Visit Korea Year 2023: Put K-Tourism on the Bucket Lists of People All Over the World
Korea has become a global sensation in recent years, thanks to its vibrant culture and various entertainment industries such as K-pop and K-beauty. This surge in global popularity has not gone unnoticed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST), who have launched the Visit Korea Year 2023 campaign. The campaign aims to turn the world’s fascination with Korea’s culture into actual visits to the country.
The MCST recognizes that K-tourism can be a powerful engine for increasing domestic consumption and exports, and is promoting the Korean tourism industry as a special growth engine for domestic consumption and export.
To achieve its goals, the MCST is conducting marketing activities for different age groups and regions. In Japan, the ministry will launch the Korea-Japan Future Culture Tourism Partnership Project in April, utilizing Japan’s Golden Week (April 29th – May 7th) to encourage young Japanese people to visit Korea. They will also launch a campaign for older Hallyu enthusiasts, who were first introduced to Korean entertainment through the Japanese broadcast of Winter Sonata 20 years ago.
In China, the MCST is partnering with Chinese online travel agencies for the Visit Korea Again campaign, taking advantage of the additional launching of air routes between Korea and China in March and the Chinese Labor Day season in April. They will also conduct marketing efforts with incentives for shoppers purchasing Korean tourism products in partnership with a growing mobile payment company in China.
In May, the ministry will welcome visitors from Beijing with a roadshow on K-tourism to restore tourism between the two countries. They will develop new tourism products and programs to increase the number of long-term travelers from the United States and Europe staying in Korea for over a week.
Additionally, events such as “Taste Korea” will be held in Paris and London to promote K-gourmet delicacies, while tourism products will be developed and advertised to cater to the preferences of visitors from Southeast Asian countries.
The MCST is also focused on creating competitive local tourism content and large-scale events. They plan to integrate Cheongwadae, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok, and Seochon Villages, and Bugaksan Mountain into the Cheongwadae Tourism Cluster, turning the area into a landmark for K-tourism. They will select 10 traditional markets with appealing dishes and spectacles and assist local communities in revitalizing them as key tourist attractions.
A series of large-scale K-pop concerts and events will be launched between April and October in Busan, Jeollabuk-do, Incheon, Jeju, Seoul, and other areas in Korea. The K-culture large-scale event series opens with Seoul Festa (April 30th), followed by the Busan Dream Concert (May 27th), Saemangeum K-pop Concert (August 6th), Incheon K-pop Concert (INK, September 9th), and Hallyu Tourism Festival (October).
Furthermore, the MCST is aiming to expand high-value-added medical tourism, international conferences, and luxury tourism with “K-premium.” They will provide a customized medical tourism package to match different regions’ medical strengths, making it easier for visitors to access quality medical services while enjoying their stay in Korea. The MCST is also planning to attract international conferences to Korea by providing attractive facilities and programs for participants. They will also promote luxury tourism by providing premium services and experiences to high-end tourists.
In conclusion, the Visit Korea Year 2023 campaign is an ambitious and comprehensive effort by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to leverage the global popularity of K-beauty, K-fashion, and K-gourmet delicacies into increased tourism and economic growth for Korea. Through targeted marketing activities for different regions and age groups, competitive local tourism content and large-scale events, and high-value-added medical tourism, international conferences, and luxury tourism, the campaign aims to showcase the diverse and vibrant aspects of Korean culture and attract visitors from all over the world. As a result, the campaign has the potential to not only boost Korea’s domestic consumption and exports but also foster greater international understanding and exchange. So, if you’re planning your next travel destination, consider putting K-tourism on your bucket list and experiencing the beauty and excitement of Korea for yourself!
The city of Busan, South Korea, submitted its candidature to host the World Expo 2023 in June 2021. The theme of the expo is “The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities,” and it will focus on the importance of the ocean and coast as sources of life, culture, and economic development. The expo is expected to feature a variety of exhibitions, demonstrations, performances, and other events that showcase the latest technologies and innovations related to marine resources and sustainability.
What is the World Expo 2030?
The World Expo, also known as the Universal Exposition, is a large-scale international exhibition that takes place every five years in a different host city around the world. The World Expo is organized by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), a United Nations agency that promotes international cooperation and cultural exchange through the organization of world expositions.
The World Expo showcases the latest advances in science, technology, industry, and culture, and provides a platform for countries and organizations to showcase their achievements and promote their ideas to a global audience. The World Expo also serves as a forum for international dialogue and cooperation on a variety of issues, including economic development, sustainability, and cultural exchange.
Each World Expo has a theme that reflects the challenges and opportunities facing humanity at the time, and the expo features a variety of exhibitions, demonstrations, performances, and other events that explore and celebrate this theme. Past World Expos have covered a wide range of themes, including innovation, technology, culture, and sustainability.
