@ HelenaJ -- it sounds like you and your family are going to have an absolutely awesome trip. What a treat to be able to return, and to be able to introduce your children to places you hold near and dear! They are lucky. And you are reminding me of how many places I had wanted to visit, but couldn't fit in -- more than enough for another trip one day!

I'm glad you enjoyed my report and appreciate that you took the time to tell me and to share a bit of your plans. Best wishes!

4 weeks in the fall!
 

I just read this entire thread. What a wonderful travelogue.You are truly a gifted writer. We are planning a trip for Mid October until mid November of this year. We plan on renting a car for the first 2 and a half weeks then turning it in for a trip to Jeju and our time in Seoul for the last week and a half or so. I took a quick look for the guides you used but there don't seem to be any new versions of your top two. Does anyone have suggestions for the best guidebooks that are more current? Since we will have a car I really want to take advantage of that and find the out of the way places and scenery. I would have thought there would be a ton of new ones out because of the olympics but that did not seem to happen. Is driving (other than seoul of course) difficult in S. Korea? On previous trips I have tended towards loosley structured. I tend to meander. I have a list of must dos but don't tend to make room or meal reservations ahead of time for fear of being locked into getting someplace by a specific date. Is this an ok way to travel in South Korea or will it be difficult to find rooms that time of year? The last few years on trips to Iceland and Scotland I've used air b and b. Can anyone here advise if this is possible? I briefly checked out the listings for Seoul and there seem to be plenty but I haven't researched elsewhere yet. In terms of maps is it possible to use google maps once you are in the country or is there a different mapping service that is reccomended?

@ hmr28: My apologies for the delayed response: I’ve been away from Fodor’s for a while….

While offering my thanks for your kind comments, I’m not sure I can be of much help with your specfiic queries. But for what it’s worth, and hoping I’m not too late:

- re: the car. Although at least one other Fodorite has reported a very successful experience with renting a car in South Korea, all of my South Korean friends strongly urged me to avoid driving there. The accident rate is so high that none of them will drive when they return, annually, to visit friends and family, and most reported that their friends and family have given up their cars because they simply find driving unworthy of the risks. I didn’t try to drive, and so can’t speak to what the experience would have been. If you decide to drive, you might want to make sure you understand your insurance options and consider more extensive coverage than you might do elsewhere – just a thought! And FWIW, I’ll add that taking public transportation in South Korea was, for me, among the great delights of being there – whether on high speed rail or a snail-paced bus, I saw people interacting with one another, and had interactions with others, that were among my favorite experiences of my trip.

- As for rooms: I made my plans in advance, so I can’t speak to the experience of traveling on the fly in South Korea. I suspect that it would depend on your requirements, your willingness to pay more than you might otherwise pay, and your willingness to negotiate accomodation without use of English (at least outside of Seoul, Busan, and Jejudo). Language probably won’t be much of an issue – showing up at a hotel with suitcases generally communicates your need. But whether the room(s) so found would be acceptable to you, or what you would have to do to find a place that is acceptable, is another matter entirely.

- Best wishes! And again, my apologies for the delayed response.

I realise you may no longer be active here, but MaryW, would love to pick your brains on this. My husband and I are analysis potters and would love advice on travel in South Korea that references this. Thank you

@ Kavey: Thanks for topping my trip report!

I join you in wishing MaryW well. :)

I see that you are planning a trip to South Korea -- I'll add some comments to your planning thread soon. In the meantime, Kavey, if you (or others) have any questions about my experiences, please feel free to add them to this thread -- I get an email alert when someone posts to it.

Kja, it really is such a treasure of a Trip Report, and I will glean not just enjoyment from the reading but such a wealth of information as well!
I will have questions going forward and will add them here in case they also prove to be of interest to other future readers!
Thank you again!

I am probably the Fodorite that kja references - I had a very positive experience renting a car and driving in South Korea. I found the other drivers to be very polite. As I value spending time exploring the countryside, it's important to me to have some degree of private transportation. I definitely saw things and ate at places that otherwise would be pretty much off-limits.

I am glad to hear you already have significant experience with the food. I live within a 20 minute drive of ~40 Korean restaurants, and I was very much interested in trying food I can't get back home.

In Busan, I recommend Ji Sim Jeon near Gangwalli Beach that serves these very large mandu:

https://tinyurl.com/hbhxzrx2

In the Jagalchi Fish Market, there is a small place on the 3rd floor that serves food. Only locals are eating here. You might have to poke around to find it. No menu, no English, just sit down and they will serve you a feast. Great food and experience.

You could go to a thousand places to eat in Korea and never see duck or goat on a menu. But there are villages that specialize in those. At the Eastern gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress there is a goat village with about a dozen places to eat. Typically they will serve roast goat, then make fried rice of the leftovers, and then make a soup out of that when you're finished. Mercifully, there is no dessert. There is also a duck village near Beomeosa Temple at the opposite end of Geumseongsan Fortress. Duck bulgogi can be sublime.

