21st May - 31st May 2015
The decision to go to South Korea was made on the fly, but it was a fantastic decision! The main reason was to meet up with Shahn's brother, Josh, who has been working at the shipyards in one of the southern islands (Geoje, 거제시). We had not seen him since March 2014 so it was good to catch up, and Shahn's parents met us there - their first big overseas adventure, long haul flights, foreign languages and food. We were vising NZ in October/November so had not seen them in a wee while either.
Trying to get a bit of shut eye and being horizontal, winning!!
Flying into Bangkok before the connecting flight to Busan.
We spoke no Korean apart from hello 안녕하세요 (pronounced: ann-yeong-ha-seyo) and thank you 감사합니다 (pronounced: gam-sahab-nida). We also found that there was always an English button/page/menu to get you through, and if you looked slightly confused someone would always help you out - their English was exceptionally better than our Korean!!
After a fabulous morning buzzing around Busan, we found the bus terminal so that we could catch the bus down to Geoje. We wandered into the bus terminal and looked for the sign "Geoje" and to no avail, looked at the automatic ticketing thing which had a English conversion section on it, still no Geoje. Slightly frazzled and distressed, I walk up to the ticket booth and ask for 2 tickets one way to Geoje, she nods and asks for money typed onto a calculator to which I hand over wads of notes hoping that it will cover it. Once I walk away, I look down at the ticket and its saying "KoHyeon", Michael is standing there shrugging. So we go to a coffee shop and the lady ensures me that "... KoHyeon is the same as Geoje" - Could have ended up anywhere but we made it to Geoje no problems!
We stayed with Josh and my parents in a sweet little apartment just down the road from the shipyard where Josh had been working, so it was great to see where Josh had been living for the past 6 months. We did a bit of sight seeing around the island as well as it was a long weekend (Buddha Day) we managed to see quite a bit of the Island.
Shell Global's Youtube video on the Prelude. It's purpose is a floating LNG plant to extract gas from offshore WA, Australia. The "boat" is 488m in length, 74m wide and weighs over 600,000 tonnes fully laden. An impressive project that my brother got to be a part of!
Geoje Region
We stayed with Josh and my parents in a sweet little apartment just down the road from the shipyard where Josh had been working, so it was great to see where Josh had been living for the past 6 months. We did a bit of sight seeing around the island as well as it was a long weekend (Buddha Day) we managed to see quite a bit of the Island.
Shell Global's Youtube video on the Prelude. It's purpose is a floating LNG plant to extract gas from offshore WA, Australia. The "boat" is 488m in length, 74m wide and weighs over 600,000 tonnes fully laden. An impressive project that my brother got to be a part of!
Prelude - almost 500m long, such a beast!
Prelude (Front section zoomed up)
Prelude (Middle section zoomed up)
Prelude (Back end, zoomed up)
The Smaller's (Darryl, Robbie, Shahn and Josh) with Prelude in background.
After checking out the monster FLNG around the bay, we tiki-toured onward around the coast to Windy Hill. We were so glad we got there early as the roads were packed with tourists, then after we left to go to the next village.
The town of Sinseondae, on the side of Windy Hill. All the houses had orange roofs that had big flat areas (Maybe to dry fish or rice on??)
The parents & Josh looking pumped to be there. So many selfie sticks being used by tourists, just not by us!! Haha!
Eak trying a dried fish patty, not so many yarns with this lady but he tried.
Also a side note for those following our blogs, the scar on Eak's right leg healing up nicely after the motorbike incident in Cambodia.
We went next to Okpo-Dong, a lovely city that again has stunning scenery, hills and greenery. We parked on the top of a hill and saw another shipyard as well as great views of the city below. The Koreans really know how to present things well!
Town on Okpo-Dong, a lot of the ex-pats live here instead of Geoje city due to its size. That apartment there, 102, is a typical block where a company will offer accommodation to workers and their families as part of their employment package - a smart way to ensure that the employee is close to work and well accommodated.
Street Markets of Okpo, so much deliciousness was sampled in the markets.
Market styles of different Kim-Chi and the likes.
Hite - the local Korean Beer. There were a couple of options, Cass was another beer but the Hite tasted far better. Around $2 per beer, cheaper than water!!
We also went to the Geoje Shipbuilding Marine Culture Center, this place was incredibly interesting. Explaining the different types of LNG options as well as their historical shipbuilding, like the Turtle Boat in the picture above built from 1590s onwards, they were used to defend against a Japanese invasion.
Very impressive how they have built massive cities and left large hillsides forested and available for hiking so close to the city. Also lots of exercise equipment around everywhere. Towns are well organised and roads in awesome condition, South Korea really has its' shit together, very impressed.
We went for a walk up the hill behind where Josh was living, it gave excellent views of the city and the shipyards. Fitness equipment was scattered along the hike which we had great fun using, we saw a blind man walking up and down the hill, lots of Koreans love their fitness gear so they had walking poles and high performance clothing.