Busan, South Korea applied to host the World Expo in 2023 because it saw it as an opportunity to showcase the city and its culture to a global audience, as well as to promote economic development and tourism. Hosting the World Expo can also be seen as a way for a city to demonstrate its leadership and innovation in a particular area, such as science, technology, or culture.
In addition, hosting the World Expo can provide a city with the opportunity to showcase its strengths and capabilities to the world, and to attract investment and partnerships with other countries and organizations. The theme of the World Expo 2023 in Busan is “3WS”: well-developed, well-placed and well-experienced.
Facts about Busan
Busan is the second largest city in Korea. As of 2021, the population of Busan is estimated to be around 3.5 million people with 40 million tourists visiting from all over the world. Busan is one of the world’s busiest transshipment ports, as the fifth-largest container port in the world. and has the potential to lead a 10 million mega city industrialization belt.
The city of Busan covers an area of 790.6 square kilometers (305.8 square miles). Busan has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and mild winters. The average temperature in July is around 28°C (82°F), and the average temperature in January is around 5°C (41°F).
Busan is a major economic hub in South Korea and is home to a number of large multinational corporations like LG and Samsung.
Busan is served by a number of transportation systems, including an international airport, a subway system, buses, and ferries. Some of the landmarks and attractions in Busan include 7 beaches (Haeundae Beach, Gwangalli Beach, etc..), 7 bridges and 10 mountains. Check out our Busan tour details Weekend Trip in South Korea : Seoul and Busan.
Gwangalli Beach in Busan, South Korea.
World Expo 2023 Busan : 3Ws
There are a number of reasons why Busan World Expo could be a suitable host for 2023.
Well-developed. Busan has a well-developed transportation network and modern infrastructure, including a new international airport and a large convention center, which would be able to accommodate the large number of visitors expected to attend the World Expo 2030. Environmental sustainability: Busan has a strong focus on environmental sustainability, and hosting the World Expo could provide an opportunity to showcase the city’s efforts in this area and to promote sustainable development.
Busan city
Well-placed. Busan is a coastal city with a long history of maritime trade and commerce. With a population of over 3.5 million people a major economic hub in the region. It is home to a number of large multinational corporations and is a major center for trade, industry, and tourism. In addition to its economic importance, Busan is also known for its cultural attractions and is home to a number of temples, museums, parks, and other landmarks.
Well-experienced. As a major city in South Korea, the city of Busan has experience in hosting large-scale events. Some examples of large events that have been held in Busan include:
The Busan International Film Festival: This is an annual film festival that takes place in Busan and is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in Asia.
The Busan One Asia Festival: This is an annual music festival that takes place in Busan and features performances by some of the biggest names in K-pop and other genres of music.
The Busan Marathon: This is an annual marathon that takes place in Busan and attracts thousands of runners from around the world.
In addition to these events, Busan has also hosted other large-scale events, such as international sporting events and conferences. This experience in hosting large events would likely be helpful in preparing for the World Expo 2023, which is expected to attract a large number of visitors and involve a variety of exhibitions, performances, and other events.
On November 2023, we hope that Busan will be selected to host the World Expo 2030.
Heritage Sites or Historical places are very important as they provide lots of information of a particular country. Most importantly they provide you with knowledge on history and traditions of a place or a country in detail. South Korea has lot of history to tell and their heritage sites have been listed under UNESCO World Heritage Sites. So, here are 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites you must visit.
Suwon Hwaseong is the most prominent Korean Heritage site. It is a brick fortress of the Joseon Dynasty. It surrounds the centre of Suwon City of Gyeonggi-do Province. Another important fact is that the Fortress was built by King Jeongjo in the late 18th century. It was constructed for defensive purposes and also to form political bases. It is also a house of the remains of his father Crown Prince Jangheon. This historical place has a great influence on Korean architecture, urban planning and related arts. This Historical place offers amazing performances daily and also Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival every fall.
UNESCO designated the fortress as World Cultural Heritage Site for its historical value on December 12, 1997. That is why it has made into the list of 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites.
How can you travel to this place?
By Subway: Get off at Suwon station line 1. Then exit the station and cross the street and go towards the bus stop. Take either Bus 5 or 7 and get off at Jangan Park stop. It will take approx. 10-15 minutes to reach the stop. After you have reached you will see Hwaseong on your right.
Bulguksa Temple is another popular site that comes in the list of 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites. Buddhist temple that is located on the slopes of Mount Toham, Gyeongju. It is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Bulguksa Temple was established under Silla Dynasty. It was first built during the reign of King Beop-heung in 528 BC for peace and prosperity.
Prime Minister Kim Dae-seong supervised the re-construction of the temple, built in memory of his parents. This temple is a master piece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla Dynasty. It holds seven national treasures and that is why UNESCO designated this Korean Heritage site in the list of World Cultural Heritage Sites in December 1995.
How can you travel to this place?
