South Korea – It Started with Hangul

October 5, 2016October 5, 2016

Autumn is Here

Next to spring (봄 – bom yes that same name of 2NE1 lead vocal), autumn is my next favorite season in Korea. Autumn is 가울 (gaeul) in Korean and if you have watched Boys Over Flowers you might have known this as the name of Jandi’s best friend. The weather starts to get cooler in autumn and this is the perfect time to walk around and enjoy the beauty of Korea.

This year I will get to experience autumn once more and hopefully to see more of the wonderful colors of the season. When maple leaves changes color from green to yellow to orange or red this called 단풍 물들다 (danpung muldeulda). Picture above is taken from Nami Island in September of 2015. Korea Tourism Organization says peak of the changing of colors happens this October.

Autumn is also called fall for the simple reason that this is the season where the leaves of trees start to fall off. This is described as 낙엽 (nakyeop) or falling of leaves. By winter time, the trees would have lost its leaves.

During fall, Koreans love to go on hiking and Seoraksan is one of the best destinations of the season. This place, which can be reached by 3 hour bus ride from Seoul, is filled with locals and tourist. It offers various hiking trail with different levels of difficulty.

I am too excited to experience autumn once more and hoping to see the beautiful Garusogil lined up with trees in yellow or red.

April 13, 2016April 13, 2016

The Charm of Spring

It has been my fourth spring in Korea and I am still loving it. I am mesmerized by the beauty of cherry blossoms and the cool weather that goes along with the surroundings. Just like how the first snow can be romantic, looking at cherry blossoms while the wind gently let the petals fall brings the same lovely feeling.

Cherry blossoms has started in Nami when we visited April 9. It was a Saturday but it was not so crowded compared to April 2015 visit when it was so jam packed that the queue to take the ferry reached the line of pine trees. That day was a perfect day to enjoy Nami. No matter how many times you have been to Nami you will always be enchanted by its beauty.

A closer look at those beautiful cherry blossoms. I guess all the trees will be in full bloom by April 12 or 13.

Cherry Blossoms

There are so many places to check for cherry blossoms when in Seoul and the National Assembly road parallel to the Han River is a good place to enjoy it within the city. From experience, the full blossoms in this area happens somewhere between April 12-15. We visited April 11 and some trees are yet to bloom, nevertheless about 60% of trees are in bloom. Strolling around while having some street food made me forget the time.

By this time, I guess cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Yeouido. Enjoying the cool breeze of Han river at the Hangang Park while having some picnic would be something worth doing.

The queen of all the cherry blossoms in Korea is right at Jinhae in the province of Gyeongsangnam-do. The Cherry Blossoms in this town happens between April 1-10. This year we visited on the last day. The cherry blossoms is almost over. There were still a lot but it was not as full as when I visited March 31 of 2014. You can spot the difference below.

I realized that taking the earliest KTX from Seoul to Masan is the fastest and most convenient way to visit Jinhae for a day tour. Last time we took the bus from Seoul Nambu terminal. The bus was comfortable but taking the train cuts the travel time but at least an hour. From Masan, taking a cab was no problem at all going to Jinhae. It just cost 15,000KRW. The KTX is more expensive than bus but time is more important for us who were just spending day in Jinhae.

Visit to Jinhae is not complete without checking out the Gyeonghwa station. The railroad is lined with trees that almost turned the place pink. This is an old station its no longer operating, the government left one of the old KORAIL train in display.

A lot of people were taking video on this place, the wind is blowing and it was creating something like ‘petal rain’. I can almost see my self visiting this place in the next Spring time. I am yet to see another autumn to replace spring as the best season to enjoy South Korea.

벚꽃 (beokkott) means cherry blossoms in Korea.

진해의 벚꽃 아름다운이에요

March 8, 2015March 8, 2015

Best Places for Cherry Blossoms in South Korea

I know I am just one of the many people out there who is looking forward to see cherry blossoms in South Korea. 벚꽃or beot kkott is sakura in Korea. This is one of the reasons why I love spring. Aside from the mellowed down cold weather, the flowers are blooming. The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has finally released a portion of the cherry blossoms forecast and flower festivals for 2015.

