Korea for the complete novice

Hi all,

My friend and I are complete novices at independent travelling, but we're planning to do a trip to South Korea from 7-15 Oct, with a proposed itinerary as such:

Oct 7 - Gyeongju
Oct 8 - Gyeongju/Busan
Oct 9 - Busan
Oct 10 - Seoraksan
Oct 11 - Seoul
Oct 12 - Seoul/Suwon
Oct 13 - Seoul
Oct 14 - Seoul (DMZ)
Oct 15 - Seoul

A few questions:

1) Is our itinerary too packed?
2) Our flight arrives in Seoul in the early morning, at 0455. Is it worth it (and possible) to hustle for the first A'REX train at 0550, transiting at Gimpo for the subway network at Gimpo and then catching a 0740 train from Seoul Station arriving Gyeongju at 1224, or should we just for the first bus departing from the airport at 0700 and then arriving in Gyeongju at about 1300 (scheduled)?
3) What is the optimal amount of time to balance between Gyeongju and Busan? We don't really have a preference, but I guess we're leaning towards Gyeongju since we're spending enough time in Seoul as it is?
4) From Busan, should we travel by an overnight train to Gangneung, and then transit by bus to Sokcho/Seoraksan, or should we transit through Seoul instead?
5) Should we overnight at Seoraksan?
6) Is there a need to reserve transportation in advance?
7) Is there a need to bring excessive cold-weather clothing? Or can we still pack in some regular long-sleeved t-shirts and windbreakers?

The only thing we have booked are a pair of return flight tickets from Seoul, so our travel plans are flexible. As you can see we are completely new to this! Any advice would be much appreciated. :P Thanks again, and Lonely Planet <3. Peace.

Only adding briefly.
For DMZ tour, for a fuller picture of the situation, combine it with the JSA tour.
Some companies do both as a combined tour.

We'll be going with the USO tour... I hope that works out fine.

1) Itinerary is not too bad, but I personally think you need more time at Seoraksan, at least one complete full day, so 2 nights. If anything, I would skip Busan.
3) Agree to spend more time in Gyeongju than Busan
5) Yes, spend at least one complete full day in Seoraksan
7) No need for excessive winter clothing, the time of year you are going is ideal, if you are lucky you will see the autumn leaves change colour which is one of the highlights of Korea.

For your DMZ tour you need to make sure you go fully into the JSA/Panmunjom area and the tunnels.

9 days in Korea, decisions decisions.....

What do you like to do? hiking? photography?

I'd say 90% of these types of questions about where to go involve Seoul, Busan and Seoraksan, and believe or not, there are other places to go which are as if not more rewarding IMHO.

I live in Busan, and in terms of livability, it's maybe the best Korean city, but as a tourist, I'd give it a miss, especially around that time of year when the beach scene is basically over.

Five days in and around Seoul is a lot. October is the best time of year, it's great being in Korea's national parks.

If you must go to Busan, get the KTX from Seoul to Busan, run around looking at the tourist sites, get the bus to Gyeongju (frequently run from north bus terminal), couple of days there, then bus it up the coast (maybe spend a night like somewhere such as Gangneung) or basically spend the day on the bus getting to Sokcho (gateway to Seoraksan), at least 3 days there, then bus across to Seoul from Sokcho.

Only been to Seoraksan once so I can't remember if there is a minbak village (most parks do) or you can make day trips from nearby Sokcho which I'm sure will have better dining options.

When in doubt, hit up a tourist information centre, if they can't speak English, they'll still do their best to help you.

Learn some basic Korean like "do you have a room" and learn the Korean alphabet, it really comes in handy.

My friend is more inclined towards photography, so I think we'll be focusing on that. We only have a half-day for our last day though, we're catching our return flight in the afternoon.

Thanks so much for the advice so far, guys. :)

It's unsolicited advice, but: I'd spend more time in Gyeongju and less in Seoul. There's a lot to see and do in Gyeongju and IMO Seoul is a lot less inviting. I'd say at least two full days in Gyeongju - although I know you're getting the same advice about Seoraksan.

As for lodging around Seoraksan - there are a bunch of hostels and hotels within walking distance of the park entrance. You can do a bus or cab from Sokcho to get there. Sokcho has a neat little night market on the outskirts of town (as you come in from the park), but otherwise there's not too much to see there.

Have a fun trip!

I'd say a couple of days in Gyeongju is enough - it's a fairly small place. You can get round all the stuff in the town itself in a day, and then another day for Bulguksa and Seokguram. From the other posts, it's clear this is all very subjective, but personally, I thikn there's loads to see and do in Seoul, and I think it's a great city.