@ Kavey: Such kind words! Many thanks.:)

@ shelemm: I remember that you had a positive driving experience – and am very glad that you bring that perspective to this trip report! :ok:


I think the decision about whether to rent a car or take public transportation is a very personal one that reflects one’s particular interests for a specific area (among other considerations, such as ecological concerns) because there are, I think, pros and cons to each option. I have absolute confidence that shelemm did, indeed, see things and eat at places in South Korea that would have been difficult, if not impossible, to see without a car. In contrast, I suspect that I had some delightful interactions with South Koreans and was able to observe local customs and patterns of social behavior in ways that were possible only because I took public transportation. And ooh!, some of those interactions were among my most treasured memories of that trip! :yay:

With trains, busses, and taxis, I was able to visit all the places that I considered a high priority for my first (and possibly only) trip to South Korea. Moreover, I ate exceedingly well! But unlike shelemm, I wasn’t versed in Korean cuisine before my trip – my only experience of Korean food before my trip had been a single (and unfortunately, less than enticing) serving of bibimbap– so I wasn’t looking for same type of culinary experiences that shelemm seems to have sought.

As with so many travel decisions, I don’t think there’s a single right or wrong answer that will work for all people at all times. I hope these reflections help future travelers weigh their options.

Kja, of these five, if someone could / would only visit one or two of them, which would you recommend above the others? Thank you!

Definitely a key focus of the trip for us, I have this fabulous booklet on South Korean food and specialities, which the tourist office sent me, which definitely has things I've not tried before and will be seeking out!

And I love both goat and duck so those are definitely tempting to me!

Do you have any research sources for the food side that you found particularly useful -- how did you find out about these places / specialities, initially?

I have saved all your suggestions into my trip planning map! THANK YOU!

The National Museums ….

Gosh, if I could visit only one (ack!), I’d go with the one in Seoul because it had the widest and most diverse collection of the five national museums I visited. Unless you are exceptionally well versed in Korean arts, I would strongly recommend trying to go when you can take advantage of a free English tour, which should last an hour or so. And then plan, I’d guess, on at least another hour or two to see the things that most interest you with greater leisure.

If I had to pick a second (and only one other – ack!) national museum, I might choose the one in Gyeongju, which has a fairly extensive collection, including an impressive array of exceptional Silla-era gold and other artifacts.

BUT the National Museum in Seoul also has some exquisite examples of Silla-era gold work, so I might choose the museum in Gongju instead. IIRC, it’s another fairly extensive museum, but it features an array of Baekje-era artifacts that are unlike anything you’d see in Seoul.

The art of the Baekje era, featured in the National Museums at Buyeo and Gongju, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen anywhere else and it is, IMO, quite magnificent. If you are near Buyeo, the museum there is small and easily assessable, and you could, I think, easily visit it (or at least see it’s highlights) in substantially less than an hour. The museum in Gongju is more extensive, but you could see the Baekje-era artifacts in a rather quick visit.

Enormously helpful, thank you so much!

I echo what kja said, transport is a very personal decision, and there is no one correct way to travel. Just about everyone uses some public transport. After renting a car for a week from the Busan Airport, I took the train from Busan to Seoul. and relied on subway as well as taxi in both of those cities.

About the National Museums, a P.S.: I didn’t mention the Gwangju National Museum in post # 191 because, as noted above, I didn’t think any of the Korean pieces I saw there were as impressive as those I saw elsewhere. That said, the Chinese celadon was impressive!

Thanks again, yes my plan is not to have a car in Seoul, and in Busan, we'll use public transport within the city but use the car to get around outside of the city.

Depending on where we do the last night before returning to Seoul, we will keep the car till back at Seoul or take the train fro Gyeongju back to Seoul...

Good to know, thank you!

kja: Have no plans to visit Korea (though your wonderful TR might convince me :) ) and I don't visit the Asia forum very often. Just wanted to jump in it to say its nice to see you are still posting. Hadn't seen you around for a couple of years and was worried

welcome back (a few idjits still post on the Europe forum about driving 200 km after an over night flight ;) )

janisj! OMG, seeing your post has made me smile. :) :) :)

I'm fine, thank you, and I hope that you and yours are well, too.

Why am I not surprised that some people insist on driving after overnight flights? I guess I didn't solve that problem after all. :(

Rather than take this trip report into a personal aside, I'll try to open a short-term window for PMs. Whether you take advantage or not, please know that your words of welcome were very much appreciated! Best wishes to you, J.

janisj Janis, hello! Like you, was so pleased Kja still has notifications enabled and kindly logged in to help me with my South Korea trip planning. The last few years of my Fodors engagement were almost exclusively on the Asia boards, so I haven't posted on Europe board for a long while but still remember the many people I used to chat with back then! :-)

I'm glad to respond to those who reach out to me. I'm pleased to know that my trip reports still prove useful and delighted that some of you with whom I interacted over the years remember me and choose to say hello. How awesome! :blush: