-
Seonnyeo Rock Beach: A Weekend Getaway From Seoul
Just around the bend from the more famous Eurwangli Beach and Wangsan Beach in Incheon, Korea, sits the pleasantly quiet Seonnyeo Rock Beach (์ ๋ ๋ฐ์ํด์์์ฅ). Saying it is rocky is no joke. There is a small, but nicely sandy area in the center flanked on either side with rocks, rocks and more rocks. If you’re looking for a quieter beach near Seoul, this might be the one for you. Can you take a trip to the beach from Seoul? Yes, you sure can. Get ready for a trip to Seonnyeo Rock Beach in Incheon: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you…
-
Jogyesa Temple: How To Get There & What To See
If youโre looking for the serenity and calm surroundings of most Buddhist temples set high up in the mountains outside of Seoul, Jogyesa Temple (์กฐ๊ณ์ฌ) is not for you. Right down in the center of the city where all of the daily hustle and bustle that makes Seoul famous occurs, sits a temple with more than 100 years of history. The commotion of the nearby streets in the popular Insadong district doesnโt end where the temple begins and this certainly makes it a different experience inside from most temples in the country. A religion where meditation is extremely important, with a temple in one of the busiest areas of the…
-
Gyeongbokgung Palace: How To Get Tickets To See It At Night
People young and old, families and couples meandered at their leisure along the cobbled pathways that make up the Gyeongbokgung Palace (๊ฒฝ๋ณต๊ถ) complex in Seoul, Korea late into the night this past week. What started as a weeklong event many years ago, has now been expanded weeks long spring and autumn events to the enjoyment for tourists and locals coming to Korea. Gyeongbokgung Palace is now open late into the night from April through May and then again from September through October. The evening experience sees more than 100,000 visitors. Gyeongbokgung Palace at night is just spectacular and is a truly special way to experience the main palace of the…
-
Daytrips From Seoul: The Popular Nami Island
Nami Island is one of the most popular destinations to get away from Seoul, Korea for a day trip. It’s easy to get to Nami Island from Seoul with multiple transportation options and tours and quite a bit to do. The island was made even more famous when Winter Sonata was filmed there. Whether you’re looking for the perfect day trip from Seoul, a K-drama filming location, or just a fun artistic spot with activities to partake in for adults and children, this is definitely an island in Korea that should be on the list. What’s better, it’s a great destination from winter to summer. Each season offers a slightly…
-
The Icheon Sansuyu Festival: A Guide
Getting into the spring flower madness that takes over Korea, a group of friends and I headed out to Icheon this past weekend to take advantage of the Icheon Baeksa Sansuyu Flower Festival (์ด์ฒ๋ฐฑ์ฌ ์ฐ์์ ๊ฝ์ถ์ ). There are flower festivals throughout the spring in Korea and we were excited to head to one. Icheon is a city a bit south of Seoul and is a great spot to see sansuyu flowers in the spring. If you’re looking for a place to getaway from Seoul or where to see sansuyu flowers near Seoul, this is the spot for you. There is a larger spring festival known for sanusyu flowers in Korea in…
-
Getting My F6 Visa In Korea… The End
Take two. Iโm going through the process to get my F6 visa here in Korea. Up until this point, I had gathered my passport, my Korean marriage certificate and through a slight debacle hadnโt yet gotten it translated, notarized and authenticated at the US embassy. So, here we areโฆ After going home to the States and coming back at the end of January, I wrote the addresses of the two nearest offices that could translate and notarize our Korean marriage certificate for us once more for Jae-oo. Since I was still on vacation from school I went with him this time to make sure the translation and notarizing was done…
-
Getting My F6 Visa… The Beginning
After two wedding ceremonies and a month vacation in the States, we finally made it back to Korea and after a week of resting from the vacation got our rears in gear to get everything filed for the F6 visa. We had started the process a few months ago, but after Jae-oo inadvertently made me make an unecessary trip to the American Embassy, I pushed everything aside until we were definitely ready to get serious about it. At the start, those months back, I had scoured the internet for information on what was necessary and what to expect of the process, but came to the conclusion that it all depended…
-
Dapsimni Antique Town: A Market In Seoul, Korea
Antiques big and small everywhere is what youโll see around Dapsimni Station. Having lived here for around 6 years now and realizing I wonโt be leaving any time soon, Iโve decided I want my house to feel more like a home and less like an interim abode in a far off land. If you’re looking for antiques in Korea, or Korean antiques, then make sure to check out the Dapsimni Antique Market (๋ต์ญ๋ฆฌ๊ณ ๋ฏธ์ ์๊ฐ). (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) How To Get There Address: 530 Dapsimni-dong…
-
Guinsa Temple’s Unique Buildings in Danyang, Korea
