Prettier street stalls in Seoul

Seoul city government recently redesigned the look of the street stalls in Seoul for registered vendors. They look pretty neat, but they could have made a little more space inside. People who sell stuff at these street stalls are usually very old, and they will have a hard time not being able to stretch their legs all they want. T.T

Tags: Korea

Have you been to Jeju Island?

[Photo by Hyunwoo]

제주도 (Jejudo - Jeju Island).

제주도 is the largest island in Korea, but more importantly, probably the most beautiful place in Korea (in my opinion, at least). You've GOT TO check it out while you're in Korea!

It takes about one hour to fly from Gimpo Airport (in Seoul) to Jeju Airport, and a one-way flight costs about 100,000 won but you can get cheaper tickets too if you use the cheaper airlines.

I've been there three times, and I can't wait to go back there soon!

Tags: Korea, Transportation

The city of Cheon-an

I went to 천안(Cheon-an) earlier this week, where I had a very good time and met some great people, and in the photos above you see one of the main downtown areas of 천안(Cheon-an) near the Express Bus Terminal and the Ya-woo-ri Department Store. For Koreans, even if one doesn't know anything else about this city (a lot of people can't pinpoint exactly where it is located on the map), one thing that everybody is sure to know is the it's famous for it's 호두 과자 (hodu gwaja), which means small walnut cakes or cookies.

I went there by express bus, and it took about 1 hour and 10 minutes, and a one-way ticket to 천안 from 서울's 경부선 고속 버스 터미널(Express Bus Terminal, Seoul-Busan Line) was only 4,800 won. And you can even go there by subway, which takes about 1 hour and a half.

So if you're near Cheon-an or in Seoul, be sure to check out Cheon-an! And have some walnut cakes while you're down there. Personally, I was so impressed by how much kinder and warmer people were in general when they meet or talk to strangers while I was there. : )

Tags: Cheon-an, Korea