Jeju – Cherry Blossoms in Jeju is a bit earlier, March 27 to 29. If you happen to book late March to South Korea consider going to Jeju. The Seogwipo downtown area and Jeju sports complex is the place to be. Jeju is home to King Cherry Tree, the full blossoms last for only 2 to 3 days and when it rains the petals are gone. The last time we went to see cherry blossoms in Jeju, we were late. There were traces of petals on trees but most are washed out by the rain. Coming from Seoul, hourly flights are available at the Gimpo Airport.
Jinhae – is home to the biggest cherry blossoms in Korea. The whole town as I enjoyed last year is covered with cherry blossoms. This year the진해군항제 (Jinhae Gunhangje) is set btween April 1-10. Almost the same as last year. Within this period the cherry trees are in full bloom. In fact a day before the festival last year we get to enjoy the scenery minus the overwhelming crowd.
Yeouido – is a place in Seoul where cherry blossoms can be observed as well. As of today, there is no date yet on when the trees along the National Assembly building will be in full blossoms. Based on historical records, cherry blossoms in Yeouido is mid April. If you think you have limited time in South Korea and would be spending most of the time in Seoul, Yeouido is a good place to enjoy the cherry blossoms in the Metro. Taking subway Line 5 and getting off Yeouinaru Station Exit 1. The scene in Yeouido is breath taking. Whether its day or night, the scene is just lovely, one can enjoy the cool breeze of Han River while sitting down the park looking at Mapo Bridge.

This year I am going back to Jinhae. Knowing that the festival is April 1 to 10 our day 2 in South Korea is definitely in Jinhae. It’s the last day of the festival but if given a choice, I would plan on a March 30 or 31 visit (just like in 2014) because during the festival, people are all over the place. I read that people who spent cherry blossoms during the festival period had some difficulties going around as the traffic can be very heavy. However, during this period there is a special route of KTX from Seoul Station going directly to Jinhae. Outside the festival period, there is no direct route to Jinhae. Masan is the nearest town to go to and one needs to take a bus from Masan to Jinhae.

If you plan on going to Jinhae within April 1 to 10, check out the KTX schedule. There is a special route directly to Jinhae during this period as a way of providing more options to reach this special destination and to help ease the traffic going to Jinhae. Going around Jinhae takes a lot of walking especially during festival where streets are closed to give way to events. I personally don’t mind walking around because everywhere you set your eyes the beautiful cherry blossoms can be seen. Outside the festival period Jinhae can be reached via the following means coming from Seoul, coming from Busan, Jinhae would be more accessible via Bus:

KTX Train Masan (Seoul-Masan-Seoul) – a transfer to Mungunhwa is needed. As mentioned there is no direct route to Jinhae on a regular day. There are just about 2 to 3 schedules a day so planning for a round trip could be a problem via KTX. I think there is just one train schedule going back to Seoul in the afternoon. Do check out the KTX website for a full schedule. Foreigners get a special pass rate if reserved on line.
Bus – take the Orange Line and alight at Nambu Bus Terminal in Seocho (Station No. 341) and take exit number 5. The exit is the entry to the terminal which operates 6 am to 12 am There is bus leaving almost every hour going to and from Jinhae. The ride would be a total of about 4.5 hours. I find this more convenient than taking the KTX as you only save around 1 hour of travel time but there are more options in terms of the time when taking the bus. This will allow you to do round trip to Jinhae from Seoul. Worry not because there is a short stop over along the highway for some bladder break and snack time. It is recommended to buy return tickets upon reaching the Jinhae Terminal. This way you secure your seat going back if you are just there round trip. Tickets are available online but the website is in Korean only.

I think the best way to enjoy spring and cherry blossoms would be to go to Seoul last week of March to early April. Which ever time you get for your flight booking, never miss going to Yeouido whether the cherry trees are in full bloom or not. The sight of Han River and Mapo-go bridge at night is beautiful and the park conducive for enjoying some chit chat and snacks. You would be surprised on the amount of people receiving deliveries from the park . There are also street side vendors offering Korean snacks. Just make sure to bring jacket to be ready for the chill that the wind brings.,

March 7, 2015April 13, 2016

Spring is Here!

Yey! Posting my spring plans in a while. Finally the dates are clear 🙂 last week of March until mid April is a good period to look into. Stay tuned…

January 13, 2015March 8, 2015

Cherry Blossoms 2015

Are you planning on a trip to South Korea this Spring? It was almost a year after my last visit and it still feels like yesterday. Last 2014 I was in South Korea in the month of April which is spring. I am officially in love with Korean Spring time.

This year I am definitely going back to Jinhae with my kids so they can see how beautiful the place is. There is no update yet on the expected cherry blossom in Jinhae but I hope it would come first week of April because we are already booked!

In any case, I would have the option to check Yeouido as well and enjoy the view of Han River. Last year cherry blossoms in Seoul was a bit late it came mid April. So if this is the same case for 2015 I think we will see cherry blossoms in full from Seoul.

If you are planning on a Spring trip to South Korea this year feel free to comment so we can exchange plans. I am so excited with this travel plan. I will strive to share more information for those who are also planning to go on tour this spring.

