Touching down on the tarmac and careering side to side as the wind and plane struggled against each other. We were in South Korea, which had been on Dani’s list since she had begun teaching 8 years ago. Our first stop was a town an hour south of Seoul called Dongtan where we were staying with our friends Ana and Hambit. We had met Ana on our last big backpacking adventure while in Laos and we were really excited to be able to see her again as well as have a really local introduction to South Korea. We spent three days with them and were absolutely spoiled throughout! They showed us wonderful hospitality, introducing us to a range of local traditional foods, taking us to a beautiful bamboo grove, Damyang (yes it absolutely rivals the one in Kyoto) and down to Jeonju, the area that gave the world the famous Korean dish, Bibimbap. Because we were driven we can’t give you an idea of how to get to or where to stay in Jeonju but I can say it is definitely worth a visit. It has a large set of hannok houses, which give the town an old world feeling and it is very pretty to wander around. Also, if you have time to really explore, head up the hill that overlooks the city. At the top you will find the most wonderful selection of unusual and eclectic street art, it is certainly an interesting place to see. Probably the best advice we can give you is to go to Jeonju with an empty stomach. The area is known as the kitchen of Korea and food is certainly King here. Everything from street snacks to full sit down restaurant meals can be got there and it is some of the best you’ll find in Korea. After 2 great days with Ana and Hambit we had to bid farewell and head to Seoul. Our main reason for visiting Seoul was to go on the JSA and DMZ tour on the border of North Korea, however, we received and email just before we got there saying that our trip had been cancelled due to preparations for the talks between North and South. Unfortunately for us the email explained that they would not be going to the JSA until May meaning we had no hope of setting foot in North Korea this trip. This was deeply disappointing for Dani, as she had been looking forward to this for ages but there was nothing we could do. While in Seoul we were staying near Seoul station in what we truly hope will be the last dorm we ever stay in (we’re far to old these days for dorms)! Kimchee Station Hostel was only W10,800pp ($13.05 AUD/10.10 USD) for a mixed 6-bed dorm, which is amazing value for Seoul. Unfortunately, we ended up sharing with potentially the least considerate (we’re talking lights on at 3am, eating loudly through the night and rustling plastic bags at every opportunity) loudest snorer we have ever come across. As a basic hostel that is cheap, well located and functional we would say Kimchee is fine but I think there are probably better options out there for only a little more money. Having planned to spend our 7th anniversary together crossing into North Korea we were at a bit of a loss on how to celebrate. We decided a silly day at the Trick Eye museum sounded fun so we headed to Hongdae to check it out. As funny as it was it wasn’t really worth the W15000pp ($18.60 AUD/14 USD), but it was a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours. Hongdae is the trendy youthful area of Seoul and it has some great streets to wander around as well as good shops for souvenirs like fun Korean socks which I developed a bit of a thing for in Eastern Asia and now have an ever expanding collection of. We hear it’s a 24-hour kind of place that has some great nightlife and some good accommodation options so if you’re into nightlife it’s probably a good place to base yourself. Not the anniversary we were hoping for in the end but we decided we’d make up for it in our next destination. Another thing we had planned for Seoul was to visit one of their many palaces. It was going to be interesting comparing the architecture to the Japanese castles we had just come from and we thought the best way to learn about the history was to book onto a guided tour. We booked onto one online but the guide never showed up. Lucky for us Gyeongbokgung Palace (entrance: W3000/$3.64AUD/$2.70USD) also provided a free hour long guided tour around the complex at midday, so we waited the extra 30 minutes, which allowed us to also see the changing of the guards before we started. This was an enjoyable and interesting introduction to Korean architecture and history. At the end of the tour you can walk out the back entrance to the Blue House where the president lives. There are a plethora of palaces you can choose from on your visit to Seoul and they even have the option to buy a multi palace pass costing W10,000 ($12.50AUD/$9USD). This gets you entry to Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, Huwon Secret Garden, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo Shrine which would cost W14,000 ($17 AUD/12.60 USD) if bought separately. After our palace tour we decided to explore the city on foot and walk back to our hostel (there are really good subway connections around Seoul if this isn’t your kinda thing). While walking back to the hostel we came across Lotte Mart in Seoul station and discovered a real trick to keeping the budget down in Korea. Supermarket samples! The supermarket handed out so many food samples we didn’t need to eat that evening. Everything from instant noodles to vegetables was available for sampling. Watching the locals dig into multiple samples of everything also meant we felt comfortable grabbing a few slices of pepper or a whole square of chocolate rather than half. Also we noticed that all supermarkets appear to have a food station with tables that you can eat at which offer basic but decent looking meals at very reasonable prices. As per usual we signed up for a city walking tour while in Seoul and with a range