Index Sat 29 April: Busan – Min Young-ki’s solo show Sun 30 April: Haman-gun – Gaya kingdom royal tombs Mon 1 May: Sancheong-gun – Hwangmaesan Royal Azalea festival Tue 2 May: Mungyeong-si – Tea bowl festival Wed 3 May: Buddha’s Birthday in Bongamsa | The Gyeongbokgung at night Thu 4 May: Jeonju Fri 5 May: … [Read More]
Travel and Tourism (page 2)
2017 travel diary 10: A lazy weekend in Seoul
Insadong, Seoul, 6 May 2018. There is never a shortage of things to do in Seoul. For the final weekend of my 2017 Korea trip I had not scheduled anything other than a couple of dinner engagements. I could easily have done nothing apart from hanging out in my new favourite coffee shop. Their fresh salads … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 9: Sewol victims remembered at the Ansan Street Arts Festival
Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 5 May 2017, 6:30pm. It is said that at the height of his efforts to build the Republic of Korea into an economic powerhouse, Park Chung-hee happened to be flying in a helicopter over western Gyeonggi-do. He looked out and saw what he considered to be a lot of under-utilised real estate, and decided … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 8: Taean-gun and Chollipo Arboretum
Mallipo beach, Taean-gun, Thursday 4 May 2018, 11:30pm. It was with a slight sense of adventure that I found myself unexpectedly on my own, in an unknown seaside town, at 11:30 at night. There was no way that I was going to settle down to sleep right then, so I left my pension room behind … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 7: A trip to Jeonju
Jeonju. Food capital of Korea. Slow City. Home to the famous Hanok Village. Ancestral seat of the Yi family, the royal house of the Joseon dynasty. Host of the Jeonju International Film Festival. Home to the hanji museum, the royal portrait museum… All this I knew about the capital of Jeonbuk province before my visit … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 6: a little night music at the Gyeongbokgung
Seoul, Wednesday 3 May 2017, 7pm. The beginning of May is a busy time in Seoul’s royal palaces. The UNESCO listed ceremony, the Jongmyo rituals in honour of the Royal Ancestors, always takes place the first Sunday in May. Children’s Day also falls around that time, and this year, Buddha’s Birthday and in the days … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 5: Wolbong’s hermitage and Buddha’s Birthday at Bongamsa
Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Wednesday 5th May 2017, 4am. An early start this morning is required to beat the crowds. Slightly groggy, Master Oh, Kyung-sook and I drag ourselves into the car at 4:30am and drive for half-hour or so to Bongamsa. We get the last space in the temple’s car park. Even at that time in the … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 4: The Mungyeong tea bowl festival
Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Tuesday 2 May 2017, 1:30pm. Mungyeong Saejae, the pass high in the hills above the town of Mungyeong, is the place where Gyeongsang province meets Chungcheong province, and the place where the Yeongnamdaero – the old road between Seoul and Busan – crosses the Baekdudaegan, Korea’s mountain backbone. On the Mungyeong side of … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 3: Sancheong – two festivals in bright pink
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong Country, Sunday 30th April, 5pm. Each time I visit Sancheong, something has changed. This time, on the edge of Donguibogam Village, Sancheong’s centre of traditional medicine culture, a comfortable hotel has been built – as far as I am aware, the first hotel (as opposed to pension) in the county. Very convenient … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 2: The Gaya royal tombs in Haman County
Gaya-eup, Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Sunday 30 April, 12 noon. Ever since I had seen a small ancient Gaya kingdom burial area in the hills above Saengcho, a town in Sancheong County, I had been intrigued. The tombs’ location was so different from the imposing tumuli laid out in the plains of Gyeongju or the geomantically auspicious … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 1: Min Young-ki’s solo exhibition in Busan
Seoul Station, Saturday 29 April 2017, 12:30pm. It is the first full day of my Korea trip. I had arrived in Seoul the previous evening, catching the bus to my mid-range hotel near Jogyesa. I had found my favourite coffee shop, had dinner with good friends in Hoban, a traditional, earthy eating house in Nakwondong, … [Read More]
Beth McKillop reports from the 2016 Culture Communication Forum in Seoul
Senior Research Fellow and former Deputy Director at the Victoria and Albert Museum Beth McKillop was the UK’s representative at Korea’s annual Culture Communication Forum hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute. Since 1990 when I first visited Korea to collect ceramics, outfits and furniture for a planned Victoria and Albert Museum Korea gallery, I’ve … [Read More]
Another way to make sure your Korea trip is very busy
In planning my 2016 Korea trip I found two websites invaluable: firstly, the Cultural Heritage Administration site, which provides a wealth of information as to the various sites of interest throughout the country. I talk about this tool here. Secondly, there is the Korean Tourism Organisation website. This is an obvious place to look, but … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 22: Daeheungsa and the righteous armies
Gurim-ri, Samsan-myeon, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, 19 May 2016, 6:00pm After our pleasant visit to Iljiam, we walk back down the hill to Daeheungsa, the mother temple, hoping to be there for the eventide ringing of the temple bell before retiring to our lodge at the temple’s entrance. Daeheungsa (대흥사) is said to date back to the … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 20: Journey to Iljiam
Nohwa-do, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, 19 May 2016, 1pm We regretfully leave Bogildo and its sister island Nohwado behind. We have a bigger ferry for the return journey and I somehow manage to reverse the car into position without hitting anything or anyone. As we sail back to the mainland I am happily wandering around on deck … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 19: The Scholar’s Garden #1: Yun Seon-do on Bogildo
Bogil-do, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, 19 May 2016, 10:30am Way back in the mid Joseon dynasty, being a scholar official was a troublesome occupation. If you were a dedicated scholar you had to act in accordance with your conscience and the highest principles. Unfortunately, as happens with whistle-blowers today, your conscience could be severely career-limiting. If you picked … [Read More]