Kansamida South Korea Part 1- Busan, Gyeongju, and Andong
It’s my first time to visit South Korea and it will not be my last. I think South Korea has done a fantastic job developing their tourism. While it is one of Asian people’s favorite holiday destinations (thanks to Song Jong Ki, k-pop,Korean drama, and cosmetics), South Korea remains a hidden gem to Westerners. Actually, it is super easy to travel around South Korea without knowing Korean. Most transportation systems and stations have directions in English, Chinese, and Japanese in addition to Korean. South Korea is very affordable, you can have a meal anywhere from 2USD to 10USD. A ride on the local subway is about 1-2 USD. I would say South Korea is a great place for solo female travelers as it is very safe and scam-free.
I flew into Seoul from Okinawa and took the KTX (express train) to Busan which is in the Southern part of Korea. My ride took about 2.5 hours only. My airbnb hosts were very friendly and we all hung out for the long weekend since it was S. Korea’s national holiday. We had a BBQ, went to the beach, and had a few drinking sessions. It was nice to have a few non-touristy days after running around so much.
Busan
Busan is a rather quiet place except around their beaches- Haeundae beach and Gwangali beach. Haeundae beach got destroyed during the tsunami caused by one of the super typhoons that hit Busan. I escaped the storm as I was on a short trip to Andong that day. But I did get to visit both beaches before the storm:
The place I liked the most in Busan was Gamcheong Village, the whole district was revitalized as an art district to combat poverty. After world war II, there was a huge influx of people to Busan. The demand for housing was so tight that poor people had to move up the hills. The Gamcheong village area was a slum to begin with, but the residents wanted to revitalize the district by adding in art installations. As you can see in the photos, the whole area is very colorful. You can feel the effort being put in as you walk along the crooked stairways and narrow alleys.
The little prince and the fox was my favorite art installation:
Colorful fish shape art boards everywhere:
Artist at work:
Art everywhere:
Besides Gamcheong village, I also enjoyed spending time in Jagalchi market and seeing Beomeosa Temple (>1,000 year old temple, mostly burned down during Japanese invasion, but rebuilt again).
Gyeongju and Andong
Just an hour and a half away from Busan is Gyeongju, the historical capital of South Korea. Walking in Gyeongju made me feel like walking in a historical amusement park with old buildings and huge gardens. Everywhere is walkable and you can stop any time to have snacks. A lot of visitors enjoy dressing up in traditional Korean attire taking pictures around Gyeongju. This is a picture of the Anapji pond:
My friend Eva told me that if I went to Gyeongju then I must go to Andong. Andong Hanok village is a world heritage site, it is also the place where spiritual masks are made. Andong is two bus rides away from Gyeongju, though it is a bit out of the way, it is totally worth visiting.
Hanok village means “the village that the river wraps around”, most residents of the village are farmers. They are very friendly people, an old man on a scooter asked me to help him carry a huge pumpkin to his house. He didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Korean, but he gave me a high five after I completed the task.
I took a boat over to the cliff to hike up the mountain:
Andong is a very peaceful place, next time I visit, I want to do a home stay in Andong 🙂 I also met another Chinese female solo traveler while I was in Andong, and we took pictures of each other posing in the medical museum with traditional Korean outfits.
This part of my solo trip turned out to be full of new friends!