November 1, 2014

Fall In Love with Fall

Late October and Early November is the best time to experience Autumn in South Korea. Next to spring, autumn is my favorite season to be in South Korea. This is when the leaves turn red. The weather is not to hot and not to cold and for some reasons the surroundings warms the heart. Maybe its the mix of yellow and read leaves which brings that feeling. How I love this season.

Autumn Leaves. Photo courtesy of the Visit Korea Website.

Autumn in Korea is 가을 (gaeul). Just like 봄 (bom) or spring, 가을 is used as given name for girls. Other than being born on autumn, the warmth of this season and the good weather are common inspiration to give such name to a pretty little one.

During this season a visit to a park is truly a wonderful experience. Imagine walking with trees painted in yellow and red. The falling leaves is the autumn’s version of cherry blossoms.

Fall in Munsu along Gochang Road. Picture courtesy of Visit Korea website.

So how do you say the weather is good today (because it is usually during autumn)?

날씨가 좋네요. (Nalshiga choneyo – The weather is good)
가을의 날씨가 좋다! (Gaeuri nalshiga choda! – The weather during autumn is good)

I feel like going to South Korea Now! If only I have Harry Potter’s floo powder, I’d be there on an instant and fall in love with autumn leaves *sigh*

April 26, 2014

A Day in Jinhae

It been almost a month since I came back from a short visit to South Korea. I am writing about our day trip to the country side which led us to this wonderful place called Jinhae.

March 31, 2014 was a perfect day to be in Jinhae in South Korea. As the Koreans would say 대박! We were so lucky to be in this place the right time. I made our booking as early as October 2013 with little hope that we will get to see cherry blossoms. Heavens conspired with our earnest desire to see this wonderful event. Our flight back is April 1, a day before we go back to homeland we spent the whole day in Jinhae walking. Yes…after getting off the bus terminal we never took a bus or taxi and roamed around walking.

Everywhere we set our eyes, there was cherry blossoms. Jinhae is hometown to the biggest cherry blossoms in South Korea. It was a good decision to be there a day before the festival. Almost all the trees are in full bloom.

Streets of Jinhae

Since this is a day before the actual festival, there were no direct Korail routes yet. During the actual festival a special train schedule is made available by Korail that takes passenger from Seoul direct to Jinhae. However, on ordinary days, the express bus is the fastest and most convenient way to go to Jinhae. From Seoul, the Nambu Bus Terminal has regular bus trips to Jinhae.

Nambu Bus Terminal

The terminal is right outside Nambu Bus Terminal subway station of the green line. It was convenient to take this line as our hostel is in Hongdae. This bus terminal is pretty organized. We were able to buy our ticket in advance and the bus left on time as scheduled.

The cherry blossoms appears to be the main attraction but in the festival is to commemorate Korean Admiral Yi who led a successful battle with Japanese. This festival is called 군항제 (Gunhangje).

The streets were getting ready for the first day of festival when we arrived. There were food stalls line just before the main rotunda. We had a taste of Korean street food from this lane.

There were lots of choices for the food and seems like roasted pork is one of the speciality being offered. In the Philippines we call this lechon. Having these stalls around gave me a taste of what the festival could be minus the crowd. That day, there were many people but it was manageable.

Tents set-up for the festival featuring Korean food

Finally, a day in Jinhae will not be complete without seeing this wonderful place–the Yeojwacheon. It’s like the Cheonggye stream in Seoul, it was a long path walk but this one is lined up with cherry blossoms.

The most famous spot in Jinhae

The place was breath taking. This made me realize that what I saw last 2013 was too little compared to this. It felt like an endless walk. I told my self, this is what 벚꽃 (beotkkot) is. The sakura of Korea.

Families and Couples enjoy this path walk with the trees in full bloom.

The weather was perfect for walking. It was not too cold nor hot. This is what one perfect spring day should be. This was one of the most memorable day I had in South Korea.

Cherry Blossoms

The trip to Jinhae was the culminating part in of our visit to South Korea this year. The cherry blossoms brought happiness and energy to us. This is something that I would definitely want to do again.

March 24, 2014

Spring! Spring! Spring!

I am officially a fan of 봄 (bom)! Not just the lead vocal of the very famous Korean girl group 2NE1 박봄 (Park Bom) but the season itself. A lot of K-Pop fans would probably know that 봄 means spring in Korea. This year I am fortunate enough to travel again to South Korea. It is my 6th time to visit South Korea and March 2014 marks my 3rd time to experience spring.

What makes me more excited now is that I will be traveling down to 진해 (Jinhae), a small town in the province of 경상남도 (Gyeongsangnamdo). Just a bit of information on naming places in Korea, 도 (do) is province in Korean. In the name 경상남도, 남 (nam) means south and so Gyeongsangnamdo is Province of South Gyeongsang. If there is south, the likelihood of having a north version is almost always there and north is 북 (buk). With that, North Province of Gyeongsang would be– 경상북도 (Gyeongsangbukdo) where the booming city of 대구 (Daegu) is located.

