A Journey Through Land and Culture

Suwon, Busan, and Gyeongju. All three cities offer a wonderful experience with lots to see and do. I had the opportunity to visit these cities towards the end of May, and today, I will be sharing with you the charm and splendor that make each of these cities uniquely theirs.

This post is a bit longer than usual, as I’ll be covering three different cities from my recent stay in South Korea. 

Suwon

If you've read my 5-part blog series on The Red Sleeve, you might be familiar with Suwon. 

On the day of our arrival, we headed straight to Suwon, dropped off our luggage at the hotel, and took it easy due to having just landed after a 15-hour flight. We leisurely strolled to the nearest mall where the well-Instagramed Starfield Library was located. As avid readers and book collectors, my mother and I made it a point to visit bookstores during our trip though I highly regret going to them at the beginning of the trip. A book lover cannot control their spending on books. As a result, the books weighed down our luggage and I struggled with carrying them up and down flights of stairs and onto the train. 😅 We spent most of the day shopping and then checked in at the hotel in the afternoon for a relaxing first night.

The library's book display and installation were a splash of color in the mall and were absolutely stunning. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to have this library as a regular spot to read if I were still living in Korea.

Address: Sinpung-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

One of the most anticipated places I wanted to see during our trip was the Hwaseong Fortress. The following day, before heading to the fortress, we stopped by this oversized statue of King Jeongjo. I was so elated to see it and took many pictures and videos. While I thought I spent ten to fifteen minutes capturing the perfect shots, my mother disagreed and claimed I spent over half an hour. 😆

We then made our way to Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, a temporary palace. When King Jeongjo visited Suwon, he briefly stayed there, but it never became a permanent residence of any king. 

In this particular display (pictured above), I'm pointing out the palanquin that King Jeongjo used. I'd like to note that in the Uigwe, the drawings of the well-known royal procession heading to Suwon in celebration of Lady Hyegyeong's 60th birthday, King Jeongjo is depicted riding a horse behind his mother's palanquin. Although he rode his horse on this special occasion, he typically traveled by palanquin on other royal events.

An article that may be of interest: King Jeongjo Royal Procession Reenactment

The city of Suwon recently announced the completion of Hwaseong Haenggung's restoration in April 2024, 119 years after its destruction during the Japanese invasion of Korea. I was happy to be able to explore the grounds of the completely restored palace. 

After our time at the palace, my mother and I visited a filming site for the K-drama "Lovely" which was airing at the time. We arrived at the homes of the two main characters, which were not far from the palace, and found a fairly short line. Initially, we thought the line was for the cafe at the female character's home, MongTed. However, we later discovered that the line was for taking pictures in front of the two characters' houses. male character's (Sunjae) house. Despite standing in line for an hour and a half in the afternoon heat, we decided to wait in line since it felt like a waste to leave.

Im Sol's house (MongTed Cafe)

Sunjae's house

(Note: "Sunjae's house" is actually occupied by a family, as we saw someone entering through the gate mid-afternoon.)

My mother, of course, joked about waiting in line and questioned why a nearly 40-year-old would be in line with mostly 20-year-olds for pictures at a filming site. 😅 Would you have waited to take pictures? Please tell me I'm not alone! 

For those interested in visiting the cafe, the address is 14 Hwaseomun-ro 48beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

We ended our day climbing the stairs of the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. Although we struggled to walk around the whole structure, it was a beautiful sight to see. Below are some of my favorite pictures from our time at the fortress.

Busan

I wish we had more time in Suwon, but unfortunately, we had to head to our next destination: Busan. If you plan to city-hop, packing a small suitcase is advisable. My mother and I had large suitcases, which made traveling between cities on the KTX and SRT bullet trains quite cumbersome.

Once we arrived in Busan, we were warmly greeted by my cousin and aunt, whom I haven't seen in nearly a decade. It was like no time had passed; they looked just as I last saw them. 

They took us out for jjajangmyeon, or black bean noodles, one of two dishes on my mother's list of things to eat in Korea. 

Afterward, we checked into our AirBnb, which offered a lovely view of the harbor. 

