Travel Guide South Korea

3 Months Itinerary in South Korea from September 29th until December 26th 2009

I received an email from a reader of my blog for my 3 months itinerary in South Korea. FOR MALAYSIAN: There is a 90 days tourist visa agreement between Malaysia and South Korea and for those who want to do backpacking and stay longer in South Korea, this is a good news.

This is also one of the reason why I decided to visit Korea rather than Japan; because of VISA. Japan lost me on this one..hehe.

Initially my aim is to use only RM 5,000 for the whole journey but it busted around RM 1,000 extra.

Places that I've been to in the order below within 90 days :
Seoul - 5 days
Bonghwa - 2 weeks
Busan - 4 days
Geoje Island - 5 days
Tongyeong - 3 days
Jinju -  1 day
Gwangju - 5 days
Seoul - 1 week
Gwangcheon - 2 weeks
Jinbu - 3 weeks
Busan - 5 days
Gyeongju - 1 day
Seoul - 5 days

I excluded Jeju island eventhough I have heard many raved reviews about it solely because the timing was not right at that time and so many warm and kind people urging me to stay longer with them. No worries, I could come again for Jeju island in future, right?

RM 2,000 - I bought the ticket from Malaysia Airlines (You could actually reduce this flight fare significantly by using Air Asia to Manila and CebuPacific to Incheon - around RM 1,000 return ticket)

RM 3,000 + 1,000(extra) - food, transportation, lodging
I used couchsurfing.com extensively which offers free lodging and did WWOOF for free food and lodging. Hence, the reason why I was able to travel in Korea with that budget.

Click the link for my How-To explanation about Couchsurfing and WWOOF in South Korea.

Please be reminded that I am not a shopaholic so this budget might not be agreeable to those who are. ^^

I have been asked by many, what if they only have a week to spend in Korea, where should they go or what should they do?

Assuming that the whole 7 days you are in Korea and excluding the flight arrival/departure.
This suggestion is not necessary to be done in the order below. It is all up to you and the weather. ^^

1.Myeongdong - Namsan tower - Namdaemun

This three places are in the same location. You can do within one day. From Myeongdong subway station, you could walk around 15 minutes up the hill to Namsan tower cable station. Myeongdong is a great place to shop for younger generation and I like the energy there. If you want to watch Nanta show you could opt for Myeongdong theather. Namdaemun is just across the road after you complete the whole stretch of Myeongdong street and a few shopping complex are around the are - Shinsegae, Lotte and Avenue. I love eating at the basement food court in Lotte but most of the time it's crowded.

2. Insadong - Jongno - Cheongyecheon - Gyeongbok/Chandeok palace - Dongdaemun

If you walk along the Cheongyecheon stream, you could choose the exits to Jongno, Insadong or Dongdaemun. They are just very closed to each other. If you love antiques and arts galleries take the opportunity to savour the beauty of Insadong. There are so many korean traditional restaurant to choose around this area. At the end of the Insadong street you could visit the infamous Gyeongbok/Chandeok palace. Gyeongbok is the masculine type of palace while Chandeok is the feminine counterpart. I love both palace. Try to visit both if you have the time. Dongdaemun is better visited at night because the place is heated up in between 10PM to 5AM.

3.Nami island

The place is a bit further out from Seoul. You may need to take 1 hour and a half train from Cheongyanni Station and stopped at Gapyeong Station. From there, take a taxi to the jetty and a ferry to the island. If you love the Winter Sonata hit drama by Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo, don't miss this spot. I prefer
this place in autumn and winter.

4. Yeoido/Yeoinaru - Hangang River - 63 Building - Aquaria

If you want to visit the broadcasting stations like KBS and MBC, you should go to Yeoido/Yeoinaru and then visit the 63 building where they have an aquarium attached. Complete your day with Hangang River cruise at night. This place is pretty in spring.

5. Lotte World/Everland

Choose one of the theme parks. Lotte world is just in Seoul near Jamsil but you need to take a 1 hour bus to Everland. The entry price is about the same but Everland is much bigger. Avoid school holidays or public holidays because the queue for the games will be never ending story. One whole day is needed for theme park.

6. DMZ - Demilitarized Zone

Stretched further out from Seoul. This is a place worth visiting cause it is a place like no other in South Korea. DMZ is the border between South Korea and North Korea

7. Apgujeong for K-pop lovers / National Museum for historical lovers/ Shopping 

You might meet your K-pop idols in Apgujeong but this is not a guarantee. Try walking into any of the post salons there and you might bumped into them. Final day should be left for free tour. You could choose the suggested one or just do some shopping before you leave Korea.