of options available we chose the one that took us around the older district of the city. The strange thing we discovered about the free walking tours in Korea is that they do not expect tips. It actually appeared to embarrass our tour guide when we attempted to tip her and although she took it she did say that it really isn’t the norm. This tour took us through the older hannok styled area of the city, which was really pretty in comparison to the modern surroundings. It really wasn’t the most informative tour but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. As we aren’t really city people we were looking forward to heading out to less busy and hectic parts of the country. Our next destination was Sokcho, on the east coast of the country. We had found out that there was a direct bus to the station we needed from Dong Seoul station that would cost W12,800pp ($15.50 AUD/11.55 USD). To get to the station from Kimchee was really easy as it was on the green line, which goes directly to the bus station. The bus journey was comfortable and easy. Arriving at the bus station we were elated to find that the motel we had booked was actually right next to the bus station. We loved our motel (‘Rocustel’ $41.25 AUD/30.70 USD) but it was here that we discovered that in Korea motels are not simply cheaper hotels like they are in the west…they are actually for couples looking for some…alone time. I’ve got to say if you’re looking for reasonably priced accommodation, that’s of a high standard (for a backpacker) and has good amenities these (love) motels are definitely a great option! Our main objective for stopping in Sokcho was to visit the national park. The number 7 and 7-1 goes all the way from the city to the park entrance for W1,200 ($1.45 AUD/1.05 USD). The national park entrance fee is only W3,500 ($4.20 AUD/3.10 USD) and the park itself has many different trails you can take, most of which split off after the giant Buddha statue. We decided to take the trail up to the poetry inscriptions which is 3.8km. This park is beautiful and we really enjoyed the time we spent there. Sokcho itself has few noteworthy points of interest but we really liked it mainly for the chilled vibe it has. Following Sokcho we were off to Gangnueng, from the bus station on the other side of Sokcho (W6,300/$7.60 AUD/5.65 USD) to go to Unification Park. This meant us checking into another love motel aptly named Sketch ($41.20 AUD/30.65 USD and this one came with a little pouch at check in that included condoms, his and hers toothbrushes, lotions, potions and soap). Gangneung has a wonderful market that we stumbled across, full of weird and wonderful snacks which we loaded up on for dinner on our first night. The next morning we caught the number 113 bus to the park to see the infamous North Korean submarine…I’m not sure what either of us were expecting but this wasn’t really it. It had an old navy ship you could tour (W3000/$3.65 AUD/2.70 USD), the submarine which you could look at and after a walk up the hill you could visit the museum, which was entirely in Korean. This also did have a number of retired military planes you could check out. This place in short was weird, but not a total waste of time if you’re in the area. I feel like if you’re short on time Gangneung could be skipped altogether. From here we were off to Andong so that we could visit the traditional village of Hahoe. From Gangneung there are only a few buses a day direct to Andong (W19,200/$23.50 AUD/17.50 USD) so we’d actually bought our tickets on the day we arrived. This probably wasn’t necessary but it helped us relax. Andong was to be our last motel (‘Queen Motel’ $40.55 AUD/30.20 USD) and we received another great pouch full of goodies from the shy girl who wouldn’t make eye contact with me from behind the desk. I’m going to say Hahoe is another place I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit. Sold as a traditional Korean farming village it really does feel more like a movie set than anything else. There are no people around and it feels slightly voyeuristic wandering around, peeping over fences and in through windows wondering why you’re there and what you’re missing. If you are going though its fairly easy to get there as there is a bus that leaves from opposite the supermarket in Andong and goes all the way to the ticket office for Hahoe (Bus: W1,300/$1.55 AUD/1.15 USD Village: W5,000/$6.05 AUD/4.50 USD). If you’re really looking for traditional head to Jeonju, Geongju or the area in Seoul that has maintained its older houses, in many ways this just felt like a bit of a constructed tourist trap. Andong itself is actually a nice town and does hold a more traditional vibe than a lot of other towns in South Korea. We heard they are very conservative here but we found everyone warm and welcoming. They also have a great food street to find a cheap dinner. Our last stop on our South Korean tour was Busan and we had planned a side trip to Gyeongju. Fairly fast to get to from Andong on both bus and train we decided to take the slow cheaper train (W15,000/$18.15 AUD/13.50 USD) there for the more scenic route. This takes you as far as Napo station on the outskirts of Busan and then you need to take the metro from here into the city (W1,400/$1.70 AUD/1.10 USD) and we had chosen to stay by Busan Station. It looked really central when we booked it and it was incredibly good value at $29.60 AUD ($22 USD) for a private room with ensuite at the sister hostel to where we had stayed in Seoul. It turned out that this location is actually “Little Russia” otherwise known as the red light district (I know I’m good at finding us these places to stay), which has a pretty dodgy reputation after dark. Luckily we’re not night owls so this worked out fine. Our only real plan for Busan was Gyeongju and this is just about doable in a day trip from there. However, in hidsight we really liked it in Gyeongju and wished we had stayed and explored it from there rather than on a rushed day trip. To get there you need to catch the metro back to Napo station (W1,400/$1.70 AUD/1.10 USD) and then get a bus to Gyeongju (W4,800/$5.80 AUD/4.30 USD). From there if you are planning on visiting Bulgaksa Temple it’s another bus (W1,700/$2.05 AUD/1.50 USD) and entrance to the temple is a further W5,000 ($6.05 AUD/4.50 USD). Our favourite part of Gyeongju was actually wandering through the park where the tombs of old emperors are found and the old village which is really pretty. It’s a long round trip from Busan (6ish hours all up) so again I would say you’re better off staying there but it’s totally doable if you’re stuck for time as the connections are frequent and easy. We also did another walking tour in Busan run by the lovely Ben. He gave us a great tour around old Busan and it’s version of Hollywood. We had a great time with him and he was able to show us another side to Busan we wouldn’t have got otherwise including the famous Gukje market. Overall I think I speak for both of us when I say I’m glad we’ve been to South Korea but I’m not sure it’s somewhere that needs to be high on anyone’s travel bucketlist. Our favourite part of the trip was spending time with our friends and we were really shown a different side to the country that I’m not sure is possible to get without a lot of time here. We found 2 very distinct sides to this culture that very much seemed to contradict themselves. When with Korean friends we were welcomed and treated so well by not only them, but everyone that they introduced us to. When we were on our own we found that people could often be rude, abrasive and unhelpful. I read something that seemed to resonate with our experiences which was if you have been introduced to someone you become a person and are shown the upmost warmth and respect. If there has been no formal introduction, then you don’t count as a person so you are not awarded the same social courtesies. There are weird and wonderful things to discover here but it’s not an easy place to be and the national treasures seem to miss the mark in comparison to their neighbours. That being said you should definitely go and check it out for yourself because you may just find something we didn’t. LGBT: We didn't face any problems while we were here and didn't even get questioned when checking in to love motels (they even gave us the condoms). This being said there is an extremely present Christian community here that makes you feel as if discression is neccessary. There has never been any legal discrimination against the LGBT community in South Korea but it really is more of a don't ask don't tell culture. Budget Time $$$Korea’s budget was a nice $45AUD ($35USD) per person per day. By the end of our trip we came in nearly $300AUD under budget for the whole 16 days, however, I’m not sure this would have been the case had we not spent 3 nights staying with a friend just outside of Seoul at the start. That being said, I think we would have been pretty much on point with our budget, making Korea a very affordable destination in terms of a backpacker’s range. Unsurprisingly (and as was pretty much the norm for the whole of Eastern Asia), accommodation was our greatest expense in Korea and accounted for almost exactly 30% of our budget, which is what we aim for as a maximum. The cost to quality ratio wasn’t always what we hoped for but we found that ‘motels’ were a great option for budget comfort. Solo travellers will definitely find hostels and dorms a good deal but as a couple we could pay as little as a dollar more than two dorm beds a get a private room. In terms of transport costs, Korea is pretty reasonable. We opted to use the bus to get around the country and on journeys between 3-5hrs long the average cost was around $15AUDpp ($11USD). It’s not the cheapest but it certainly wasn’t anything like the expense of Japan and the buses were always comfortable. Korea does also have it’s own version of the JR pass but it is much more limited in terms of the ground that it covers so for us it wasn’t even worth considering. Inner city transport like buses and metros are also very reasonably priced with journeys averaging no more that $1-2AUD ($0.75-1.50USD). We were pleasantly surprised by how inexpensive activities in Korea were compared to Japan and Taiwan. Entrance to National Parks, museums and other tourist locations of interest rarely surpassed $5AUDpp ($3.50USD). The combination of reasonable transport and entrance costs meant that doing all of the things that interest you in all locations around Korea is absolutely affordable! Food is not the cheapest in Korea, and if you want to eat any fresh fruit or vegetable then you can absolutely forget about any budget! If it’s not yet fermented then you pay a premium for it!! Obviously Korean noodle pots are a bit of a thing in Korea and these are incredibly cheap to pick up from a supermarket ($1AUD/0.75USD average). If you are looking to eat in a restaurant, even the cheapest local places will set you back $10-15AUDpp ($7-11USD). While that’s not astronomically high, on a budget of $45AUD/day that quickly eats into your budget...pardon the pun! Generally Korea’s budget travel accessibility it much greater than it’s popular neighbour Japan. All aspects of travel life (accommodation, transport, food and entertainment) can be found for reasonable rates with limited effort. This makes it a comfortable and relaxing place to enjoy exploring. What it actually cost: $1,250.87 AUD for 17 days Accomodation: $443.81 Food: $375.25 Transport: $246.84 Entertainment: $85.91 Drinks: $73.65 Souvenirs: $13.31 Miscellaneous: 12.10 This works out at $36.79 AUD per person per day.
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