Guide to UNESCO World Heritage Sites
What is Jongmyo Jaerye? Despite being one of the most important cultural festivals in Korea, most visitors have never heard of it. Who can blame them, I have been in Korea for three years and it took active researching to find out when and where it was (and I knew what I was looking for).
“Don’t go to Korea for the nature!!!” I know, I have said it a thousand times (and sorry for quoting myself, that is a sin, I know), and you know what, I am not backing off of that. At least, not yet. Korea has a breathtaking amount of cultural history, with dozens of things to do in the capital alone. However, I reassert that, with the exception of Jeju Island, it is not a natural haven, despite what the official tourism website might say. However, Wolchulsan National Park is a step up from most nature oriented places I have been to in Korea.
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This is the second part of the Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival, and I know what you’re thinking. What will you possibly post on this part 2 post that wasn’t already covered in the first Jindo post. Well, given that I did take some video on this trip, I thought this would be the perfect time start the youtube channel I talked about in the first website update. It is my first try at video, so I apologize in advance for the quality. While my camera is supposed to shoot in true HD, the format is sometimes difficult to work with.
Video #1: A parade of people carry banners across the sea road.
Korea seems to have a festival for everything. There is a butterfly festival, a lantern festival, about seven cherry blossom festivals, and that is just in April and May. Much like visiting too many temples in a short time, you can also get festival-ed out! The Jindo “Miracle Sea Road Festival” however, is truly unique. Every year around late April [This year, on April 25-28], when the tide is at its lowest, a magical road appears that connects Jindo Island with Modo Island. Compare this map provided by google, with this one the day of the festival.
This is the 2013 OUTDATED version of the top things to do in Seoul (maintained for sentimental value). Follow the link to the new TOP 50 Things to do in Seoul.
#30 Old Seoul Station
The Old Seoul Station started operation more than 100 years ago. It has recently been reopened to the public after years of remodeling. It currently sits right next to the modern Seoul Station train hub, the main train station to go anywhere out of Seoul, and is quite interesting to get a good view of the two buildings simultaneously from a distance. As they were built almost a hundred years apart, you can see the development of Korean architecture from 1900 (European based) to today (almost futuristic). Unfortunately, for the time being, there is nothing really inside the old building besides a few modern art exhibitions (which isn’t my type of art) so the pretty building (and a lot of imagination) will have to do.
#29 The Blue House Read more
