After almost 1 year in South Korea, and a few months after my departure, I would like to reflect back on my experience. (Better late than never, right?)

I think every person who comes to Korea chooses to experience it differently, whether that’s diving into the culture, the scenery, the food or merely the day-to-day subtleties. When coming to Korea, I do not think I had one in mind, and today, I do not think one thing stood out to me more than another. Each, in their own ways, were unique. Neither inherently good or bad, but rather, just an experience.

Despite saying that, I do have highlights. These are places or experiences that I believe shaped my time here in South Korea, in whichever way.

1. Sokcho-si, Gangwon (Seoraksan National Park)

Sokcho-si is a city located in Gangwon Province along the East Coast of South Korea. Sokcho gave me very laid back, almost ‘simplistic’ experience compared to the hustle and bustle of some of the major cities.

A stand out experience here was definitely the hike in Seoraksan National Park. I must admit, I did not do nearly as many hikes in South Korea as my heart wanted to, so I don’t have many to compare it to, but, this was for sure one of the most breath-taking views, if that is, you manage to get to the top.

Look, I will be the first to admit that I thought the elderly Korean men and woman wearing full kitted hiking attire (dressed to tackle Mount Everest) were overly prepared. Me being me, I was there in my little Adidas white shoes and a crop top from Cotton On – feeling very confident that all would be okay. It was not, in fact, okay…

The hike was basically a vertical climb up the side of the mountain, throw in like 1000 flights of stairs, also throw in the judgmental looks from those, previously identified as ‘overly-prepared’ individuals, as I crawled on my hands and knees up multiple rock faces. I’ll spare you all the details, but basically we made it to the top.

Our whole trip to Sokcho-si was amazing, although the hike was my highlight, I think the city of Sokcho-si itself was so special. I personally love anything by the sea, but put that aside, it was a place I would not hesitate recommending for anyone who wants a more low-key holiday. You can also go to Yangyang which is another coastal experience, great for beach parties and great for anyone looking to surf!

It was such a memorable trip – thank you to all those who joined me on the adventure.

2. Cherry blossom season

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Actually, who am I kidding, I do not think a picture could truly encompass all that is ‘Cherry Blossom season’ in South Korea. The best time to view the Cherry Blossoms will vary dependent on which area you are located in of course, but generally speaking it is around late March to mid-April.

These flowers are the most perfectly sculpted act of nature with their dreamy, cotton candy-like appearance filling trees all over South Korea.

A few friends and I decided to take a weekend trip to Busan to see the Cherry Blossoms – after many back and forths on choosing a location to see them, we finally decided on a popular place called Samnak Ecological Park. It is a long stretch of road (a pathway of sorts) that is surrounded on both sides by these stunning trees and extended far beyond what the eye could see.

I was totally in awe by the contrast of the pinky blossoms to the blue skies above. Every tree was unique in it’s own way but all of them were equally magnificent.

Even though we had made a trip to Busan to see these tress, one of the most spectacular things about them is that they blossom everywhere. In the most unusual and usual places. Almost unaffected by the city life, the sea, rivers. They just – blossom. A true reflection of the culture in South Korea, I now understand why they are such a symbol for Koreans. I’m truly grateful to have had the opportunity to experience them.

3. Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon (Ski Season)

If you didn’t already know, South Korea experiences ALL of the four seasons. Unlike South Africa, where winter just means wearing a little sweater on some rare days when the wind is a little chilly. Winter in South Korea is the coldest I have ever experienced, with temperatures going as low at -18°C when we went skiing in Pyeongchang-gun.

Due to the limited vacation days we get as teachers in South Korea, a group of friends and I decided to go skiing on Christmas day. It seemed rather fitting as this was my first time skiing ever – a Christmas gift to myself, some may say.

Pyeongchang-gun hosted the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and as you can imagine I was beyond excited to see and experience what this town had to offer. There are a few ski resorts you can visit in the area but we decided on Phoenix – where they had the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events in the 2018 Olympics!

We rented our equipment from a shop that was located very close to the resort and chose our clothes and whether we wanted to do snowboarding or skiing. Our group was a mixed bag of snowboarders and skiers, we got our stuff and made our way to the slopes.

Now, bare in mind I have never tried skiing before in my life – so I was filled with excitement but also lowkey terrified as to what I would tell my mom if I broke my leg because I tumbled down a ski slope.

