shelemm

I posted years ago about my trip to S. Korea at a time when it wasn't quite so prevalent to post photos, and I rarely did so. Now the times are a-changing. I am taking this opportunity to post some photos of places you might not often hear about. I am not one to "Instagram every meal I've had" as Weird Al Yankovic puts it, but I do want to share some images that are unique, at least to Fodors.

First up: I'm fond of saying that Maisan Provincial Park is my favorite spot I visited in Korea. That's because it is known for its unique natural landscape as well as a work of cultural beauty. The park is known for its "donkeys ears," two mountains surrounded by a flat terrain, so they are easy to spot from a distance. The other unique aspect is that a hermit constructed at least 90 stone pagodas around a temple built at the base of a cliff. So it is as much a work of visionary art as it is of nature.

chinyen

wow!

jacketwatch

Thank you. It’s nice to see pictures of a place that a few others seem to post pictures of.

shelemm

Most folks are looking at Seoul, Busan, Gyeongju, and Jeju Island for their first trip. Just how most first timers to Italy look at Rome, Florence, and Venice.

Next up is Nagan Stone Village. In Korea, traditional culture is juxtaposed dramatically with modern technology. There are quite a few historic villages which preserve rural architecture while providing for tourism and have their own infrastructure of educational programming and exhibits. Of these, some are living villages as well: people live and farm there. As where in China it's not really a choice (it's the only life they know), in Korea the people there are doing this by choice. Nearby, there are thoroughly modern places to live.

Nagan is unusual for its use of stone and that it is fortified with a wall surrounding the village.





p

shelemm

There's an entire valley of green tea plantations near Boseong in the southwest of the peninsula, with Daehan Dawon being the crown jewel of manicured elegance.

















Golmangtae plantation has a motel on it which is designed to look like sprouting mushrooms. We didn't have reservations, but they had space available. I was happy that one of my kids was fine with ondol sleeping.




Golmangtae stores their picked tea leaves in a cave, where there is also a tea room set up.






And finally, an overview of the Boseong tea valley.

welch

Thank you! These are lovely.
It's a country I'm very interested in visiting now enhanced by your photos.

hewholovestravel

Those photos look amazing! I've actually been to South Korea before and visited the Boseong tea valley - it was such a unique and beautiful landscape. All the green tea plants stretching as far as you can see were just stunning. I've never been to Maisan Provincial Park though. The stone pagodas constructed by the hermit seem really intriguing. I'll have to add that to my list for my next trip. My friend and I are booking a tour through https://gowithguide.com/korea and I noticed one of the guides has Maisan Provincial Park on their profile.

Do you think it would be worth asking to include that in our itinerary? From your description it sounded really unique with the stone pagodas. I'm always interested in less crowded spots off the beaten path if they have natural beauty or cultural history. What was your favorite part of visiting Maisan Provincial Park?

shelemm

There is a north and a south entrance to Maisan Provincial Park. The north entrance could be considered the 'main' entrance and has more facilities.

The top attraction of the park is Tapsa, located near the south entrance. There are also food vendors set up outdoors there. If you want a quick visit, you can just go to the south entrance, in which case, after seeing Tapsa, I would ascend at least to the base of the other mountain.

If you start at the north entrance, you will get more a sense of the entire park. There will be a series of staircases and about 500 steps up followed by a descent to Tapsa. There are a number of trails you will cross, so it is possible to do more hiking to other locations and temples.

When I travel I like to explore a wide variety of experiences, and Maisan will give you a view of Korea that is unique.

WIth transportation help, I suppose you can even decide to get dropped off at the North entrance, walk to Tapsa, and then get picked up at the South entrance without having to double back.

shelemm

While it's true that getting off the beaten path can lead to some really great scenery (more of that later), there is also the opportunity to see a different, less groomed side of the culture as well. Near Goryeong, we went to a BBQ Duck restaurant on a farm... but put away any idea of pastoral spendor. We had trouble finding the place, and it was as rustic and dIlapidated as you can get. This actually describes a lot of Korea...






Notice the clay floor.....









The town of Goryeong, which has Gaya Kingdom tombs discovered only in 1977, is lively, but not pretty.






I found some of the commercial architecture in Jeonju more fascinating that the historic hanbok district.

shelemm

For the duck restaurant, there was no menu. The woman just started bringing us food. We started off with pajeon ( a chive pancake), and then she grilled some duck in front of us. After we had all the duck we wanted, she took the leftovers and made a duck fried rice out of that. Then she took those leftovers and made duck soup. Both duck and goat are eaten in Korea, but mostly at specialty restaurants out in the countryside. There will usually be a cluster of them together, and they are worth seeking out.

Despite that Korea is a small, mountainous peninsula, a lot of visitors never get to the coast. To that aim, I went to Darangyi Village on Namhae Island. Darangyi has terraced fields that go all the way down to the sea. I was there in Summer, when the fields were mostly fallow and not particularly pretty. But the coastal walk was terrific. I believe they grow garlic there.

hewholovestravel

Wow, those photos are gorgeous! The coastal walk at Darangyi Village looks absolutely breathtaking. It's so fascinating to learn about lesser-known areas beyond the typical major tourist spots too. I'll have to keep Maisan Provincial Park and Nagan Stone Village in mind. Based on your description, those pagodas and the fortified villagearchitecture seem really unique. It sounds like you really got off the beaten path - even that rustic duck farm restaurant! Do you speak Korean? I imagine that would be very helpful for exploring more local areas.

shelemm

I do not speak Korean. I already went in knowing a lot about Korean food, and before I traveled I taught myself Hangul, the Korean alphabet. Actually pretty easy and fun. Handy for reading menus and the occasional road sign not posted in the Roman alphabet. We had GPS using the Roman alphabet, came automatically with our Hertz rental car.

Everywhere you go you will find someone who can help you in English. We once used the 24/7 tourism help line. However, it is easy with a pocket translation guide to do most things on your own. When you show up at a motel unannounced, let's face it, they already know why you are they. You just need to indicate how many people you are and how many nights. Almost anyone can do that!

Ok, so one word about Korean motels. I encourage people to stay at them rather than a hotel. They are a wonder to themselves. They are heavily into cute themes, and are often a mash up of decorative styles form Ancient Greek or Roman architecture to cartoons, pop art, space exploration, and European decor. Three places we stayed used Roy Lichtenstein prints. You can find them in cities and out in the countryside.

Here is a photo of the entrance to where we stayed in Seoul, the Ben Hur Motel, with Corinthian columns and an astronaut out front. Out in the countryside, we did not make reservations; we just showed up. Though we did have a clear idea of our options.

shelemm

And last, but not least.... Gayasan National Park. Lots of pretty trails and temple in a ruggged terrain. Known principally for Haeinsa, a temple which holds Tripitaka Koreana, the whole of Buddhist Scriptures carved onto thousands of wooden printing blocks. You can't view these blocks except to see the edges like books on a library shelf. They are protected behind cages. But the temple grounds are beautiful, as well as there are shrines nearby in a lush forest setting. See for yourself!




















And finally, if you care to see the whole photo album, here it is on Flickr. Thanks for viewing!