South Korea Diary 26 JAN - 3 FEB 2013
Finding snow
Finding snow
30 JAN 2013
We go to a bus terminal in the morning and take a bus to Sokcho, 370 km from Jeonju. Fast food set at Lotteria is our lunch during the bus is stop. 2:00 PM, finally we arrive at Hanwha resort. Seoraksan national park, located on the east-central Korean peninsula, listed by the South Korean government with UNESCO as a tentative World Heritage site.
The Korean moon bear statue is the first thing you can see, it stand near the entrance of the park. The mountain was named Seorak ('Seol' meaning 'snow' and 'Ak' meaning 'big mountain') because the snow would not melt for a long time keeping the rocks in a permanent state of white. We use a cable car going to the walking trail way. We walk along the way with cold weather and make a little snowman. On the path to Sinheungsa temple, there is a great bronze statue called Bronze Jwabul statue, which is well over 10 meters high. Just beyond the statue, which is on a granite terrace, there is a bridge to the right called Hyeonsugyo, which was newly built for crossing the ravine. Past the bridge there is a long stone wall with a Cheongwang door, and you can enter the temple.
Next, we take a taxi go to Sokcho market, seafood and pickled vegetable market. Moreover, the famous food here is red sauce chicken. Our dinner is seafood; Ojingeo Sundae (stuff squid) and Sundaeguk (soup with blood sausage). Today, we stay in premium Family room. Sleep tight.
31 JAN 2013
In the morning, we have international breakfast at the hotel. Then, we go to Seorak cinerama, On a site of about 80,000 m², 64 Tang Dynasty-style buildings including the imperial palace and 52 Goguryeo-style buildings have been built to create a themed film park that recreates Goguryeo from 1,300 years ago. Visitors to this theme park can enjoy a variety of historic experiences as well as learn traditional culture facts at one's leisure. Next, we go to Sokcho museum. It shows the history of Korean people and their habituations.
2:30 PM, we go to Abai Village and order variety of fish and octopus for lunch at famous restaurant. After lunch, we come back to Seorak Waterpia, one of Korea's largest theme parks offering a wide variety of outdoor leisure activities and hot spring facilities. It uses only pure mineral waters from Choeksan. The water comes from the layer formed during the Mesozoic Era, and the water volume used per day is about 3,000 tons. With their abundance of cations (sodium, calcium, and magnesium) and anions (chlorine, carbonic acid, and sulphuric acid), the hot springs are good for stress, neuralgia, arthritis, and geriatric diseases. Various facilities at Seorak Waterpia include a hot springs resort, an artificial wave zone at the Wave Pool, and the Stream Pool. At the theme zone, the Rafting Zone and Body Slider will provide you with endless fun and thrills. In addition, there are outdoor leisure spa facilities such as Lovers Bath, Rock Bath, Cave Bath, and sauna facilities such as Prickle Bath, Wood Bath, Outdoor Bath,etc. Next, we have dinner; Dakgalbi and come back to hotel. ...zzzZZZ
to be continued ...