Once everyone cooled off from the heat, we met up with my uncle, whom I hadn't seen since elementary school!! With only one day for my cousin to show us around, she chose Busan Tower as our destination. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see Admiral Yi Sun-Shin's statue in front of the Busan Tower. He is a significant historical figure I teach my students each year and have yet to cover on my blog. He is known for his naval victories against the Japanese during the Imjin War and is credited for designing the turtle ships. 

When we reached the top of the short hill, my mother and I took pictures at the Busan sign before proceeding inside the tower. 

The next day, my mother and I explored on our own. I took my mother to the Jalgalchi Fish Market to find sea cucumber. She had talked about it for months, and the day finally came to eat this slimy and strange textured marine animal.

Here's a picture of my mom with a piece of a sea cucumber between her chopsticks. I tried a piece, but it wasn't for me. My mom, on the other hand, inhaled and fully enjoyed her sea cucumbers.

After lunch, we took a local bus to the summit of Gamcheon Culture Village, which had many picture-worthy spots. 

Jimin and Jungkook mural

Gyeongju

Our final stop before heading to Seoul was Gyeongju. I had previously visited Gyeonju many years ago to visit the Bulguksa Temple with my husband, firstborn, and father. Although the twins were technically there as well, they were still unborn at the time. Out of the four cities we visited on this trip, Gyeongju was my favorite. 

The city has so much history and was quieter than the first two cities we visited. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with all the historical treasures that reside in this city. 

One of my bucket list items was to stay in a hanok, so we booked one in Gyeongju. It lacked a TV, beds, and bright lighting, but it had an over-the-toilet shower. 😆 I'm not sure what my mother thought, but I enjoyed the quiet stay, and the landlord, who lived on-site, was very hospitable.

There was a lot to see in Gyeongju. We had planned to see Bulguksa Temple but decided to skip it since we had been there before. Instead, we focused on other historical sites.

Something that surprised me was Gyeongju's operating hours. The stores and coffee shops in the city typically didn't open before 11 AM. As an early riser,  this was a disappointment and left me quite bored in the morning hours. It was challenging to get good coffee in the morning, and this was my only complaint about staying in Gyeongju. 

While deciding which pictures to share, I realized I had too many to choose from, so I've included only a few.  

I'm not entirely sure whose tomb this is pictured above. According to a map, it's an unknown royal. The hanok we stayed at faced this royal tomb, which felt kind of creepy to think about sleeping next to the dead.

Our accommodation was conveniently located, making it easy to get from one place to another by foot. We walked through the royal tombs and then visited Cheomsungdae (pictured below), an observatory tower.

The highlight of Gyeongju was its nighttime view of Donggung Palace, Wolji Pond, and Woljeonggyo Bridge. My mother and I arrived at the palace a little early, so we had to wait for the lights to come on. My mother initially didn't see the appeal, while others around us verbally expressed how beautiful the view was. By the time we reached the exit, she agreed that it was beautiful from a different angle. 😆

Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond before completely becoming dark outside

Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond at night

Before it got too late to see the paths, we quickly walked over to the Woljeonggyo Bridge. As you can see down below, it is absolutely stunning at night.

The picture above shows the inside of the bridge during the day. Like other cities in South Korea, Gyeongju if full of picture-worthy spots. I wish I could have been in the pictures instead of behind the camera, but that's how life goes when the person you travel with isn't gifted in taking pictures. 😅 For someone like me, you have to heavily rely on your selfie skills.

Here are a few pictures of some beautiful photo-worthy spots.

After our stay in Gyeongju, we headed to Jongno District in Seoul. Familiar with Seoul, my mother and I focused mainly on shopping.

I plan to organize my pictures including the ones I took in Seoul and share them on Instagram soon. If all goes well, I'll be able to do that before my next trip to Korea next May with my kids. 

I hope you enjoyed today's blog post about my travels through these cities. It may not be the most informative, but I pray you found it enjoyable nonetheless. 

Until next time, stay happy and healthy!

XO,

Laura 혜원쌤

sources:

korea.net