Holidays Travel

Travel: South Korea, where the hyper-modern, K-pop, LED screen and skyscrapers meet ancient temples, tradition and stunning natural scenery

We are very familiar with South Korea's consumer electronics and cars, yet know little about this fascinating and intriguing nation. Sean Sheehan finds a country as hypermodern as it is bound by tradition

Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
South Korea is a country of startling modernity and ancient tradition. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
South Korea is a country of startling modernity and ancient tradition. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation South Korea is a country of startling modernity and ancient tradition. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation

SOUTH Korea, one half of the Earth's most divided country, has the world's fastest internet connection speed, the world's busiest airline route and, on a good day, can turn out movies that give Hollywood a run for their money. Throw in K-pop, K-fashion and the probability that you already rely on one of its consumer electronics... well, Korea has a lot to write home about.

Korea works by being connected up to the hilt and on arrival at Seoul's airport some small tasks await your attention. A local sim card or a pocket-sized router, both with unlimited data, needs purchasing or collecting in the arrivals hall and so too does a T-money card (rechargeable in the convenience stores that are everywhere) for cashless bus and subway journeys across the country.

Google Maps does not work properly but Korea's own Navar Maps is even better in facilitating travel and downloading the app is another prerequisite for the traveller.

Digitally kitted out, you are ready to explore a country and a culture that is as hypermodern as in other respects it is bound by tradition.

After dark, when gazing out a window of the Cornerstone restaurant in Seoul, your eyes are magnetised by the largest LED-screen billboards yet to be mounted on the side of buildings.

Lee So jeong Hanbok workshop. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Lee So jeong Hanbok workshop. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Lee So jeong Hanbok workshop. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation

Nightscapes in Seoul feel so futuristic as to be a little scary, though oysters from Ireland on Cornerstone's menu strike a reassuringly familiar note.

An awesome transport system and high-calibre hotels with impeccable service, like The Shilla, are emblematic of a modernity promising a frictionless lifestyle but - witness the film Parasite - class differences in Korea run deep and Seoul commuters at the end of a day's work look as fatigued as the rest of us.

Respite and relaxation, for Koreans and visitors alike, is to be found in one of the many Buddhist temples nested in the foothills of mountains. Programmes for guests are based around daily monastic activities and Templestay organizes visits to temples that welcome non-Korean travellers.

As it happened, though, my reservation for a two-night stay was messed up by Templestay and the meditative chants before dawn, 108 prostrations and Buddhist meals in a bowl managed to elude me.

A holiday in Korea is as much experiential as it is sightseeing but there is plenty to see. The city of Gyeongju, the capital of the country's ancient Silla kingdom, is filled with temples, palaces, ancient tombs and a folk village while Seoul itself has Changdeokgung, the most attractive of the city's four main palaces.

Myeolgong OP observatory at the demilitarized zone. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Myeolgong OP observatory at the demilitarized zone. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Myeolgong OP observatory at the demilitarized zone. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation

There is one particularly affecting place to visit: the demilitarised zone where you gaze across the border at North Korea. The fact that the two halves of the country remain officially at war with one another - a peace treaty has never been signed and political relations undergo mood swings - becomes as sad as it does surreal when peering through the mounted telescopes for occasional views of North Koreans cycling to work or driving tractors in nearby fields.

The 2016 thriller film, Train to Busan, should not put you off travelling to Korea's second-largest city. On the way there I stopped over at Daegu to visit the country's generously laid-out arboretum – free entrance and signposted all the way from the station – to admire trees and plants from East Asia in abundance (and labelled in English).

South Korea's generously laid-out arboretum is located in Daegu. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
South Korea's generously laid-out arboretum is located in Daegu. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation South Korea's generously laid-out arboretum is located in Daegu. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation

Back on a high-speed train, bustling Busan is 40 minutes away and from its station there are buses to the wide and sandy Haeundae beach. The Grand Josun, with pools, live music at weekends and a 24-hour convenience store situated within, is the smartest of the hotels overlooking the sea but the rooms that cost least have dull city views.

