Looking for soul in Korea

Here’s the Trip Write-Up, I’ve separated it into a few sections.

Seasons and Sceneries:

In the southern part of the country, where its warmer, we got to witness the early arrival of Spring, all the plants covered with buds and shoots waiting to burst into colours. Even the air smelled alive with anticipation. Some streets, parks and fields are already lined with cherry blossoms, mandarin orange trees (to be exact, they are sweet, tender & juicy hallabong oranges) and golden canola flowers to name a few flora.

However, in the northern part, Winter has still held on to its last breath. The persistent cold favoring the local skiing resorts, allowing them to extend their operations. Fun and snow everywhere.

Traditional & Culture:

- Seongeup Folk Village (Jeju)
- Gyeongbok Palace
- Namsangold Traditional Village

These places are pretty rustic and interesting for a person who has been dazzled by their rich vibrant culture. Got a peek into the lives of peasants and royalties who lived in ancient Korea.

Activities:

Other than sight-seeing the various landmarks, our tour was packed with loads of activities. Everland theme park, Jeju horse riding, Go-kart racing, ATV (all terrain vehicle) ride across the countryside, playing dress-up (wore Hanbok), made Kimchi and much more.

Shopping:

- TopDong (Jeju’s biggest underground shopping street)
- Premium goods outlets (Massive gathering of branded stores, many bargains)
- Dongdaemun market
- Myeong-dong street

Food highlights:

- Bibimbap Rice + Seafood Shabu Shabu Hotpot
- Abalone porridge for breakfast @ Jeju
- Extravagant Sashimi dinner
- Ginseng Chicken Soup lunch
- Mushroom Hotpot on a snowy day
- Heukdoeji Black Pork Hotplate (“All you can eat”  meat wrapped in cabbage & garlic chilli sauce or with rice & seaweed soup)

I cannot begin to explain how much I love Korean food and how much it agrees with me. Willing to migrate just to eat everyday from little bowls with silver chopsticks and long spoons.

Memorable moments:

1.) Went to Marado, a tiny treeless island off the south coast of Jeju, in southernmost South Korea. Drove free-range on karts, that has transparent sheets with zippers as doors, to explore the island. The place is truly beautiful in a wild, alluring sense. I think its romantic.

2.) After our stay in the Phoenix park ski resort, we took a gondola ride to the resort’s mountain peak to take in the sceneries of villages covered in white blankets of snow. Witnessed my first snow fall.

3.) VIP tickets to NANTA ‘Cooking’ -  The best musical theater show I’ve ever seen so far.

4.) Hand-fed prawn crackers to large flocks of seagulls on board the seagull boat.

Conclusion:

The entry was titled ‘Looking for soul in Korea’.
In my opinion, it wasn’t very difficult to find during the trip.
South Korea is exactly how I’ve envisioned it; colourful, delicious, romantic and hearty. We got to experience and taste quite abit and I know there are much more left undiscovered. Will be looking forward to revisit the country in the future, backpacking this time.

For complete set of pictures please visit my Flickr or click here:
Lomo set
Digital set

Thanks for viewing~