There are so many places to visit in Korea which are left out:
Hongik/Hongdae or Ewha/Sinchon - students flock this area because a few universities
are here.
Gwanghamun - King Sejong and General Lee Sun Shin statue and their memorial
Gyeongju - If you have another 2-3 days extra, a MUST visit historical site.
Jeju island - If you have another 2-3 days extra, the infamous island with an inactive volcano mount Halla.

, In accordance with 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year - Visit Korea Year Committee provides Free Shuttle Bus
Source: KNTO website

From :
Seoul (Gwanghamun) to Gyeongju -Thousand year old city
Seoul (Gwanghamun) to Jeonju - city of traditional korean food
Busan to Gyeongju -Thousand year old city


Period: 
June 1 ~ December 31, 2010 (7 Months)

Applicable for:
Foreign tourists

Intervals:
Everyday (Off on Monday)

Inquiries:
+82-1577-2507 / Kim Kyu-hyun (visitkorea_en@chesstours.co.kr)

T&C:

- First come first serve
- Bring your passport

Go to the website to book your FREE shuttle bus!

HURRY! Seats are filling up very fast!

용어사전 - Glossary


So, which one should you use for Korean-English search?

Hello, front desk, how may I help you?
안녕하세요. 프런트입니다. 무엇을 도와 드릴까요?

In Korea, 100 days always means something special. A feast is prepared for 100 day's baby, a toast is shared between a couple, a family or colleagues gathered to congratulate an employee for being in the office for 100 days and etc. The 100 day is considered as surviving period of the baby/couple/employee.

I had an experience of one while I was in Santisuk because of the cute baby Ratana. That day was her 100th day Birthday. My happiness was that I was served with my favourite delicacies such as rice cakes, red bean, jabchae. Yummy...

Read more about 100 days birthday here.

Miju from Nowon taught me how to calculate the subway fare from Naver website. It is pretty user-friendly with the exception that it was all in Korean. If you could read Hangul, it is pretty neat right?

You could plan your transportation budget ahead before leaving your hotel just with a click of the mouse. Fret not, that I will help to translate as much as I could. ^__^ In the meantime, memorize that Hangul, fast!!

You may go to the Naver website for 지하철노선도 (Jihacheol noseon do - Subway map) - http://traffic.map.naver.com/Traffic_Browser/SubwayLine2/index.asp

You will see a subway map like this


The subway lines are represented by different colors
Line 1 - Dark blue
Line 2 - Green
Line 3 - Orange
Line 4 - Light Blue
Line 5 - Purple
Line 6 - Dark Brown
Line 7 - Moss green
Line 8 - Pink
Line 9 - BrLight own

There are a few other lines:
Incheon Line 1 - 인천 1 호선
Bundang Line - 분당 선
Jungang Line - 준앙 선
Gyeongui Line - 경의 선

호선 means subway line, so 1호선 is Line 1.

Just click your start and arrival location. In this example; I chose from Incheon Airport 인천국제공항 to Myeongdong 명동.

Departure: 출발
Arrival : 도착



Travel time: Approximately 1 hour and 33 minutes (2 hours including transfers and if you carry big luggage)
Distance: 61.8km
Subway stops: 28 station
There are 3 transfers
Total fare: T-money 카드 - 4,600 won , Cash 현금 -  4,700 won

HOW TO:
First, you need to take the grey color - AREX Line from Incheon International Airport to Gimpo Airport.
After that, change to Line 5 -Purple and transfer at Gongdeok Station.
From Gongdeok Station, take Line 6 - dark brown to Samgakji Station
Lastly, transfer to Line 4 - light blue and ride until Myeongdong Station.




For budget comparison:

By Airport Limousine from Incheon Airport to Myeongdong:
Bus Number : 6001
Fare: 14,000 won
Travel Time : 90 minutes
Stop: Ibis hotel (have to walk around 10 minutes to Myeongdong Subway)

Budget saved: 9,300 won (but of course you need to be a sluggard if you have a huge backpack! ^_^)

Try this Interactive Subway Map in English. I have to warn you though that the Naver subway map is more user friendly and informative.

I met Min Young in April when she was a guest in Santisuk. Right after that we hit it off and became friends though she is more than a decade younger than me. I mean she is 13 years apart from me but her mindset is pretty old for a girl like her. Hehe..mian he min young aa.

I had 5 days off  from 5th May to spend with Min Young and her family in Incheon due to Parent's Day celebration. We hitchhiked 3 times from Santisuk to Jangpyeong bus terminal and took a bus to Wonju. We transferred another bus from there to Incheon.