16 October 2024,
Oriens Hotel and Residences, Seoul
Relatively pleasant flight to Incheon yesterday. Nine hours
on Jetstar, however, isn't quite the same as on Qantas or other top tier
airlines, but for the price, who can complain? Immigration was a little slow.
Strangely, high-tech Korea still uses a very manual immigration system for
foreign passport holders. Despite this, we were outside the terminal, ready to
pick up the shuttle to our airport hotel inside 45 minutes, thanks to
travelling with carry-on luggage only.
Our last visit to Seoul was spoiled by bad weather and a
bout of traveller's belly. Today we re-visited two of the major
cultural/historical attractions of Korea, the Changdeokgung and Gyeongbukgung
palaces. One of the great things of being an older traveller in Korea is that
many attractions are free for 65+! Other people also managed to score free
entry to the palaces today by wearing Hanbok, the traditional dress. Hundreds
of locals and foreigners dressed for the occasion, making the scene feel very
special. The locals, unsurprisingly, nailed it. Sadly, most foreigners fell
well short. Local women, in particular, glided, as if walking on air, around
the palace complexes, while Westerners strode about, looking like they just
jumped off a horse and were heading for the bunkhouse.
We ended our day with the ceremony of the Changing of the
Palace Guard. The crowds had been building through the early afternoon. By the
time the ceremony commenced, a couple of thousand spectators had gathered
around the enormous square in the front of the main palace gate. Not quite as
precise as some other military parades we have seen, it was colourful and a
great insight into the music, costumes and traditions of Korea.
17 October 2024, Seoul
We went our separate ways today. Janita was off to the DMZ,
which she missed on our last visit and Paul had a day around town.
Early start for the DMZ tour. Janita had to be at the
pick-up spot at 8am. Not all that hard, we thought, just one stop on the subway
to the transfer station from one line to the other. But, it wasn't a simple
move to the other side of the platform. Oh no, it was go to the end of the
platform, up some stairs, follow a corridor, down some stairs and finally we
were at the correct line, going in the correct direction.
Made it to the pick-up point with 10 minutes to spare. Lots
of other punters were milling about and then assorted guides turned up with
clipboards, checked people off, sent them to their buses and off they went.
Janita's guide was last to arrive, causing a little anxiety, but all was well.
There were four stops on the tour, all with souvenir stores
and food offerings, but also important information and experiences to expand
our knowledge of aspects of the Korean War and life for both sides afterwards.
Haven't been through an entry point where military police
board the bus and check documentation and passports for many years, but the military
police at the entry to the DMZ were very serious about the process. When we
exited, they were more perfunctory.
North Korea's recent aggressive tactics, including blowing
up rail tracks and roads between the two Koreas, have caused cancellations of
these tours, but today's went ahead smoothly.
The Imjingak Peace Park was perhaps the most sobering of the
stops, with statues of the “Comfort Women", a destroyed train engine,
memorials to lost soldiers and separated families, the blocked-off Freedom
Bridge and instructions from the guide about what could and could not be
photographed, a reminder of the significance of what I was seeing.
The Third Tunnel was prefaced by a patriotic video of the
four known tunnels dug by the North Koreans, aimed at delivering a co-ordinated
attack on Seoul. It acknowledged there were probably others, as yet
undiscovered. After securing all our belongings, especially phones and cameras,
in lockers, there was a metal detector check to ensure we had complied before
we were allowed in. A ramp takes visitors 78 metres below ground level and then
through the original tunnel, our hard hats bumping regularly against the roof.
At the end point, there is a glass window, through which you can see a moss
garden that has sprung up.
The army barracks en route to the Dora Observatory, the next
stop, weren’t allowed to be photographed either. The observatory provides a
look into North Korea, across the DMZ, but the windows were so grubby no photos
could be taken even if you wanted to.
