This is a review of the popular studio Goguan in Seoul, where tourists go to dress up in Korean traditional outfits and have their photos taken professionally. To save you from reading the post in case you’re in a rush, TLDR my conclusion is that it’s not really as great as people made it out to be. It definitely is once in a lifetime experience to get your photo taken like that, but I don’t think it has to be Goguan, if you’re adventurous i’d strongly recommend shopping around and trying other studios.
Korea Travel
Guide to budget accommodation in Seoul
Now I haven’t had much experience actually staying in a lot of types of accommodation in Seoul so perhaps my personal experience isn’t going to be rich. I did however spend a lot of time in general looking for accommodation, so I’m writing this to give my two cents worth of what i’ve gathered from my research.
First of all, if you’re an exchange student, I will highly highly highly recommend you to stay in your school dormitory. Finding accommodation in Korea is not hard, but most of the time school dormitories are extremely cheap and they have all the facilities that you need. Seriously, stay in the school dorm. The curfews and rules and whatnot don’t even matter anymore, it’s just so much easier to stay in the school and you’ll save a great deal of money for a lot more comfort. It’s not hard to find acommodation in Seoul, but it’s tricky to find accommodation you can be super comfortable with if you’re staying long term.
That aside, without further ado, here’s some ways you can find accommodation in Seoul especially if you’re on a budget.
Guesthouses & Hostels
Typical price range for dorm room per night: 13,000 won – 25,000 won
Typical price range for twin room per person per night: 30,000 won – 40,000 won
Dorm room can be 4 beds, 6 beds, 8 beds, 10 beds. Capsule-style dorms can more than 10 beds per room. Capsule style dorms can go up to $30 per night per person despite the room being shared with so many person haha, i think it’s the Japanese concept they’re taking that’s kinda expensive? Family rooms, twin rooms, triple rooms, single rooms will be much more expensive. Depending on location, you could get a twin or private for $20-ish but don’t count on it haha~
This is the most typical option especially for the short-term travelers. Guesthouses are great options because they usually provide free breakfast, laundry services, shared toiletries (usually just shampoo/conditioner, soap, toothpaste… occasionally towels), and is a generally good safe place to meet other travelers. The downside is that you usually share your room with lots of others (if you’re on budget and choose the dorm rooms), so it may get inconvenient in terms of bathroom usage and space constraint. Often I’ve seen my fellow dorm mates return home at ungodly hours and disturb the whole room from their sleep and things like that.
I have several tips when it comes to narrowing down guesthouses, here’s some of the things i think we should all look out for. They are small things but they become rather important once you actually stay there:
Mixed dorms/gender-separated dorms | A lot of us don’t like mixed dorms so look out for the word ‘female dorm’ or ‘male dorm’. Many times mixed dorms don’t state explicitly ‘mixed dorm’, so it’s easy to misunderstand.
Bathrooms | do they have ensuite bathrooms or shared ones? If shared, how many bathrooms are there throughout the hostels? You can check the reviews to find out more about such details. Typically an ensuite bathroom for a 4/6-bed dorm room is ideal, but most of the time the hostels only have like one or two bathrooms throughout the whole hostel, which may become a little inconvenient.
Laundry service | find out if they provide. Some charge at extra cost. You’ll need this if you’re staying a little long-term.
Free breakfast | probably almost all guesthouses provide this, but check just in case.
Most of them provide eggs, bread and coffee. The better ones I’ve come across, like this one in Busan, provided cereal, milk and cheese too!
Location | guesthouses tend to make their place seem closer to the station than it really is. An 8-minute walk from the station is actually decently far, and it could actually be 15 minutes. It seems nothing but when you have lots of luggages, it becomes rather important how far the guesthouse really is from the station. Also i noticed that plenty of them would advertise their place as being in the main areas, for example Hongdae, but when you look at the map it’s actually far from Hongdae and is nearer to other stations like Hapjeong for example. They’re not lying because the dormitory IS close to Hongdae area, but it’s not actually IN Hongdae area… but they have to state Hongdae because that’s what draws us in to clicking on their page. So make sure to always check the map listed.
Size of room | DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEEEEEEE. A lot of hostels and guesthouses and in fact goshiwons as well, they take picture of the room and they stretch the width of the picture so the room looks really really huuuuuuuuuge. It’s not true. Lol. Manage your expectations when you book the room… and it’s not that hard to tell if a picture has been stretched. Some of them are stretched ridiculously and we all know we’re not going to get a bed that looks queen size, so scale it down till the bed is about single size, and that’s probably how your room is actually going to look. Most of them do it subtly though, so again, manage expectations…. most dorm rooms are tiny and it’s not possible to get a roomy one without paying the price.
Luggage storage and lockers | Luggage storage becomes necesssary if you’re checking in early or want to leave your bags after checkout. Some guesthouses that state luggage storage, actually just put your luggage in the dorm rooms instead of an actual place, or just leave it in the main area in the open. Lockers are of course important for when you travel out and leave your bags in the dorm room.
Make-up rooms | If this is crucial to you, it’s worth considering when you book. Most guesthouses I’ve been to typically provide hair dryers in the rooms for you which can get rather noisy at night. But if you’re looking for a higher level of comfort, it’s very much possible because I’ve stayed in guesthouses with full-fledged makeup rooms for the girls. Guess you can’t forget make up when you’re talking about Korea!
From one of my favorite guesthouses in Korea!
Privacy curtains and personal lights | Very small detail and most hostels don’t provide them, but the ones that do are better options in my opinion. It’s so that when the whole room sleeps and you want to do your work, you can do so just by shutting the curtains and using your own personal light. Also if the whole room is awake and you want to sleep, drawing the curtains will block the light out and you can sleep in peace. Picture below is an example of that privacy concept:
Booking a guesthouse/hostel | I’d suggest cross-referencing to get a good gauge of the guesthouse/hostel you’ve narrowed down. Some sites may have cheaper rates, so don’t just book immediately from that client. Some websites I’d recommend to book from:
- hostelworld.com (12% deposit payable, but if you pay $1 extra your deposit is secured and returned to your account should you cancel the booking. You can use that amount to book other places)
- booking.com (no deposit, no credit card details, free cancellation and booking changes possible until a certain date)
- hostelbookers.com (12% deposit payable)
- agoda.com (for cross-referencing of reviews, pictures, hostel details etc)
- tripadvisor.com (for cross-referencing of reviews, pictures, hostel details etc)
It is possible for you to book straight from the hostel / guesthouse. It is possibly cheaper. Not guaranteed, but possibly. For me, I had booked 11 nights with MORI Guesthouse in a 8-bed dorm room for because the 6-bed dorm room was only available on certain days of the 11 nights. I wanted to arrange some days in the 6-bed dorm room and some days in the 8-bed dorm room but it’s really hard to do so through booking.com, unless i make two separate bookings.
So I searched around a bit and managed to track down their actual website (the website was linked on tripadvisor.com… it doesn’t really show up on search engine). I saw that they offered 10% discount for long stays. So I contacted them personally and they got back to me pretty quick. They allowed me to stay my first 7 days in a 6-bed dorm room, and the next 4 days in the 8-bed dorm room. Overall I was charged much cheaper than the price stated on booking.com, despite having 7 days in a better room.
via booking.com | 11 nights at 8-bed dorm room: 198,000 won
via MORI Guesthouse | 7 nights at 6-bed dorm room, 4 nights at 8-bed dorm room: 180,900 won
It was a fantastic deal secured just by doing a little bit more research!
Thus I’d recommend looking around for their original website a bit, and actually contacting them personally to see what they say. It also makes it easier for you to make requests. It does mean that you have to pay them some deposit immediately to secure your room if you book directly through them (while on booking.com you don’t have to pay till a certain date), but if you’re certain you’re going to stay there, that shouldn’t be a problem. They didn’t ask me for a 50% deposit anwyay, it was only about 25% of the total price. Although it’s unlikely they have their own website, there’s no harm checking!!
If you’re staying long term it’s not really a good idea to stay at a guesthouse unless you are comfortable with sharing the room with so many people for long term and having so little space. If you still want to however, I’ve heard from others that it’s possible to stay for free at the hostel if you work for them. A student exchanging at Sogang worked at Sinchon Kimchee Guesthouse and he got a lot of days of lodging free. This is really dependent on the guesthouse though, if you ask they may allow that arrangement.
One of the nicer ones
Goshiwon
Small, single rooms – usually for long term
Typical price range for goshiwons per night: 11,000 won – 25,000 won
Typical price range for goshiwons per month: 200,000 won – 500,000 won
I have a love-hate relationships for Goshiwons. I like how you can get a single room and sometimes with an ensuite bathroom for so cheap plus you get the benefits of a guesthouse such as free food, laundry etc, but at the same time it’s so tiny like a hamster hole. Many times you need your own bedsheet, pillows and blankets too.
Bathroom | Do they have ensuite bathrooms or shared ones? Ensuite bathrooms usually are much more expensive than normal standard rooms.
Food | Most provide kimchee, rice and ramyun.
Location | Goshiwons tend to be clustered together in a common area e.g. Sinchon. It might be helpful to visit such areas to actually look at the rooms, plus you can explore other Goshiwons in the vicinity.
Size of room | DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEEEEEEE. Like hostels and guesthouses, goshiwons lie through their pictures. I actually went down to visit a couple of goshiwons and I saw that they were a lot smaller than the pictures, and some deviate so much from the pictures it made me question if it’s the same goshiwon in question. I often end up looking at the goshiwon signage and then the website just to make sure it’s the same place lolololol. Literally you only have place to turn a circle maybe? 
Ventilation | Very important for goshiwons. A lot of them differentiate prices based on whether or not there’s a window in your room. Sometimes the ‘window’ in question is just a little corner window that opens to the corridor, not necessarily a window that opens to the open air. And it’s usually a tiny tiny square 😦 If you pick the cheapest smallest room with no window, it’s going to feel REALLY claustrophobic… I’ve seen some of those and the moment i enter i wanted to get out……. lol. Air con seems to be a real luxury and can set you back quite a bit, in which case you may be better off in a budget motel/hotel somewhere.
Booking a goshiwon | This is very tricky. Goshiwons aren’t the easiest to find because although there are TONS of goshiwons out there on the streets, they often speak only Korean. I can’t help out with that Online, there are some goshiwons listed on goshipages.com that’s really helpful. But the database is really really small, in fact if you visit gos1.net you’ll see that there are lots of goshiwons that are listed online. Of course the website is in Korean, but I think that if you can read Korean at least, it’s good to go online first to check out the goshiwons and rate ranges, before narrowing and visiting those goshiwons personally. Don’t book a goshiwon without checking it out, if you can help it. They tend to deviate A LOT from their pictures lol. The moment you enter usually even without speaking a single word, the goshiwon staff immediately brings you to a room and quotes you the price haha. From there you can try asking for smaller rooms, rooms with bathrooms, etc etc.
- goshipages.com (english goshiwon database)
- gos1.net (korean page)
Even if you don’t know Korean, it can be a useful page to obtain email addresses of goshiwons and send them an email, or call them up directly. They tend to not reply emails haha.
The goshiwon might cancel on you. I say this from personal experience because I booked a goshiwon and secured deposit everything, but got kicked out because the tenant before me wanted to extend her rent. I think it’s a matter of ethics as well, I suppose the goshiwon I dealt with didn’t manage their guests well enough to anticipate such things. I was really quite angry at how they just cancelled my booking, since I booked way before that girl decided to extend. Priorities, man.
Anyway, it’s hard to predict if a goshiwon is being managed well since it’s such a local thing, but be prepared just in case. It’s honestly tricky to have a guaranteed backup plan cuz I mean, we can’t just book two accomms just to ‘be prepared’. I guess my best advice would be to try to find a room that has no booking back-to-back with yours, then they will prioritize your booking and you won’t run into the situation that I did.
That’s all for this post! There are definitely other options that are worth considering, just that I havent’ had the chance to research and explore on them. Nevertheless, do consider if both guesthouses and goshiwons don’t satisfy you:
Hasukjib | Traditional Korean boarding house, usually managed by middle-aged or elderly Koreans. This is one of the things I want to try if I ever return to Korea for long-term period. It’s beyond me why I didn’t choose to search on Hasukjib vs Goshiwons because price range is similar and you sometimes get home-cooked food in Hasukjibs. It seems more homely and cosy. Anyway, do check this out, there are plenty of blogs talking about it! it’s a popular choice for students as well.
Motels/Budget hotels | Not on my list of accommodations but worth checking out. Kinda like an upgraded guesthouse in terms of comfort, privacy and service, but minus the free brekkie and meeting other travelers part. Industrial areas like Ulsan seem to have more of these than others, though they’re not listed online either so you’d have to just find one. When I went to Ulsan, these motels were all clustered opposite the train station and are so densely populated it seems impossible to not find one haha. Worth a shot for short term, not so much for long term.
DMZ; in front of them all
The most dangerous yet the safest border in the world. The most militarized and the most de-militarized area in the world. The symbol of peace and the symbol of war all at the same time.
Haha. Did I succeed in having a dramatic opening to this blog post. pls tell me i did
Anyway all that drama was not exaggerated. It was a pretty intense experience at the DMZ and I’d like to write about my experience in detail.
At first, I was facing a real dilemma because I’ve heard from others that the DMZ was boring and there’s nothing much to see. They all tell me unless i’m a history or military fanatic, i’m not going to enjoy it. But somehow I felt compelled to go before I leave Korea back to Singapore in two days’ time, because honestly the issue with North has always fascinated me. Going to North Korea is still on my list of things to do, and I’ve watched tons of documentaries and read tons of articles on the North. I guess somehow you could say i’m a little bit of a history or military or international relations etc, fanatic to be so intrigued by all this. So very much unlike what my friends said, I thoroughly enjoyed the DMZ. Glad i went ahead with my instincts and not with what I’m told.
My other issue at first was going alone. Don’t get me wrong i like traveling alone, but I do mean really alone alone. I like to set out alone but i don’t particularly like being alone in a guided tour, something along those lines. So I actually planned to go to the DMZ alone without a guided tour (it’s possible to go Dorasan by yourself, at least) and skip out the ones that i need a tour to go to. But after lots of thinking i decided oh heck a tour is really a much better option in this case for me to know what’s going on and also it’s probably much safer on tour. I made the right choice!
I did a quick search and signed up with Koridoor, mostly because it has good reviews and it’s also the cheapest I’ve found out there for 96,000 won (about $120 SGD) for a half-day tour including the Joint Security Area (you can’t go in without a tour). And they have a tour that starts at 12.30pm HAHAHA perfect. I think the rates are lower than most of their counter parts (usually about 130,ooo won), i think partly because it’s only half day and also some reasons I thought of:
- Meals are not included, you have to buy your own at the restaurant, 7k-10k. You can bring your own meals.
- At the 3rd tunnel, you don’t get to ride the rail down the tunnel, you have to walk on your own.
That’s honestly about it though. And to me it’s worth getting this one over the more expensive ones out there.
So at 12pm i turned up with my passport and saw that most of the tour were made up of huge families from the US and couples. Actually all of them were from US, Europe or Aussie and i was practically the only one from Asia. One dude asked me ‘hey are you Korean’ lol i shld have said yazzzz im from the north or smth
We hopped on the bus with no delays and set out to our first destination: the dorasan station! On the way the tour guide, Sun, gave us some summary of Korea in general and the situation with the North as well as a little about each destination.
