Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival
by Ruan Smit It’s Spring in East Asia and the streets are slowly filling with the most beautiful light pink blossoms that indicates the end of yet another long, cold winter. People all over are celebrating the the timely arrival of yet another new season. The Town of Jinhae is one of these. This Small South Korean town 30 minutes west of Busan boasts probably the most well known festival of this sorts in the country. The streets are...
Read MoreJinju Lantern Festival
Jinju Lantern Festival (on until October 10) Written by Deirdre Madden http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=292766 Feeling the need to get out of Ulsan and explore Korea? Then you should head to Jinju for the Lantern Festival this weekend. About 3 hours from Ulsan, this small city has a fantastic history worthy of a Shakespearean play or a Hollywood blockbuster. The Lantern Festival commemorates the 70,000 Koreans who lost their lives defending their country against the Japanese during the Imjin War in the...
Read MoreThe Bloody Punchbowl
The bloody punchbowl historical battlesite near the DMZ hosts more than bloody history. by Jon Stafford (reprinted from the Ulsan Pear, November 2004 – Ed.) A very out of the way destination worth checking out, even if you are not a big history buff, is the infamous Korean War battle site ‘the Punchbowl’. The Punchbowl is located adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone in Gangwon-do Province just to the north of the city of Yanggu. This area features a number...
Read MoreRiding High (One)
By Deirdre Madden If you’re looking to take advantage of the cold winter weather, then hit the slopes. South Korea has recently really gotten into skiing and snowboarding, there are now 12 resorts to choose from. Keep in mind how big the Korean mountains are, and how much natural snowfall we get here in winter before you get too excited. None of them are Whistler or Jackson Hole. But there’s still some fun runs out there, and it’s pretty...
Read MoreJangsaengpo Port: Ulsan’s Whaling Past, Present and Future
Jangsaengpo Port Those of you eagerly anticipating the annual Ulsan Whale Festival will no doubt be feeling a little let down at the moment as news filters out that it’s been postponed until July 1st. As one of the only events around that distinguishes between people who love whales and people who love whales on toast, you might be currently asking yourself where you’re going to go now to get your fix of ancient whaling culture and whale d’oeuvres....
Read MoreNamhae
Jeju is for honeymooning, Geoje is for shipbuilding. Where is a person supposed to go for a relaxing weekend away? Namhae. Namhae is actually 3 different places. Nam Hae is the name of the South Sea, Namhaedo is the name of the 3rd largest island in Korea, and Namhae Eup is the name of the town on the island in the sea. That would be Namhae on Namhae in Namhae if you were to give directions. Namhaedo is a...
Read MoreGyeongJu Blog
Hi All, Here is a brilliant blog with tonnes of information about Gyeongju. Everybody goes there, everybody sees Bulguksa and the tombs, but have you really spent time exploring the back alleys and country lanes? Last year I found Korea’s oldest high school tucked away on a mountainside south of Gyeongju. This blog has everything you need to know about Gyeongju and more. Check it out and book mark it before you take your next weekend...
Read MoreSongjeong Beach – The (Slightly) Ugly (-er) Sibling
The Beautiful Person’s Notably Less Beautiful Sibling is a cruel phenomenon. Brad Pitt’s brother is like Brad Pitt with the magic taken away. Kiefer Sutherland has a twin sister who looks like him in a wig, and Patricia Bündchen is a pleasant-looking, plain-faced Brazilian, who just happens (so cruel) to have a non-identical twin called Gisele – The London Times Since the movie ‘Haeundae’ released last year, throwing beach-goers into a bit of a tizz over what options they...
Read MoreUlsan from 2002
While researching where the 2010 games would be shown around the city, I discovered this article about Ulsan from the 2002 World Cup. Ulsan advertises itself as the “Industrial Capital of Korea” and it is a justified tag. It has been cast in Busan’s shadow in the south east of the country, but is steadily beginning to make a mark of its own. The city was designated as a special industrial zone in 1962 and, within four months, had...
Read MoreCheongdo Bull Fights
This week marks one of the most interesting cultural festivals in Korea, The Bull Fights. The small city of Cheongdo will be filled with people this weekend to watch the bulls push each other around. If you want to experience a more traditional side of things here in Korea, take a trip out to Cheongdo this weekend. The English title of this event seems to get a lot of criticism from many a waygook believing that the event is...
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