Personally, I'd cut Busan out entirely. I suppose it's interesting as a port city, but I don't find it to be much different than Incheon or Seoul as far as tourist attractions are concerned. If you must go to Busan, I second the recommendation to take the KTX down from Seoul, and then the bus to Gyeongju.

Gyeongju's main attractions can be seen in a two-day period. Be sure to check out Namsan if you have the chance, it's a nice hike with a lot of Silla-era Buddhist artifacts along the trails. Aside from the Bulguksa and Seokgulam areas of Gyeongju, most of the tourist sites are within the central area of the city, which allows for it to be seen in a rather short period of time. Also, don't miss the Gyeongju National Museum!

Seoraksan should just be starting to change colors around that time, so it should provide for some excellent pictures.

Seoul has plenty of sites and points of interest. It's also possible to take a day trip out from the city, depending on what you would be interested in seeing: DMZ tours, going off to Incheon/Wolmido, the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, or maybe Bukhansan National Park. Five days in Seoul is a good allotment, in my opinion.

(And October has my favorite weather in Korea. You shouldn't need "excessive cold-weather clothing".)

yes, october in korea is wonderful, just bring a thin jacket for the evenings

1. I'm also going to Seoraksan mid of October. Could anyone advise if it is recommended to prebook accomodation up there? Would a daytrip from Sokcho be an alternative?

2. How long does the bus from Daegu to Sokcho take and is the Bukbu Station far away from Daegu Airport?

3. I will have a morning departure out of Incheon Airport, is it recommended to stay the last night in Incheon it self or is there nothing to do?

thanks a lot!

I live in Busan, and in terms of livability, it's maybe the best Korean city, but as a tourist, I'd give it a miss, especially around that time of year when the beach scene is basically over.

Personally, I'd cut Busan out entirely. I suppose it's interesting as a port city, but I don't find it to be much different than Incheon or Seoul as far as tourist attractions are concerned.
HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!

Busan is the coolest city in South Korea!!!

1.from 8th to 16th October 2009 there is the Pusan International Film Festival
BEST film festival in Asia. If you can get the tickets it's a blast. View the schedule and allow 1 day for it.

1. If you love to eat fish and raw fish (sushi Korean style etc.) it's Mecca. Not Jagalchi only but sea food restaurants around the city too. Price is much better than other places in S. Korea + food is so damn good. If you ask a local person who can point you not only to the obvious Jagalchi market but to other resaturants too it's a feast.

2. Watching girls walking around Seomyeon can be a reason enought for many to go there. Busan has most beautifull girls in South Korea (genetic mix).

3. visit the biggest mall in the world Shinsegae (in the Guiness Book of Records from 2009), opened in 2009 not just another mall

and a lot more

For Isch

1. I'm also going to Seoraksan mid of October. Could anyone advise if it is recommended to prebook accomodation up there? Would a daytrip from Sokcho be an alternative?

If you are going there during weekend in October YOU MUST prebook accomodation in advance. If you are going there during week days in October preboik IS VERY ADVISABLE.

This year, according tothe Korea Meteorological Administration the peak Time for Autumn Foliage in Seoraksan is Ocober 20th. First Autumn Foliage at Seoraksan this year October 1st. It's 1-8 ydays later than during an average year.

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Hi!

It's also possible to take a bus straight to Gyeongjuu from seoul airport, there are several departures a day.
have a look at the airport website:http://www.airport.kr/airport/traffic/bus/busList.iia?flag=E.
have a great trip!
Mario

Edited by: boetz21

Edited by: boetz21

Hi boetz! Thanks for the link, that was the other alternative option I'd listed in the post. We've decided to catch the direct bus rather than go through all the hassle of transiting to central Seoul :) Thank you so much everyone, I really appreciate your help. We're definitely taking all your suggestions into consideration (starting with accommodation booking!). Cheers and have a good day all.

OK, I do have one more question. :P Sorry.

Would it be better to stay in Seoraksan itself or back in Sokcho? My friend and I were thinking that Seoraksan would be boring at night since it closes after sunset?

I prefer staying in the minbak villages when I go to a national park. Why? Because the best time to take photos is early morning, and you can be in the park before bus loads of tourists start coming.

Find a restaurant, order a spread of food such as rice and many side dishes, and drink the night away on soju.

Only been to Sokcho once. It didn't seem that special and navigating around Korean cities at night can sometimes be frustrating. I'd stay in the park but that's just me.

Check out Naksansa near Sockcho, it's quite a nice temple, or stay the night near Naksan beach, which is just by the temple. There are many restaurants there.