Dorasan Station
It was destroyed years ago but restored as part of the Sunshine policy that South Korea had for a while to strengthen connections with the North. This station is used for work purposes to transport materials and goods into and out from the Kaesong Industrial area in the North. It used to allow the South Koreans to travel to the North as well but this was stopped after some dispute.
Essentially it’s pretty much of a ghost station. You can go to Dorasan but you obviously can’t go Pyongyang from Dorasan.
As the tour guide was explaining
Entrance of Dorasan
Something like a ghost station
DMZ souvenir shop lol
There was a ticket counter but i’m not sure where you go when you buy…? I think it only allows you to enter the platform but not actually go anywhere.
Managed to get a decent empty shot when everyone was inside the station
We hung around for about 20 min taking pictures and whatnot, before we piled onto the bus again, this time heading to the Dora observatory.
Dora Observatory
When I was researching for tours, i thought this would be one of the cooler things. It wasn’t, it was actually the least coolest to me lol. It was the place where you can see North Korea and there are telescopes you can peer into to see the North. I didn’t actually look through it maybe that’s why it’s not as amazing to me, but it’s too touristy for me i think?
The photo line before the observatory~ no photos beyond this line.
You could pay to take a look through the telescopes but i’m just like meh nvm. Anyway we were told we can get a closer lookup when we go into the joint security area.
On the way back to the bus, saw a group of army boysssss going to the theatre area. Not sure why.
#HIPSTERRRRRR
We spent another 20 min around this area before getting back on the bus this time to head towards the third infiltration tunnel!
The 3rd Infiltration Tunnel
This was really cool. I didn’t expect it to be this cool but it was cool.
Before going into the tunnel we were led into this room where we were shown a presentation of the 4 infiltration tunnels built by the North to invade the South that were discovered. It is suspected there are many many more tunnels currently undiscovered.
The 3rd tunnel that we visited were coated with coal in an attempt by the North to disguise that they built the tunnel to look for coal. But geographically there is no coal in that area. Lol. Nice try though.
They built 3 concrete walls to stop the North from invading if they still want to try via that tunnel. We could only go until the 1st wall and we can see the second one from there.
No pictures were allowed unfortunately 😦 It was a long way down and it’s pretty steep. Very cooling down there too. Once we reached the actual tunnel it was a bit damp and water leaked at certain places so the helmet became very useful. I also tried the spring water from the fountain they built in the tunnel, it was really fresh LOL. The actual tunnel was very small and i had to duck most of the time. Back pain sia. It was kinda funny cuz throughout the walk i kept hearing clangs indicating people hitting their helmet-covered head against the metal poles along the ceiling. crey.
But it was really fascinating down the tunnel. If you’re up for an exercise, do go down the tunnel. The way up was very tiring as it’s 600m up slope, but it was interesting to go down all the way to the first granite wall, with the knowledge that this was built by the North to infiltrate the South.
Oh yes earlier on i mentioned about some rail down the tunnel. There is another path for people to take the rail down to the tunnel which saves a lot of effort, but that requires booking in advance, and i think some of the more expensive tours may offer that option or have it in their package. It would be nice to go via rail but at the same time, walking through the tunnel was quite an experience.
THey opened the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel up as a tourist attraction as they believe that the North wouldn’t wanna go through this tunnel anymore, too obvious alr. Then again there are so many more tunnels undiscovered i guess they might use one of those :X just hope they don’t use any at all.
We spent a bit more time here. When we were done, we all returned to the bus and the brought us to the next destination, which is the most exciting one: the JSA!
Joint Security Area
The highlight of the trip!
The Joint Security Area (JSA) is the border within the DMZ that allows North and South to come face to face, and also where they hold peaceful conferences.
Before we went to the JSA, the bus stopped to let in an American soldier who then went on to check our passports. I peeked at his list and saw that my name was the only one bolded LOLOL i was like ohhhhh damn is it because of my indonesian passport. Compared to other countries that the other tourists were from, pretty sure Indonesia is the least ‘safe’ country. I say ‘safe’ according to my experience with visas; Indonesia always falls under one of those ‘high risk’ countries and i always need a visa, whereas the other countries usually don’t need visas for a lot of places. Haha.
But anyway no problem. He checked our passports and briefed us a little bit. We will have to take one of their iconic blue buses to go into the DMZ, and we can’t bring any bags into the area, but we can bring cameras and any recording devices.
The bus parked at the JSA Visitors Centre at Camp Bonifas, where we were led into a room to sign a declaration form. It had all the standard stuff there but the most memorable thing for me was the number stating that we cannot scoff, point in the direction of the North or do stuff that may become propaganda material for the North. Haha.
Another US military member went up and started his presentation. We were allowed to take photo or even record the entire presentation.
The presentation was something like a history lesson of the North-South conflict. I found it really interesting though. He went through several main incidents that I hadn’t known before this.
One of them was the story of the Russian who was touring the North Korea side, and decided to defect to the South by running across the border at the JSA. That set off a gunfire battle in which the North soldiers chased him and opened fire. The south retaliated. The thing lasted 30 min approx and two North soldiers were killed along with one South soldier. The Russian is safe in the South side now, I think.
After the presentation on the significant incidents at the JSA, we were brought out to the blue buses. From then on photography ban was in effect and if we were caught we have to delete the pictures.
They brought us to the real deal, the actual border with its conference rooms, and what you see when you google JSA. JSA is actually an entire village that includes all the things i’ve mentioned so far and more, but this is often seen as the main part of JSA as it’s the direct border and you can see the North Korean side clearly from here.
We were then brought into the MAC conference room, one of the blue rooms. It was deathly quiet in this place, but the tour group i was with were chatty so it didn’t feel that bad. We were told that at this point the people standing on the other end of the room are already in the North side of the border. This is actually the only time we can cross the border and actually BE in North Korea, inside the conference rooms where peaceful meetings are held. It’s kinda like neutral peace ground.
We were allowed to take pictures. It wasn’t as tense as I read from other blogs actually, especially since I was aware these soldiers in the room were there to protect us more than anything. On South territory we’re their responsibility and those are South soldiers, so i wasn’t really intimidated. Although I did stand a good distance away after what the tour guide said to stand a little distance away hahahaha. I didn’t want him suddenly taking me down, it’s clear he’s freaking awesome at Taekwondo just by his pose haha. I was more fascinated than anything else.
standing a little way aways… my fringe is the fugliest here but ugh
lady staring intensely
The US soldier also told us that meetings are usually about 2 hours long, but once there was this meeting that lasted 11 hours and they call it the Bladder War. Because nobody dared to stand up for fear that it’s a sign of weakness so everyone just sat there talking for 11 hours. Oh dear. After that they decided every 2 hours through a meeting, there has to be a break.
Hahaha.
We were brought out and back to the top of the staircase outside the Freedom House and reminded not to point at North Korea area. They were watching as we speak, from their own ground. I heard that once you step on DMZ ground the North will have your info, how you look, your passport details etc and technically you’re in their database now lol. Like for them to check if you’re a spy or anything like that. So yeah it’s wise not to do anything stupid while at the border. No YOLO-ing man.
While taking photos the soldier pointed out that the North is watching us right now and if you look closely you can see a North soldier at the top of their building. The soldiers over at the South refer to him as Bob since they don’t know his name…….. crey
The soldiers here are all in Taekwondo position. The ones with their bodies half hidden behind the building are in that position to limit their target in case there’s an attack. There are really high expectations for the soldiers at these borders in terms of capabilities and record, because of the sheer risk and significance of their duties at the border. They also need to face their enemies everyday sometimes up close, so a very strong character is needed. Physically as well there are some standards required. It truly is as they say, “In Front of Them All”.
Once done, we lined up once more and were led back to the bus where we finished the rest of the tour of the JSA.
Propaganda Village
We stopped by to get a clearer view of the Propaganda Village (how the South calls it), also known as the Peace Village (how the North calls it).
