Odds and ends.

Because I don't feel like doing, like, 15 different posts.

** The Seoul Podcast put together a list of 57 things to see and do in Korea. I'm grateful for some of those suggestions because I had never heard of them before. Seoul and Gyeongju were well-represented, Jeollanam-do not. The thing about living in Seoul or Gyeonggi is that there's not much of an awareness of the rest of the country. Hell, a lot of foreigners believe that anything outside the capital is a backwater. Especially on a hagwon schedule, many foreign English teachers don't get to vacation anywhere outside of Gyeongju.

As far as what I'd put on the list, I'd have to include the Boseong tea fields. I'd also put Haeundae Beach, a place I really enjoy even though many are turned off by the crowds. I think it's gorgeous, and the crowds add to the experience. Matter of fact Busan wasn't mentioned at all, nor was Gangwon-do, the Jinju Lantern Festival, the Seoul palaces, or any of the sites famous for cherry blossoms or fall foliage. I'd also put something about love motels. Sure, "sleep in a nasty yeogwan" made the cut, but nobody wants to do that. Good love motels are cute, kitsch, and comfortable, and as I've written before often trump more, um, standard accomodation offerings. I was also surprised to see Jeju fail to make anyone's list. I've never been, and I know it's hyped to the heavens by locals, but I'm sure it's pleasant. Hell, I definitely thought somebody would mention Jeju Loveland. Namhansanseong in Seongnam is a pleasant hike along an old fortress, something Bundang folks ought to try. Locally you could also make a case for adding Jirisan, Jirisan on New Year's, and Yeosu's Hyangiram hermitage on New Year's to a Top 10 list.

** It was a pretty good podcast. Give it a listen to hear about the bullshit Seoul tried to pull "rectifying" the Lonely Planet Korea's writer's impressions. See here for some background.

** In an article about the Ramsar Conference coming to Changwon in October, there's mention of Suncheon Bay, with the line that it's the fifth-largest wetland in the world. Huh, I didn't know that, and am not sure if that's right. I don't care that much, so I just did a half-assed Google search and didn't find anything. Suncheon isn't mentioned in this book's table of contents, nor are there any Korean contributors. A little while ago Suncheon adopted the slogan, self-appointed I'm sure, "Korea's Ecological Capital" (대한민국 생태수도), based on the reputation of Suncheon Bay. It apparently coexists with "Aha! Suncheon," one of the shittier ones out there. The Suncheon city website has some more information:

The respondents of 89.5% evaluated the fixing of strategy, 「Korea's Ecological Capital, Suncheon」 that the environment-friendly eco-image brought into relief as the 'well-done'.

On the other hand, the priority field for the next 2 years of the 4th popular election was the revitalization of the local economy(40.1%), and next was the construction of eco-environmental city(16.5%), construction of self-governing city(13.2%), bring up the educational city(12.4%), and construction of cultural sightseeing city.

So that clears all that up.


Part of Suncheon Bay's swamplands, as seen from the observatory on Yongsan, just to the east, from August 2007.

** I wanted to mention this earlier, but Robert Koehler had a really neat write-up about Mokpo and its colonial architecture. I had no idea all that was there, and it gives me further incentive to spend some quality time there. He apparently made his way through our 'umble province last weekend and stopped in Jindo and Haenam, including Mihwangsa temple. When I was there a few of the buildings were still under construction. It's a nice place, though, and from Dalmasan behind it you can see 땅끝마을, the village at the soutnern-most point on peninsular South Korea, and beyond.


땅끝마을, the village at the southern-most point of peninsular South Korea, as seen from Dalmasan, fall 2006.

** Another thing I wanted to mention earlier was this filming set in Gwangju that's falling into disrepair. I'm a fan of filming and drama sets, but not necessarily of the films and dramas shot there, and would like to check it out before it disappears.

** KBS continues to be a neat source for extensive travel write-ups on stuff in Jeollanam-do. They recently ran articles on Geumseong Mountain Fortress (금성산성) in Damyang and Geumil-do in Wando. They have an impressive collection of 44 articles on tourist destinations large and small Jeollanam-do.

** Gwangju's Chonnam National University released a cultural guidebook to the Jeolla provinces, titled "New Journey into the Jeolla Region." I've been trying to get a copy, but Interpark apparently doesn't accept bank transfers from KEB.

** Holiday Inn and Ramada will be opening locations in Gwangju in the near future, and will provide what looks like the first decent tourist hotels available in the city. If Naver is to be trusted the Ramada will be in Sangmu, surrounded by scores---pun!---of love motels. Another Naver cafe said it was to open this month, but I haven't found any other mention of that. Anyway, all this news does not bode well for the 라마다여관.

** Quite a few railway extensions planned in Korea over the next decade, according to a Railway Gazette article. Of local interest:

Meanwhile, design work is in full swing on the 231 km Honam high speed line, where construction is expected to start next year. This will diverge from the existing route at Osong to serve Iksan, Gwangju and Mokpo. The 182·2 km as far as Gwangju was originally to be completed in 2015 and the final section to Mokpo in 2017, but South Korea’s President Lee Myung-Bak now says he wants to see the line operational to Gwangju before his term of office finishes in 2014.

Costing 10 500bn won, the new line will cut the total distance from Seoul to Mokpo to 320 km compared with 410 km for the existing route via Daejeon. Fastest journey times will be halved to 1 h 46 min.

The existing Honam line has already been electrified to accommodate through KTX trains from Seoul, and work is now underway on a similar upgrading of the Jeolla line which diverges from the route at Iksan to serve Suncheon and Yeosu. With the coastal city selected to host the Korea International Expo in 2012, KR began work in December 2003 on complete reconstruction of the 32·4 km Suncheon – Yeosu section at a cost of 650bn won. Double-tracking and electrification is now 70% complete and on course to be finished by the end of 2009.

I'm a big fan of ambitious public transportation projects, and got a kick out of this map showing planned extensions of the Seoul subway system. I saw this three or four years ago, and have no idea if it's apocryphal . . . but the idea that Seoul subway will extend into Gangwon-do and Chungcheongnam-do gave me a chuckle.

I, too, was curious . . . but no, the Seoul subway will not come close to meeting the Daejeon one. From 천안역 to 반석역 will still be about 80 km apart.


Larger version here.