Korea | GRRRL TRAVELER

8 Places to Make you Fall in Love with Seoul

Filed under Korea, Seoul by Christine Ka'aloa on June 7, 2010 at 5:12 am {27 comments}

So I’ve held out on you. In the past 2 months, I’ve been to Seoul four times. I was right– I don’t hate Korea, just banal suburban existence and a bad start. Why do I know this? Because I love Seoul!

What is the Korean formula for cities?

There’s something to the saying “If you’ve seen one Korean city, you’ve seen them all“. Cities here make themselves pretty redundant by using a ‘controlled urban formula’, which is mildly reminiscent to townhouse communities in the U.S. The Korean formula? Graveyard-like apartment high-rise neighborhoods, markets with food vendors, cellphone shops, theme parks with cutesy bouquet statues and enough neon light signs to (more…)

Video: Celebrating Buddha’s Day

Filed under Festivals, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on June 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm {3 comments}

In honor of Buddha’s Day, here are just a few of the Buddha’s I’ve come across in my travels.

For the month of March, Buddha’s Birthday was celebrated all across Asia in countries such as Nepal, India, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, etc… For some countries this is a month-long celebration; for others it’s less. In Korea, the auspicious day landed on a Friday (May 27) which meant three-day weekend for most of us. Preparations at Buddhist temples may begin several weeks with the stringing up of paper lantern decorations (more…)

Finding Seoul: The Locks of Love

Filed under Inspiration, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on June 4, 2010 at 5:09 pm {8 comments}

There’s only one word for my first visit to Seoul: Romance! Passion and devotion come in various forms; the best ones are those which lift us high, touching us with friendship and love. Perched atop Namsan Seoul Tower is an observation deck overlooking a breathtaking view of Seoul. Upon it, flourishes what Seoulites call The Locks of Love. What is this? Just as it says. Locks. It’s a crazy tradition that Seoul youth have started there, in the act of bringing (more…)

Escaping to Seoul: Getting there from Daegu

Filed under Daegu, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on June 4, 2010 at 5:01 pm {8 comments}

Outside the Daegu Express Bus Terminal (across the street of Dongdaegu Station/metro stop)

Option #1: Taking the Express Bus to Seoul (cheaper)

I’m always a big fan of taking the public bus to get a more local perspective, but in Korea it’s not only a culturally nice way to travel but comfortable, reliable, cheap and fast. (It’s actually faster than the slow Mungunghwa train!) The bus plays satellite television (although unless you’re by the speakers you can’t really hear anything) and it makes a pit stop at a rest station, where you can get out, stretch your legs and buy some snacks. There are no bathrooms on the bus, so if you have a small bladder, you may want to rethink. But there is also luggage storage (more…)

June Updates: Korean Elections, War and Dancing Ladies

Filed under Korea, • EXPAT LIFE by Christine Ka'aloa on June 2, 2010 at 7:05 am {2 comments}

Election time and politician solicitations. Politicians stand in these moving trucks and speak. Some have dancing ladies in them, etc.

So I’m expanding my “Updates” section (initially just a paragraph) in this blog. Many small events and journal observations ranging from important to weird and funny, graze by on an ongoing basis. They make terrific one-offs and I realize they should be documented so that you get a better view of what I’m seeing or experiencing in Korea on a more casual basis.

Anyways, continuing on-
I read Kimchi w/ Eish’s blog the other day… I wish I could just cut & paste Christo‘s post into mine. He mentions some what I’m going to say (more…)

Review: “Dashing Diva: Foot-friendly nail salons in Seoul”

Filed under Glam Around the World, Reviews by Christine Ka'aloa on May 30, 2010 at 6:35 pm {13 comments}

As a traveler trekking all around on foot, there are times you get to feeling like a bit of a rag doll Cinderella. If you’re like me and possess backpacker-explorer mentality, you’re on your tootsies from sunrise to midnight. Your feet probably wears some serious Grrr and looks like it to!

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“Dynamic Korea” & the EFL Workplace

Filed under Korea, Survival Issues by Christine Ka'aloa on May 28, 2010 at 7:03 pm {7 comments}

Living and working abroad as an English teacher in a foreign country may seem glamorous and easy. That’s what I thought. In reality, acclimating to a foreign lifestyle and workplace system isn’t always as simple or smooth as you expect it to be. But what about the difficulties and frustrations for the English teacher within a foreign workplace?

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5 Ways to See Busan in a Weekend

Filed under Busan, SOLO TRAVEL by Christine Ka'aloa on May 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm {3 comments}

…I didn’t know if I was serious with myself about going to Busan for the weekend or even if I wanted to do it solo! 9:30a Saturday morning I woke up and realized- Yes, I was and so off I went! My sightseeing itinerary however, was a giant question mark… On the train, my quick-sketch brain drew 3 main goals for my two-day trip: a) experience sleeping at a jjimjilbang; b) explore the Jalgachi Fish Market; c) take a walk along Haeundae Beach. What I experienced within this two day weekend was much much more…

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