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Travel diaries

The LKL Korea Trip 2009 – reflections

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by Philip Gowman on 10 August, 2009

in Pictures, Travel diaries

My quick break in Korea was a bit of a last-minute affair. I seized an opportunity which presented itself – a five-week break between jobs – and I really had no time to plan anything beforehand. Sylvia Park of Park Air Travel (15 Hanover Square, 0207 495 2525) fixed my flights with Korean Air at [...]

Tagged as: Korea Trip 2009, Ticker

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 9: Hails and farewells

8 August 2009 Seoul
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Thursday 23 / Friday 24 July
I’ve left it rather too late to do my LKL-related networking, and I’ve been up too late most nights trying to do on my netbook what I could do in a quarter of the time at home, so I have little energy today – despite all the Korean food I [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 8: Galleries old and new

5 August 2009 I-MYU
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Wednesday 22 July

A pleasant late start to the morning. Im Jeongae from London’s I-MYU gallery happens to be in town, looking after the show of British artists at the Total Museum. We cruise the Samcheong-dong galleries together as the heat of the day becomes slightly cooler, and the daylight light becomes milkier. People are staring [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 7: Korea House

3 August 2009 Korean traditional music
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Tuesday 21 July
A slowish start to the day. Too much alcohol and food (and salt?) the previous evening, plus the heat and humidity of the Busan weather, meant that sleep did not come easily. A brief tube ride to Busan Station to the KTX for Seoul. On the Busan subway, a whim makes me buy [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 6: Haeinsa

31 July 2009 Buddhism
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Monday 20 July

The trip to Haeinsa is via Daegu. A quick tube journey to the inappropriately named Busan Central Bus Terminal – at the northernmost extremity of the Busan public transport system (Nopodong), and then the express bus to East Daegu station takes nearly two hours. Another tube to the Seobu bus terminal to catch [...]

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Many ways to enjoy Korea

29 July 2009 Travel diaries
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The language classes at the Korean Cultural Centre attract a really interesting spectrum of people, from English businessmen to Bae Yong-joon besotted Japanese housewives, via museum curators and people married to a Korean. In my own language classes, apart from the above, was Jo, a TVXQ-obsessed party animal, who was good enough to review their [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 5: Bulguksa and Seokkuram

27 July 2009 Busan
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Sunday 19 July

More World Heritage points today.

The Samgyeopsal from last night is still sitting heavily on my stomach and I don’t feel like breakfast. The 9 am KTX from Seoul Station, and the connecting train from East Daegu, went without a hitch, and bang on time. Just before I arrive in Kyongju I get a [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 4: Recuperation and the Kilburn Art Space

26 July 2009 Lee, Bum
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Saturday 18 July.

Lee Seung-yeon relaxes in the Kilburn Art Space in Kim Ki-duk’s 3 Iron (빈집)

I think the activity of the previous two days, combined with the time difference, has finally caught up with me. After a slow start to the day I consult the helpful tourist information people in Insadong how best to get [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 3: 20th century art and history

24 July 2009 Gyeonggi-do
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Friday 17 July
Today I elect to revisit the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon (국립 현대 미술관). Very easy to get to: Seoul Grand Park subway stop on Line 4. Get out at exit 4 and get the free shuttle bus which leaves every 20 minutes. There’s a great Manhwa exhibition on at [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 2: Suwon

23 July 2009 Gyeonggi-do
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Thursday 16 July
Today the plan is to get a few UNESCO world heritage points: the Hwaseong Fortress at Suwon, followed maybe by the nearby folk village. From my base in Insadong, a one-hour tube journey direct from Jonggak station on Line 1 takes me to Suwon, armed with my guide books. A moment of mild [...]

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The LKL Korea Trip 2009 pt 1: Arrival

22 July 2009 Seoul
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Wednesday 15 July
Unaccustomed to long-distance standard class travel, I arrive in Seoul a little tired. All the previous times I’ve been to Korea, I’ve been in the area on company business, and this is the first time I’ve had to pay my own way: hence the downgrade in comfort. The evening bibimbap is fine, and [...]

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Remembering the Forgotten War

21 July 2009 History & heritage
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“Freedom is not Free”, we are reminded by the inscription on the monument commemorating the Korean War. In the bustle of our daily lives, we can forget the sacrifices made by previous generations to secure our freedoms.
I have come to the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul to meet General Paik Sun Yup, the now-retired [...]

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Holiday snaps from Korea

9 March 2008 Pictures

In the past few days I’ve loaded into Flickr some photos from my recent long weekend in Seoul and Busan. Nothing terribly sophisticated, and I rather overdid the pictures of pretty palace rooves, but it was a nice day.
Photos are on my Flickr page here.

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The LKL long weekend in Seoul and Busan

27 February 2008 Busan
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A sketchy account of LKL’s recent trip to the land of morning calm.
Thursday night: arrive at Incheon, sail through immigration and customs, no wait for baggage or mobile phone rental, and buy a 14,000 Won ticket for the shuttle bus to a hotel in the City Hall area. Someone makes sure I’m queuing in the [...]

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Another FT guide to Seoul

2 November 2007 Seoul

Following the Weekend FT’s smooth (and expensive) guide to a weekend in Seoul — after which you would need a whole week to recover — the FT’s Korea Correspondent Anna Fifield has responded with a slightly more realistic schedule, published in their Korea supplement on 23 October. No ginseng facials, and no itineraries which assume [...]

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