Its official name is Kijong-dong. Basically it’s an entire village set up by the North as a way to lure the South to join them in the North. From a distance the village looks bright at night with its blue roofs and speakers that broadcasted propaganda (stopped in 2004). The plan was to make farmers and people near the DMZ at the South area who might be feeling disgruntled with their current life, to simply step over and join the North. They will find however, if they cross over, that the entire village was a gimmick. No one actually lives there. The South has been observing and found out that the buildings were hollow and the windows had no glass.
At this point we were surrounded by communist North on three sides except where our backs are turned towards the south. The irony is that we can take pictures in the direction of the north, but not towards the south. We can’t take pictures of the checkpoints but we can capture the villages and the view of the North. 😡
Looking to the North
Propaganda Village from afar, marked by one of the tallest flagpoles in the world
A little closer up. You can see the outline of the flag
The North side looks remarkably peaceful, almost downplaying the real tension and unrest that lie between the two sides.
We passed by the place where the Axe Murder incident happened as well. Basically the South wanted to cut down a tree that was blocking the view from one checkpoint to another, but while they were at it the North attacked and they were overnumbered. As a result soldiers from the South perished. Some territorial changes happened because of that and also now the North and South were even more strictly divided. In the past JSA was filled with both North and South together (hence the name Joint Security Area), but now they drew the line even within the JSA and you can’t cross it. The Russian defector incident was the one time they broke the rules and crossed to the South side while chasing. And of course, the tunnels they built.
We also passed by the Bridge of No Return. This bridge is exactly what its name suggests. At the end of the Korean War they used the bridge to exchange prisoners of war between the territories. It’s the only time either side were allowed to make a choice. It’s said that a lot of prisoners of war from the North did not choose to return to the North, but i’m not sure how much of this is true. Anyway, once you make your choice, there’s no backing out. You can’t cross back ever unless you try to defect.
We didn’t get down so we could only take photos from the bus.
That was our last stop and the blue bus made its way back to the visitors centre for people to buy souvenirs. I’m not a souvenirs person especially not tacky ones, but afterwards i found out from another person who was traveling alone as well that he bought North Korean wine. Hahaha. I’m not sure how that would taste.
And that was it! They brought us to a Korean restaurant to eat and then back to Seoul we go~
Very interesting tour. If you’re having doubts, just go for it. Of course it depends on perspective. I like these kinds of things and have always been fascinated in the North, so it was amazing for me. Nevertheless even if you’re not particularly interested in such things, going into the JSA is really an eye-opener. I’d understand how Dorasan and the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel may seem mediocre and boring to those who are less interested, but going into the JSA is entirely a different experience and you get to feel first-hand the tension between two sides. Which is something that is fascinating despite the level of interest you have!
Anyway, I will leave the details of the tour I joined for reference!
Type: DMZ/JSA & 3rd Tunnel Tour
Agency: Koridoor
Price: 96,000 won / person
Duration: Half day ; check their website for schedules. They offer both morning and afternoon tour timings. Mine was 12.30pm – 7.30pm
How to book: Go to the schedule page and find the dates you’d like and check if they offer tours on that day. When you click on the timing you want you can see if there’s space and then book if there is. They will send you an email asking for a scan of your passport and also for transfer of the money. They will send a receipt with all the necessary details when you’ve done both.
Koridoor’s prices are honestly really competitive, just by a quick search all the other tours are charging around 130,000 won which is a lot more expensive. Tour guide at Koridoor was also good in English.
Go for it! 😀 It’s worth it!
Dumulmeori & Semiwon
Officially, this was my first solo trip out of Seoul. Granted it was only a day trip and it wasn’t very far haha. For some reason all my plans for solo travels always fail and I always end up traveling with others (although that isn’t a bad thing at all), so I was really excited for this one~
I first saw Dumulmeori on Karin’s instagram, who saw it from Sheryl’s instagram. Haha seriously Sheryl discovers all the cool places~ Dumulmeori is a place ‘where two rivers meet‘, literally that’s what it means.
So on a fine hot day, I set out to go to Dumulmeori! Grabbed an iced latte on the way and hopped on the train, ready to start the adventure. Reached the station and BAM it rained. I was so crestfallen, like is my first solo trip going to be ruined just like this?! I didn’t bring an umbrella and i know it’s inconvenient to travel while raining. But I just told myself to give it a chance and just wait, maybe the rain would stop? Fortunately it got lighter after a while and I chionged to an eatery to grab food first!
Hugeeeee bowl of Bibimbap!! 😀
The rain faded away but i decided to buy an umbrella anyway. one thing i noticed was that Korea doesn’t seem to have that many foldable umbrellas and the ones they sell are crappy and expensive they sell lots of those transparent huge ones. I managed to find one that was nicer than most of the other crappy ones, but also more expensive, at $12. Sigh.
But it was fortunate i bought it though, cuz it rained after that haha.
After a nice meal I made my way towards Dumulmeori. It was a quiet path in and I passed by lots of private properties. I saw this coffee place on the way and stopped by to take a photo of the surroundings, before this yappy dog ran out and started barking at me. I thought he looked harmless tho so I stayeda round, but then he started to run out of the house so I put some distance between me and the place. I looked back to take a photo of him but the bugger started chasing me further down and admittedly i was quite scared LOL. Wouldn’t wanna get a nasty bite on my first solo trip.
But it was a bit wtf though because if it’s really a cafe they shouldn’t put a dog that would chase people out, or the owners should be alert to its barking right. Oh wells.
the annoying little fellow who chased me away :c
Walked on for like another 1km and saw this pretty sight:
so peaceful! 🙂
Reached the resting area and also the common point between Dumulmeori and Semiwon, which is some sort of a garden.
Bridge made out of boats~
I made my way to Dumulmeori first!
Lots of cyclists!
Dumulmeori itself was very pretty.
Particularly liked this photo!
It doesn’t look like that much on photo, but i think it was the kind of sights i like to see. If i had to choose a scenic location i like the most, i’d say lakes, rivers, cliffs, etc. I’m more for the water kind of sceneries, although beaches are kinda overrated to me. So that was particulraly why I liked Dumulmeori. It’s nice to just look at the sights and walk on my own leisurely pace. 🙂
There were plenty of restaurants and cafes around this area but i didn’t stop as i had no time.
I turned back and made my way back to the first checkpoint where I was deciding between Dumulmeori and Semiwon.
Saw this old couple along the way. They were taking selfies and all aww
Headed to Semiwon that was located across the boat bridge. Paid 4000won as entrance fee but saw lots of people going in without buyin tickets? Meh.
This bridge was quite the sight. It was supported on a bunch of boats.
I guess I’m going to warn first that I didn’t like Semiwon. It’s mostly personal preference, in my opinion at least, because I wasn’t a fan of flowers and gardens. But Karin who recommended me to go there loved it because she loves flowers. Haha. Depends.
pretty bridge
There were a lot of them photographers!
Looks pretty from here, OTW out!
How to get to Dumulmeori & Semiwon (they’re in the same area):
Yangsu Station (Jungang Subway Line), Exit 1. When you exit the station, just keep on going straight. There’s a sign pointing to the correct direction. It’s a bit of a walk but keep on going and look out for signs. You will go through an ulu area and come out to a road area, where you can go either right (dumulmeori) or left (semiwon). It doesn’t matter which since they’re in the same area, just pick one of the roads and keep on heading straight through a long path and you will get to the checkpoint.
It took me about an hour or so traveling from Gwangheungchang to Yangsu.
Busan D2: Gamcheon Cultural Village, Jagalchi Market, Nampodong
Gamcheon Cultural Village
Started Day 2 of Busan with Gamcheon Cultural Village~~ It was a rainy morning bleh. We took a cab from Haeundae because it was much cheaper that way than to take a bus.
The beauty of this cultural village is the amount of cafes and eateries available there that have amazing views of the whole village. After walking for a bit we decided we should go into one and relax a little bit.