Seafood dominates the numerous eateries in the streets across from the beach, with some truly eldritch items on menus (innkeeper worms or, think Oldboy, live octopus anyone?).

From Busan, there are regular trains for a short hop north to the heritage city of Gyeongju.

Western-style food is best enjoyed at 4- and 5-star hotels and while it tends to be costly there are keenly-priced restaurants in Seoul that combine quality service with lovely food. A 180g steak at Amarillo in the Voco hotel is £36, a risotto with scallops served unusually with Ecklonia cava is £18 and, for starters, tasty bao buns with various fillings for £6. Vegetarian and vegan food is not well catered for and it can be a challenge to find meals without meat.

Wine can be shockingly expensive – though Korean josu, tasting like a sweet vodka, costs little and is found in every convenience store – but at Sky Farm, perched up on a building's 50th floor (reserve a window table for maximum views) and with light flooding in through the glass ceiling, a bottle of the house wine is £25 and the affordable brunch menu is available all day. The budget-conscious Lonely Planet guide is invaluable at pinpointing value-for-money Korean restaurants in all parts of the country.

The Korean tourist board uses Imagine Your Korea as a tag line to showcase the country's appeal, nicely capturing the idea that we mostly don't know much about the place. Its cultural and electronics exports are familiar enough but there is far more to the country than this and only by going there does this become obvious.

Autumn in Wiyangji. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Autumn in Wiyangji. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Autumn in Wiyangji. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation

WALKING ON JEJU

JEJU, an island off the southern coast, is not a place you will have to yourself – flights between there and Seoul carry more passengers annually than any other airline route in the world – but it is home to Hallasan National Park where, besides reaching the summit of the country's highest peak (1,950m), you have the choice of many shorter and less demanding walks.

They are all clearly signposted and it's virtually impossible to get lost or stranded – designated high-altitude points have to be reached before the afternoon so there is always sufficient time to come down at a leisurely pace.

The Yeongsil Trail, laid out with planks like a wide staircase, is not as interesting as the longer Seongpanak Trail and both of them are manageable in trainers although you'll see many walkers decked out with more gear than is necessary.

For more scenic and less strenuous walking, the Jeju Olle Trail is an attractive network of signposted trails that mostly follow the coast.

Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation

NEED TO KNOW

For general tourist information on South Korea, see english.visitkorea.or.kr.

See eng.templestay.com for stays in a Buddhist temple; for organized tours to the demilitarized zone (individual travel is not allowed), see vviptravel.com/dmz-tours.

A local sim card or pocket router can booked in advance and collected on arrival through koreatraveleasy.com.

For Cornerstone restaurant, see seoul.park.hyattrestaurants.kr; for Amarillo restaurant at Voco hotel, see ihg.com/voco; for the Sky Farm restaurant see chorokbaemfoodfarm.com; for The Shilla, see shillahotels.com; and for Grand Josun hotel in Busan, gjb.josunhotel.com.

Detailed information on walking trails in Hallasan National Park and the Olle Trail, put in Jeju at alltrails.com; for the Olle Trail, see also jejuolle.org/trail/eng.

Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Golgulsa Temple, located amid the natural beauty of Hamwolsan Mountain, just outside of historic Gyeongju City. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Huinnyeoul-gil at Busan. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Huinnyeoul-gil at Busan. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Huinnyeoul-gil at Busan. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
South Korea's generously laid-out arboretum is located in Daegu. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
South Korea's generously laid-out arboretum is located in Daegu. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation South Korea's generously laid-out arboretum is located in Daegu. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Jeonju by night. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Jeonju by night. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Jeonju by night. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Seokchonhosu Lake Park in Seoul's Songpa District. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation
Seokchonhosu Lake Park in Seoul's Songpa District. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation Seokchonhosu Lake Park in Seoul's Songpa District. Picture by Korea Tourism Organisation