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Gapa Island: Take a Trip Off The Coast Of Jeju Island
Gapa Island (가파도), the second southernmost point of Korea, sits just 5.5 kilometers off the coast of Jeju Island. Looking for something interesting to do in Jeju? Something a bit different to put on your Jeju Island itinerary? Take a trip to a nearby island. One of the most popular islands to visit off of Jeju Island is Udo Island. Another island that is lesser known though, is Gapa Island. There are a lot of things to do in Jeju, but island hopping and getting out on the water a bit is definitely something that should top your list. Ready to take a trip to Gapa Island? Here’s what you…
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Sanbangsan Temple on Jeju Island: A Beautiful Grotto Hike
This mountain was the peak of Mt. Halla before it was broken off and thrown to this spot in the southwest part of Jeju island, at least that’s one of the legends that surrounds the Sanbangsan Mountain (산방산) and the grotto that’s there. If you’re creating a Jeju Island itinerary, this is a beautiful and easy to walk mountain on Jeju Island you should visit. It’s a great place to visit if you’re staying in Seogwipo City or in the southern part of Jeju Island. It has gotten more popular in Jeju in recent years thanks to flower blooming in nearby fields. Keep reading to find out why you should…
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Korean Eating: The Summer Staple Called Jangeo
Jangeo (장어), or eel, is one of the top three dishes to eat in Korea on the hottest of days in the summer, but it’s just as good any other day of the year as well. While you should definitely eat jangeo this summer in Korea, whenever you go, make sure you try this healthy and delicious Korean meal. I never tried eel until I lived in South Korea, but I can thankfully say it is now one of my favorite meals. If you’ve never eaten jangeo, now is the time to try it. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if…
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Saving Money the Multicultural Family Style in Korea
Banks are a fickle sort, aren’t they? After finishing up a two year savings CD in Korea, we were looking into another one and I heard through the multicultural family grapevine, over which much information is passed, that there were CDs especially available for us with higher interest rates. What? Did multicultural savings accounts in Korea exist two years ago too? They indeed had. Why hadn’t the bank teller mentioned this when it was clear that a multicultural family was sitting in front of her? Questions such as this and many more were answered on a recent trip to a branch of Kookmin Bank. Yes, this type of savings account…
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Tapgol Park: A Respite In Seoul’s Historical District
There’s a park at the southern end of the popular street in Insadong that features a gorgeous pavilion and other historical artifacts. Tapgol Park (탑골공원) is a popular place for older Koreans to gather, chat, and play games and tourists meander in from time to time as well. This is also where the bus picks up to take tourists out to Nami Island so it’s a good spot to know the location of in downtown Seoul. More than that though, it’s an important historical stop to learn about the independence movement in South Korea. Learn more about Tapgol Park in Seoul: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive…
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Conversations With Koreans: Wait, we aren’t friends?
“Thank you”, “Hello”, “Give me… please” and a few other words and phrases are among a handful of words that foreigners just in Korea learn and among them is often the word chingu (친구), translated loosely as “friend”. Foreigners splice this word into their English sentences without hesitation and use it seemingly without understanding exactly what it means. This is probably one of my least favorite words in Korean and I’ll explain why. If you’re learning Korean or trying to speak Korean, then you’ve probably learned that there is a hierarchy in the language and how you use it. Because of this, who is considered your “friend” is really important.…
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Korean Cooking: How To Make a Korean Pumpkin Side Dish
What do you do when you’ve accidentally picked a green pumpkin instead of a zucchini from your garden and you’ve got a zucchini recipe to try? My answer: try the recipe anyway. At least they are in the same family of plants. You might be wondering how this happened in the first place and I can say simply that in Korean, hobak (호박) is used as an all encompassing term for anything in the gourd family. The gourd family includes pumpkins, squash and zucchini and while I think they are so very different and deserve differentiating words, the Korean language does not. At the beginning of the summer season, I…