The cafe we chose had a terrace roof with a gorgeous view of the village!
View from the cafe~
Note to self: fix those black hair roots
our little photoshoot lmao
I left my umbrella in the cab earlier on (UGH) and it started raining pretty badly so we decided to evacuate the village early and head on to our next destination for lunch – Jagalchi Market!
Jagalchi Market
I’ve been to Noryangjin so Jagalchi wasn’t anything new to me, but Zenn was reallllly craving seafood and it was the first time for Henry and Marion.
Jagalchi on a rainy day!
They look closed but they’re not~
D:
Eventually we were dragged in by an ahjumma into her shop ahha. We wanted to order the seafood platter but she didn’t really recommend it. I couldn’t catch why because ahjumma’s Korean + busan accent + fast speaking = ?? but i got that it wasn’t recommended so we just ordered grilled fish platter. in the picture there were prawns as well but obviously didn’t turn out to be the case…
They had grilled fish platter, fish assortment, abalone and seafood platter etc. I think actually the octopus looked really reallyr eally good from other tables, regret not ordering that :X
Yummy fish!
There were many types of fish but we didn’t really know the difference, though we can taste the difference. These cost 40,000 won for a large size and it was wayyyy more than enough for all of us. It’s difficult to eat fish without getting a bit sick of it, so honestly the 30,000 won one would be enough for the four of us haha.
We also wanted to order some abalones so we asked for the price. It’s kinda difficult to gauge by menu because they just state the prize and ‘size’, when we asked the ahjumma she explained how much it was depending on the size of the abalone, and off her head she just quoted us 30,000 won for four large pieces. The small ones were cheap but really tiny.
We asked for half grilled and half sashimi raw.
These were the grilled parts of the abalone. She sliced up a part from each abalone and served them raw.
Random perfectly de-boned fish’s bones
After a good hearty meal, we headed off again in the drizzle to drop by Nampodong because it was literally next to Jagalchi, walkable. Via subway it’s also just one stop away.
It was raining really annoyingly and Henry & Marion needed to head back to the terminal to catch their buses. We sent them to the subway and I was contemplating if I should visit the Yongdusan Park. But because i had no umbrella then and didn’t want to buy the overpriced ugly ones there, i ended up going back to the hostel with Zenn…
And she slept while I skyped the BF. Lol.
Then again, Busan had a more vacation feel rather than the road trip feel i felt for the ones i went with Sheryl. So i guess that’s okay. Just chill.
We grabbed dinner (more gukbab) and had patbingsoo as would anyone in Korea during summer. Haha. Idek how many times i’ve eaten patbingsoo from winter to summer. It’s my favorite dessert in the world now.
More gukbab! This time beef one.
Patbingsoo at Wicked Snow
I have to say this though. The patbingsoo at Wicked Snow was outrageous, in a bad way. It was horrible. The shaved ice weren’t smooth like the others i’ve tried. I’ve tried Seolbing, Homilbat, 팥미옥, Pod Pod Pod… Wicked Snow was by far the worst. The red bean was sweet but obviously from the can… or not fresh. The ice was horrid and tasteless (usually they add milk). The mochis as you see above, were pathetic. Compared to the one at Seolbing (and i didn’t even like Seolbing THAT much), this was horrendous.
I guess I would give it the benefit of doubt, though, because it has chains everywhere. So maybe this store is just the bad one. I really don’t know. But it explains why it was quiet when every other place was bustling with people.
Meh.
Anyway, that is all for D2! 🙂 If you’re looking to go Busan book bus tickets early because they sell out fast (you can’t reserve online on kobus unless you have a Korean credit card. Directly buy tickets from the bus terminal).
Busan D1: Read here!
Busan Accommodation: Read here!
Busan D1: Haeundae Beach, Yonggungsa Temple, Gwangalli Beach
The perfect time to go Busan – summer! ^O^
This also marked my final road trip out of Seoul because I’m due to fly back on 18th July 😦 Busan was a very complicated plan because I had planned to go earlier but decided not to, and the people I was going to go with kept changing and in the end I went with Zenn and her two friends from SMU as well here for summer term.
The day before i made a mad rush to the express bus terminal because tickets were selling out fast with all Seoul peeps going to Busan, and there were no more general tickets left in the early morning 😦 I had to get excellent tickets which were about $12 more expensive each.
We met up nice and early to catch the bus to Busan! The excellent bus was more comfortable but there was no place to put drinks 😦
It took about 4+ hours and finally we reached nice sunny Busan! Before checking into our separate hostels, we decided to eat some famous gugbab (rice in pork soup).
Side dishes~
Checked into our guesthouse called Guesthouse 710 in Haeundae ~ I’ll make a separate post for this because I really really liked this guesthouse 😀
Haeundae Beach
After a little bit of rest we met up again to go to Haeundae beach which was less than 10 minutes walk from our hostel!
I think the most fascinating part about this beach honestly is the umbrellas.
#hipster
We didn’t stay that long though. Moved on to the temple next!
Yonggungsa Temple
Leading up to Yonggungsa!
Entrance~
^_^ love the architecture together with the natural rock-scape!
You can try your luck to throw the coin into the bowls
Beautiful view!
Gwangalli Beach
Tbh we didn’t actually plan to go to Gwangalli, but we were supposed to meet Yumi unnie and she suggested that Gwangalli is really pretty at night. So after the temple we headed over to Gwangalli!
The buildings were starting to look pretty!
Bridge starting to light up!
While the sky was darkening, we met up with Yumi unnie and went to buy some chicken, beer and soft drinks! A recommend if you want to hang out at Gwangalli at night. There are plenty of chicken restaurants around, buy a box back, grab drinks from a convenient store and you’re good to go! Bring some newspapers to sit on the sand and a sweater or outer wear because it’ll be breezy at night 🙂
We bought all the necessities and headed back to the beach, where the sight became breathtaking.
Honestly if you asked me i liked the buildings better than the bridge lol they were more breathtaking~
No shot of our chicken and beer/soda cuz it was took dark, but it was absolutely delicious to sit by the beach in front of those gorgeous lights and feast on fried chicken. Lots of people were also shooting mini fireworks haha. In the background a band was playing some good old trot song.
Yumi unnie started to ask us for some advice regarding her business (she’s an illustrator). We chatted for a bit and then she took out a notebook and started drawing us!! Hahaha. Adorable unnie.
Thank you unnie ❤
That marked the end of our day~ 🙂 Next update regarding D2 and the hostel we stayed at!
Busan D2: Read here!
Busan Accommodation: Read here!
Exploring Samcheongdong (Cafe Street)
One doesn’t say they’ve been cafe hopping in Korea without having gone to Samcheongdong. That was my motivation to step out of the house and go to a new cafe, since recently i’ve become lazy and liked visiting the cafes I’m already accustomed to. I met Zenn at around 3.30pm near Samcheongdong and we headed there together. It wasn’t her first time but the first time for me, surprise surprise, given my love for coffee and cafes and the likes. I guess i never really felt the need to step out of my area because of so many nice cafes in this vicinity. Plus recently when I go cafes it’s to get work done so i don’t want to waste time finding new cafes in the area. Anyways back to the topic! We walked to Samcheongdong and i fell in love with the place almost immediately. I haven’t seen this many cafes in one area haha it’s like how do they earn with all the competition?? Well regardless, we walked almost the entire Samcheongdong area and couldn’t settle on a cafe, mostly because we were out to study and wanted a place with good lighting. So after finishing the whole area, we backtracked and decided to settle with this cafe called . i’ve seen this cafe online and i saw bad reviews about the coffee, but i couldn’t resist all that architecture and elegance and it has the best lighting of all the samcheongdong cafes for studying. Hahaha. So we decided to give it a chance.
posing obnoxiously outside someone’s house
OTW to samcheongdong
very pretty cafe we saw!!!
