South Korea
So you’ve visited Seoul and love it with all of its palaces, shopping districts, and nightlife, but now… you’re looking for something new. You grow weary of this Seoul-centric Korea and want to see what else is out there. Well, I’m here to tell you that the rest of the country does not disappoint. Here is your countdown to the 40 best things to do OUTSIDE of Seoul (2017 Edition).
Note – A couple of places overlap with the list of Top 80 Things to do in Seoul. This was done on purpose for two reasons. First, many of these lie in the greater Seoul metro network, making a separation impractical for a guide. Secondly, it is a good benchmark for you to compare how these places stack up to places in Seoul!
Location: Gyeongju, South Korea
Visited: Sept, 2010 / March, 2011 / Oct, 2013
Site Type: Cultural
Inscribed: 1995
Background and Opinion:
This, Korea’s oldest UNESCO site, is actually a dual submission of ‘two temples’ which are adjacent to each other, the large Bulguksa Temple, and the smaller cave temple of Seokguram. Bulguksa was first built in the 8th century during the Silla period and serves as one of the few remaining examples of their architecture.
One particularly impressive part of the temple is the set of two stone pagodas known as Seokgatap and Dabotap. While nothing has ever been found (officially) inside of Dabotap, the former had a number of relics dating back from the construction of these structures in 750 CE. One of these relics was a piece of the oldest known remaining woodblock print of the Mugujeonggwang Great Dharani Sutra. The two pagodas, the relics and five other structures account for a total of 8 national treasures in Bulguksa alone, 7 of which still remain on site today. Read more
If you are one of the tens of thousands of expats who call Korea your home, this entire post will come of no surprise. However, for those of you whose experience of the South (the sane one) is limited to the occasional K-pop hit, CNN, and that one guy you knew who taught there, these are some things they might have left out of their rosy tale of highlights and nightmares. You know, that mildly-interesting stuff.
1) The Kimchi Fridge
Kimchi is one of the staple side dishes in Korea with a penetrating smell that even I can sense (for those who don’t know, my sense of smell is terrible). Unless you live in Korea though, you probably aren’t aware that Koreans have a specific fridge where they ONLY store kimchi. This kimchi fridge serves three purposes.
First, it frees up space in the main fridge. Many Korean families make kimchi to last the entire year during the harvest when cabbage is cheap, accumulating to a shit ton quite a lot of kimchi. Second, the smell is something even Koreans are conscious of. It is best to separate it from the rest of the food as no variety of Tupperware will stop it from making everything in your fridge smell like pickled cabbage. Finally, the fridge can change the conditions of its compartments to divide everyday kimchi, kimchi for soup, and so on.
2) Men Spit Before Peeing
I’ve written a number of articles about the things you should know before coming, the actual monetary benefits of teaching in the RoK, and of course, my personal experience with the whole gig. Let me start by saying that for me, the four years I spent in South Korea were simply the best. As far as the fun aspect of it, I think of it much like college, but with money. However, one thing I really have never talked about on this blog is, surprisingly, the most important thing to consider. Is going to Korea the right move for you? I will try to minimize the BS, sugar coating, and any of that other stuff countless people do online to make this post as realistic as possible. There are just three questions to ask yourself.
Question #1
Do You Like Teaching?
