As Lunar New Year fell mid-week this year we had Wednesday to Sunday off work. Assa! I decided to head down south to Jinju 진주 (famous for it's lantern festival every October) and Hadong 하동 (famous for it's green tea). Both are in the South Gyeongsang Province and it took around 4 hours by bus.
I took the trip with friends Jen, Janet and Hee-Jung. We headed down there on the Wednesday night (i'd moved into my new apartment the night before and was manic before the departure) and arrived late into Jinju at around 2am.
Our first night was spent in a cheap motel in Jinju. The standard situation of turning up at a random place in the middle of darkness and not knowing where to stay, so just looking for the nearest 'Love Motel'. 4 girls sleeping in a row makes for a cosy nights sleep kkk ^^
Thursday morning was spent exploring Jinju town and its famous Fortress. We took lots of pictures and explored the ruins (which were actually restored very well and in great condition). After some sightseeing, a visit to the Jinju National Museum (nice) and a pasta lunch, we took a local bus to Hadong.
Hadong is roughly an hour away from Jinju and it's a place that I cannot wait to return to. The actual center of town doesn't have much going for it. Just a small bus terminal and some pretty standard high street stores. But once you take the local bus further out of town you get a better feel for the place. The countryside is magnificent (yes, I used that word!). I felt so relaxed the entire trip, being outdoors in fresh air and with views of the Seomjin River and Mt. Jirisan backdrop - it was a perfect way to spend Lunar hols.
Janet is little miss organised (and we adore her for it) so she had made us an itinerary for the trip. We wanted to see as much as possible over the 4 days so set about checking off the 'things to do' on her list. First stop was staying the night in a traditional village in the mountains.
The bus driver dropped us off in pitch black skies, in the middle of a mountain range and we had one of those moments that made us think 'errr, what the hell do we do now?'....but after a 5 minute (dark) walk up a hill we found a little pension (similar to a B&B but basically just a heated room with no beds) to stay in. The couple running the pension hadnt expected any guests that night as it was the most important day of the Lunar Hols but we arrived on their doorstep around 9pm looking for food and a room. They welcomed us, gave us a room for the night and set about cooking us dinner...we enjoyed Pajeon washed down with beer.
The next morning we were asked to wake up and eat breakfast at their parents house up the hillside at 8am. So we woke early doors (around 7am - a standard on a trip that includes the wonderful Janet kkk ^^) and headed up the hill to find the parents house. We were welcomed into a little traditional village house...basically made of rubble/stones and with a roof covered in branches. So cute. The entire village is so quaint and had only basic amenities.
The grandmother could be seen, with kids running around and the grandfather adding wood to the fire/stove. Each room was heated with ondol but the ondol was bascially just a fire below the buildings (that wasn't a great explanation but you'll maybe get what I mean). We were given a hearty breakfast of fried fish, rice, tofu soup, an assortment of vegetable side-dishes, finished off with lots of fresh fruit and rice cake snacks. Delicious.
After breakfast we decided to head to the local Art Center a few km up the mountainside. It was a slow walk but the girls are used to hiking (unlike me) - we all enjoyed it. We explored the Art Center which was basically tunnels and paths leading around forest area towards the main attraction - Samseonggung 삼성궁.
Located high up on Mt. Jirisan is Samseonggung. The sanctuary was erected in 1983 (the year I was born!) in honor of the Emperor of Heaven (Hwan-in), his son Hwanung, his grandson (and the mythical founder of Korea), Danggun. The compound included hundreds of stone pagodas and was beautiful to see on a day of blue skies.
After this we headed to down to Hwagae Village 화개마을 for an afternoon exploring the local market. Located in the center of Hwagae Village is a famous market that’s long been a place of commerce for three provinces. Better known as “Hwagae Jang-to,” it’s also a great place to purchase beautiful ceramic ware, bags of medicinal roots or to sample a local specialty – soup made from freshwater marsh clams. We found delicious snacks, beautiful pottery and plenty of dried herbs/teas to sample.
That night we stayed in another motel just next to Hwagae Jang-to and got a good nights sleep before another early wake up call.
* Hee-Jung had to head home on Friday night so we said goodbye to her back in Hadong central town.
Saturday morning arrived and we took a local bus to Ssanggyesa Temple 쌍계사. This is situated in the southern slopes of Mt. Jirisan. It was founded in 723 during the Shilla Dynasty, most of it was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of the late 16th century and reconstructed in 1975. The temple complex contains several cultural assets, including one national treasure: a 3.6-meter tall stele built in the 9th century to celebrate the life of the famous Buddhist monk, Hyeso. (Can you tell I copied this from Wikipedia ?? ^^)
The temple was beautiful. We took tons of photo's and spent a few hours walking around and taking in the views. We also decided to buy a slate tile and each write a wish on there. We left the slate tile next to the temple and let's see how many of our wishes come true...
That afternoon we decided to head to the Tea Cultural Museum 차문화전시관. Im a HUGE tea drinker and so was very happy to spend a few hours sampling teas and buying more tea pots/miniature cups. Hadong is famous for its delicious Green Tea and it holds a tea festival every spring when the cherry blossoms are out.
We then spent a relaxed evening at the motel and woke up early on Sunday morning to travel home.
