Hey guys, I just finished a couple weeks of backpacking around South Korea so here goes: Started off with bout 4/5 days in Seoul which is pretty crazy - really quirky, kinda odd and also huge and quite overwhelming and has a Tokyo-esque sort of vibe. Rebellious teenagers in the trendiest fashions skipping in and out of neon shops and kareoke pumping clubs then old conservative men in suits trudging to work and keeping to themselves. The city was cool though and heading up the Seoul Tower at night made for incredible views of the city in lights. At times it felt quite isolating as no one speaks English and people won't initiate conversation with tourists, if you look in their direction they just look away, they're not being rude I think they just have an innate instinctiveness to not engage with foreigners (since the korean war).
Hostel was weird with mainly older travellers and non-english speaking asian travellers. definately not the usual young backpacker vibe as in Thailand, India, Vietnam, etc and really expensive at bout $20 per night. Spent the last couple nights couch surfing which was cool.
Highlight of the trip was doing a day tour to the DMZ and walking accross the North Korean border in the negotiation huts which split the two countries in half and are the only place in which they have official communications. The entire daytrip was bizarre with the south korean soldiers standing in farcical taekwondo stances as a symbol of being ready to fight should the need arise. Conversely, the NK soldiers stand a few feet away looking through binoculars (completely unecessary) to intimidate the south. The tension was palpable but the whole thing was also a little ridiculous but really fascinating. Also cool to see the JSA (joint security area) army base occupied by US/UN/South Korean troops.
Headed down to jeju island which was an awesome way to spend 4/5 days. Trekking up the 2000m volcanoe Hallasan which is Korea's highest mountain was sick and all the autumn colours made the red and orange bushland look stunning. Couch surfed with the most amazing korean family who cooked traditional meals and were so friendly so I'm convinced couch surfing is the way to go in Korean. Gwakji beach wasd also beautiful with white sand and blue water and climbing sunrise peak was another highlight.
Headed to Busan for a few days and had the sickest time hanging out in one of the massive public bath houses with over 30 dif kinds of pools and saunas, real experience. From Busan went to Gyeongju for the day which to be honest was pretty boring. The temples in Seoul are much bigger and more beautiful and the daytrip there was kind of annoying really. Took 50 mins each way from Busan. Also cool nightlife district in Busan.
All in all an incredible couple of weeks, pretty different expereince to my normal backpacking travels and definately off the beaten track. It was really difficult to meet other travellers baisically because there weren't any! It is a weird country and I can't quite put my finger on what it's all about, I think I'm still guessing but So stoked I went so I could check the place out for myself but wouldn't be rushing back there any time soon. 10 days is probably enough to cover all that you'd wanna do.
Hope this serves you all well x