The actual Samcheongdong street. Looking a bit ulu because of a weekday! Or everyone’s hiding in their cafes
As we were walking we saw a bunch of people crowded around taking photo of something. So we looked across the street and saw what looked like a boy band having an interview. We found out later through eavesdropping and logical deduction that it’s probably BEAST. 
We hung around for abit but then the manager came and chased everyone away lol
A very very pretty cafe called Heaven on Top!
I just love the cafes at Samcheongdong! The decor from outside already look so fabulous, each one has its own style and mood, and i just want to experience every one of them! Unfortunately our focus was to study after all so we had to pick one that was most suitable for us, not the one we liked the most. In the end, we settled for this cafe called cafe KONA QUEENS. Cafe KONA QUEENS @ Samcheongdong I’ve read about it online, it actually has terrible reviews for the coffee LOL but at that time our main priority wasn’t the coffee. KONA QUEENS looked super bright and spacey so we went there in the end.
Very pretty infrastructure and typography~
First floor~ I didn’t take a photo of the counter because there was like this line of baristas standing there waiting for people to come in which was a bit awkward
the third floor balcony~
After exploring a bit we stayed on the second floor which was the best place to do work or settle down in. 
. 
There were powerpoints around the area and on the pillars you see above on the table, so it is a good place to settle down in if you have work to do.
Blankets! It was cold so it was necessary
Okay the coffee was really as bad as reviews online said. LOL. Unfortunately i got nothing to say against all those reviews. It was a little pricey at 6000 won, but understandable for coffee along Samcheongdong. The latte tasted weird. My drink was a chocolate fudge frappe and even that tasted a little… strange. Later on Zenn said they might have used soy milk which would explain the off-taste of their drinks. Regardless, our focus was not on the coffee! So overall i would recommend this cafe to visit and sit and chat with because of its space and lovely atmosphere!!! And nice toilet… hahaha. But not if you want to drink a good cup of coffee. Nope. How to get to Samcheongdong: Closest station is Anguk Station. It’s a little confusing but as seen in the map below, Samcheongdong begins in that red outlined area. Closest exit is Exit 1 and from there you should turn in at the next corner (not the Starbucks one). After that it’s a relatively straight road down. 
How to get to Cafe KONA QUEENS: It’s smack in the middle of Samcheongdong haha. Very hard to explain directions so i hope the map can help somehow. Once you find Samcheongdong, there’s no need to worry because the cafes are so abundant! Don’t mind what blogs are saying about the cafes and just pick one that calls out to you 😀 After our cafe adventures Zenn brought me to this supposedly famous Ddeokbokki!!! Forgot the place name or its location so let’s just appreciate pictures of ddeokbokki 
Yumz.
Ulsan: Daewangam Park
This post on Ulsan is part of a 3D2N itinerary and will feature D2 of the trip. D1 was Gyeongju and D3 was paragliding in Ulsan.
Straight after Gyeongju, we headed to Ulsan where we had time to cover only one ground because Sheryl needed to catch a train to Busan after that. There isn’t much info about Ulsan except its whale museum and several parks, and I saw mixed reviews online about Ulsan either being underrated or not worth visiting. Well it’s hard for me to judge really, because i only went one destination, but if you’ve got loads of places to go I’d say you can skip Ulsan. If you have time on your hands, then why not? For me, since I was planning to paraglide in Ulsan, it was on the way for me anyway to try to visit.
The thing about Ulsan is that it’s a very large city, unlike the others we’ve visited. Yet it wasn’t very populated, so you do see very ulu spots and probably the worst part is that there’s little online for us to really draw conclusions. For accommodation alone, there was only one hostel stated on the internet, even when i tried googling in Korean.
Haha our first reaction when we stepped out of the train station was whut. Haha. The streets were almost bare, the buildings very normal, and well generally it seemed like there was nothing much in the city at all. We didn’t go Ulsan station as that’s kinda really far from everywhere and i THINK accessibly only by KTX, instead we stopped at Taehwagam Station, which was kinda in the central.
So yes after the whut reaction, we dropped by the tourist area next to the station and got some general info before hunting for food. That was hard too, looking for the word 식당 had never been that tricky. So after we managed to hunt down a restaurant hidden amongst all the motels, we settled down to gain strength to navigate the large city.
the fish was a surprise and it was tasty!
That was my first time eating Galbitang 갈비탕, beef short-ribs soup. It was tasty and very meaty (quoting Sheryl who hates meat). Haha.
Well anyways. After that we hunted down the bus stop once more. There were a few bus stops around the station so gotta be careful.
BUTTTTT to go Daewangam was neither of those bus stops LOL. Better to ask the tourist information for detailed directions. Our bus stop was outside the train station in front of the car park. It’s a blue little booth. We were told to take Bus 108, 133 or 401 and to stop at the stop before Daewangam Park, which is the stop outside Ilsan Beach called 일산해구욕장 .
This was a very cold day so i was creying
Anyway, saw the Ilsan beach and walked along the roads that stretched along the beach. There are LOTS of cafes here and some restaurants and convenient stores, so you can just sip a cup of coffee while looking at the beach. It had its charm. 😀
WHen you see the stairway above, go up and you’ll find Daewangam’s entrance!
a dragon playground that we walked past
As you can see there are two paths you can take. THey’re not that much different, the second one takes the outer route so you can enjoy the sea scenery. I didn’t bother going because i thought there was nothing much on the longer route.
On a side note it bothers me that the trail only burns 72kcal of calories because like each time i eat one of the triangle rice kimbap it’s almost 200kcal? how much do i have to do to burn just that small triangle omg
I always digress omg. Anywayyyy. The first stop – Ulgi Lighthouse!
Daewangam!!
Daewangam was a bunch of really pretty rocks with pretty bridges and well, generally just a pretty sight ok. i’m not good with technical terms or whatever but yeah.
the path to daewangam
daewangam from afar
My favorite picture of Daewangam! I was so happy just looking at the greens and beautifully colored rocks and the bridge~
the bridge~
I nearly got blown off my Nike-adorned feet because of the wind. It’s crazy there at Daewangam, the wind is really really strong and chilly even in summer now, we had to fight our way through haha. The sea currents were also really strong. Hold on tight. I tripped once but luckily I wasn’t close to the edge.
You’re supposed to be able to see Ulsan’s industrial area from here but it was foggy that day.
And that was all! I walked back the rest of the first trail slowly while Sheryl hastily made her way back from where we came from as she had to catch a bus to Busan. That was where we officially parted ways.
At this point I wasn’t sure if I should go visit Hyundai’s industrial area at night to see the sights. So while thinking, I headed to one of the many cafes opposite Ilsan beach and sat down for a very lovely cup of warm latte while navigating through my various Ulsan guidebooks and map. I felt like such a tourist that day!! My korean was off that day too so it added even more to the touristy atmosphere LOL.
I settled there for almost 2 hours before deciding it was time to go. I had decided at that point of time not to try to catch the night scene because from the guidebooks, you had to drive up mountains in order to get the best view, or take a ferris wheel. I wasn’t really interested in taking a ferris wheel alone so I decided to just find the guesthouse and rest while waiting for Amber to arrive.
And it was time to head back!
Thus started the extremely long journey to the guesthouse i booked online called Guesthouse U. It was almost 2 hours gdi. Luckily the guesthouse wasn’t far from the bus stop. It was amongst a residential area but luckily with food and convenience store nearby.
Accommodation
The hostel staff at Guesthouse U was actually really pleasant and spoke good english. The hostel itself wasn’t fantastic, the bathroom was a bit gross and very tiny, but the beds were decent for a good night’s sleep. We paid 20,000 won each. i didn’t take a picture as the hostel wasn’t fantastic, it was just the only option i had. Plus i was bitter about the inconvenient location D: haha.
Nevertheless, i finally got to rest and charge all my appliances and read my Kindle while waiting for the elusive Amber to arrive. Bought some snacks at a nearby convenience store too.
