Korea at Christmas/New Years
Discussion
I know there's been the odd Korean thread before, but I'm after particular advice for the "Winterval" season...
We have about 8 days off over Christmas and New Years - plan is to fly out to Seoul on the 24th (overnight from Singapore) so arriving in the morning of Christmas Eve.
We want to do Jeju, Busan, a couple of days skiiing, and a couple of days in Seoul itself. We're flying back on the 2nd.
So I would be interested in any recommendations for the order we should do this in (ie is Seoul a good place for NYE), and any must do sights/events/activities/places to stay.
We know it's going to be bloody freezing, but I hear Jeju is supposed to be quite warm all year round near the coast. Also, where are the best ski resorts (I haven't skiied for years, and my gf has never even seen snow before), so we're not after black runs, just somewhere safe and fun for a couple of days.
Also, is it that hard to get around with the language? Neither of us speak Korean - my gf has passable Mandarin, and I am well versed in the International language of pointing and talking loudly...
Thanks in advance!
We have about 8 days off over Christmas and New Years - plan is to fly out to Seoul on the 24th (overnight from Singapore) so arriving in the morning of Christmas Eve.
We want to do Jeju, Busan, a couple of days skiiing, and a couple of days in Seoul itself. We're flying back on the 2nd.
So I would be interested in any recommendations for the order we should do this in (ie is Seoul a good place for NYE), and any must do sights/events/activities/places to stay.
We know it's going to be bloody freezing, but I hear Jeju is supposed to be quite warm all year round near the coast. Also, where are the best ski resorts (I haven't skiied for years, and my gf has never even seen snow before), so we're not after black runs, just somewhere safe and fun for a couple of days.
Also, is it that hard to get around with the language? Neither of us speak Korean - my gf has passable Mandarin, and I am well versed in the International language of pointing and talking loudly...
Thanks in advance!
I live out here at the moment. We did December 26th-January 1st in Seoul last year. Great atmosphere, some good bars, good events going on. It was stupidly cold though, about -10C with ice on most pavements as they didn't grit them.
Jeju will be warmer. An easy flight from Seoul too and usually no need to book in advance.
You can take the KTX high speed train from Seoul Station down to Busan. About 2 hours 45 mins and 60,000 KRW. Busan is my favourite city in Korea, plenty to do and I'd recommend staying at Haeundae beach.
Ski resorts wise, Pyeongchang where the Winter Olympics will be held is a good bet. South east of Seoul, but easy enough to get to. There are also other ski resorts directly south of Seoul, centre of the country area and they have good recommendations. Not a ski-er myself so can't give specifics on that area.
You'll get around easily. Most signs are also in English and enough people speak English to make it easy. Strangers will come and help you with directions/problems in most major cities. We've had people give us lifts for miles when we couldn't find a bus home in the middle of nowhere!
You'll find plenty of Western food as well. Dog is hard to find if you fancy trying it, but it is out there!
Jeju will be warmer. An easy flight from Seoul too and usually no need to book in advance.
You can take the KTX high speed train from Seoul Station down to Busan. About 2 hours 45 mins and 60,000 KRW. Busan is my favourite city in Korea, plenty to do and I'd recommend staying at Haeundae beach.
Ski resorts wise, Pyeongchang where the Winter Olympics will be held is a good bet. South east of Seoul, but easy enough to get to. There are also other ski resorts directly south of Seoul, centre of the country area and they have good recommendations. Not a ski-er myself so can't give specifics on that area.
You'll get around easily. Most signs are also in English and enough people speak English to make it easy. Strangers will come and help you with directions/problems in most major cities. We've had people give us lifts for miles when we couldn't find a bus home in the middle of nowhere!
You'll find plenty of Western food as well. Dog is hard to find if you fancy trying it, but it is out there!
phumy said:
Mmmmmm....typical Korean Xmas dinner, stuffed doggy with all the trimmings, brussel sprouts and pussy cat flavoured gravy, you cant beat it....woof woof. 
Remind me, what do they eat in Vietnam again, other than underage boys? v15ben said:
I live out here at the moment. We did December 26th-January 1st in Seoul last year. Great atmosphere, some good bars, good events going on. It was stupidly cold though, about -10C with ice on most pavements as they didn't grit them.
Jeju will be warmer. An easy flight from Seoul too and usually no need to book in advance.
You can take the KTX high speed train from Seoul Station down to Busan. About 2 hours 45 mins and 60,000 KRW. Busan is my favourite city in Korea, plenty to do and I'd recommend staying at Haeundae beach.
Ski resorts wise, Pyeongchang where the Winter Olympics will be held is a good bet. South east of Seoul, but easy enough to get to. There are also other ski resorts directly south of Seoul, centre of the country area and they have good recommendations. Not a ski-er myself so can't give specifics on that area.
You'll get around easily. Most signs are also in English and enough people speak English to make it easy. Strangers will come and help you with directions/problems in most major cities. We've had people give us lifts for miles when we couldn't find a bus home in the middle of nowhere!
You'll find plenty of Western food as well. Dog is hard to find if you fancy trying it, but it is out there!
Thanks Ben, that's pretty much what we had planned - have heard from a colleague that Busan was a bit boring, so I'll do some research and see who is right (she's Japanese so our interests may be different - K-pop and korean dramas are not my bag apart from the wimmins). Not worried about food - I've lived in asia long enough to eat all sorts of sJeju will be warmer. An easy flight from Seoul too and usually no need to book in advance.
You can take the KTX high speed train from Seoul Station down to Busan. About 2 hours 45 mins and 60,000 KRW. Busan is my favourite city in Korea, plenty to do and I'd recommend staying at Haeundae beach.
Ski resorts wise, Pyeongchang where the Winter Olympics will be held is a good bet. South east of Seoul, but easy enough to get to. There are also other ski resorts directly south of Seoul, centre of the country area and they have good recommendations. Not a ski-er myself so can't give specifics on that area.
You'll get around easily. Most signs are also in English and enough people speak English to make it easy. Strangers will come and help you with directions/problems in most major cities. We've had people give us lifts for miles when we couldn't find a bus home in the middle of nowhere!
You'll find plenty of Western food as well. Dog is hard to find if you fancy trying it, but it is out there!
t, so a bit of chien is no problemo.Re Christmas Day and New Years Day - will there be places open or will the whole place shut down? I'm not sure if we should go to the ski-resort over Christmas itself, and then head to the beaches at Busan and Jeju before comnig back to Seoul for NYE and shopping - would there be places (shops or tourist attractions) open on New Years Day especially?
I'm preparing for the cold - living in Singapore you miss seeing your breath and weraing about 8 layers just to go outside!
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