South Korea is great fun to travel around. The food is consistently great, the public transportation is easy to use and there’s a good mix of exciting big cities, historic sites and national parks to explore. Two weeks felt like a good amount of time to spend in the small country, as it allowed us to cruise between five different spots without rushing.
We (controversially) did not hit up Jeju Island. While flights to the island are fairly inexpensive, it still didn’t really fit into our backpacker budget. What’s more, the island is a popular choice for local tourists, or travellers from other parts of Asia – but for us, coming from Malaysia, we were more intrigued by the towns and culture of mainland South Korea.
South Korea needs an award for it’s national bus system. Seriously. This country makes it a total breeze to travel between cities. Simply show up to the local intercity bus station at any time (these are practically airports – with English speaking staff, large seating areas and multiple food choices), buy your ticket and you’ll be on the bus in less than fifteen minutes.
Seoul – 4 Nights
The bustling and bright city of Seoul was our first stop in Korea. Depending on whether you’re a city person or not, anywhere from 3 – 7 days is a good amount of time to take in the capital. There’s a lot to do here, from palaces, to street food, to shopping, and we never felt bored. We stayed in the hip and studenty area of Hongdae, which was full of neon lights, skincare stores, good food and cheap hostels. It’s also super easy to reach via the airport train, which is a huge plus. We spent four nights at Uwa Guesthouse (39,000KW / 50NZD / 33USD) for a private twin room with bunk bed, shared bathroom, a/c, breakfast.)
There’s lots of places to visit in Seoul: history lovers can go to the Gyeongbokgung Palace and folk museum, shopping and nightlife lovers to the suburbs of Meyondong, Gangnam and Hongdae. Art lovers should check out the Lotte Modern Art Gallery. Because we had five whole days in Seoul (the processing time for our Chinese Tourist Visas), we managed to visit all these places – but what really can’t be missed in the capital is the street food.
Seoul has snacks available on every corner. Unlike a lot of other modern Asian cities, the government hasn’t (yet) tried to sweep street-vendors into food courts or hawker centres, and so the streets of Seoul are basically lined with goodies. Most common are kimbap (Korean style rice rolls, similar to sushi), sticks of fish tofu that come with a cup of broth, Tteokbokki (rice cakes in spicy sauce), and stalls that sell fried hot dogs, tempura shrimp and vegetables.
There are also delicious two street food markets are based in the centre of the city – of course, we visited both. The first, Namdaemun market, was just a few steps from the Chinese Visa Application Centre. This market is full of everything, from homeware to bikes, though it’s famous for cutlassfish alley – an aptly named section of the market that specialises in the tiny fish. We chose braised cutlassfish stew and bibimbap, which came with sides (banchan) of rice, fried cutlassfish, steamed egg and kimchi. It was full of tiny bones, but absolutely delicious. We also visited Namdaeman’s famous hotteok (Korean fried pancake) stall, which was the best hotteok we had on our entire trip.
Gwangjang is the second, more famous market and can be reached after a visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace and the folk museum in the morning. It’s a pleasant 40 minute walk from the palace grounds along Seoul’s famous Cheonggyecheon River, which is a welcome stretch of nature in this huge modern city. Gwangjang market was so good, we returned here for a second time before leaving Seoul.
Jeonju, 2 nights
The restored Hanok (traditional house) village in Jeonju is a huge tourist attraction for both Koreans and foreigners alike. The restored village is huge, with wide cobblestone streets, beautiful trees and traditional buildings made of honey-coloured timber with black tiled roofs. Many of the old houses have been converted into guesthouses, shops and restaurants. The streets are full of groups of Korean friends in traditional hanbok outfits.
We spent two nights at Pinetree View Hanok Guesthouse (39,000KW / 48NZD / 32USD for a private room, attached bathroom, a/c, breakfast.) They provided us with a traditional Hanok sleeping experience – which amounts to sleeping on the ground, with only an incredibly thin mattress (just a thick blanket, really). The real killer though, is the traditional rice pillows. Neck-breakingly uncomfortable, two nights was all we could bear.
Outside of the sleeping arrangements however, Jeonju is really beautiful. While there is a certain manufactured sense to the restored town (it’s all been rebuilt in the last thirty years or so), everything has been done to an extremely high standard. There’s flowers and trees and it’s easy to wander the streets and forested pathways. Once we got tired of the old town, the neighbouring suburb of Jaman Mural Village is about as different as you can imagine. The village is made up of tiny, eclectic buildings that stretch up the side of the hill. Their concrete walls are painted all sorts of bright colours and covered in cartoon murals. The pathways are only wide enough for one or two people, and you end up in a maze of crazy shops, coffee spots and weird houses.
Notable cheap eats in Jeonju:
Hanguk Jip for Jeonju Bibimbap – 10k-13k for a bowl
Kkojittappong (꼬지따뽕) for a latte or juice in a crazy cartoon-inspired environment. Look for the bright yellow building with blue windows.
PNB Bakery for the original Lotte Pie – you can’t miss this place if you’re walking around the old town.
Busan, three nights.
Busan is South Korea’s second largest city, with it’s huge inner-city beach being a major draw card for both international and local visitors. Typically people either stay at the beach (Haeundae Beach) or in the centre of town, closer to the fishing port (Nampo-dong). Considering we’ve been pretty spoilt for beaches, we chose to stay in the centre of town. We stayed in two hostels, but the first was pretty average and isn’t really worth writing about. The second, however, was excellent: Nampo 24 Guesthouse, 30,700KW / 39NZD / 26 USD for a twin room with attached bathroom, a/c, huge TV, good breakfast.
