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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Jeju’s Yakcheon Temple impresses with its size and colorful beauty.
There’s undoubtedly something special about centuries-old temples. But despite its youth (built in the 1990s), Yakcheon Temple, or Yakcheonsa (약천사), on Jeju’s southern coast, is also worthy of a visit. It was built in the style of Joseon Dynasty-era structures and named after a medicinal stream it was supposedly built over.
Covering an area of 122,100 square meters, Yakcheonsa is Jeju’s second largest temple complex, although the four-story (28 meters high) main prayer hall claims to be Asia’s largest. Standing beside it, the boast seems likely. The hall is truly massive. In fact, each level appears to bend slightly under the temple’s sheer weight.
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This past weekend, southern Seoul’s COEX center hosted the sixth annual Korea Travel Expo.
The historically weak Korean won and global economic crisis has many Koreans looking at domestic travel destinations instead of holidays in Southeast Asia or the U.S. To meet their needs, this past weekend the Korea Travel Expo 2009 (site in Korean) hosted its sixth annual event at the Atlantic Hall of the COEX center in southern Seoul.
Nearly 500 booths representing 280 different regional governments, transportation companies and local festivals took part in the nation’s largest expo promoting domestic tourism. This being Korea, several booths offered free samples of indigenous liquor.
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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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