By Bus: Take Bus 10 or 11 from Gyeongju Bus Station to the temple. It will take approx. 40 minutes to reach the destination and should cost 1,700 Won.
By Car: It will take approx. 20 minutes to reach the temple from downtown Gyeongju. The temple parking fee is 2,000 Won.
Timings:
Weekdays: 09:00 am to 17:00 pm
Weekends and public holidays: 08:00 am to 17:00 pm
Changdeokgung Palace is set within a large park in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The palace was constructed in the 15th century during Joseon era on the order of King Taejong at an auspicious site. A bureau of the palace was also constructed, consisting number of official and residential buildings set in garden. It had a great influence on Korean architectural and artistic design, garden and landscape planning as can be seen. It is one of the five grand palaces of Korea built by the Kings during Joseon period and also listed under top 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites.
Therefore, UNESCO added the palace in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1997, for being an outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture.
How can you travel to this place?
By Subway: Take the Anguk subway and then take the 3rd exit. Walk straight for a couple of blocks and then the palace will show on your left side. Walking time will take approx. 5 minutes to reach the palace.
By Bus: Take number 109, 151, 162, 171, 172, 272 blue buses or you can also take green bus 7025 to get to the palace.
Timings:
February to May: 09:00 am to 18:00 pm
June to August: 09:00 am to 18:30 pm
September to October: 09:00 am to 18:00 pm
November to January: 09:00 am to 17:30 pm
Ticket prices/fees
Adults (25-64): 3,000 Won
(Groups) Adults: 2,400 Won
Long term admission: 30,000 Won (expires after one month of purchase)
Haeinsa Temple is the head temple of Jogyeo order of Korean Seon Buddhism in Gayasan National Park in South Gyeongsang Province. It is one of the three largest temples in South Korea. The temple was founded during the third year of King Ae-jang’s reign in 802 AD. It is home to the Tripitaka Koreana- complete collection of Buddhist texts, laws and treaties engraved on 81,350 woodblocks between 1237 and 1248.
In 1995, the temple was designated in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and also listed under top 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites.
How can you travel to this place?
By Bus: Take a bus from Daegu to Haeinsa Temple and it will take approx. 1 hour to reach.
Namhansanseong Fortress is a historical mountain fortress located near Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was first constructed in 672 CE as a military installation during the Shilla Dynasty’s war with Tang Dynasty. It was also an emergency capital for the Joseon dynasty between 1392-1910. The fortress is an outstanding example of fortified city. This place is meant for history and nature lovers. That is why it has to be in the list of 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites.
How can you travel to this place?
By Taxi: If you don’t want a long distance travel then taxi from Seoul to Namhansanseong Fortress is the quickest way. Will take approx. 16 minutes to reach.
Timings:
Mondays are closed.
April to October: 10:00 am to 18:00 pm
November to March: 10:00 am to 17:00 pm
Ticket prices/fees
Free entry for Namhansanseong Provincial Park
Namhansanseong Haenggung :
Individuals:
Adults: 2,000 Won
Children: 1,000 Won
Groups (30 or more)
Adults: 1,600 Won
Children: 800 Won
Senior Citizens: Free but ID required
Why you should visit these 5 prominent Korean heritage sites?
So, these are the lists of 5 prominent Korean Heritage sites you must visit. Heritage sites in Korea have so much history to tell about the country and their dynasties. One should visit these historical places with family and friends and especially people who are coming from abroad must visit these place to learn about their culture and heritage. But, do remember to take precautions while traveling as COVID has not ended yet, maintain safe distance, sanitize your hands and wear your mask.
Probably the most important—and the most confusing—thing to figure out when traveling to somewhere new is how you’re going to get around. Not just from the airport to where you’re staying, but how you can get to the places you’re visiting while you’re there. If you’re heading to South Korea, we’ve collected all of the basic information you might need when traveling in Seoul and websites that might help answer any questions I happen to miss.
Where do you go when you arrive at the airport?
The first thing anyone needs to worry about when landing in the Incheon International Airport is how they’re going to get to where they’re staying. More specifically, how are they going to get to Seoul?
This is relatively simple, actually.
The Incheon International Airport provides a couple of different public transportation options for you to utilize in order to get to Seoul. This includes different kinds of railways and bus lines.
Airport Railroad Express (AREX)
The AREX is the airport’s provided railway system that will take you to Seoul. There are two different trains you can take: the Express Train and the All Stop Train. Like their names, they each have a few different things they do. The Express Train will take you directly to the Seoul Station without stopping. Whereas the All Stop Train will stop by thirteen other stations on the way to Seoul Station.
Be aware that there are two terminals in the Incheon International Airport that these trains depart from.
Of course, since each train offers different things (zero stops vs. many stops; lots of room vs. less room), the price will vary for each. For the Express Train, it is 9,000 won for adults and 7,000 won for children. For the All Stop Train, it is 4,150 won from Terminal 1 Station and 4,750 from Terminal 2 Station.