Along the walk we found this new apartment block being built, Josh was loving the top notch electrical work with that guy installing the air conditioner on the left. While Michael was loving the contraption to get the homewares into a new apartment.
View from on top of the hill, looking down upon Geoje and its' masses of apartment blocks. Such an efficient use of space, maximum accomodation with minimal footprint.
The final day in Geoje before we caught a bus up to Seoul, we went on a little tour of the Samsung Shipyard that Josh was working in for the Prelude. It was a flying visit and Dad was quite disappointed with how quick it was as he thought they might show a bit more but from a safety point of view it was pretty full on.
Look at the vehicles on the road, the scale of this place was incredible!
The small truck on the road just shows how colossal all this equipment is, crazy!
A casual 450 tonne crane and a 900 tonne crane in the background.
Seoul
We left Josh to complete his final week of work in Geoje, caught a bus up from Geoje to Seoul which was roughly 4 hours and then caught a couple of trains to get to our accommodation. Like the seasoned travellers we are, we stood in front of a map long enough scratching our heads before some kind chap came to our assistance and told us which train to catch, all in all a great plan.
FYI: Often the accommodation changes their name, I am unsure if they do this due to new management or if they do it to rid themselves of bad reviews on TripAdvisor etc but it is something I noticed in SE Asia too, a lot of rebranding happens. So research the living life out of the places you are staying at, mostly by address.
We stayed at 88 Guesthouse which was located right in the middle of Myeong-dong, which was an exceptionally convenient location as it was close to the markets and the public transport.
Local restaurant in the Myeong-dong Markets, Dad chomping into some seafood and Mum being a vegetarian had limited options but always had something to eat (and always on her phone, classic Mum!)
These metal chopsticks are quite hard to use, very slippery!
We had stunning weather while in Seoul, lovely clear days and sunshine. We wandered around the city using the trains as much as possible, so efficient and easy to use. Dad had surgery to both of his feet less than 6months prior to this trip and we tried to minimise the amount of walking where possible, but when you are a tourist especially in a city, it requires quite a lot of walking as well as general standing. He did so well, but he was in a lot of pain!
We visited the War Memorial of Korea, it was huuuuge!! Opened in 1994, this war memorial museum was filled with incredibly detailed accounts of the many conflicts and wars that Korea and indeed South Korea has been involved in over the long history of its country.
"Statue of Brothers" at the War Memorial depicting the older/elder South Korean soldier embracing the younger North Korean soldier, symbolic of the Korean division in the 1950s.
The epic building housing the War Memorial Museum.
Panoramic of another monument depicting the toll the Korean war of the 1950s had on the people, both North and South Koreans - Soldiers and civilians alike.
Part of the UN Monuments at the war museum
Michael just playing around in the army gear.
A vast selection of equipment from the war.
Peace shrine.... or something like that. Darryl, Shahn & Robbie on the right.
Just enjoying the history in the museum
Since we were on the same side of town, afterwards we went to the tourist tower called the N Seoul Tower, located on the Namsan Mountain. It marks the highest point in Seoul at 236m, and boasted beautiful panoramic views of Seoul. We caught the gondola up to the observation section, Mum hates heights and she was very mildly freaking out.
Taken from the top of the N Seoul tower. Cool view, South Korea really has done an awesome job of integrating parks and somewhat wild areas into its cities.
Not so far away from the motherland
Meeting up with Hannah Poole
Michaels' friend from high school, Hannah, has been living in Seoul for the past few years teaching English to the very well educated kiddies of South Korea. We were both keen to catch up, and we were keen to get a more local view on Seoul.
Hannah took us all out to a traditional restaurant, which turned out to be a nice little vegetarian restaurant on the count that Shahn's mum doesn't eat meat. Hannah did an awesome job of finding somewhere to eat more traditional food as without meat, as Koreans are know to have meat with everything. Nice spot where we got to sit on the floor and eat traditional food. Eak thoroughly enjoyed the meal, everyone else thought there were too many mushrooms! but they are just picky....
Hannah then took us for a night out wandering the streets, where recently the city had opened up a once piped stream to the public, this has now become a local hot spot for art and an evening stroll.
 |
| Shahn cutting shapes. |
Gyeongbokgung Palace
The following day we were off to explore more of Seoul. We really wanted to see a palace, a few were recommended but we decided on Gyeongbokgung, as it was not too far away and we planned our route using the TripAdvisor app. On a side note, the TripAdvisor app is amazing for South Korea. If you have a GPS enabled phone you can download the maps of interest then using the phone as a basic GPS to guide you around the city, the TripAdvisor app has all subway line, points of interest, eatery's, markets and its free!!!
