Where am I?!! Never did I...
by j-san
Where am I?!! Never did I speak so much Japanese!!! Only at the Hilton did English come in useful. In restaurants, shops, sight-seeing spots: I used Japanese. Now, what has Praha got to do with any of this?! I don't know.... :))
The City of Seoul
by Ewingjr98
The city of Seoul has 10 million people in a compact 605 square kilometers area. The metropolitan area has some 23 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the world after Tokyo. Seoul's downtown occupies the heart of the old Joseon Dynasty city, and is where you will find most palaces, government offices, corporate headquarters, hotels, and traditional markets. Gangnam (meaning south of the river) is the newest and wealthiest area of the city. Yeouido, a former airport, is the financial heart of the city, with the stock market, as well as the major television studios and the National Assembly.
NAMSAGOL & SAMCHEONGGAK
by ancient_traveler
NAMSAGOL
This beautiful village is composed of 3 parts: a traditional Korean garden, Time Capsule Plaza and the village itself, which includes hanok (traditional Korean houses) from Joseon Dynasty. These houses were moved from their original locations around Seoul and restored completely. On traditional holidays, visitors can enjoy folk games such as seesaws, shuttlecock, and swings. Special events are held to provide visitors with a unique opportunity to make Korean food, especially kimchi. Close on Tuesday.
www.hanokmaeul.org
02-2266-6923-4
Subway line 3 or 4 Chungmuro stn exit 3
SAMCHEONGGAK
Located in a beautiful, landscaped wood in downtown Seoul. For 25 years it was a Gisaeng (Korean Geisha) house where politicians and diplomats had private meetings.
www.samcheonggak.or.kr
02-3676-6788
Subway line 3 Gyeongbokgung stn exit 3 and take a shuttle bus (every 20 min)
Remove Shoes at Traditional Restaurants
by Ewingjr98
In traditional Korean Restaurants, you will remove your shoes at the entrance. This means you must wear a decent pair of socks! Also, Koreans do not tie & untie their shoes each time they put them on/take them off. Instead, they tie them very loose so they can be slipped on and off. You would be wise to do the same... your Korean hosts won't want to wait for you to play around with your shoe strings -- they'll be halfway down the block before you finish.
Note the photo of a shoe rack in Songtan, Korea. My Korean host translated the sign above the rack to read, "please don't leave with nicer shoes than you had when you arrived."
Vivaldi Park Ski Resort
by petermax
Vivladi (Bibaldi in Konglish) Park lies a few hours drive out of Seoul in beautiful mountain scenery. It has a number of slopes with varying difficulty and ski lifts for each. I visited it with Adventure Korea, an expat club - http://www.adventurekorea.com/ During summer it has a bumber of golf courses and swimming pools.
There was no snow but they had snow machines and two slopes were open. It was great fun and recommended. Typical of Korea it can be very crowded but still worth while. Ski/snowboard/boots/ski clothing rental is available. There is a huge ski gear shop as well. Typical Korean efficiency. Lots of food outlets including a Starbucks and Burgerking.