My Most Memorable Trip: Korea

Feature Article About A Travel-1

Faith Evans (AKP 2010 September-2011April, Mount Holyoke College, U.S.A.)

  I love to travel and have always been interested in going to new places and having new experiences. I have now been to several cities and countries, but I think my most memorable trip was when I visited Korea. Although I had been living in Japan for six months, I was not prepared for my experience in Korea. It was completely different; from the food and culture to the language and people. Korea was full of unexpected surprises, Evans, second from far left but I enjoyed every minute of it!
  In Korea I visited the towns of Seoul, Jeju, Busan, and Gyeongju. Seoul was a huge metropolis, much like Tokyo or New York City. There were so many things to do. On the first night my friends and I went out to eat our first taste of authentic Korean food in Korea. We all spoke virtually no Korean, therefore we could not read the menus. In this particular restaurant there were no English menus and no one could really speak English, therefore we had to point at what we thought might be appetizing and hope for the best. It was all delicious, but because everything was so spicy, we all learned how to say the word “water” in Korean very quickly. We visited palaces, towers, and went to the infamous DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone. It is the border between North Korea and South Korea at the 38 parallel. It was the most militarized place I have ever seen in my life. It was quite an eye opening experience.
  After Seoul, we all went to Jeju. Jeju is a beautiful island in southern Korea. It was absolutely gorgeous. The water was so clear and clean. It felt like a dream. We climbed mountains, explored caves and took so many pictures. I definitely recommend Jeju for anyone vacationing in Korea.

Evans, second from far left

  We took a ferry from Jeju and visited Busan. It reminded me so much of Seoul and many other big cities. We did not do as much there, but we did go up Busan Tower. From the tower, one can see monuments dedicated to the Korean War. We left Busan and headed to Gyeongju by bus. Gyeongju is a very historic city in South Korea. We saw many tombs and ancient sites. We even visited some temples. They look similar to their Japanese counterparts, only the color scheme was very different. Many of them were purple and green. In Kyoto, when I think of temples, I usually think of the color red. I believe most of Korea was similar, yet so different from Japan.
  Finally, we went back to Seoul on a free bus from Gyeongju. It was free for all foreigners.
  My experience in Korea was so different in language and culture, but it gave me a yearning to visit Korea again someday. I definitely want to go back, but this time, I would like to know something about the culture and speak the language.