I just watched everyone around me and slowly picked it up as I went along – and honestly, best experience ever. I absolutely fell in love with the sport. The way you glide down the slopes makes you feel like you’re on top of the world, in a weirdly magical way (yes, throw up in your mouth – cringe, but it really was magical stuff).

My Christmas was well spent and I would 10/10 recommend trying out skiing in South Korea if you haven’t tried it before.

4. Busan

Of course I had to throw in Busan, another major city, this is a very typical one – but, it is a must!

Living is Seoul, you get so used to the hustle and bustle of the city life, it’s nice to take a trip to the coast. Now, if I’m honest, the beaches do not even compare to the ones I’m used to back home in South Africa. In addition to that, beaches are not really for swimming, and by that I mean, people tend to go fully clothes to the beaches. Quite the adjustment for my bikini obsessed mind – but such is life.

There is so much to do in Busan, some of my top recommendations are Gamcheon Culture Village, Songdo cable car, Haeundae-gu main strip and also just going out to the bars in Gwangalli Beach.

I would describe the vibe in Busan as a lot more relaxed than Seoul, if only because when waiting for the train in the metro, it is purely the sound of seagulls cawing to signal the approaching of your train. Amazing.

I think a definite highlight of my time in Busan, is the adventure a group of friends and I took by deciding to take the Songdo cable car. The cable car travels over the sea, and it truly felt like we were on some island off the coast of Hawaii. Blue waters and stunning scenery surprised me as we got off at our destination. There is a stunning walk through the forest and some great view points along the way.

Gamcheon Culture Village is also something truly remarkable. Each house is unique with it’s brightly colored paint and the walk through this village has cute shops around every corner, selling little souvenirs to send home for friends and family!

I think my best piece of advice is to chat to friends about their experiences in Busan – Google is only so helpful and never really shows you those secret places your friends can tell you all about! On a side note, if I were to have stayed in South Korea for another year, I would have moved to Busan. I loved Seoul but Busan really spoke to my heart!

5. Lantern festival

Ah, the Lantern festival. Where do I even begin?

This was hands down one of the most emotional and special moments I had in South Korea. I can’t truly describe fully why. It is one of those things that you just… feel.

A group of friends and I had made the journey to come and see the festival, a celebration of Buddha’s birthday. Which is a parade that takes place along a street – with observers on each side. At first I had thought that only special performers took part in this parade, but I soon came to realize that anybody could take part.

The lanterns came in all different shapes and forms, each one more spectacular than the one before.

The reason, I believe, I found it so emotional was this really small, minor detail that I felt possibly tugged at my heart strings. It was the people in the parade. Their waves, their smiles, just the happiness that I felt from everyone to be united if only for just that brief moment. Living in Korea as a foreigner can be the most isolating experience, sometimes you cannot connect with people the way you want to because of the language barrier and the, how can I put it, ‘each to their own’ culture in Korea where everyone pretty much keeps to themselves in public.  To wave and get smiles from everyone in the parade, in addition to seeing the spectacular lanterns, and also possibly my time in Korea coming to an end, all compounded in that moment and I felt tears truly well up in my eyes.

Maybe my experience is very personal and singular, but, regardless, I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to experience something beautiful!

6. Gangneung-si, Gangwon

Lastly, Gangneung-si. This is also located fairly close to Sokcho, along the East Coast. I travelled there with my partner and we stayed at a super random motel (due to our lack of planning of course), which was located right along a train line, so of course every morning our alarms didn’t need to be set.

Other than the funky motel, Gangneung had so much to offer. We went to Jeongdongjin-ri, which was a small little beach side town with some local food places (with lots of seafood) and cute little things to see as you walk through the town.

My absolute highlight was for sure the Sun Cruise Hotel, which could not possibly be missed as it is quite literally a ship on a hill. Yes, a ship on a hill.

There are so many cute things to do there, a sculpture park, a staircase to nowhere, again, quite literally.

We also rented some bikes and took a beautiful cycle around Gyeongpo Lake. There were sculptures along the way and many areas to veer off the track that led to quaint areas to sit and just be.

The whole experience was incredible and something very different to what you can find in Seoul or Busan. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, the diversity in things to do and the scenery just made the trip one for the books!

So that’s it!

My personal experiences of some top places to see! Like I said before, it is a personal thing, some people love Seoul, others want to get away to experience the sea side, others want cultural experiences. The only way is to truly just experience it for yourself!