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What a beautiful face I have found in this place that is circling all round the sun. What a beautiful dream that could flash on the screen in a blink of an eye and be gone from me. Let me hold it close and keep it here with me. And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea. But for now we are young, let us lay in the sun and LIST every beautiful thing we see.

bookmarks:
listography GIVE A GIFT OF MEMORIES
FAVORITE LISTOGRAPHY MENTIONS
Ryan books (reading, read, bookclub)
movies (In theaters, TV series, or docs)
activities (Hikes + Trips + Outdoor Activism)
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Seoul:

  • Art
    • Leeum Samsung Museum of Art (eat at Passion 5 Cafe across main road!!)
    • National Museum of Contemporary Art
    • National Museum of Korea
    • Korean War Memorial Museum
    • Seoul Museum of History
    • National Folk Museum of Korea
  • Seoul Fortress
  • Bukhansan Mountain -outside city hike with city views
  • Cheonggyecheon --public garden in highline style thru city center also near Dongdaemun Malls (wall of hope)
  • DMZ line ($80 arrange with USO)
  • Itaewon -military area of seoul where my mom and dad lived (head right, across street/south of hamilton hotel)
  • Jongno food maze below Insa Dong
  • Namsan Park – Located in the center of Seoul. Seoul Tower. Bring lock for gate.
  • Palaces Walk:
    • Bukchon Samcheon-dong Hanok Village --traditional korean houses walk from Gyeongbokgung Palace to Changdeogung Palace (walk north-west to Samcheong-dong shopping area then down Bukchon --loved this)
    • Changdeokgung Palace --esp gardens behind palace
    • Gyeongbok-gung Palace, Yulgukno (subway Gyeongbokgung or Gwanghwamun). This is Seoul's grandest Joseon Dynasty-era palace. 9AM-5PM daily except Tu. Fun soldiers you can pose with outside
  • Shows: Battle B Boy, Nanta, Jump, Sachoom
  • Noryangjin Fish Market --near river front (incredible)
  • Ganeul World Cup Park --world cup area
  • Jimjilbangs

Shopping Areas:

  • COEX Mall --kimchi museum, arcades, megabox theater --go north for galleria mall (not great for shopping)
  • Dongdaemun Gate (Great Eastern Gate) market --massive malls, markets (Doota Maxtyle & Migliore Mall pretty good but a little forever 21-ish)
  • Ewha Women's University shopping area (starts at university gate, exits 3&3)
  • Cheongdam-dong (metro line 7, Cheongdam, exit 9) --lame! But Galleria dept store West okay
  • Gangnam Underground Shopping area --with subway
  • Sinsadong Garosu-gil Road --shops and eat, a few trendy shops
  • Gwangjang Market --old school market w/lots of character
  • Hongik University --art school, discos, shops, restaurants (head toward university & go to right area) --saturday art market outside university
  • Insa-Dong --alley of galleries and crafts (samziegil galleria arcade)
  • Myeong-dong shopping --like shinjuku in japan --just okay
  • Namdaemun --largest traditional street market in Korea.
  • Bukchon Village area --great

Notes:

  • USO tours of Korea offered at the base
  • aunt: line 3 (orange/red) toward Daehwa, exit Juyeop exit NW
  • seoul tour bus
  • gimpo airport about 1 hour commute from icon station
  • dive restaurant. lady gives adam half a bottle of soda for his drink.
  • people can be pushy
  • train stations play marching music when your train is approaching
  • drunk businessmen on trains (imitating them is fun)

Jeju Island

  • taxi driver: Gim Gyu Chang 064-756-1956/010-4696-1956
  • Museums
    • LoveLand (On the road between Jeju City and Seogwipo)
    • Trick Art Museum
    • Jeju Teddy Bear Museum
    • Chocolate
    • Vintage Autos
    • Sori Edison Museum
    • Kimyoung Maze --San16 Gimyong-ri Ggujwa-up, Jeju-si (About 500 m down the road from the Manjanggul lava-tube cave.)
    • Soingook Mini World or Miniature Theme Park
    • Glass Castle (Inner western portion of the island)
  • Mysterious Road --cars roll up hill
  • Lotte Hotel --mom wanted me to see
  • Yongduam – Yeomiji Botanic Garden – Jeju Folk Village – Magic Road
  • Cheonjiyeon Waterfall
  • Manjang-gul cave / LAVA TUBE Cave
  • Seongsan Ilchubong, Seongsan --this is the famous round almost-volcano-island you'll see pictures of everywhere in Jeju.
  • Other:
    • drive the coast
    • spirited garden
    • visit the Art Sculpture park. This park located near Mt. Sanbang, discover over 160 different sculptures
    • Iho Beach, (about 7 km east of Jeju-City). A beach, whose main feature is two types of sand, one dark gray, one yellow which produces brilliant structural effects in the water.
    • Ancient lava estuary is a part of the area designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve --lava formations of many interesting shapes and sizes and volcanic black sand on the seaside
    • "Lonely Standing Rock" with many stories to tell (Korean names of the trail: Oedolgae, Tombae Nangol - Wedolgae). See here a natural pool famous amoung the locals as "fairy pool":)
    • "Olle" path
    • Andok Valley is acknowledged to be the most beautiful valley on Jeju Island.
    • Jeolmul Forest
    • Museum of Contemporary Art
    • Seriworld Go Carts
    • Green tea plantations
    • Hado-ri Bird Sanctuary
  • Info: 1 hour flight from Seoul, ticket RT $150, rental car (must have international drivers license, hired taxi 150k won for 8 hours), visa w/d only
dec 26 2011 ∞
may 7 2012 +