If you’re purchasing a single-use transportation card, you will need to deposit 500 won into it. You can get a refund for it at the arrival station, though.
For a few instructions on where you can buy tickets and use these trains in the Incheon International Airport (with pictures!), you can visit this website to read more.
Airport Bus
Like the railway system provided by the airport, they also offer a couple different buses you can take. You can take a Deluxe Bus or a Standard Bus.
The Deluxe Bus runs on non-stop or shortened routes to major hotels and popular destinations. And the Standard Bus runs with more stops and smaller seats. Prices for these tickets may vary depending on where you’re going, so make sure to check with the ticketing offices for prices.
What forms of public transportations can you use when traveling in Seoul?
Like any large city across the world, there are multiple different forms of public transportation you can take when traveling in Seoul. The main forms of public transportation include a subway system and multiple different busing options. However, there are slight differences to those systems in Seoul that you will need to know more about before traveling there.
I should also mention that there are various other forms of public transportation that you can use as well—including taxis and railways used to travel from city to city across South Korea. However, I will focus most on the subway and the bus systems that run directly in the city of Seoul.
The Seoul Subway System
The subway system in Seoul is just as confusing as any subway system around the world. With two different types of subways, the rapid transit and the commuter rail, there are several different lines.
For lines within the city, rapid transit lines, they are usually labeled by numbers (Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, etc.) with a few exceptions. And commuter rails are usually labeled by location names.
Though the subway map is a bit daunting to look at (or a lot daunting…), it is best to make sure you have a good understand of the path you are taking before you head to the subway.
You can do this a few different ways:
One: You can simply find out which stations are closest to where you are and closest to where you’re going and find a path that connects them. Some might include transfers, so you’ll need to be careful when manually finding your path.
Two: You can use the official Seoul Metro Cyber Station website. On this website, you can type in the station you are coming from and the one you are going to and it will calculate the best route for you. It will detail the transfer stations you might have and give the approximate time it will take to travel.
Three: There are a couple of apps that might be helpful for you: Naver Map and Kakao Metro. I will talk about these apps more in a later section.
Personally, I find bus systems to be a little bit more confusing in terms of travel. However, they do tend to have more stops and they might be closer to your location than a subway station. So, when traveling in Seoul by bus, there are a few things you need to know before you do.
Firstly, there are four different kinds of buses you can take. There are blue buses, green buses, red buses, and yellow buses. Each color of the bus differentiates the type of bus it is.
Blue buses run for longer distances throughout Seoul.
Green buses run on shorter distances and are used to transport passengers to and from their transfer points (for subways or other, longer bus routes).
Red buses are express buses that travel from downtown Seoul to its suburban areas.
And yellow buses are circulation buses that run on a specific route that stops at popular businesses and tourist areas. It can also be connections for the other buses.
Along with these four bus types, there is also a night bus that runs from 11:30 pm to 6:00 am.
Bus Numbering
For each color bus, the buses themselves are divided into ones for/from different areas within Seoul. They have an intricate numbering system to help differentiate which bus is on which route.
For example, the first number on every blue bus will be the number associate with the area it departed from. The second number will be the area the bus is arriving at. For each bus, there is a varying reason for each number.
To read more about it, you can go to this website that details what each number means and explains which numbers are for what areas.
What should you know about buying tickets for public transportation before traveling in Seoul?
A lot of things, actually.
Firstly, it’s important to know whether you’re taking public transportation only once or during the whole time you visit. If it’s only once, you can usually survive by only buying a one trip ticket or paying cash (though, it will cost a little bit more if you pay cash). However, if you plan on using public transportation more than once, it would be best for you to get a public transportation card.
What is a public transportation card?
Simply, this is a card that lets you travel on public transportation. Of course, there are various different cards you can buy, so look into a few different ones to find which one best fits you.
A few main cards include:
T-Money Cards
This is probably one of the more popular transportation cards in South Korea. It can be bought at the airport when you arrive, at convenience stores all around Seoul, and at the subway stations. You can also refill it at most of these locations.
Cashbee Cards
This is another popular transportation card in South Korea. Though, this one is center more to Seoul than other cities like the T-Money card. You can find it in most places you find the T-Money card.
Korea Tour Card
If you’re just visiting South Korea for a little while, you will be able to get away with only getting a Korea Tour Card. This card provides access to places all around Seoul via public transportation. It basically acts like the other transportation cards, but it’s geared more towards tourists and visitors. You can buy this card at major subway stations in Seoul, at the airport, or online. For more information, you can read through their website.
How do you find the right route for your travel in Seoul?
Like I mentioned earlier, there are a few different ways you can find the route you need to get to where you’re going. However, some of them are difficult to do when you don’t understand how the systems work. All of the colored lines on a map isn’t going to help you if you’re not sure how to even start comprehending it.
One of the easiest solutions for this is technology. Of course, technology isn’t always the best to rely on… but, in this case, I’m sure it will help.
There are a few apps that you can download on your phone to help you traveling in Seoul become so much easier.
1. Naver Maps
Naver Maps is basically the Google Maps of South Korea. It’s able to show you different public transportation routes and able to outline the stops you need to take. As long as you can find out which stops are closest to where you are and where you’re going, then you should be able to use this with no problem.
2. Kakao Metro
Very similar to the website I mentioned earlier, this app allows you to select the subway station you are departing from and the one you’re going to and it will calculate the route you need to follow. It tells you where you need to transfer and the amount of time that your ride will take.
This app is also in English, so you won’t have to try to learn Korean just to read the metro app.
3. Kakao Bus
Different to Kakao Metro, this app allows you to input either the bus you’re searching for or the bus stop you are at. It can also find bus stops near you.
The only downside, if you can’t speak Korean, it is very difficult to get past finding your bus number. The stops are in Korean, so you will need know the language in order to understand where you’re going.
The Approximate Running-Time of Public Transportation for your Travel in Seoul
A few things you can say in Korean to help you travel in Seoul
Hello: 안녕하세요 (ahn-nyung-ha-sey-yo)
Excuse me: 실례합니다 (sil-ley-ham-ni-da)
I’m lost: 길을 잃었어요 (geel-eul ihl-lus-eo-yo)
Where is ____?: ____ 어디 있어요? ( [insert place you’re going] eo-di iss-eo-yo)
How much?: 얼마예요? (eol-ma-ye-yo)
Thank you: 감사합니다 (gam-sam-ni-da)
Hopefully, after reading through this article, you have a little bit of an understanding on the transportation in Seoul. Or, at least, have resources that you can read into further and use to understand the public transportation in South Korea.
If you have any other questions about travel in Seoul, South Korea, you can look at our Travel Page and see a few different articles written on attractions you can see during your visit. And, if you have any questions about what you need to do in order to travel to South Korea, you can read our article “Travel to South Korea”.
Kworld Now was able to go to Jecheon and Busan for a weekend trip in South Korea, which you are also able to go on, with a driver and a guide, all arranged by a wonderful tour agency called JSB tour. Amongst many tours they offer we picked “the Wellness Incentive trip in Nature”.
All these travel experiences are organized in collaboration with KTO Incentive. As you all know KTO (Korea Tourism Organization) is always looking for new ways to promote Korean culture and through Korea Incentive Tour Program you can do so. For more information, you can click here.
Weekend Trip in South Korea part 1: Jecheon
The weekend trip in South Korea started at 8 am in the middle of Seoul, at Seoul station. Here you would meet your guide and your driver for the weekend for the first time. The guide was very nice and even got a pack with over 12 bottles of water, for everyone in the car.
The guide talked a bit and went a bit through the schedule while walking to the driver and thus also the car. The car is exactly the same car that idols use when they go on trips for YouTube content, which is how the inside joke of ‘Our Idol car’ started. Every time the car would arrive, we would say ‘oh, our idol car is coming’.
When going in the car you seat yourself, and your guide will start to tell you little facts while you are still in Seoul. One of the facts that she will tell on your weekend trip to South Korea, which I think you might find interesting as well, is about the southern part of Seoul. Basically, the southern part of Seoul – which includes Gangnam and Jamsil – wasn’t anything but farmland before the 1970s.
Only after 1970 they started to build here and got rid of the farmland. This is because, in the Joseon dynasty (1392-1890), which is before the Japanese colonization and the Korean War, it was believed that if you had the mountains north of your house and a body of water south of your house, you lived in the perfect spot. Most often the houses were also built in a way that you had the mountains in your back and the body of water in the front.
This is also the reason why in this dynasty, wherever the king went, the second he sat down a kind of screen with mountains on it was placed behind him. So he always had mountains at his back. Because of this almost nothing, except for farms, was built in the southern part of Seoul, where the body of water and the mountains are in the opposite direction.
King’s throne with the mountains behind
Next, you will have some resting time, so nothing much happened for the next three hours of the weekend trip in South Korea, except for the sun, which wanted to look like a moon this morning.
The sun looks like a moon
Then after 3,5 hours of driving, you will arrive in the middle of South Korea, where Jecheon lays.
Jecheon
At around 11.23 you will arrive at the very first visit area of this weekend trip in South Korea. This area had a small amusement like park, waterfalls, a beautiful lake, and mountains. Something extra special is that in this area the JIMFF, the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival 2021, was taken place.
Jecheon International Music and Film Festival 2021
We (and you might also be) also got extra lucky with this weekend trip in South Korea, since there was a special event happening only on this day. On this day, the city was celebrating the harvest of this year. There was a stage with around 8 people in traditional white Korean clothing with a crowd around them. Since it looked interesting, we, personally, joined the crowd and we got some free tea, 1kg of rice and a towel. The tea that we received was Yuja tea, which is a perfect little extra for your weekend trip in South Korea.