I checked on agoda.com and saw that there were motels for affordable prices in better locations. They cost about 60000 per night for 2 people, so it’s just 10k more expensive than the hostel. You pay 10k more for convenience and time… i guess it’s really up to you to decide what’s worth it! For me it was okay since i didn’t plan on doing anything else in Ulsan anyway.
The girl finally arrived after 10pm! We headed out to find food and luckily the restaurants nearby were open!
First time eating guk-bab! Amber’s one was really delicious, it was beef soup. I ordered pork intestines or some innerts of some sort just to try so mine was the traditional kind, where you had to mix the sauces, kimchi, onions etc in and then put your rice in. But for some reason i just couldn’t get the taste i wanted so it was an awkward meal where i felt my soup was tasteless LOL. ottoke. I think i put too much kimchi. well she gave a whole pot so i just put a lot lor. The white soup looked similar to the ones they serve for budae jjigaes, before mixing in the chili paste.
During our meal the Korean next to us spoke to me and gestured at Amber asking where she’s from. I said she’s from America and he said she must not know what a guk-bab is and asked me to explain to her. I was very amused and Amber spoke up saying her mom is a Korean. And a few minutes later i told him actually i have no Korean blood at all. LOL. He looked so taken aback. Dayum i live for such reactions man.
Anyway, that is the end of Ulsan! Not really because i have a paragliding post coming up, but this is the end of Ulsan sightseeing which only consisted of one location LOL.
Cycling through Gyeongju: 1.5D1N Itinerary
This post is part of a 3D2N itinerary and will feature D1 of the trip. D2 was Ulsan and D3 was paragliding in Ulsan.
Gyeongju! I’ve been told by so many people that Gyeongju was a beautiful place, so I was actually quite excited to visit it. Because of the BF, I hadn’t really planned properly for this trip, and I was more focused on confirming the paragliding trip with Amber. (videos and pics for paragliding just got sent to me so i’m super excited to share it in another post akjdhgla) I woke up late that day LOl and had to cab down .__. ugh hate it when that happens. It’s the first time I’ve ever overslept on a road trip though. Well anyways.
We reached Gyeongju earlier than expected due to smooth traffic on a weekday. We went on the week where there was election holidays on Wednesday and Friday, and we had no school on Thursday. I actually had no school on tuesday too so technically i had 6 entire days if i wanted to o somewhere far xD It didn’t occur to me till Wed tho. So at the last minute, the night before, I was googling where to go in Gyeongju because Sheryl’s plan to go to the folk village didn’t really appeal to me. I found out that you could bike in Gyeongju since bike rentals are aplenty and it’s better to do that than to go on foot (the area was inaccessible by bus). You could cover downtown Gyeongju in half a day on bike so I decided to do that! Before talking about Gyeongju, let’s talk about how I tasted one of the best Soondubu Jjigaes from one of the local eateries in Gyeongju…
Soondubu jjigae is literally the love of my life along with ramyun, latte, budae jjigae, jjambbong, homilbat…… idk how i’m gonna survive when i leave Korae sometimes, besides latte and ramyun i can’t really get any of those in their full authentic Korean glory ;A;
Bicycle Rental @ Gyeongju
There are tons of bike rental shops but my recommendation would be the one right outside the bus terminal. The ahjumma was very kind and funny and entertained all my demands! It cost 7000 won for a day until 7pm, and she will also give you a bicycle lock along with it, so you can safely lock your bike anytime you want to explore an area. You’ll have to give an ID card in exchange. So the plan initially was to go our separate ways upon reaching Gyeongju. But after seeing my bike and all Sheryl kinda changed her mind haha.
The first bike i had before Sheryl decided she wanted to go! love this color!
The rental shop outside the bus terminal! Will never get tired of seeing the beautiful colors on Korean bikes!
She really wanted to bike too but she can’t cycle and there were no training wheels so we rode tandem bike in the end. It was my first experience and i have to say nah i’m not going to tandem again if i can help it AHAHA. It’s too heavy and restrictive for my liking. So I was going to recommend a biking trail/route, but then we got lost so many times it’s hard to recommend the route we actually went .___. nevertheless, i have the map so i can post here for reference! Visitkorea also had their own recommended route, but I suggest referring to the map and cross-referencing to see if you should follow strictly to their suggestions, as there may be things you will wanna go that was not stated. The map that I was given, cropped to focus on more touristy area: (clicky to enlarge)
This is not the full map, there are several off-areas that may be worth seeing as well, but if you only have a half a day like we did (we cycled from 12-5, factoring in getting lost time and photo time), this would be the recommended focus. If you have the whole day finish the downtown area if you’re up for it haha!! The ones in red are the more touristy areas that you can consider visiting. You can get this map from the tourist information center right outside the bus terminal. But it’s better to plan the route before going there, it was so much trouble stopping the bike and constantly re-routing and checking the map
Above is VisitKorea’s recommended route. Double check to make sure you go where you want to 🙂
Gyochon Hanok Village
Our first accidental stop was the Gyochon Hanok Village, not a highlighted area on the map but we got off to do photoshoots anyway.
aww not a good quality pic
It was full of locals (?) playing around and tourists like myself taking photos of them haha. It was a little like Jeonju except less touristy.
Woljeonggyo Bridge
As we headed away from the village, we yet again stumbled upon an accidental beauty. It looked so pretty but was under construction so we weren’t sure what it was at first, but on the map it’s clearly Woljeonggyo. I think when it’s constructed it would become a proper tourist spot. Nevertheless, it was a fun spot to take photos!
LOVE THE NEW SHADES FROM EDAE
After spending a mighty long time there photoshoot-ing, we finally cycled off again, this time towards Gyerim area.
Gyeongjuhyanggyo Confucian School
The school was right beside Gyerim Forest so we dropped by to take a look. We left after taking a very brief glance though, didn’t seem like much at least to us. This reminded me of a conversation I had with Sheryl. I know her favorite sights are flowers, but until now i haven’t decided what are my favorite sights. I decided that i probably like rocks and waters (minus beaches), since i tend to enjoy my time a little more at caves, ponds, lakes such as the ones above, and i like climbing rocks. I guess…? idk. Anyways, back to the school.
Didn’t even venture in and walked out xD
Gyerim Forest
No bikes allowed in Gyerim, so we parked our bikes and took a look around. It was just a forest so once again, nothing much for us.
tombs in gyerim forest!
We were off again after a brief look! Then happened to see a reed field OTW so of cuz we did more photoshoots.
Saw a scarecrow and i actually thought it was a real person #convincing
Bunghwangsa Temple
We decided to head to Bunghwangsa Temple which was abit out of the way but seemed to be interesting.
But…. we didn’t go in. HAHAHAHA. Cuz we had to pay and it looked like it was really nothing much…
We saw the path that led to Hwangnyongsa Temple Site but cycled past it because we were actually running short of time because of too many times getting lost and stuff.
Random Lilypad (????) Field
Special mention cuz we spent so much time here taking photos and what not haha. Please enlighten me what field it really is.
Cheomseongdae Observatory
more tombs!
The observatory
Seokbinggo Ice Stone House
Decided to drop by since it was near.
OTW there!
View from the top!
Mysterious trail…
It was nothing much but a huge huge abandoned chamber. We weren’t allowed to go in… After that we decided there was nothing else to see, so we headed to a cafe opposite the observatory area.
Coffee Talk Talk
It was a beautiful place to settle down and rest! As it was chilly and a bit rainy that day, it was perfect for a cup of hot coffee.
Also it seems to be a thing to leave messages in cafes here in Korea. Either that, or in Seoul cafes, to leave the stamp cards there so they won’t forget to bring it. We did that in Suncheon as well and we saw the same system here in Gyeongju. So we did it again!
