Let me start by saying that this is my first blog EVER. Don't judge.
Okay, so I've been living in Korea for the past 11 months, and with one month left to go I've decide to share my Korean adventures with the world!
I came here in August of 2010 (fresh out of uni) to teach English, as many people seem to do. It is actually a great gig - free rent, steady job, lots of vacation time. I have definitely optimized my vacation time by taking a 4-week trip to Thailand back in Jan/Feb (amazing - maybe I will blog about that later, because it was the best trip of my life).
The thing is, South Korea is not a very popular tourist destination. Even when I was first thinking of teaching here, I couldn't imagine myself liking it - and my friends basically all told me I was crazy. The thing that is not well known is that South Korea is BEAUTIFUL. It's very mountainous, and the south-west (where I live) has beautiful islands scattered everywhere along the coast that are basically untouched, and just a ferry ride away! Almost every weekend, I have taken little roadtrips to different towns, cities, islands, etc. Here are some of my reviews:
- BUSAN - Korea's second largest city, and my favourite. It's a coastal city located in the south-east corner of the country. Being there doesn't have the same hectic "big city" feel as Seoul, because there is a definite beach vibe. It's also home to SPALAND - the BEST (and biggest) naked spa ever. Worth a visit to Busan JUST o go to SpaLand!
- SEOUL - capital and biggest city. Basically just a big city. Things worth seeing: DMZ tour (AMAZING), some of the folk museums.. mostly for a foreigner, Seoul is a good place to go to escape Korean culture for a while (foreign food, shopping, etc.)
- MOKPO - my Korean "hometown". The city of Mokpo has about 250,000 people, which is a TINY city here, but for me (I'm from rural Canada) it was just big enough! Mokpo is known for its Octopus delicacies. It's also the easiest way to get to Jeju-do by ship.
- JEJU-DO - Korea's famous island province. Being in Jeju feels like you're almost in another country. They have palm trees, a sex park (called "Loveland" - worth a visit), and the highest mountain in Korea (Mt. Hallasan - good hike). A highlight was a place called "Sunrise Peak" - a small mountain on the coast that many people climb every morning to watch what they promise will be the best sunrise of your life, and it did NOT disappoint.
- YEONGPYONG SKI RESORT - only mentioning this one because it is really close to Pyeongchang, where the 2018 Winter Olympics are going to be held! Woohoo!
- BOSEONG - Green tea capital of Korea. Just outside of this tiny tiny town in south-western Korea, you will find the most beautiful green tea fields. They also sell lots of green tea, green tea ice cream, green tea chocolate, etc.
- WANDO - home of the best beach in Korea (in my opinion).
Those are just a few of the places that I love the most in Korea. One THING that I loved actually just happened a couple weekends ago: Boryeong MUDFEST. Imagine a beach crowded with 1000s of foreigners and Koreans alike, all covered head to toe in grey MUD. It was definitely the highlight of my year in Korea. Hands down. (see photo)
Anyway, I've run out of time for the day, but I promise to get the hang of this blogging thing in time for my trip to Japan next week.
