South Korea Archives | Page 2 of 10

Fall in Korea Day 6: Sundown at Bukchon Hanok Village

December 17, 2015

We arrived at Bukchon Hanok Village just when the sun was about to set. Normally, I would freak out because this meant lesser time for strolling and seeing everything. But it bathed everything in yellow light. Hooray for the magic hour! How can you not love it?

We couldn’t have picked a better place to visit. It was our last destination before we retire for the day and spend our last hours in Seoul exploring Hongdae–our home away from home for the past six days.

Bukchon Hanok Village is a residential community with traditional Korean houses called Hanok. The government has helped the residents restore and maintain the houses, which is an integral part of Korean culture. Real people live in the houses, and it’s the tourists’ responsibility to be respectful when strolling the streets. Though there’s no strict guidelines, visitors are advised to keep the noise down as much as possible. I’ve visited the community two years prior, and it has pretty much stayed the same.

We headed straight to the tourist information center to get a map. It’s a pretty large, and you can easily get lost navigating the streets and alleys. But we really just ended up wherever our feet would take us. While we were rushing to beat the sunset, we also leisurely moved around to savor everything. [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 6: Warm Autumn Sunshine at Gyeongbokgung Palace

November 9, 2015

Of all the palaces in South Korea, I wonder if there’s one that can be more magical, more golden than Gyeongbokgung Palace.

It was as lovely in spring as it was in autumn, and I couldn’t be happier to see it both times. Even though it’s probably one of the most congested tourist spots in Seoul, it’s definitely worth a visit. Because it’s so large, we saw numerous areas in the palace were still empty and quiet. No matter how huge it is, there’s a place for everyone to sit down and relax.

We decided to forego Changdokgung and Cheonggyecheon and focus only on Gyeongbokgung. We had limited time, and we realized that visiting all the palaces and temple in Korea would take more than a week. Thankfully, our chosen palace showed all the glory of the season, and we could only wish that the afternoon would last longer. We skipped lunch for this! [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 6: Cheonggyecheon and Gwanghwamun Square

November 6, 2015

For our last full day in Seoul, we made sure to exhaust every minute and breathe in all the sights, sounds and scent of the city. The entire day was still filled excitement and glee, but there was the looming thought that next day, we’d be boarding a plane back to Manila. I said it before and I’ll say it again, I will never get tired of Seoul.

I’ve been to the Cheonggyecheon Stream before, but this time, larger-than-life lanterns were displayed along the length of the stream. It was for the Lantern Festival last year! We were supposed to go there the previous night, but we arrived back in Seoul from Nami Island quite late. After re-arranging our itinerary, we realized that we still had enough time to squeeze it on our morning schedule. In fact, it was our first stop for our last day. [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 5: Autumn Foliage in Nami Island

October 7, 2015

Much has been said and written about Nami Island. Yet, it’s unspoken beauty and charm seem underrated.

Made popular by the Korean drama Winter Sonata, it’s the typical tourist trap, visited by thousands and thousands of foreign and local visitors alike. Even on weekdays, the island welcomes hordes of tourists, who occupy every inch and corner of the lone republic. When you think of traveling to South Korea, Nami Island always seems to top the list of must places to visit.

From the moment we arrived at the subway station nearest the island to the line that welcomed us before boarding the ferry, we knew that we’d be faced with tourists no matter where we look that day. But do I regret it? Not even close. Pardon me for joining the bandwagon, but Nami Island was seriously beautiful in its golden and red hues during fall.

I have no idea how it looks in other seasons, but autumn in Nami Island almost made me want to live there forever. I hadn’t even left yet, but I already wanted to go back in spring, winter and summer. It looked so magical in autumn that I couldn’t help wonder how it would look during other seasons.

I firmly believe that Namiseom Island is one of the best places to visit when you want to see gorgeous autumn foliage. [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 4: Exploring Hongdae and Edae in Seoul

September 2, 2015

Buzzing with youthful activity all day and all night, Hongdae and Edae are two university neighborhoods that serve as great destinations when you’re looking for something more laidback.

Despite staying in Hongdae during our visit to Seoul, we didn’t spend a lot of time exploring the neighborhood. We had an hour or two everyday, but that’s not enough to see all the corners of the quirky neighborhood.

Hongdae is the collective term for the neighborhood surrounding Hongik University. Here, you’ll find all kinds of cafes, shops and restaurants. It’s actually a pretty good alternative to Myeongdong when you want to go shopping. However, it’s all the activities that make the place seem so alive. I thought it’s just every Saturday, but apparently it’s buzzing everyday with live bands and youth groups holding events.

On our fourth day, we went back to Hongdae after spending the morning at the Ihwa Mural Village. I was pretty excited because it was the first time I’d meet up with an online friend! [Read more…]