Officially leaving our marks~
“Thank you Gyeonju, we had fun! It is raining today, so to be drinking a warm cup of coffee like this, it’s super~~~~ nice!” And that concluded our cycling trip!
Gyeongju Bread
On the way to the train station where our hostel was, we dropped by one of the many bakeries to buy one of Gyeongju’s specialties. They have two types of Gyeongju specialties, one is the Gyeongju Bread and the other one is some sort of barley pancake with red bean filling. We bought the latter because the gyeongju bread is a mooncake kind of texture which Sheryl disliked. The bakeries all sold in 10s so we bought 10 to share, for 6000 won. We took bus 11 from opposite the bus terminal to go to the train station. I think other buses go too, but I can’t remember the rest.
When we reached the train station, I was kinda determined to try the Gyeongju bread so we walked a little aways from the train station and managed to find this nice bakery that sold by pieces!!! If you’re traveling alone or with a few people only, you can look for this bakery. Facing the train station, you just need to head right until you see it.
Coffee was cheap too so it seems like a nice place for breakfast! They have a seated area~ The owner was nice to us and offered to give us the Gyeongju bread fresh from the oven!! They made it such a big thing in Gyeongju that I was skeptical of my expectations being met, but I wasn’t disappointed! Perhaps it’s attributed to it being fresh from the oven?
YUMZ. go to this bakery if you just want to try one! If you’re lucky he’ll give you one fresh from the oven~~~ a must-try since it’s claimed to be a famous Gyeongju specialty.
Anapji Pond
MY FAVORITE ❤ I was skeptical about visiting since from outside it looked like normal lighted palaces, plus it was raining at night. But when I really went in, it was so worth it! We cabbed down from the train station/hostel place and it cost only 3000 won, would be better to cab down rather than to take a bus. It looked like this at first:
And then we walked in to the center and we were greeted with sights like these:
Absolutely breathtaking. We strolled one round around the pond and the view from all angles were fantastic. Didn’t regret paying that 2000 fee and walking in the rain. This is the most beautiful night sight i’ve seen since Dolsan Bridge which was a long time ago. It was peaceful too, besides the palace music that was a little too loud and blaring haha. It’s hard to capture beautiful shots on the phone at night so i was glad i had my DSLR. If you’re not trying to capture high quality pics though it doesn’t matter.
In my opinion, Anapji pond was the main attraction in Gyeongju and also possibly the reason why you should stay the night in Gyeongju when you go. You have to see Anapji at night and by then you probably wouldn’t catch buses back to Seoul, but just stay. It’s worth it. And the hostel is very affordable and clean. Which brings me to my next section!
Accommodation @ Gyeongju Tour Guesthoue
We stayed in Gyeongju Tour Guesthouse which was really close to the train station!! I liked this guesthouse! 😀 It was only 18,000 won for a 4-bed bunk bed, i think 16,000 won for a 6-bed one. They have one toilet for every bunk bed room, so we only had to share with two others.
Above two pictures from hostelworld! It was really convenient 😀
We were given sets of towel, pillow case and locker keys in exchange for a 10,000 won deposit.
The room was small but enough room for four people.
Ok so i have real weakness for beds like these. Those that have curtains so you can block out the room’s light or have some privacy. I’m a sucker for such beds and have always loved the idea of just enclosing myself in my own little world. However, Tour Guesthouse’s bad point was that the top bunk was really really close to the ceiling. Neither me nor Sheryl could sit up straight lol. But for one night it was okay, but if you’re staying more days it may be bothersome when you keep hitting your head against the ceiling haha.
my own little world ❤
Just looking at it makes me happy. LIke my own little enclosure/cot. Everything was clean so it feels nice 🙂 I had one of the nicest sleep, that is until i wake up and hit my head against the ceiling…… bathroom was average but decent enough for me.
Breakfast was also really decent 🙂
The kitchen!
A nice wholesome breakfast
Bulguksa Temple
Gyeongju isn’t over yet! We woke up the next morning early to head to Bulguksa Temple, which was rather far away from the main downtown area, which was why we hadn’t included it in our itinerary earlier on.
Entrance
Saw a bunch of kids playing in the rain~ props to the dad for letting them play freely instead of scolding them!
In my opinion, Bulguksa Temple was nothing that special, but it is rather iconic of Gyeongju so it’s obligatory for us. Also we didn’t go up to the grotto because we saw on other blogs that people were disappointed by the grotto after climbing to get there haha.
And that officially concluded Gyeongju, 1.5D1N itinerary! I had wanted to include my half-day Ulsan here but this post has grown too long xD Will be publishing my Ulsan and paragliding posts next! Thanks for reading!
Gapyeong: Nami Island and Petit France
In a last minute decision, I decided to join Jasmine and Daphne to visit Nami Island and Petit France in Gyeonggi province! I agreed mostly because it was just a day trip and also that we could take a train there.
Getting to Gapyeong
By Subway: Take to Cheongpyeong Station (Gyeongchun Line). Normal train fares. Up to around 2000 won, depending on transfers etc.
By ITX: From Yongsan Station (Line 1), take the ITX to Gapyeong Station (Gyeongchun Line). 6900 won.
Both Cheongpyeong and Gapyeong stations are in Gapyeong area. A Gapyeong Circle Bus Tour will go past these two stops~ we took to Cheongpyeong because it was nearer.
We took the normal subway and from Sinchon it took about 1 hr 45 min. Part of me died on the train because i suck at standing for long periods of time and the train was crowded with hiking ahjummas and cycling ahjussis who were probably heading to Chuncheon area.
Upon reaching Gapyeong, we headed to the tourist information center to find out more. Because we were short of time we only chose Nami Island and Petit France. Tourist information lady was so happy we understood Korean that she gave us this discount booklet although we didn’t use it~
Getting around Gapyeong: Using the Gapyeong Circle Bus Tour/Shuttle Bus. It costs 5000 won for a day pass.
Gapyeong shuttle bus schedule
The bus service goes two ways so make sure you get on the right one. Ask the driver for confirmation htat the bus is headed to where you want to go.
The recommended itinerary from Gapyeong Station was to go Nami -> Petit -> Morning Calm -> Cheongpyeong station. If you planned to go by normal subway, it’s easier to go back to Cheongpyeong Station after Morning Calm, instead of all the way back to Gapyeong. Cheongpyeong is also nearer to Seoul.
From Cheongpyeong, we were recommended Morning Calm -> Petit -> Nami -> Gapyeong Station.
But because Morning Calm was kinda expensive to enter, we decided to just wait it out so we can give ample time for Nami and Petit.
Nami Island
I feel the need to give a disclaimer that I wouldn’t recommend Nami Island. It was a bit of an obligation since I’m in Korea already, but it was really disappointing, especially seeing it close to summer haha.
Anyways, To get to Nami Island we took a ferry which came with the entry visa/ticket. We got a discount of 2000 won because we showed our ARCs.
It’s cute that they make it into a country and give visas and stuff
Snowman family outside Nami! snowmen are like the official mascots for Naminaminami
Entered Nami Island!
the famous rows of trees were disappointing unfortunately
Walked past and saw the Singapore merlion proppd on one of the bridges but it looked so dope like on drugs or smth are u ok
saw a bear in the trees so i offered help
accidentally stumbled upon a pretty scenery
Aaaaaand that concluded Nami Island. Haha. Not really on my recommendations list.
Petit France
Again, disclaimer. Not on my recommendations list. Haha.
The place was actually quite pretty but there were so many people that it’s hard to get a good photo at all.
Crowds of people!
Theater show! we weren’t on time to catch the show tho
#CONVINCING itried.jpg
Relatively decent shot from the corner
And that’s it for Petit France and Nami Island! We caught the last bus at 615ish back and had nice Patbingsoo and yep that concluded our long day! Highly possible to finish both in a day, with morning calm perhaps you may need to depart a bit earlier. We reached Gapyeong at like 12 lol.
darmawanders 