The whole palace was destroyed during the war and was rebuilt to reflect the original construction due to the significance of cultural history, prior to its destruction in the 1950's the palace was approximately 600 years old.
It was really nice weather, we just wandered around looking and talking.
We met the girl in the back of the image on photo (Hannah from Germany) while trying to find the best way to get to the palace. Hannah was also heading there so she hung out with us for the entire day. Told us interesting things about her life where she was from and so on. She was of Korean and German decent and found it very difficult to get about in South Korea, as many of the locals saw her as a Korean and would treat her poorly for being unable to speak Korean fluently, which she found frustrating.
Robwano, Mumma Bear (and her giant handbag!)
Just chilling enjoying the maze of building and pathways.
Among the swarms of tourists in the baking sun.
Beautiful craftsmanship, even though it has been rebuilt - it has all been done to be as technically correct and historically accurate as possible.
Waiting for the bus loads of tourists to pass through so we could enjoy the serenity of the temple.
Extensive waterways around the palaces
Backpacks, jandals and smiles!
Loving the Temples
A Chicken.
Such extensive temple grounds, took a good couple of hours to get through!
Eak's Early Morning Excursion
Early in the morning, I wanted to head out to the old part of the city and see the traditional buildings and designs so I went for a wander around and took some snaps.
Very cool houses, narrow little streets and gardens everywhere. Every spare section of ground used efficiently and beautifully.
The DMZ
Prior to visiting South Korea, we hadn't really considered how crazy the North vs South situation actually was/is. We knew about the wars and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) but didn't really comprehend how intense the whole situation is. The DMZ is 250km long and 4km wide and literally divides the North from the South, considering the name suggests that it is "demilitarised" it is actually heavily guarded with military presence.
We ended up entering the DMZ via the third tunnel. Bit scary going down a deep dark hole, you could see the drilling marks where the North Koreans had worked away building the tunnel. Even worse was when you get to the concrete wall with a small slit where South Korean armed guards had stood waiting for troops from the North to attack.
Massive transmission lines crossing the river, near Paju, South Korea, supplies the North with electricity for the factories they have just over the DMZ. This provides cheap labour to the booming South and much needed cash flow to the North.
One of the hundreds of pill boxes the follow the DMZ border, with razor wire fences lining the river which marks the DMZ border.
The bridge to freedom
The evident gunfire damage to the train.
The famous railway station to nowhere..... The South genuinely hope that this railway will one day be used since the infrastructure is in place.
Admiring photos of Korea and the world (To promote travel via rail)
This may seem like the most ridiculous photo but the South Koreans have it covered!! This one rubber catch works on all three doors, mind blown.
Looking across into North Korea. A large "propaganda" city which the tour guide told us is completely empty. The town called Kijŏng-dong, was built in the 50s and has large buildings - allegedly with timers to turn lights on and off, and cleaners to show "activity". All a bit much to deal with!
The peace bell near the bridge to freedom.
DMZ border maintained by the South.
Night out in Seoul
We only took one photo of our night out with Hannah. She showed us an awesome time visiting many different areas, foods, drink and night life. So thank you a lot Hannah for your hospitality!! The drink she is holding up is a popular Korean drink called Soju, it was strong tasting, but good.
Bits and bobs from our time in South Korea. Hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did!!
Michael's musings on South Korea
I'm unsure how such a large population harvesting marine life is able to be sustainable in the ocean? A vast amount of seafood seems to be consumed in every town. Also in summer Geoje really is a pretty area and yet we saw very few pleasure/ fishing craft on the water. Talking with some locals we found that in some areas the water was contaminated with waste and as such not utilised by the locals. I would be interested to know how they process effluent before disposal, when they are eating the seafood caught in the same area they dump it.
Very tidy cities despite their size, South Korea have really capitalised on inner city living where generally the buildings go up not out. Road quality was really good. Seoul was very clean and tidy, the people were awesome and helpful. I think you could spend at least another few weeks in South Korea exploring the regions.
Most impressed how far South Korea has come after the war, essentially being destroyed to being an economic powerhouse.
Some Koreans think that the North and South will be united within 10 years, although only about 50% want this to happen. If they form one country under the democratic flag there would be a rush of economic migrants from the North to the South looking for work and a better life, and some Koreans think this could cause issues in work and housing availability. These Koreans also believe that it would be hard to change the mindset of the 'brainwashed' North Koreans.
Talking with some locals and (Kiwi) Hannah, we found that the children have a very strict learning expectation driven from the parents and do very well at school and learn very fast. Although the pressure for children to succeed is extreme, so much so that they are often still doing school work in classes until 10pm as young as aged 10.
South Korea is a fantastic country, I would definitely go back for a visit and get out cycling or hiking which are both popular pastimes. You can really see how well the country is doing and how much of an influence they are and will be on the world.
I guess now I also understand KPOP.....
I guess now I also understand KPOP.....
