Gangwon-do
Destination: Hwajinpo Aquatic Museum and Aquarium (north of Sokcho, Gangwon-do)
0THE Hwajinpo Aquarium (화진포 해양 박물관 – Hwa-jin-po hae-yang bak-mul-gwan) is in the far northeast part of Gangwon-do, within walking distance of the Hwajinpo Castle (which we also visited). If you’re going to make the trip, make it a full day proposition and visit the Castle along with Syngman Rhee’s summer villa. The other two sights are within walking distance.
Paying the admission fee gets you into two connected buildings – the first (on left) is dedicated to shells, bones, and other inanimate beauties:
In Korean, it’s an 앵무조게 (ang-mu-jo-ge), but we call it a Chambered Nautilus. Gorgeous. More >
Destination: the Tomb of the Rainhat Poet (middle of nowhere, Gangwon-do)
0With eyes that glow despite the shadow... I'm a poet and I know it! =)
Every so often, a place stands out as being remote – that’s part of its appeal, perhaps, although when directions are unclear it makes for some… frustration… Presenting a story about a place we almost didn’t reach.
Meet Kim Sat-gat (remember the ‘a’ sound in Korean is like the ‘ah’ sound in ‘father’), born as Kim Byeong-yeon (김병연, 1807-1863). One Huffington Post article compares him to the best of the Beat generation – albeit from the mid-1800’s. When he was four years old, his grandfather, Kim Ik-soon (김익순) participated More >
Destination: Yanggu Prehistoric Museum (Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do)
0This sleepy town in Gangwon-do has recently been jolted back to life, thanks in part to some unusual museums. While there are a couple newer entries, Yanggu holds the first museum in Korea dedicated to the prehistoric era, with 650 pieces from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze ages.
Rewind to 1987, when the Peace Dam was being constructed to protect Seoul from the Kumgangsan dam in North Korea. As the Paro reservoir was being drained, the relics from prehistoric times were discovered.
As is par for the course at most Korean museums, the cards offer up some English, and there’s a bit of More >
Destination: Gyeongpo Beach (Gangneung city, Gangwon-do)
1Sometimes plans don’t quite go the way you expect them to. Other times, the bus trip takes longer than you expect, or the museum’s hours are shorter than you expect. This is a case of serendipity, mixed in with a great place to call a plan B – or in your case a plan A.
Although it’s 6 kilometers long, you probably won’t want to explore the whole of Gyeongpo Beach. That there’s enough to see and do in the area closest to the bus stop is great, and there’s plenty more to explore if you’re really looking to get away from it all.
At first, I thought this was just an annoying ad on the beach More >
Destination: Nodongdangsa (Office of the former Worker’s Party AKA North Korean commies) (Gangwon-do)
0AND now, for something a bit off the tourist trail… You know, like most everywhere I’m going these days. Nodongdangsa (노동당사) is located in extreme northern Gangwon-do, and was the house of North Korea’s Labor party. While it harkens back to a day when Korea was unified, the country wasn’t exactly at its best. Constructed in 1946, this is that small sliver of time between World War II and the Korean War. While there’s a few other remnants from the Korean War-era, getting here – and getting around – requires a lot of time.
Before there were road signs, there were stone pillars indicating More >
Destination: Chuncheon Animation Museum (Chuncheon, Gangwon-do)
1The country’s first museum dedicated to animation makes for an interesting day trip, as my girlfriend and I found out not too long ago. Unlike Seoul’s own cartoon and animation museum (check out the Qi Ranger’s recent video), the Chuncheon museum focuses on the history of animation. With a broader worldview, the 애니메이션박묵관 (ae-ni-me-ee-syeon bak-mul-gwan) is worth the day trip from Seoul.
Get in to the main exhibit, then come face-to-face with this beauty – a 35mm Fuji Central Projector from circa 1968.
The story starts with Disney, apparently – a screen plays a couple minutes of More >
First look: Korea’s newest train – the ITX
1Korea’s newest train just begs to be ridden. The ITX 청춘 (Cheong-chun) makes the journey from Yongsan station in central Seoul to Chuncheon in an hour and nineteen minutes, making several stops along the Gyeongchun line. While more expensive than the subway that runs the exact same line, this train reminds us getting there is half of the fun. In case you missed it, check out this recent post with more information about the route.
Beyond being the first two-story train in Korea, the train combines elements from older Mugunghwa trains, newer Nooriro trains, and the subway. Just like on More >
Destination: Odaesan in fall glory (Gangwon-do)
5Beautiful leaves – yep, they’re here!
EDITED 31 October 2011 to reflect some corrections.
After exploring nearby Woljeongsa, I aimed to explore a bit of Odaesan National Park. It is duly noted, of course, that a half day’s worth of exploring a large national park barely scratches the surface of what the park has to offer. You would need at least two full days to fairly say you’ve seen the whole park.
After crossing a stone bridge, you’ll take a left to visit Woljeongsa, For the Needle Fir trail I followed, take a right instead.
Despite the beautiful weather and the peak season of leaves, More >
Destination: Woljeongsa and a Buddhist festival (Gangwon-do)
1Buddhist temple + surprise Buddhist festival + autumn leaves = gorgeous.
Located in Odaesan, Woljeongsa (월정사, ‘moon-vitality-temple’) was the host of a Buddhist festival I had no idea was happening until I arrived at the local bus terminal. One of three Buddhist temples among the five grand peaks, Woljeongsa is the first temple I’ve seen that has a Facebook page. At present it’s not much more than a quote from Wikipedia regarding its origins, but it’s an interesting touch.
Don’t forget to bow to all the 사천왕 (sa-cheon-wang), or the four heavenly kings found guarding many temple More >
Destination: Odaesan in fall glory (Gangwon-do)
0Beautiful leaves – yep, they’re here!
After exploring nearby Woljeongsa, I aimed to explore a bit of Odaesan National Park. It is duly noted, of course, that a half day’s worth of exploring a large national park barely scratches the surface of what the park has to offer. You would need at least two full days to fairly say you’ve seen the whole park.
After crossing a stone bridge, you’ll take a left to visit Woljeongsa, For the Needle Fir trail I followed, take a right instead.
Despite the beautiful weather and the peak season of leaves, the trail wasn’t as full of people as expected. That More >
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