The town of Jinhae is where the biggest cherry blossom festival is held every year. For this year, the festival is happening from April 1-10, 2014. Based from the research I made, this is one of the most sought after festival in Korea. Now I realize what my long lost language exchange partner had been talking about. He was so proud of their province Gyeongsangnamdo, he mentioned that the biggest cherry blossom happens in their place. The traffic can be very heavy during this period but the good thing is the KTX makes a special direct route to Jinhae during festival period. We will be a day earlier from the festival and hopefully we see the cherry trees in almost its full bloom.

The weather forecast kept on changing for the past weeks but as of today, the forecast during our stay shows a no rain during our period of stay. According to the people I talked to last year when we visited Jeju, cherry blossoms disappears as soon as it rains. This is why experiencing cherry blossom would be a bit tricky if you are a foreigner like me who will need to book in advance to travel to Korea. The cherry blossom festival is usually announced within the month of March which is relatively near the actual date of the festival. The spring festivals is announced by the Korean Tourism through their website. During spring there are several other places in Korea that is worth a visit.

Spring here I come!

August 7, 2011August 7, 2011

Addresses in South Korea

While looking at the comments and answering them, I thought of making this post. Are you planning to send a letter or a package to someone in South Korea? Chances are with the difference in writing system, it may be a challenge even to write address in Korea. However, based on experience, addresses written in Alphabet normally reaches the recipient.

First and foremost, addresses in Korean are written in reverse order as what most of us maybe used to. Just to give an example a typical address (mock address) would be 2F Burgundy Building 77 Buendia St. Barangay Bel-air Makati City 1226. The way this will be written in Korea would be 1226 Makati City, Barangay Bel-air Buendia St. 77 Burgundy Building 2F.

When I was planning my first visit to South Korea in 2008, i was looking for a specific address in Gangnam I wrote it down so I can show it to the taxi driver. While reading about locating places in Korea I realized how big this country and to be more specific, Seoul. They say some places maybe hard to find because streets are not usually marked. One friend even told me that finding a small building within Seoul is like looking for a needle in a hay sack.

If you have seen at least a Seoul City map which you normally get from hotels and in the airport you might be surprised to see names of places and these are some of the things that are worth knowing:

시 (shi) is City such that 서울시 means Seoul City
도 (-do) is province such that 절라북도 (Jeollabukdo) means Jeollabuk province or
구 (-gu) is a ward and is typically written in small letter hyphenated after the place name such as 강남구 (Gangnam-gu)
동(-dong) is a neighborhood within a ward such as 청담동 (Cheongdam-dong)
층 (cheung) is floor number
호 (ho) is suite or apartment number

Streets are called 길 (gil) for smaller streets and for bigger ones its 로 (-ro), be careful though with 로 as depending on the preceding name of the street this may be romanized as -no like the case of my favorite place to stay in Seoul 종로 (Jongro but is actually romanized as Jongno). Likewise big streets are sometimes divided into 가 (-ga). Again, like the case of Jongno which is a long street, it is divided into 5-ga. The number 5 is pronounced using the Sino Korean number such that is is O-ga, so 3-ga would be pronounced as Sam-ga.

Here is an example of an address in South Korea which I have been familiar with since this is my choice hotel when in Seoul.

주소: 110-420 서울특벌시 종로구 관수동 122 돌로스 호텔.
Address: 110-420 Seoul Teukbyeolshi Jongno-gu Gwansu-dong 122 Doulos Hotel

The above address is translated this way – Doulos Hotel 122 Gwansu Neighborhood Jongno District (ward) 110-420 Seoul Special City South Korea.

When sending parcel or letter outside of South Korea it is very important that you write South Korea after the address. Also, the address should not be translated, only romanized

December 3, 2010May 9, 2011

Seoul…Seoul…Seoul

I am unable to post meantime after the US trip i have been busy preparing for my trip to Korea. I must say this is the culminating out of country vacation for the year. This is my 3rd time and I am still excited like its the first time. I am currently enjoying winter in Seoul and I am super loving it.

The weather for the past two days is ranging from 5 to 12 degrees. It’s colder at night and early morning but walking outside the streets of Myeongdong and Jongno is like seeing my self in one of those movies and dramas. This year I am lucky I will be able to watch Wheesung perform and YG Family Concert. I am so excited.

I was likewise able to buy Wheesung’s album and 2NE1 plus i get to buy this new book on understanding some Korean idioms =)

저는 서울에 재미 하고 있어요!