Korea Sparkling!

Mr_BTM and I traveled to Korea for a 2 week trip of touring the country and visiting family. Below is a quick itinerary of our trip and some of the sights we saw. Korea is a beautiful country full of mountains and valleys and the food is terrific!


Day 1 - Travel from DC - Tokyo - Seoul


Day 2 - Seoul

• Deoksugung Palace - saw the changing of the guard ceremony


• Insa-Dong - walked around the neighborhood and had some very expensive tea in a local tea shop.


• Cheonggyechon - This is a restored stream that runs through downtown Seoul. We had a break from walking around here people watching and relaxing in the shade.

Day 3 - Seoul

• All day tour to Panmunjom/Joint Security Area. Here we got to see North Korea and see the soldiers there. We were also subject to a ton of security checks and dress code requirements. Very interesting!


• DMZ Tour - included a walk down into the 3rd Tunnel (built by North Korea to invade the South), the Dora Observatory and the Doran Street train station.


• Myeongdong - We walked around in this neighborhood near our hotel that's full of shops and restaurants. Had mandu for dinner and went on a fruitless quest for an ice cream cone!

Day 4 - Seoul

• Namdaemun Market - a traditional outdoor/indoor mall that sells just about everything from food to fish to souveniers.


• Gyeongbokgung Palace - we happened to visit on Hanguel Day, a day that celebrates the Korean language.


• National Folk Museum


• Dinner with the Hyun family (Mom's side of the family)

Day 5 - Seoul

• Korean Folk Village


• Dinner with the Lee family (Dad's side of the family)

Day 6 - Seoul - Seorak

• Today we drove from Seoul to Seorak


• Seoraksan National Park

Day 7 - Seorak - Gyeongju

• Cable Car ride in Seoraksan National Park


• Drive from Seorak toGyeongju


• Anjapi Pond

Day 8 - Gyeongju - Busan

• Walk around Bomun Lake


• Seokguram Grotto - Buddha statue at the top of a hill.


• Bulguska (Temple)


• Tumuli Park - the burial grounds of the ancient kings.


• Drive to Busan

Day 9 - Busan

• Another cable car ride! Although this time, we got lost trying to find our way back to the cable car for the ride down and we ended up hiking down the entire mountain!


• Dinner at Halmonie/Haraboji's house - meet more of the Lee family.

Day 10 - Busan

• Jagalchi Fish Market - Got up rediculously early (3:30 AM) to see the fish auctions and the market. Had breakfast at the market of spicy fish stew and raw fish! Tried Abalone for the first time.


• Taejongdae - Took the tour to the observatory and the lighthouse. Had lunch sitting on rocks down by the ocean - fresh, raw seafood!


• UN Cemetary - dedicated to the UN security forces soldiers that died during the Korean War.


• Haeundae - a beach area. Took a quick walk and then had a traditional korean dinner (a normal meal for royalty).

Day 11 - Busan - Tongyeong

• Today we drove out of Busan to Haeinsa, a temple in the mountains and then continued to drive south to the South Sea Island of Tongyeong.

Day 12 - Tongyeong - Busan

• Today we drove to the ferry port and ferried over to Oedo (pronounced way-dough), an island entirely devoted to a garden.


• Prisoner of War Camp Museum in Geojedo


• Drive to another ferry port for a car ferry ride back to Busan.

Day 13 - Busan

• Did a bit of shopping around town and met up with the Lee family again at Todai, a restaurant that Samchoon (uncle) owns.

Day 14 - Travel from Busan - Seoul - LA - Charlotte - Baltimore