Aimee’s World Tour

Jeju Island served it’s purpose. 

Though the weather was shit for the most part, it showed me that Korea isn’t soley or “Seouly” a concrete wasteland.  That all drivers aren’t suicidal.  That Koreans do in fact smile unprovoked.   That you can look at beautiful scenery with your peripherals because there aren’t horribly ugly edifices to the right and left.   Aah-gee-mahs still push but like that’s gonna change.

Another point in Korea’s favor is that I no longer am an employee of a moronic, money-hungry private school administration.   Perhaps one day I’ll try out a public school on an island or in a small town.  See another side of the people.  *Not any time soon.  😉 *

For a year and a half I had isolated myself in a small north west section of the country.  All I knew were the stone-faced, rich bitches of Bun Dang, a suburb of Seoul, as well as Seoul itself.   I never left the bubble.  And quite honestly my visits to Seoul have left me with many areas still untouched.

Leafing through my Lonely Planet for all the places I’d been outside of the Gyeongi-do province, I came up empty with the exception of Mudfest down south , the DMZ, and my beloved airports.  Pathetic.

Every vacation, I did my best to get OUT of Korea.  Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Bali… I saw them all.  

Weekends were always my time. My Sundays were as uneventful as possible to prepare mentally and physically for my Mondays and the little monsters that awaited me in the clasroom. 

Finishing up my contract I didn’t roadtrip the country but went for an adventureous month in China.

A knawing at my conscience led me to give Korea another go and so I am back in the ROK ’till Thursday.  After visiting friends and old students my first week, I spent my second in Jeju. 

Outside of  Jeju, there are a slew of places that unfortunately I do not have the time to experience.  And for these and countless others I must one day return.

Island hopping in the west sea.

Seoroksan National Park.

Jeongdongjin – Unification Park with the N. Korean submarine.

Ulleungdo and Jukdo Islands in the East.

Busan beaches in the summer.

The green tea fields of Boseong where you can actually bathe in green tea or sea water.

Suanbo Hot Spring and Woraksan National Park.

The ancient capital of Gyeongju.

A temple-stay.

The impressive limestone cave that is Gosu Donggul.

The Seoul Racecourse.

Islands like Yeondo and Heuksando immediately south of the mainland.

Jeju-do when it’s not cold, rainy and windy.

I thank you Lonely Planet for opening up my eyes to what I’d missed.  I wish I’d cracked you months ago.  And Sue Car Tiffin for her lectures and insistence that I get out there, that I see Korea for what it really is and not leave with a negative image due only to my own ignorance.  And of course Bona at theyeogiyo.com for finding me amazing flights.  XOXO.

~Aimee

Tags: 1, Jeju, Korea, sight seeing, theyeogiyo.com

This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 4:15 am and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.