Help plan my Korea trip
July 20, 2010 1:35 AM Subscribe
Seoul and Jeju based peoples of mefi, your knowledge and experience is requested.
Off to Korea next week. It will be my first time there, and much more importantly, my partners first time back. We are taking part in the international korean adoptees gathering, so the second week is pretty booked up, but during the first week we want to roam around a little ourselves and get our own impressions. We are intending to land, hang out a day or two in Seoul before heading down for a couple of days in Jeju. We will then return to Seoul to take part in the gathering. I however will be pretty free during the days to entertain myself. To the bullet-points batman!
Where to stay in Jeju? We would love to try and stay somewhere a little traditional as we are staying at a very western style hotel in Seoul. Any recommendations?
We think we would like to go by train to Jeju to see some of the country and then probably fly back. We have not booked anything in advance but are going to look into it when we get there. Is this feasible?
I think we are fairly covered on the cultural end of things, palaces and kimchi museums, I will be checking out Yongsan electronics market, but where else should I get my geek on?
My impression is that if I get lost, I can just throw myself in a cab and be returned to the hotel at a reasonable price (someone said like 10 dollars for a half hour ride). Is that correctish?
My Korean skills are limited to hello, thank you, radish, mushroom, and the singing of a song about a small rabbit. I intend to trade my rendition of Santoki for soju at parties, but other than that, how much hassle am I going to have? I will have a phone with a dictionary in it, and I have an ipod touch (app suggestions), I have also heard there is a free service for tourists that is translation via phone?
Will absolutely be checking out the Chicken Art Museum. What other weird and wonderful things are the tourism sites not telling me about?
The mrs claims that Seoul is much more conservative than I have imagined it as being and that my general outfit of jeans, t-shirts and sandals will not always be appropriate. I am bringing a couple of skirts and have a dress for one of the more formal gathering dinners. Should I wear skirts at historical sites or other places or does it really matter? How about Jeju? How about the beach? I am a medium-butch western woman. My general beach attire is board-shorts and a sportsbra style bikini top.
What should I have asked that I didn't?
posted by Iteki to travel & transportation around Seoul, South Korea (11 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
Restaurants: Sanchon (Buddhist temple cuisine) in Insadong (and Insadong in general for that matter), and Tosokchon (Samgyetang chicken soup) near Gyeongbok Palace.
Geekology: Yongsan Market, as you suggested; there's the ratty old section and the glitzy new section attached to Yongsan Station as well. You can get lost in there with things to do (movie theaters, spa, shopping, food, etc.). There's also a really popular Jjimjjilbang (Korean sauna) attached to Yongsan station where you can sweat. It sounds boring, but going to 찜찔방 is a must for any trip to Korea.
Attire: Don't sweat the attire, since it's crazy hot and humid this time of year and you're not going to fancy-pants formal events anyway, are you? Do expect to get a lot of stares if you show a lot of cleavage. While you may be shocked at how much leg Korean women typically show, they will be shocked at how much cleavage western women show. BRING AN UMBRELLA!
Transportation: 10,000 won will get you most places around Seoul in a cab assuming--and this is a big assumption-- that traffic is light. Subways and buses go everywhere for 900 won (1200 for longer distances). Buses have GPS-automated voice announcements in English telling you what stop you're at. Subways do this too.
Museums: The Chicken Art museum is a five minute walk from my office. Haven't seen it, but I think you shouldn't get your hopes up too much. However, that neighborhood (Samcheong-Dong/Bukcheon-dong) is famously photogenic, with traditional tile-roofed houses everywhere. Lovely little cafes and galleries everywhere.
Shopping: Dongdaemun/Namdaemun markets. All the tourist areas (Insadong and Itaewon as well, although don't waste your time with Itaewon) have shopkeepers that can handle a smattering of English. But if you're Asian in appearance and don't dress/speak like the Japanese and Chinese tourists they might be used to seeing, , they might assume you should be speaking Korean and look at you funny.
Language: Unless you can read the alphabet, translators/dictionaries are unlikely to be much help since the transliterations into latin letters never works very well. Many English teachers live here for years without learning a word of Korean (ooh, low blow), so don't sweat the language barrier.
Flights: Should be fine to get tickets to/from Jeju; aim for weekdays to avoid weekend pressures. 1hr to/from Seoul. Try to book through Jeju Air.
Accommodations in Jeju: You'll almost certainly be able to find a minbak or yeokwan place to crash at night. Minbaks are more like spare bedrooms, yeokwans are cheap hotels. Don't expect quaint and traditional, expect gritty and reeking of smoke.
You can do free translation on the phone, but I don't know anyone that's ever used it. Haggling, shopping, basic directions, taxis--all can be handled by just speaking English.
Neat feature in many subway stations these days: enormous flat panel touchscreen displays with the Korean version of Google Earth and Street View. English menus available, giving local sites of interest.
If you have any more questions, memail me and I'd be happy to try and help!
posted by holterbarbour at 2:36 AM on July 20, 2010