Lastly was the Unification Village, established in 1973 as a
model farming village within the DMZ. Discharged soldiers and displaced
families were recruited and allocated land. They also underwent basic military
training, just in case.
A worthwhile experience.
Seoul has an inner circle subway route which included the
stop where the DMZ tour was picked up, so a visit to the Starfield Library,
accessible on the same line, seemed like a good start to Paul’s day in Seoul.
The trip out to the Starfield Mall and its amazing library took more than forty
minutes. The ebb and flow of passengers over such a long journey is mesmerising.
From totally packed for a few stops, the train would almost empty and remain
uncrowded for several stations until numbers steadily built up again, only to
empty out a bit further on.
The Starfield Library is unusual in that it is very open to
the rest of the mall, with normal walkways around the mall passing through the
library space. The main attractions are the spectacular floor to ceiling
bookshelves that display around seventy thousand books.
On this sunny autumn day, the remainder of the day was spent
wandering through street markets leading eventually to the Cheonggyecheon, a
multi-block artificial stream which, today, was crowded with lunchtime crowds
enjoying classical music played by street performers as they flicked through
books scattered in boxes along the banks, provided by the Seoul Outdoor
Library.
Off to Gangneung by fast KXT rail today. With a morning to
kill, we strolled around the corner from our hotel to a small Hanbok Village.
This is our third stay in this hotel, but we hadn’t realised that this little
gem was just around the corner. Five traditional houses owned by aristocrats
and government officials, were moved and rebuilt at this site, opened in
1998. It includes a traditional garden,
complete with flowing stream, a pavilion, time capsule area and is also used as
a cultural education centre for school kids.
The forecast rain held off this morning, giving us a dry
trip to Seoul Station, but by the time we arrived at our destination, the rain
had set in. Hopefully the weather will moderate by tomorrow.
19 October, Beauty Hotel, Gangneung
The weather did us no favours today, in fact the rain
intensified, sending us to a couple of museums, seeking some warm, dry shelter.
Firstly we returned to the station to pick up our hire car. The first few
minutes of driving in a country that drives on the right is always a little
daunting. This morning it was made worse by fairly heavy traffic and very poor
driving conditions. By the time we reached our first stop, the Chamsori
Gramophone Museum, Edison Science Museum and Son Seong-Mok Film Museum (all one
place!) the driving genes had just about readjusted.
All three of these amazing collections were the personal
collections of Mr Son Seong Mok. We have seen many collections of antique and
modern equipment of all shapes and sizes, but never anything remotely as
extensive as this! Mr Son truly takes the cake. Hundreds of gramophones and
other related music and sound devices, thousands of toys. Thousands of cameras
and movie projectors, hundreds of movie posters and scores of other eclectic
collections. The main focus of this enormous collection was on the work and
inventions of Thomas Edison. Everything from the electric light to the stock
market ticker tape machine was featured, not by just one or two examples, but
hundreds! Among the gramophones on display were several examples of the small
table top one that we have at home.
The Ojukheon House Museum was a bit of a let down following the Edison Museums. First off, it was partly outdoors and while the museum has obvious appeal to Koreans, it didn't mean much to us, except for the fact that the reconstruction of the Ojukheon House on display is featured on the Korean 5000 Won bank note.
20 October, Gangneung
Last night we were joined at dinner by two expat Korean
women, one now an American and the other a French national. They introduced us
to a couple of Korean dishes and drinks. One thing led to another and we asked
them to join us on our trip today to Seoraksan National Park, about an hour out
of town. The rain had passed by this morning, but the clouds remained all day.
Even though we had been warned not to take the “blue” lane
when entering the expressways because it was for people with a toll pass,
called HiPass, we managed to do just that. Luckily, our travelling companions,
being Korean, explained the situation at the next toll booth, we paid the
correct toll and all was well.
We had expected some crowds, but nothing like what
confronted us today. There were several large car parks, but by the time we
arrived about 10am, all the ones closest to the park entry were full and we had
to settle for a distant spot in the last overflow park, so far from the entry
that we had to take a shuttle bus to get into the park.