The Yuja tea we received from the people in Jecheon
Yuja tea is a traditional Korean tea, often drunk in winter, made by hot water mixed with Yuja-Cheong. The tea is often used as an at-home remedy for the cold. Originally the fruit of which the tea is made isn’t Korean but actually Chinese.
The story goes that a man was shipping Yuja trees from China to Korea until a storm came and hit his boat. The trees were destroyed, but some of the seeds fell into the man’s coat without him knowing. The man was in Korea after the storm, and while he was walking on the soil of Korea, little seeds kept on falling out of his pocket, without him knowing. These seeds eventually grew into Yuja trees and the Koreans saw the benefits of this tree and they started using it. Because of its bitter taste, they began to preserve the leaves of the tree in sugar and honey, which later became the Yuja tea we know today.
Yuja (Yuzo) tree. The photo was taken from ‘The Tree Center’
We stood there for about 10 minutes before we moved to another part of this area. In this area, there was a traditional Korean-looking watchtower/rest area and the part where a small lake turned into a waterfall. There was a bridge crossing this exact section, where you could see through the glass you were standing on, seeing the waterfall falling far onto the rocks.
The view of the waterfall from the bridge
A little extra fun fact is that at this exact place, a legend takes place. The legend goes that at this specific waterfall, the weapon from Sinwol-dong became an actual dragon. The dragon wanted to ascend to heaven, but couldn’t. Instead, the dragon exploded to death at this exact place. Now when the floodgate is opened, the sound of the water dripping sounds like the dragon crying. Even now the villagers who live around here call it “yeongtoggi” because it is the place where the dragon burst and died. It’s not the most happy-ending story, but it’s for sure interesting. Which also made the weekend trip even more interesting than it already was.
The place where the legend of the dragon took place
After visiting this on the weekend trip in South Korea , you will walk around the area for a tiny bit, before your famous idol car will pick you up to go to lunch.
Lunch
For the first lunch of this weekend trip, you will go to this lovely little place, where you had to walk on your socks. Everyone, even the servers, didn’t wear shoes, which made the restaurant very home-like. The guide will order the food for you. For us she ordered a special kind of bibimbap. Our bibimbap had flowers in it and the vegetables were made into jelly, which made the dish look intriguing, but also too pretty to eat.
Bibimbap originates from the 1500s and mid-1600s, this was the first time someone wrote about the dish. It is not completely sure how the dish came to be, but there are some theories. One of the theories is that they used it for the practice of jesa ritual rites. The theory says that people mix rice, vegetables and side dished together in a single bowl for ancestral food offerings, before eating it themselves. Another theory is that in an attempt to start the new year afresh, households would mix all of their leftovers with rice.
The traditional look of bibimbap. The photo was taken from Korea Tourism Organization
Cable car
After lunch, you will go back into the car and drive another 30 minutes on the weekend trip in South Korea to Cheongpung, close to Danyang. While you are on your way, you will hear a few small facts about the mountain the cable car will lead you to and the road before it. The road before the mountain is very known for its looks during spring, as all the trees beside the road are cherry blossoms. In the spring, the streets and the view will turn pink, making it a perfect place for a road trip.
The cherry blossom street in Cheongpung. The photo was taken from Trazy.com, 2018
Next to the mountain that the cable car leads to, is a beautiful big lake. This lake is not like other lakes as this one is artificial. Before there was a lake, there was actually a small town. The town was lovely and not too big, but eventually, the entire town was underwater, making it a Korean Atlantis basically. Since then, there has been a lake instead of a town.
The mountain also has its own legend, it is believed that the mountain has something to do with a phoenix, as the top of the mountain looks like a phoenix taking flight to find food after sitting on its egg. Therefore, people believe that in the old, old times, phoenixes would have been flying around here.
The mountain, which looks like a phoenix.
At the station where you step in, you also had a cinema 360 viewing room and a Fantasy Art Gallery. You won’t do those activities if there isn’t enough time on the weekend trip, so we only did the cable car. The height of the cable car was 531 meters above sea level.
At the station at the top, you had a cafe, some shops, and some photo zones. You also had a bottle for the future area. In this area, you could buy a bottle and a piece of paper, write your wish for the future, and put it in one of the many boxes placed there. It was a nice viewing area with some lovely drinks. You are totally free here for about 15 minutes before you will move on with the weekend trip in South Korea, towards Busan.
The boxes where you can put in your messages for the future.
Weekend trip in South Korea part 2: Busan
Now you will have another 3-4 hour drive to go, to finally arrive in Busan. Most of this weekend trip in South Korea was again just relaxing, as the sun was slowly setting which caused some beautiful photos to be taken, where you can see the layers of the mountains while the sun is shining its last lights.
