrator's building was only just restored in 2020, so it's both very old and brand new. Jeolla refers to the south-west region of Korea, and Gamyoung is the name of a government building. Naturally, this building was the seat of the Governor for Jeolla under the Joseon.

The Seonhwadang (Governor's Home) has been rebuilt many times, and was completely destroyed during the Korean War.

Pungnammun Gate 풍남문

This is the southernmost of the traditional gates around Jeonju, and IIRC the last one standing.

Jeondong Cathedral 전동성당

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is sited very close to the old hanok village. It was built in a Roman-Byzantine style by French missionaries.

Jeonju Hanok Village전주 한옥마을

There were throngs of kids in traditional clothes around the hanok village. I suspect there was a school trip that day they all got dressed up for. Then again, secondary school students must wear uniforms in Korea, so either they were primary school kids or this was a non-school outing (on a Wednesday).

Omokdae 오목대

According to various plaques nearby, this pavillion is where King Taejo, the first king of the Joseon dynasty, stopped to celebrate his victory against the Japanese. The view was stunning but I was really stuggling to find interesting historical trivia without a tour guide.

Jaman Mural Village 자만벽화마을

Jeonjuchun

The hanok village is bordered to the south by the Jeonjuchun river. Along that river sits many fine houses, sturdy bridges and one rascally cat.

Jeonju 전주 Station

My phone was inches from battery death by this point so I charged it at the station cafe. Every cafe in Korea had a powerbank for customers phones. The train to Seoul left right on time. The train TV played a bunch of ads I didn't understand although some were clearly advertising Myers-Briggs Type Indicators.

Seoul Street Food

Not simply traditional food by any means, but only in Korea have I ever found a souffle-pancake, a croissant-waffle (marketed as the Crouffle) and a red bean filled fish pastry that's just the most adorable snack I ever bit the tail off of.

2022-Oct-27

Busan

I worked from a friendly Seoul Starbucks all of Friday day then hopped the train to Busan in the evening. The flight from Busan to Singapore was way cheaper than from Seoul and I'd always wanted to see this thriving entrepot. I linked up with a local tour guide and we walked through the harbourfront.