We eventually arrived at the ticket booth for the cable car
to the top of Seoraksan Mountain just after 10:45am. The next available booking
was 2:20pm! If it was just us, we would probably have ditched it and been
satisfied with a couple of the longer walks available from the park entry.
However, our new friends were keen so we booked the 2:20pm slot. The two ladies
didn’t strike us as good hiking companions, not that they weren’t nice, but
they were very slow walkers. We split up and filled in most of the waiting time
with a pleasant walk through the forest festooned with autumn colours.
Our decision to go with the cable car trip turned out well
in the end. From the top, there was a 20 minute climb to the top of the
mountain that gave great views of the surrounding peaks and down to the coast.
On our return trip, we managed to use the correct lane on
and off the expressway and delivered our companions back in time to catch their
bus to their next destination.
21 October, Andong
Our long drive from Gangneung today along the east coast was
a little disappointing. Many of the small ports that are scattered along the
coast are heavily industrialised and far from attractive. We did, however, find
a small beach with nice, almost white sand, a surf shop and even a couple of
adventurous surfers.
Eventually, we gave up our coastal route and headed inland
towards Andong. The roads along the coast were national highways and non-toll
motorways with speed limits between 80 and 100 km/hr. The roads inland were
excellent, but the speed limits were uniformly 60km/hr.
It is probably a good time to make some comments about
driving in Korea.
This year we have had several road trips. Earlier in the
year, we drove through Greece, including Crete, Scotland and later in Japan and
Malaysian Borneo. Without a doubt, Japan was the easiest and most pleasant. At
the other end of the scale was Greece, particularly Crete. Scotland and
Malaysian Borneo were fine as well, particularly because both drive on the left
as we do in Australia.
So, where does Korea rate? Even given the minor challenges
of driving on the right, Korea is towards the top of the scale. The roads are
excellent. Drivers are generally courteous and follow the rules, however, many
are prone to speeding well above the speed limits. All roads we have driven
have regular speed cameras. Their effectiveness in limiting speeding is
questionable as they are well signed and GPS navigation systems alert drivers
when approaching them. We also noticed that many cameras are covered up. Local
drivers must know where the active cameras are, or their phones alert then to
active cameras.
The extensive highway network is divided into, Expressways
(Tolls), National Routes-Motorways, two lane and single lane National Routes
and minor roads. The Expressways are equal to the best we have driven on
anywhere in the world, including in Germany. The tolls are very reasonable. We
have paid as little as AUD$1.50 to travel close to 100kms.
Road signage is simply an assault on the senses, with
flashing red, green and yellow lights, mock police red and blue lighting bars,
overhead signs in multi coloured Korean script and many other lights and
arrows. Some of these are an assistance, but most of them are a distraction for
the non-Korean motorist. The saving grace is that Korea uses international
standard road signage which is recognisable to all foreign drivers.
Car hire rates are expensive by international standards. We
paid just over AUD$110 a day for a small car, a Kia Morning, with comprehensive
insurance, through Lotte Car Rentals.
So, should you drive in Korea? Yes. The ability to reach
many interesting destinations and having the flexibility that driving provides
are a factor, the great roads and the general compliance of drivers probably
clinches the deal. But the “however” is that you must be a patient and
experienced driver.
23 October, Oriens Hotel. Seoul
Yesterday, we visited Hahoe Traditional Village, just
outside Andong. Seems whenever we plan an outdoor activity, the rain comes
down. Luckily, most of the heavy rain hit while we were on the way to the
village. It had eased off to a drizzle by the time we arrived, so we were able
to enjoy a glimpse into village life as it has been from the 14th
century. The village was founded over a thousand years ago and occupants today
can trace their family lines back scores of generations. While the village is
authentic and remains a working village, some of the modern additions to the
houses, such as external air-conditioners and, in a few places, cars parked in
traditional compounds, distract a little from the overall impact.
