It’s summer! I really enjoy outdoor activities, trips out of Seoul, and extreme activities. I’ve already explored three caves, rode three bike rails, taken a scenic cable car, river rafted, climbed a few mountains, paraglided and more in Korea’s countryside. On my most recent one day trip, I only had only one activity in mind! I wanted cross bungee jumping off my bucket list! It was a somewhat spontaneous trip.
Read MoreTags: what to do on the weekend, korea bucket list, unique things to do in Korea, top things to do in Korea
Spring is a popular season in Korea. Plenty of tourists travel to North East Asia to view the Cherry Blossoms, which bloom in Korea and Japan during the month of April. The season begins in March and ends around May, as the temperatures warm up for Summer in June. Spring is also a season for harvesting. It is common to see countryside farmers planting rice and potatoes, as well as sowing seeds and pruning trees. In this blog I will offer a variety of ways you and your friends can enjoy the comfortable spring weather while living and teaching in Korea.
Read MoreTags: korea bucket list, outdoors, hiking in korea, Spring, cherry blossoms, parks in Korea, outdoor activities, Recreational activities, Cafes, patbingsu, Festivals in Korea, picnics in South Korea, Spring Time, korea spring
Living and teaching in Korea is filled with unique experiences. Often opportunities arise that should not be missed! Life in Korea can be filled with adventure if you embrace new challenges and venture outside of your comfort zone.
So what does it take to truly embrace Korea? The only way to see the country and understand the people, is to travel into the countryside or to local areas. Go beyond the tourist spots and find yourself stranded among rice paddies or the mountainside. Rural Korea is where the heart of Korea is. Most people who live in the bigger cities grew up in the countryside. If you want to understand your Korean friends, it is important t understand their upbringing and where they come from.
Last month the first part of my bucket list was about the Top 5 Unique things to do in Korea. Part 2 is focusing on the Top 5 Unique places to visit in Korea.
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When you travel to a new country the ultimate idea is to immerse yourself into a new culture, “a new way of life”. When living and teaching in Korea it is easy to become comfortable doing your usual routine without experiencing any unique cultural opportunities right on your doorstep. This is why you should write-up a Korean Bucket Listof things you would like to experience during your time in Korea to challenge yourself to complete them! Push yourself to be a little bit more adventurous and try-out the unique enlightening activities you would never be able to experience back home. These will become the most memorable ‘travel-moments’ you will remember for a lifetime. Below are some of the bucket list items I wrote down and have since completed:
Read MoreTags: things to do in Korea, things to do on weekend, things to do before leaving korea, korea bucket list, life in Korea, bucket list, sightseeing, adventure
Last week, I posted part one of my blogs on the annual Lotus Lantern Festival, thrown in honor of Buddha's Birthday in Seoul. After we spent some time last weekend walking around Jogyesa and taking billions of photos of the lanterns, it was time for my favorite part of the festival: the Lantern Parade.
Tags: things to do before leaving korea, festival, festivals, korea bucket list, cultural experience, bucket list, Buddhist Temples, Buddhism, tourist attraction in korea, tourist attractions, Korean traditions, Buddha's Birthday, lotus lantern festival, cultural activities, Buddhist, Holidays in South Korea, Weekend activities in Korea
Just a short jaunt from my favorite area of Seoul, Insadong, is a neighborhood that's vying for the number two spot. Nestled between two palaces and overlooking hip Samcheongdong is the Bukchon Hanok Village -- narrow winding streets flanked with gorgeous hanok houses. I've taken a stroll through this neighborhood several times now and it just never gets old. Not only is this area ridiculously photogenic, but it also offers a variety of cultural activities and history lessons!
Tags: hanok, a year in Korea, seoul, things to do, Korea, korea bucket list, Activities to do in Korea, exploring korea, bukchon hanok village, Weekend activities in Korea
This year, Korea's Chuseok holiday fell on a Thursday, meaning we would have Wednesday-Friday off from teaching. A glorious 5-day weekend is a rare thing, so I was resolved to go somewhere awesome this year. As I watched airplane tickets to international destinations steadily climb in price, I turned to domestic spots. I'd been eyeing Ulleungdo for over a year, with it hovering near the top of my Korea Bucket List, and I quickly realized that the Chuseok weekend was a prime opportunity.
Tags: islands, ulleungdo, dokdo, teaching in Korea, things to do before leaving korea, vacation spot in Korea, Vacations in Korea, vacation destinations, korea bucket list, Chuseok, tourist attraction, tourist attraction in korea, Activities to do in Korea, island, makgeolli, Beaches in Korea
After a day of dancing our way around Incheon (See Part One for the full story!), we'd completed our final flash mob performance at Munhak Stadium and collected our tickets for the big concert: Incheon Korean Music Wave 2013. The line-up of 20 of K-pop's best awaited us inside the stadium: 2AM, A-JAX, B.A.P, BTOB, EXO, F.T. Island, miss A, ZE:A, Girl's Day, BTS, B2ST, Boyfriend, Girls' Generation, Super Junior, SECRET, SISTAR, MBLAQ, KARA, T-ara, and TEEN TOP. It was quite an evening...
Tags: things to do in Korea, korea bucket list, events in Korea, cultural experience, incheon, music, music in Korea, entertainment in Korea, Activities to do in Korea, K-Pop
As someone who grew up in a landlocked state nearly smack in the middle of the U.S., traveling to another state was normal. But going to another country? Too far and too expensive. In fact, while I've traveled all over the U.S., moving to Korea was the first time I'd ever left my home country. Now that I'm here, the novelty of being able to easily country-hop is still so amazing to me. I can't even count the hours I've spent planning the trips I'll be taking someday. Lucky for you, in all of my planning, I've amassed a huge amount of resources. So get ready to bookmark websites, because it's about to get real with a whole lot of information.
Tags: teaching in Korea, KTX, Korea, vacation spot in Korea, Vacations in Korea, vacation, Trips in Korea, road trips in korea, free time in korea, Thailand, Asia, Vietnam, vacation destinations, south korea, what to do on the weekend, korea bucket list, Bali, jeju, japan, taiwan, philippines, china
This past weekend, I was excited to be able to cross another destination off my ever growing Korea Bucket List: Namiseom. This gorgeous, half moon shaped island has always looked appealing with its famous tree-lined paths and photogenic surroundings, so some fellow English teachers and I took full advantage of its proximity to Seoul and took an excellent day trip to the island!
Tags: islands, teaching in Korea, Korea, south korea, korea bucket list, what to do in korea, life in Korea, nami island, chuncheon, winter in Korea, bucket list, entertainment in Korea, what to see in korea, tourist attraction, Korean Dramas, tourist attraction in korea, Activities to do in Korea, island, nami, namiseom, Weekend activities in Korea