The sunset on the way to Busan
When you will be like 30 minutes away from the city, your guide will start to tell you stories and facts again. One of which was about the Korean war, you see Busan wasn’t an all that famous city back in the day and barely any people really lived in the south. But in 1953 when North Korea attacked, everyone ran to the most southern city, which was Busan. As the war went on between the two, Busan was the only city that was never taken over by the North, which makes it quite a special city.
Since everyone had run to this part of Korea, the government decided to put a lot of money in Busan, to make it a growing and modern looking city, since, before the Korean war, it was actually a really poor area. After all the money was put to use, the city became the way it is now, big, vibrant, and aesthetically pleasing.
Busan
Day 1
At around 7:15 you will arrive at Busan, and before you go for dinner on this weekend trip in South Korea, you will first pay a visit to the tallest building in Busan. Busan X the Sky is a lot like Lotte tower in terms of the experience, in the elevator you get a video, and when you’re up you can walk around, take some photos and then buy some souvenirs of the view of the building.
The view of Busan from the tallest building in the city.
After the amazing viewing of the city, you will go to your wonderful hotel – the Golden Tulip – to put your luggage away. Then you say goodbye to your driver for the day and then go for dinner. For dinner, you might get a choice between a few menus. For dinner on this day of the weekend trip in South Korea, we had Korean beef, in a Busan way. The beef was like all in one go, and all together. Then after cooking it would be a bit more crispy than if you would eat it in Seoul, for example.
Our dinner with Korean beef in the Busan way.
Day 2
You will start your second day of this weekend trip in South Korea by going to a bamboo forest, which was made by the Moon family. It is even believed that one of the members of the Moon family is buried here in a tomb on one of the hills in the forest. The forest is other than that often used for K-dramas, for dramas like Kingdom and such.
While walking here, you could definitely imagine a drama being filmed here, as there are many hiding places and very aesthetically pleasing.
After the bamboo forest, you will jump into your amazing idol car for the weekend trip in South Korea again and you will drive a bit further from the center of Busan to a beautiful and astonishing Buddhist temple. The temple had a huge, and then I mean huge, golden Buddha on the top of its roof, which gets newly coated once every 17 years, when it gets coated, it is a huge event in town. The next coating will happen in 15 years, so sadly we have to wait quite a while to be able to see that happen.
The big Buddha at the temple
Before you will meet the monk, your guide will tell you some little facts about Buddhism and the origins of certain symbols.
The first fact she told us was about the lotus flower. A lotus flower is a flower that blossoms when it touches sunlight, and Buddhism believes that Lotus flowers also show our life. No matter the problem you had, the background you have, or how old you are. If you try to live nicely then you can also blossom in the sunlight, just like a lotus flower. Because of this belief, you will see the lotus flower around the temple.
Lotus Flower. The photo was taken from Lotte Magazine
The second fact we were told was that monks shave their heads because hair causes a lot of agonies. In the morning, you mostly focus on how you look, on which your hair is a big part. Worrying about how your hair looks disturbs your kind and give you too many thoughts for the day, so they shave their head.
Besides that Buddhists believes that every single person has 108 problems. With every prayer, you “throw” away one of those problems. You might think, why 108? Well, they believe that you have a total of six senses: Feeling, smell, sight, hearing, taste, and your body. They do this x2 and then times the present, the future, and the past. In total this becomes 108, so you have 108 problems.
Then you will meet the monk who will guide you through the temple. She will tell you about how this land came to be. It was a lady who owned all of the lands, she sadly passed away in the winter, and in her wish, she wrote that she would donate all of the lands to the monks and their beliefs. Something also special about this temple is that you don’t have to be quiet here. Normally at temples, you have to be quiet and whisper, but here you can do whatever makes you feel the happiest, if it’s running, screaming, whatever, you’re allowed to do it at this temple.
Next, you will go inside the big building with the big golden Buddha on top. Inside there are two other versions of the big buddha, a medium one and a smaller one. Each represents a different time period; future, present or past. In this building, the latter two versions filled the room making the room look like it was made from gold as well.
The room filled with Buddha
Then the monk will tell you some little facts about the religion. One of which is about something small called a sari. If you meditate a lot like a monk, and you keep on concentrating on the meditation, something small in your body will grow. It’s smaller than jelly and it’s called a sari. You cannot scientifically explain it but it happens. In this big building, the original Buddha’s sari is placed. Only once a year, on Buddha’s birthday is this area open for the public to see the sari.
The white little circular object is the sari of Buddha
The original Buddha passed away 2500 years ago, and so people are wondering how this sari still exists after such a long time. The sari is a kind of egg, it can multiply, so it can keep on existing. Sometimes the special sari did disappear for a bit, this happens when a monk, who has the sari, and is in that room. If they focus on something else besides meditating, the sari will disappear.