I actually met a guy at a Korean music festival 2 summers ago that was from Hadong and it suddenly dawned on me on that Saturday night that I should contact him. He called me back and we chatted for a little while, turns out he's doing his military service at the moment. I arranged to visit Hadong again soon and look forward to some more sightseeing with a local friend ^^
* This trip actually took place the first week of February so i'm just a LITTLE late in posting about it ^^
I plan to catch up on blog posts this week - a recent happenings blog/new apartment blog/trip to Jindo blog.
I took the trip with friends Jen, Janet and Hee-Jung. We headed down there on the Wednesday night (i'd moved into my new apartment the night before and was manic before the departure) and arrived late into Jinju at around 2am.
Our first night was spent in a cheap motel in Jinju. The standard situation of turning up at a random place in the middle of darkness and not knowing where to stay, so just looking for the nearest 'Love Motel'. 4 girls sleeping in a row makes for a cosy nights sleep kkk ^^
Thursday morning was spent exploring Jinju town and its famous Fortress. We took lots of pictures and explored the ruins (which were actually restored very well and in great condition). After some sightseeing, a visit to the Jinju National Museum (nice) and a pasta lunch, we took a local bus to Hadong.
Janet is little miss organised (and we adore her for it) so she had made us an itinerary for the trip. We wanted to see as much as possible over the 4 days so set about checking off the 'things to do' on her list. First stop was staying the night in a traditional village in the mountains.
The bus driver dropped us off in pitch black skies, in the middle of a mountain range and we had one of those moments that made us think 'errr, what the hell do we do now?'....but after a 5 minute (dark) walk up a hill we found a little pension (similar to a B&B but basically just a heated room with no beds) to stay in. The couple running the pension hadnt expected any guests that night as it was the most important day of the Lunar Hols but we arrived on their doorstep around 9pm looking for food and a room. They welcomed us, gave us a room for the night and set about cooking us dinner...we enjoyed Pajeon washed down with beer.
The next morning we were asked to wake up and eat breakfast at their parents house up the hillside at 8am. So we woke early doors (around 7am - a standard on a trip that includes the wonderful Janet kkk ^^) and headed up the hill to find the parents house. We were welcomed into a little traditional village house...basically made of rubble/stones and with a roof covered in branches. So cute. The entire village is so quaint and had only basic amenities.
The grandmother could be seen, with kids running around and the grandfather adding wood to the fire/stove. Each room was heated with ondol but the ondol was bascially just a fire below the buildings (that wasn't a great explanation but you'll maybe get what I mean). We were given a hearty breakfast of fried fish, rice, tofu soup, an assortment of vegetable side-dishes, finished off with lots of fresh fruit and rice cake snacks. Delicious.
After breakfast we decided to head to the local Art Center a few km up the mountainside. It was a slow walk but the girls are used to hiking (unlike me) - we all enjoyed it. We explored the Art Center which was basically tunnels and paths leading around forest area towards the main attraction - Samseonggung 삼성궁.
Located high up on Mt. Jirisan is Samseonggung. The sanctuary was erected in 1983 (the year I was born!) in honor of the Emperor of Heaven (Hwan-in), his son Hwanung, his grandson (and the mythical founder of Korea), Danggun. The compound included hundreds of stone pagodas and was beautiful to see on a day of blue skies.
After this we headed to down to Hwagae Village 화개마을 for an afternoon exploring the local market. Located in the center of Hwagae Village is a famous market that’s long been a place of commerce for three provinces. Better known as “Hwagae Jang-to,” it’s also a great place to purchase beautiful ceramic ware, bags of medicinal roots or to sample a local specialty – soup made from freshwater marsh clams. We found delicious snacks, beautiful pottery and plenty of dried herbs/teas to sample.
That night we stayed in another motel just next to Hwagae Jang-to and got a good nights sleep before another early wake up call.
* Hee-Jung had to head home on Friday night so we said goodbye to her back in Hadong central town.
Saturday morning arrived and we took a local bus to Ssanggyesa Temple 쌍계사. This is situated in the southern slopes of Mt. Jirisan. It was founded in 723 during the Shilla Dynasty, most of it was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of the late 16th century and reconstructed in 1975. The temple complex contains several cultural assets, including one national treasure: a 3.6-meter tall stele built in the 9th century to celebrate the life of the famous Buddhist monk, Hyeso. (Can you tell I copied this from Wikipedia ?? ^^)
The temple was beautiful. We took tons of photo's and spent a few hours walking around and taking in the views. We also decided to buy a slate tile and each write a wish on there. We left the slate tile next to the temple and let's see how many of our wishes come true...
That afternoon we decided to head to the Tea Cultural Museum 차문화전시관. Im a HUGE tea drinker and so was very happy to spend a few hours sampling teas and buying more tea pots/miniature cups. Hadong is famous for its delicious Green Tea and it holds a tea festival every spring when the cherry blossoms are out.
We then spent a relaxed evening at the motel and woke up early on Sunday morning to travel home.
I actually met a guy at a Korean music festival 2 summers ago that was from Hadong and it suddenly dawned on me on that Saturday night that I should contact him. He called me back and we chatted for a little while, turns out he's doing his military service at the moment. I arranged to visit Hadong again soon and look forward to some more sightseeing with a local friend ^^
* This trip actually took place the first week of February so i'm just a LITTLE late in posting about it ^^
I plan to catch up on blog posts this week - a recent happenings blog/new apartment blog/trip to Jindo blog.
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