Places That I Have Visited In South Korea
This time, I'm going to share about
my experiences in South Korea. As you can see that i'm a type of person that loves
travelling. My dream is to travel around the world. I love visiting new
places that are different from my country. Sometimes it is good to step out of
your daily pace or comfort zone and experience different thing. You may have
new inspiration after that. I've been to so many places, China, Iran, Korea and many more. I've been to other countries because when i was
in middle school and high school i had to
move to other countries due to my mother’s job. It was a pleasure for me to
visit and stay in other countries. This made me learn new cultures and having
new experiences. I would love to share some fun experiences on traveling in
South Korea.
Last year my best friend and I visited Korea
for our holiday trip. We went to Korea to visit one of my Korean friend that i haven't
meet for a long time. We went to so many places in Korea, such as the famous palace in korea “Gyeongbokgung Palace”, Bukchon
Hanok Village, Everland Theme Park, and many more.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
To understand more about Korea,
you got to immerse yourself in their culture. Gyeongbokgung palace is located
in Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Gyeongbokgung was the main and largest palace of
the five grand palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgung literately
means "Palace of Shining Happiness". The palace is really huge and
there are also gardens inside. We spent a few good hours roaming around and
taking photographs.
Gyeongbokgung (경복궁),
also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace is a first royal
palace built by Joseon Dynasty. The name means "Palace" (Gung)
"Greatly Blessed by Heaven" (Gyeongbok). So when you are in Seoul,
you should never miss out this palace to visit.
In the early 20th century, much
of the palace was destroyed by Imperial Japan. In 1989, the South Korean
government started a 40-year initiative to rebuild the hundreds of structures
that were destroyed by the colonial government of the Empire of Japan. After many
controversial debates about its fate, symbol of Empire of Japan finally was
demolished in order to reconstruct the royal palace.
Admission fee:
- Age 19~: 3,000 won / 2.400 won ( group, 10 or more )
- Age 7-18: 1,500 won / 1,200 won ( group, 10 or more )
- * Free : Children(ages 6 and under), Permanent Residency(F-5) Status Holder (Age 65 and Older)
- * With the purchase of a book of Combination Tickets (adults 10,000won, Youth 5,000won), one admission for each of the five different palaces is available within one month. (Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung - the Secret Garden included, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo Shrine).
Getting to Gyeongbokgung Palace
is really easy, you just need to take the subway to Gyeongbokgung Station and
then take Exit 5, it will lead you to directly beside the Gyeongbokgung Palace.
There will be a small gate in front of you, walk through it and you will see
the back of Gwanghwamun Gate. You won't get lost if you take Exit 5 at
Gyeongbokgung Station.
Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon Hanok Village is a traditional
village in Korea, situated between the Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace and
Jongmyo Royal Shrine. It is one of the beautiful area that are worth visiting and
also the most popular touristy spots in Seoul. The name, ‘Bukchon,’ which
literally translates to ‘northern village,’ came about as the neighborhoods
covering the village lie to the north of the two significant Seoul landmarks –
Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jongno.
In here you can find hundreds of
hanok or Korean traditional houses being well preserved. Bukchon has been
preserved as is to show a 600-year-old urban environment. I was totally
impressed by how well preserved the houses are. The village has lots of tiny,
winding alleys and plenty of Hanoks – traditional Korean houses. These homes
are made of stone, wood, soil and rice paper, and have sloping roofs.
Up until now the old traditional
houses are still inhabited by people, so make sure you don’t make too much
noise so you won’t disturb the residents. In this area many hanok houses are
transformed into cultural centers, guesthouses, restaurants and tea houses providing
an opportunity to experience, learn and immerse in Korean traditional culture so
you can visit and take a look of the interior of Korean traditional house.
I fell in love with this old
village immediately even though the whole village only consists in a few
blocks, we can easily trolling through all these little narrow streets admiring
the very well kept Traditional homes, the colors and the designs of these home
are so amazing, from walking around these streets in this village, sometimes we
catch a glimpse of Namsang Seoul Tower, seeing the contrast between Old and
New. I'm really impress with this place. Walking along this road, seems like I
were in Korean drama.
Everland Theme Park
Everland is the largest amusement
park in South Korea. Last year was my 2nd time visiting Everland. Everland theme
park located in Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do province, South Korea, and approximately
2 hours by land travel from Seoul city. The place is magical and has a wonderful
landscaping. It was very beautiful, thrilling and nice. Very entertaining and
really a must-go spot in Korea.
Everland is divided into 5
different zones: Global Fair, European Adventure, Zoo Topia, American Adventure
and Magic Land. If you’re an animal lover, you should Go for Zoo-topia and up for a
trip through the wild world of animals. Magic Land transports you to the land
of imagination and is the playground for all things. The American Adventure and
European Adventure are more my kind of thing. Both offers thrilling, hair
raising rides, exhilarating roller coasters and mind-blowing stimulations. The
notorious T-Express; the world’s steepest WOODEN roller coaster ride is in the
European Adventure and was the most important feature of Everland for me.
Operating hours:
Weekdays 10:00-22:00 / Saturdays 10:00-20:00 / Sundays,
public holidays 9:30-22:00
* Operating hours vary by month. Please click here to see
the operating hours for the desired date of visit.
Tickets
Type
|
Adults
|
Children
|
Note
|
One-day Ticket
|
54,000 WON
|
43,000 WON
|
·
Free admission to Hoam Gallery for the day and extra
charges for coin-operated rides, rental, animal rides, and special
exhibitions
·
No online purchase is available for Night tickets or
Two-day tickets
·
No double discount option including the use of
discount cards is available for Two-day Tickets
|
Night Ticket
17:00~ |
45,000 WON
|
36,000 WON
|
|
Two-day Ticket
|
84,000 WON
|
67,000 WON
|
source: https://www.everland.com/web/multi/english/everland/everland_guide/ticket/Tickets_and_Coupons.html
The Differences Between Holiday and Travelling
Travelling = going from place to place
Holiday = staying in one place
Holiday = staying in one place
A big difference between taking
holiday and travelling on
a budget is how your days are spent. This is directly related
to the level of relaxation involved. On holiday, activities are generally less
strenuous or done in moderation. Budget travel on the other hand can be tiring.
Days are spent either travelling to or exploring a destination. There is
usually a lot of walking involved, aside from more optional activities such as
hiking or cycling. You’ll be carrying a backpack some of the time. It may be
hot, dusty or both.
A holiday is a trip where you
completely switch off all your worries and leave your stresses behind. You go
on holiday to vacate your normal life to lead a week or two of luxurious
lifestyle. I imagine others would probably love to live out the rest of their
lives in this way.
Travel, however, is when you are
not running away from work but running towards new challenges. Let’s face it,
travel is hard work! You choose to go places not because they are familiar and
easy, but because they are foreign and exciting. You don’t need anyone to bring
you fruity drinks, because half of the fun is figuring out how you will fend
for yourself in this new environment. It’s the ultimate test to your
independence, and the rewards are exhilarating.
You start to weigh up which
activities are worth your money and which you can pass up when travelling as
your money needs to last over a long period of time. But when you’re on holiday
every activity looks splendid as you have time to kill and generally you’re
only visiting that one country. But when you’re travelling, immersing yourself
into the culture, finding locals and joining other people becomes an important
part of the experience as it also lowers the cost.
Travelling may not be hard work but it’s certainly not a
holiday…
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