1 month in South Korea - general questions | South Korea - Lonely Planet Forum

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Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:01:07 +0000

Hey there,

I'll be staying in South Korea from August 25 to September 20. I'll travel with my girlfriend, she studies the Korean language (beginner level). We are both college students from Germany and have never been to Korea.

We want to see Seoul, Busan, Jeju, then whatever is worth seeing in other regions (transport situation is a dream, even for germans ;-) .. ). We want to spent roughly a week at the beaches, hang out and relax, and a week in Seoul. The rest of the time is reserved for other Regions, like Busan or Jeju.

Our budget is about 2000 Dollars each, or 230kk Won.

As I have no idea what it actually costs to travel Korea in a rather comfortable way, could you please tell me what kind of trip that budget allows?

Regarding the beaches, could you tell me where the nicest beach areas are? Just pure beach, anywhere in the country. No sightseeing needed, would be a nice additional perk though. It's plus if it isn't too crowded, or is that something that you just need to accept?

What is generally the cheapest way to spend the night? Hostels? Motels? Anything else? And what would you do with our budget?

Thank you a lot in advance!

ONLINE

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:15:47 +0000

Nicest beach (in Busan): 해운대 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haeundae_Beach)

Haven't been to many beaches in Jeju, but the weather was amazing even in September!
Personally I wouldn't recommend Jeju-si, but Seogwipo! Only the bus transfer will bug you (but it's the same from either side of the island) and no one will speak a word of English! (Even at the airport it was kinda difficult.) If on the south side, I'd go for the more westward beaches, the "beach" near the "folk village" on the eastward side is a joke, no real (usable) beach!

Cheapest ways should be (concerning travel, not longer stay) to got with hostels! Search www.travellerspoint.com, it's the best website imho! Be sure to reserve WESTERN beds though, even if they're already stated. They'll give you ondol "beds" otherwise.
(You might not be able to find and/or book from travellerspoint though, so if in doubt: Google yourself.)

(Love) Motels are usually too expensive, even if the night-only rate might be a bit cheaper, but for every night you sleep there they might need to cut short on 4-8 couples ;-) thus it might cost almost as much as a cheap hotel room.

Concerning the beaches, the earlier you go the more crowded it might be I guess. But who knows. Just go. ;)
And don't forget to bring sunscreen - from Germany, it's pricey in Korea! (And you WILL get burned else!)

Budget: That's enough money, assuming you already booked / exclude the flight! Assuming that money is your total for two? I used that amount of money for a little more than 2,5 months of living and travelling (mostly w/o lodging). Obviously your lodging cost will eat up a substantial part, so you should get along with that kinda, but if for two it might be borderline! As long as you got a proper credit card for emergencies, you should be fine, but if you can get a few hundred euros extra, you'll have more peace of mind.
I rarely did carry more cash at any time than 80.000 KRW though I guess!

Cheers

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Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:15:27 +0000

hi, I'm going to Korea for 1 month too. Me and my brother are gonna study Korean language at Yonsei for 3 weeks on August 25th until Sept 19th. You should visit http://english.visitkoreayear.com/english/main.asp , they give a free shuttle bus roundtrip to Busan/Gyeongju/Jeonju.

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Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:58:56 +0000

Haeundae is overrated. I much prefer the atmosphere and the beach itself at Gwangalli. I wrote an article about it here: http://www.aussieontheroad.com/busans-other-beach-gwangali/ A lot of stuff to see and do there.

As for accommodation, I never found hostels to be a great deal cheaper than a well scouted love motel - especially if you want a little privacy. Hostels are also a bit difficult to find outside of Seoul/Busan.

I wouldn't worry too much about a crowd on the beach once it hits September. The locals tend to see beaches as strictly a summer thing - and that means it ends at the end of August. You'd be surprised how abandoned a Korean beach can be on a scorching hot September day.

IMO, the best beach in Korea is at Boryeong on the west coast. There are also some great beaches (and quiet island retreats) off the SW coast in places like Oaedaldo and Bigeumdo. Jejudo obviously has a lot more to see and do, but the smaller islands are very relaxing.

Hit up my site for some other Korean travel tips. I lived there for two years and I've written about a lot of the things I saw and did.

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