Itinerary
(Traveling clockwise)
- Seoul:
- Chongmyo shrine, connected by footbridge to Changdeokgung palace (closed tuesdays)
- Changgyeonggung palace of 1422 (only guided tours) [Anguk Station of Line No 3/exit No 3]
- Changdokkung/Changdeokgung palace of 1611 (entrance past Changgyeonggung)
- Chogyesa/Jogyesa temple (Anguk subway station, restoration in 2005)
- Gyeonghuigung palace
- +Kwanghwamun/Gwanghwamun gate of 1395
- +Kyongbokkung/Gyeongbokgung Palace of 1868
- Toksugung/Deoksugung palace of 15th c [City Hall Station of Line 1 Exit No 2 or Line 2 Exit No 12]
- Namdaemun gate of 14th c
- Jongno Tower [Jonggak station of Line 1]
- DLI63 Korea Life Insurance building (1985) [subway line 1 Noryangin]
- Santiago Calavera's Turning Torso
- Korea Life Insurance Company
- National Museum (relocated to Yongsan from 28 october 2005)
- +Kyongju/Gyeongju, ancient capital of the Shilla kingdom (57 BC-AD 935):
- +Bulguksa/Pulguksa temple of 774 with golden Buddha ($4) [bus 10 or 11, 10']
- -Sokkurram/Seokguram grotto with stone Buddha image and friezes ($4) [bus 12]
- Tumuli park of the royal Shilla tombs (free outside)
- +Gyeongju National Museum ($1) with +Emile Bell of 771 and findings from the tombs (esp. 10,000 objects from +Chonmachong/Flying Horse tomb)
- +Chomsongdae Observatory of 632-647 ($0.50)
- -Underwater tomb of king Munmu (7th c)
- Punhwangsa pagoda of the 7th c and site of the 8-storey pagoda (reproduction at the museum)
- +Yangdong folk village of 15th c [any bus 202-208, 40', walk about 2 kms]
- SOM's Lotte Supertower Hotel (2014)
- Kohn Pedersen Fox's Lotte Tower (2015)
- Daedunsan Park with the Mountain Suspension Bridge
- +Tongdosa temple of 646 (Between Pusan and Kyongju), one of the three "jewels" with Haeinsa and Songgwangsa [bus from Kyongiu 2,400 won, 40'; bus to Pusan 2,300 won, 1 hour; entrance 2000 won]
- Pusan/Busan (second largest city): Pomosa/Beomeosa temple of 678, Kumjongsansong fortress of 1807, SOM's Busan Lotte World Tower (2015)
- +Songgwangsa temple in Chogyesan park, main zen temple of 1190 AD [bus from Sunchon 1,350 won, 1h 30'; bus to Kwangju 6,000 w, 2h; entrance 2,500 w)
- +Beobjusa/Popchusa temple with Korea's tallest Buddha statue (33m high) in Songnisan (pron: "sunisan") park [80 km northeast of Taejon/Daejeon 5,700 w, 1h 40')
- +Chikchisa/Jikjisa temple of 418 AD with the hall of 1,000 small images of Buddha [bus from Kimchon/Gimcheon 900w 25', then continue up the road past a Singapore-style amusement park and following the street vendors; bus to Taegu 4,600w]]
- Haeinsa Temple in Kayasan park (1488 AD), Korea's holiest temple, home to the Tripitaka engraved on 80,000 woodblocks between 1237 and 1248, artistically least stunning of the three jewels [bus from Taegu/Daegu 4,000w 1.5h get off at museum stop about 1km before the village, entrance 3,500w paid on bus]
- Incheon: boat to Weihai, China (110,000w=$110, 12 hours) [Seoul line 1 to train station plus train 1h to Incheon, then walk 2kms to Intl Passenger Terminal]. Train from Weihai to Beijing at 19:54, arrives 12:45pm, 200y ($25, the train station is at the other side of Weihai from the ship terminal).
- Wolchongsa temple of 654 at Odaesan national park [bus from Kangnung 1h 30', 4h from Seoul)
- Hahoe, Yi-dynasty village of 16th c (24 kms from Andong, train from Seoul 4h)
- Tapsa temple in Maisan park (4h from Seoul, 4h from Taegu/Daegu)
- +Kumsansa/ Geumsansa/ Gimje temple on Mt Moaksan of 599 (near Chonju/Jeonju) whose Mireukjeon contain the largest indoor standing Buddha in the world (from Jeonju Express Bus Terminal take Bus 79 to Geumsansa Temple)(To stay at the temple as of 2015: geumsansa@templestay.com or 010-6589-0108)
- Chonju/Jeonju (200 kms from Seoul, free shuttle bus for foreigners): old city gate, Hanok village
- Unjin Miruk Buddha of the future (23m high) of 968 in Kwanchoksa/Gwanchoksa (near Nonsan, 1h from Taejon/Daejeon)
- Puyo/Buyeo, last capital of the Paekche/Baekje kingdom (near Nonsan, 1h from Taejon/Daejoeon): royal tombs
- +Kongju: ancient capital of Paekche/Baekje kingdom (475): +royal tombs
- Gwangju Biennale
North Korea
- PyongYang: +Ryugyong Hotel
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Notes
Trip Difficulty: easy
Season: Spring or Fall
Length: 10 days
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Pictures of Korea
Best time to visit South Korea is september to november
South Korean Won $1 = 1027 W (Average room price: $20)
Korea: no visa required for USA citizens
$1=1,026 won
For a country that has been basically occupied by the USA, very few people speak any English
Most city names are also written in English, but the translitteration is totally confusing
Cheap accomodation is in the form of "ioquan" (guesthouse)
Templestay allows to stay in Buddhist temples
Temple offices normally speak English
Frequent buses to even the most remote locations (and particularly to the temples inside the parks)
Korea is no longer cheap: a spartan guesthouse room with share bath is about $15 everywhere
A small can of soda is $1 (in Beijing a big can is $0.20)
Seoul guesthouse: Beewon 22,000 won (near Anguk subway station)
Cheap accomodation in Seoul: from exit 4 of Anguk station walk about one long block, then turn left to Seoul Backpackers (for the obnoxious Lonely Planet crowd) and, before you hit the main road, turn right into a narrow alley where you can find dozens of guesthouses
Compared with the capitals in the rest of Asia, Seoul is a silent city (even traffic is quiet)
Kyongiu guesthouse: Seo-cheon near the bus terminal $15
Links
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