It was a very long and high-pressure trip from Andong back
to Gangneung to catch the train back to Seoul this morning. Our car needed to
be returned to Gangneung by 12 noon and our train was scheduled for 12:23pm. We
had left ourselves ample time for what our GPS told us was a 3-hour drive on
two expressways. We left Andong about 7.30, set up the car's GPS and took off
through very light traffic. About 30 minutes into our trip, we realised the GPS
had secretly changed the route. Adjusting our directions sent us back into
Andong, where the traffic had now increased significantly. By the time we got
on the expressway, we had a projected arrival time of 11:55am, meaning that we
had to stay right on the speed limit, or just above, to get back in time. We
quickly learned to follow the local expressway drivers’ practice of putting the
pedal to the metal between speed cameras and complying only where required. It was a very stressful
way to drive, but we made it to the station with 20 minutes to spare. The toll
for our 280km trip was just AUD5.70!
We are now back in our favourite Korean Hotel, the Oriens,
in Seoul. We were welcomed as the regular customers we are and informed on
check-in that the coffee mugs we have always had to request on previous visits,
were already in our room. Great service!
26 October, Home
Left Seoul two days ago on 24 October, arriving home after
an overnight flight on 25 October. Our flight was scheduled for 9:50pm, so we
had a full day to kill in Seoul. It was one of the nicest days, weather wise,
on this trip, so we headed out to Seoul Grand Park, a large complex on the
outskirts of the city comprising the Botanical Gardens, Seoul Zoo, an amusement
park and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. We had a direct subway
connection to the park, which worked well for us as we had to get back to our
hotel late in the afternoon to collect our bags and head to Seoul Station for
the train to Incheon airport.
The park was decked out in almost full autumn splendour, the
crowds were light, even though the carpark was stacked with tour buses.
As zoos go, the animal enclosures were average, but there
are modifications underway to enhance some of the less animal-friendly pens. On
the whole, the inmates looked healthy and well-fed, but some of the pacing
behaviour characteristic of zoo animals
that are not comfortable in their surroundings, was fairly common.
We had planned a visit to the museum, but by the time we had
meandered through the enormous zoo park, we found ourselves at the opposite end
of the complex to the museum and time was getting tight for the two and a half
hours’ travel time to Incheon, including a stop at the hotel to collect our
bags. We did, however, arrive in plenty of time, clearing immigration in a few
minutes through the biometric gates with no passport check, and settling down
for a few pre-flight beers.
Our flight arrived 15 minutes early at 8:00am. Australian Immigration
on entry has improved significantly over the past few years and we were clear
to join the customs line in just a few minutes. Border Force/Customs, on the
other hand, was an embarrassment! The queue stretched for several hundred
metres as tired passengers shuffled along to the document check point where
only three officers were on duty to triage several thousand passengers. Disembarking
to entering the Brisbane arrivals hall took close to one and a half hours and
we didn't have any checked luggage to wait for.
Everybody understands Australia's strict customs regime and
we, along with the large majority of travellers, support it, but why funnel
thousands of arriving travellers through a three person check point when there
are physical facilities to have a score
of officers doing the initial document checks? Brisbane and Border Force had
better pick up their act before 2032!
Korea Review
This was our second trip to Korea in just over 12 months.
Last year we were dogged by extremely hot and wet weather and some minor
illness. This time the weather was kinder to us and we avoided sickness until
the day before departure when Janita developed a cough which didn't slow her up
much. However a RAT at home tested positive to Covid.
Encouraged by recent positive driving experiences in Japan
and Malaysian Borneo (Sarawak) we opted for a short road trip around the northwest
of the country. We picked up a small car in Gangneung and drove around for five
days with very little difficulty, though driving was a little more challenging
than in Japan.
There are still a couple of corners of Korea left to
explore, so it is highly likely that we will return at some time soon.