There are Buddhist temples across the country of Korea and Guinsa Temple (๊ตฌ์ธ์ฌ) in Danyang is definitely one of the most beautiful to see in person. Guinsa Temple is one of the most unique temples in Korea as it towers above visitors walking up the mountain paths to see it. And, if you’re one of those people that says, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” you are most definitely wrong. Go to this beautiful temple in Korea, see it from bottom to top and back down again and if you have the time, join their temple stay program and learn aboutย Korean Buddhism and culture. Plan your trip…
-
Chuncheon’s Cheongpyeong Temple and the Trek To Get There
The weather starting to warm up, or at least be reasonable for walking outside, has me itching to get out and do something. I was looking back at some temples Iโve been to so I can make a list of some different ones to check out in the upcoming year and I chanced upon one of my favorites, Cheongpyeong-sa Temple (์ฒญํ์ฌ). Cheongpyeongsa is one of my favorites probably for the trip that it takes to get there, which entails traveling by bus, boat and a nice, but not too lengthy, hike. Take a trip to see this temple in Chuncheon. The trek to get there is beautiful: (This post contains…
-
Korean Food: Dwaejigukbap Is A Must Eat In Korea
If you’re headed to Busan, then you most definitely need to eat some dwaeji gukbab (๋ผ์ง๊ตญ๋ฐฅ), or pork & rice stew. You can, of course, find this Korean soup in other parts of Korea, but you should definitely try it in the city that it originated from. I love Korean food and am always trying different dishes with my husband. Since he is from Busan, this is one of his top Korean dishes and so it’s not one of my top Korean soups. It’s hearty, delicious, and really hits the spot. Are you ready to try dwaeji gukbap? Let’s see: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a…
-
A Korean Wedding Ceremony and The Paebaek Piggyback
Getting married in Korea? Wondering what a traditional wedding ceremony in Korea is like? Whether you’re having a modern wedding ceremony in Korea or a traditional wedding ceremony, one part of the events will be a paebaek ceremony. A unique and traditional step in the wedding process in Korea, this ceremony in which the bride and groom wear traditional Hanboks is what truly unifies the family. Here’s everything you should know about the paebaek ceremony and what it means. Learn about the traditional paebaek ceremony in a Korean wedding ceremony: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking…
-
A Guide To A Traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony By A Multicultural Couple That Did It
Getting married in another country or married to a person from another culture or country comes with a host of lessons and learning. When we decided to get married we very quickly decided we wanted to have a traditional wedding ceremony in each our home countries. So, with that, it was time to figure out how to plan a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. These days, many Koreans opt for a more western style wedding ceremony but since we were going to have that in the States where I’m from, we wanted to be traditional from beginning to end. But, what happens in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony? I wondered. And,…
-
What Does A Traditional Korean Wedding Dress Look Like?
When I began planning our wedding ceremonies (yes, we had two!), the American wedding ceremony being much more familiar was a breeze. When it came to the Korean ceremony, there were so many questions that stood out like: What does a Korean wedding dress look like? What do Korean women wear in a wedding? Is there a traditional Korean wedding dress? Or, do women wear more modern dresses these days? I wanted to be culturally appropriate and we decided to go traditional because we’d be doing a traditional American ceremony as well. There is in fact a difference in the traditional Korean wedding dress versus the standard traditional dress, or…
-
My First Hanbok & Getting Married To A Korean Man
My how the time has gone. I didnโt realize itโd been three weeks since I last posted on here until today when I logged on. When planning a wedding, or in my case two, but mostly half of only one, things just pile up. This past weekend I got married to Jae-oo in our first wedding ceremony. As weโve decided to become a multi-cultural duo weโve opted for a very traditional Korean ceremony in his home town and then in a couple months a traditional American ceremony in my home town. Thatโs getting a little ahead of my topic for this blog though as Iโve decided to go back a…
-
The Mural Village In Seoul You Haven’t Heard About
There are hidden gems all over the city of Seoul and Gaemi Maeul (๊ฐ๋ฏธ๋ง์), or Ant Village, is one of them. This mural village in Seoul was painted by students in a similar fashion to the much more popular Ihwa Mural Village and also the murals in Mullae-dong. This mural village sits on the side of Mt Inwang, Inwangsan, which is popular with hikers in Seoul. And that’s probably the only people that find this mural village really. Get off the beaten path in Seoul and see something different… like the Ant Mural Village. This mural village in Seoul is hidden away. Find it if you can: (This post contains…