The monk will also tell you another story that includes the sari. There was once a master monk. This monk lived a life full of meditation. When he passed away, they cremated him, but they found something special. His ashes had something odd in them, little white dots. When they looked closer, they saw that they were all sari.
After this little tour through the building, you will walk outside for a little bit and go into a building, that was a bit further away than expected. In this building around six people will be waiting for you. you will get seated and in front of you will be a big bowl, a small bowl, and then an even smaller bowl with two kinds of sticks in it. Some people would also call these bowls singing bowls since they make sounds depending on how you treat them.
Singing Bowls
First, you will start with the big bowl, putting it on your hand or your feet and hitting it with one of the sticks. Next, you will go around the rim of the bowl with the stick, making the bowl make different sounds and sending a vibration through your body. Then they put warm water in the bowl, so you can see the vibration. Now if you went around the rim, you would see the vibration going from the outside to the inside of the bowl, and sometimes water would even jump out of the bowl. I have honestly never experienced something like this.
Next, you will get the smaller bowl and you will have to imagine our love and ourselves. With every breath in you would think about how much you appreciate yourself and the other person/animal or whatever you wanted to feel loved. When breathing out, the love would be sent to this other person/animal/etc. They believe that when you have enough love for yourself, you can give more love to others as well. And so with every breath, you would give love. I know that it made me emotional, but also some of the others who were there.
Lastly, you will get a sound meditation, you lay down, with your eyes closed and the people in the room would start making sounds with the bowls and sticks in the room. This would be close by your ear or further away. One of us actually fell asleep during this time, which is understandable, since it was super relaxing. With every sound, you could feel your body relax more and more. When you have to sit up, you just felt like moving slowly as a sloth.
Next, it was lunchtime, so we put our shoes on again, and then off again when going into the kind of cafeteria. The food you will have is tteokguk. Tteokguk is a soup made with sliced rice cakes. Normally it’s eaten with a beef broth, but in a temple, the foods are often vegetarian and so was this meal. This meal is seen as the must-have food on New Years and is therefore also known as the New Year’s dish.
After lunch, you will have one final activity to do here. You will make your own bracelet. Before we sat down though, some of us noticed a little stand on the right where they sold little Korean snacks filled with red beans, so of course, we had to run there and get some, especially after learning the fact that this stand is only there on Sundays.
The red bean snacks that were cooked at the temple
Now we finally got to the making a bracelet part. They will give you a little pack, which included one white bead, and around 28 black ones. You will have the total freedom to decide where to put the white bead. This didn’t take very long, since it’s just putting beads on a string and then tying it, but it was a good and nice activity to end the time at the temple, and it’s of course a great extra to bring home with you. Now every time that I see the bracelet I have to think about this day and the weekend trip in South Korea and how relaxed I feel.
The bracelet we made at the temple.
Next on the weekend trip in South Korea, you will drive again for around 15 minutes before you will arrive at the Blue Line Park. This might be one of the most famous things to do in Busan, as it is a train that shows the view of the shoreline and the sea. And so you will also do this activity on your weekend trip. On sunny days you will even see an island 48km away from Busan, which actually is part of Japan, sadly we didn’t get to see it since it wasn’t too sunny the day we went. The Blue Line Park is therefore also one of the official cultural heritages of Korea.
One of the trains at Blue Line Park
With the train you go past the surfer’s spot, the two lighthouses, past a place where a k-drama was filmed, and more. This ride takes around 30 minutes before you’re on the other side of Busan. When you get off, you will come into this kind of archway with beautiful (now autumn) colors. Then on your left, you still have the beach and the sea and when you walk a bit further you will be at Haeundae, the equivalent of Hongdae in Seoul.
One of the lighthouses that can be seen from the Blue Line Park in Busan.
Now it was time for the last activity of this amazing weekend trip in South Korea. , the movie street. The movie street is right next to the sea and it shows not only movies that have been shot in Busan but also big animation movies or other movies are shown here. There is even a 3D painting on the floor of Tarzan, giving you the complete movie aesthetic.
The 3D street painting of Tarzan at the movie street.
A part of the movie street in Busan with a view of the sea.
Then when you finish the street you will have an area with a spiderman statue, which honestly was a bit random, not going to lie, but it was a great addition to the weekend trip. And there are also handprints of some of the known actors of Korea, one of which is the frontman in Squid Game, and the main lead of Mr. Sunshine.
The handprint of Lee Byung-hun, the actor of Mr.Sunshine, and the frontman in Squid Game.
And with that, you will jump into your idol car for the last time, on your way back to Seoul, officially making it the end of your wonderful weekend trip in South Korea to two gorgeous cities.
The weekend trip in South Korea will eventually take one night and two days, full of fun, relaxing, and good food. This weekend trip in South Korea starts in one city and goes through a few others before you are in Busan, getting you to see multiple towns and cities in a short amount of time. That’s the beauty of a weekend trip in South Korea.
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