Everything in Busan is well connected by a small metro and extensive bus system. You can easily get from Nampo-dong or Busan station to Haeundae Beach in less than an hour, and the T-Money card works on all the busses and trains here. The beach was incredibly busy because of the Haeundae Sand Festival that was on, which meant that the shoreline was full of incredible sculptures. Even with the festival on however, it was clear that the beach is a pretty typical ‘city beach’. If you’re really starved for a swim, you’ll enjoy it, but otherwise it’s pretty ordinary.
Even if you ignore the beach, there’s still plenty to do in Busan – there are some fantastic hikes – we did the Igidae Coastal Walk, which takes two hours and is definitely worth doing. There’s great (but not always cheap) seafood, and finally the famous jjimjilbangs (spa) – Spaland was basically worth the trip to Busan all by itself.
There are a few good food markets that are worth visiting for a quick feed – we visited the Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market which is full of trendy and slightly overpriced nibbles, and Haeundae Market near the beach which has some of the best fish tofu, tteokbokki and prawns that we ate on our entire trip. We didn’t check out the fish market, as our hostel told us it’s become a bit of a tourist trap.
Notable cheap eats in Busan:
Gooweo Samkki Seomyeon for an amazing Seafood Galbi that includes a whole squid, mussels and fish cake. It easily feeds two people for just 20,000won. Look for ‘93’ or ‘93 spicy bulgogi’ on the sign.
Bonjeon Dwaeji Gukbap for hearty, healthy and cheap pork rice soup (Dwaeji Gukbap) near Busan station. A big bowl will set you back 7000won. Look for a little pig on the sign.
Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market for some tasty, trendy bites. 4k – 10kwon per small plate.
Haeundae Beach Market for some of the best snacks (fish tofu, prawn tempura, tteokbokki) in Korea. 3k-10kwon depending on your selection.
Gyeongju, 2 Nights
Gyeongju is only a two-hour bus ride from Busan, and many people do it as a day trip – however, we thought it was well worth staying two nights. Lonely Planet calls it an open museum which is a pretty accurate description – it’s the old capital of the Silla kingdom of ancient Korea and is full of tombs and relics of that time. There’s a small main street full of really cool shops, restaurants and bakeries. We stayed at Apple Hotel (32,000KW / 41NZD / 27USD per night for a double room with attached bathroom, a/c and the owner had such a cute little puppy. Suspect it might be an old ‘love hotel’ though).
Most of the area’s history is contained in well-maintained parks and grassy areas around the centre of town, and it’s really easy to reach nearly everything on foot – though there are a few cool places that are a short bus ride away. You can spend as long as you like walking between the tombs and forests, and all signage is in Korean and English. It made a really peaceful change from the other fast-paced cities we visited and entrance is only 2000kw/pp (2.5NZD).
Gyeongju is also famous for it’s ‘Gyeongju Bread’ – a red-bean filled pastry that puts all other red bean buns to shame. Kind of like a small moon cake, the filling is sweet and soft and super delicious. You can buy them from every second shop on the Main Street but the best bakery in town is Hwangnam Bread.
Notable cheap eats in Gyeongju
:Hwangnam Bread for Gyeongju bread. When you get inside, it looks like you can only buy in bulk, but they will sell you individual buns for 1000won each.
Byeolchaeban Gyodong Ssambap for Ssambap at (you can get this anywhere in Korea, but Gyeongju is particularly famous for it.) 15000pp (so 30000won for the whole meal).“Awesome” for cod roe and avocado bibimbap for breakfast – 12000won.
Sokcho, 3 Nights
Sokcho is South Korea’s hiking and nature capital. It’s a cool coastal town that neighbours Seoraksan National Park – a huge national park that encompasses an expansive mountain range, old Buddhist temples and a couple of great waterfalls.
We really enjoyed our three days here. It was great to get back to some lush green space, the seafood in Sokcho is second to none, and we were staying at an excellent hostel (House Hostel, 47,250KW / 60NZD / 40USD for a twin room with attached bathroom, a/c and breakfast, and the owner was full of great recommendations and information. Prices are higher on weekends.)
Hiking in Seoraksan National Park was so easy and pleasant, like everything else in South Korea. Busses regularly make the ½ hour journey between Sokcho and the national park, and accept the T-Money card. Once you reach the national park and purchase a ticket for 3000won, you have access to a huge variety of hiking trails. All of them are well signposted, and the trails are beautifully maintained with bridges, handrails and stairs where needed. There’s the famous ‘dragon’s back’ which is a five-hour round trip, highly recommended, then a bunch of smaller 2-3 hour walks, as well as some multi-day hikes for the truly adventurous. The locals love to get decked out in all the gear – you’ll see hiking poles, waist-belts, collapsible cups and fishing vests, but really all you need are a good pair of walking shoes and a water bottle. There’s plenty of eating options inside the park too.
We visited the park on a Friday and Saturday. The Saturday was absurdly busy when compared with the Friday. Try to time your visit on a weekday.
Notable eats in Sokcho:
88 Grilled fish – Amazing charcoal BBQ’d fresh fish. It’s a different set every day depending on what’s available.
‘Original Chuncheon Spicy Stir-fried Chicken’ for chicken galbi – Galbi is like a stir-fry and paella got together and had a Korean baby. There are options to add cheese, liver and chicken feet, but the OG chicken pieces in slightly-spicy sauce is great. 13000pp with a minimum of two diners. Naver maps will pick up the English name of the restaurant.
