Think that winter is when you stay bundled at home? Think again! Korea’s distinct four seasons guarantees a packed winter festival season, a boon for travelers who enjoy ice fishing, sunrise watching and fireworks to ring in the New Year. As always, be sure to check out the Korea Tourism Organization’s great interactive festival website (Go here).
Boseong Tea Fields Festival of Lights (Boseong, South Jeolla Province)
December 11-January 31
Boseong is justly famous for its beautiful rows of green tea fields, and its most famous plantation has turned its dormant season into a light show. For seven weeks, from 17:30 until 24:00 every day, Boseong’s orderly rows of tea will host an elaborate light show. See computer-generated photos of this year’s show on the website.
(more info: call +82-61-1330 or visit here [Not a terribly helpful site].)
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Summer may be peak festival season in Korea, but I much prefer traveling during the autumn months, when the temps fall, the leaves turn and the crowds are a little less crazy. What follows are some of Korea’s best autumn festivals.
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Last year, my friends Do-hoon and KBS World’s Abby Rhodes took three days to explore Korea’s Donghae, or East Sea. During our three-day exploration of Gangwon Province, , on day 1 we explored the mountains, and on day 2 we explored the sea.
Of course, Korea’s east coast is the first place to see the sun rise here, and many Koreans visit it to make a wish on special days like the lunar New Year. Although our special wish for no rain was already granted, we awoke at 4 am anyhow to see the sun rise at Naksansa Temple (낙산사).
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A snapshot of a sidewalk “White Day” sale near Ewha Woman’s University (sic) from last year.
No, Valentine’s Day isn’t an indigenous creation, but Koreans have embraced the holiday fully. And beyond being just a day for shops to sell anything pink or red, it’s also a special time to tell someone in your life, saranghae (사랑해), or “I love you.”
Actually, there are many quasi-official days for love in Korea. Youth and marketers have conspired to designate the 14th of almost every month a special day, with very specific rules to follow.
For example, although today is observed as Valentine’s Day in Korea, traditionally it’s when women give chocolate and gifts to their significant others. On March 14th, which is called “White Day,” the roles are reversed, and get this, some say that men are supposed to give gifts that are three times the value of what she gave you the previous month!
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Colorful pinwheels add color to what was an otherwise very white snow festival.
The Taebaek Mountain Range stretches 500 kilometers along Korea’s east coast. This backbone of the Korean Peninsula features its namesake, Mount Taebaek, at the southern edge of Gangwon Province.
Rising 1,567 meters above sea level, Taebaeksan, which means “great white mountain,” is famous for its heavy snowfall. A portrait of Dangun Wanggeom (단군왕검), Korea’s legendary founder, is enshrined here. And during the Silla Dynasty, kings performed annual sacrifices on Taebaeksan. In fact, Korean shamanists consider Taebaek Mountain to be one of the nation’s three holiest peaks.
But as I mentioned previously, this “great white mountain” is famous for snow, which is why thousands of people come here annually for the Taebaek Snow Festival (태백산눈축제).
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A photo of a man with an ox in Korea, 1972 (photo from here).
Well, by now you may already know that Koreans use two calendars, one that’s solar and the another that’s lunar-based. So while Korea celebrated the near year on January 1st with much of the rest of the world, today, Monday, January 26th, marks the first day of the lunar calendar.
This special day is called Seollal (설날), and many say it’s Koreans’ favorite holiday. This new year is called gichungnyeon (기충년), or the year of the ox. The ox symbolizes diligence and sincerity, patience, hardwork and modesty… probably behavior we should all practice during these economic times.
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A snapshot from Bukhan Mountain, just north of Seoul. The bright yellow leaves are from an old Gingko Tree.
(A version of this text aired on KBS World Radio on October 25, 2008.)
The French existentialist and philosopher Albert Camus once said, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” That famous line reminds me why this is my favorite time of the year, and Korea is a great place to see autumn in all its colorful glory. Korea’s climate has four distinct seasons, and fall is when the mild climate and limited rainfall make traveling especially comfortable.
The Korean word for autumn leaves is danpoong (단풍), … and come to think of it, it’s funny that English doesn’t have its own word, at least to my knowledge. Maybe the leaves here are just more spectacular?
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The cable car takes “hikers” from the base of Outer Seoraksan Mountain to Gwongeumseong (권금송).
Today, we indulge in a summer ritual: the road trip, by starting a three-part exploration of Gangwon Province on Korea’s eastern shore.
If I sound a little bit tired today, it’s because I just got back from a three-day, 800-kilometer road trip in Korea’s Gangwon Province. Gangwon-do is a big, beautiful place, so there was a lot of ground to cover. But thankfully, my two travel buddies, KBS World’s very own Abby Rhodes and our friend Do-hoon, were also along for the ride.
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The Hwallaejeong Pavilion (활래정) juts out over a lotus pond at Seongyojang (선교장) in the city of Gangneung on Korea’s east coast.
A few weeks ago friends and I traveled to Gangwon Province, and in our trips to the beach and to the world’s largest gramophone museum, we spent time in the city of Gangneung (강릉). Gangneung is the economic center of eastern Gangwondo, the province whose name is a combination of the “gang” from Gangneung, and the “won” of its ancient provincial capital, Wonju.
The city was one of my favorite places in Gangwondo because of its simple beauty. In addition to its popular shoreline and famous Gyeongpo Beach, the city boasts a large lagoon and several gorgeous buildings that date from the Joseon Dynasty. Remarkably, several of them have been beautifully maintained for centuries.
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