10 November 2018. In Chollipo’s famous Arboretum the best of the Autumn colour had finished, but there were still some good reds, oranges and yellows to be found, and the grasses were particularly fine. In October last year this new statue of Carl Ferris Miller, Chollipo’s founder, was installed in this secluded area in the … [Read More]
Travel and Tourism (page 2)
2018 travel diary 1 – Mallipo out of season
9 – 10 November 2018. The first two nights of this year’s trip were spent on Mallipo beach, Taean-gun, because I liked the place so much when I visited last year. And I still like it. There’s not much more to say, other than it’s far preferable to Busan’s Haeundae beach. Next door to Mallipo … [Read More]
The LKL 2018 Korea trip – an introduction
Overview My annual visit to Korea this year for once really didn’t have an agenda. Originally planned as a late October / early November trip to see some Autumn leaves and catch the tail end of the Gwangju Biennale, everything changed when I heard that Ahn Sook-sun was coming to London at that precise time … [Read More]
South Korea: Earth’s Hidden Wilderness – BBC2 documentary
To complement their coverage of the winter Olympics, the BBC is screening what looks like an interesting documentary covering things you might not often see in coverage of the peninsula. With plenty of Korean experts advising and behind the camera, this should be well worth a watch. South Korea – Earth’s Hidden Wilderness BBC2, 8:00pm … [Read More]
A good list of restaurants in Seoul
It’s so rare to find a list of recommended restaurants in Seoul that focuses on Korean food as opposed to French and other cuisine, and which includes honest, salt-of-the-earth type places as well as the fancy ones with Michelin stars. So I don’t want to lose this particular link, which includes two very humble places … [Read More]
2017 travel diary – reminiscences
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]
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]