The Rough Guide to Korea (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

Description

Discover Korea withthe most incisive and entertaining guidebook on the market. Whether you plan to wander between bustling markets and malls in Seoul, island-hop the West Seaarchipelago or set foot in infamous Pyongyang, The Rough Guide to Korea will show you the ideal places to sleep, eat, drink, shop and visit along the way.
-Independent, trusted reviews written with Rough Guides' trademark blend of humour, honesty and insight, to help you get the most out of your visit, with options to suit every budget.
- Full-colour chapter maps throughout - to find your way amid Seoul's maze of skyscrapers or discover Busan's bustling fish markets without needing to get online.
- Stunning images - a rich collection of inspiring colour photography. Things not to miss - Rough Guides' rundown of the best sights andexperiences in Korea.
- Itineraries - carefully planned routes to help you organize your trip. Detailed coverage - this travel guide has in-depth practical advice for every step of the way.
Areas covered include: Seoul, Pyongyang, Sokcho, Gyeongju, Busan, Incheon,Suwon, Mokpo, Jeju Island, Danyang, Jeonju, Samcheok, Jeongdongjin. Attractions include: the DMZ, Gwangjang Market, Jirisan National Park, West Sea islands, Changdeokgung, Seoraksan National Park, Guinsa, Kumsusan Memorial Palace of the Sun, Pyongyang Water Park.
- Basics - essential pre-departure practical information including getting there, local transport, accommodation, food and drink, the media, festivals, sports, culture, etiquette and more.
-Background information - a Contexts chapter devoted to history, religion, film, books and contemporary Korea, as well as a helpful language section and glossary.
Make the Most of Your Time on Earth with The Rough Guide to Korea .
About Rough Guides : Escape the everyday with Rough Guides. We are aleading travel publisher known for our "tell it like it is" attitude,up-to-date content and great writing. Since 1982, we've published books covering more than 120 destinations around the globe, with an ever-growingseries of ebooks, a range of beautiful, inspirational reference titles, and anaward-winning website. We pride ourselves on our accurate, honest and informed travel guides.

Sujets

• East Asia
• South Korea
• Far East

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 5
• EAN13: 9781789195033
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 27 Mo

Extrait

Gavin Hellier / AWL Images
MYEONGDONG, SEOUL
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Where to go
When to go
Author picks
Things not to miss
Itineraries
BASICS
Getting there
Visas and entry requirements
Getting around
Accommodation
Food and drink
The media
Festivals
Sports and outdoor activities
Culture and etiquette
Travel essentials
THE GUIDE
South Korea
1 Seoul
2 Gyeonggi
3 Gangwon
4 Gyeongsang
5 Jeolla
6 Chungcheong
7 Jeju Island
North Korea
Basics
8 North Korea
CONTEXTS
History
Religion
Film
Books
A–Z of contemporary Korea
Korean
SMALL PRINT & INDEX
iStock
Introduction to
Korea
Pine-clad mountains, Buddhist temples, emerald-green rice paddies... on the surface, Korea seems like a typical slice of Asia. But look beyond simple topography, and you’ll discover something truly unique: seriously fiery cuisine, a complex alphabet and customs which – whether modern or ancient – have few equivalents beyond the peninsula. While North Korea continues to befuddle and trouble, South Korea has developed into a major regional power, an inspiration for much of Asia’s youth. Koreans themselves long looked towards America for guidance, but a young, confident generation is bringing back some of the nuances their parents and grandparents had to relinquish while dragging the country out of poverty – change is now coming to the land that was once more accustomed to extremes.
The two Koreas, now separated by the spiky twin frontiers of the Demilitarized Zone, went their separate ways in 1953 after the catastrophic Korean War – essentially a civil war, but one largely brought about by external forces, it left millions dead and flattened almost the whole peninsula. North Korea has armed itself to the teeth since 1953, stagnated in its pursuit of a local brand of Communism , and become one of the least-accessible countries in the world. South Korea , on the other hand, has become an East Asian economic and cultural dynamo – the Western world may be able to pin down little bar kimchi , taekwondo, Samsung and Gangnam Style , but the soft-power effects of the Hallyu “New Wave” have been felt quite clearly across the region.
South Korea’s cities are a pulsating feast of eye-searing neon, feverish activity and round-the-clock business. Here you can shop till you drop at markets that never close, feast on eye-wateringly spicy food, get giddy on a bottle or two of soju , then sweat out the day’s exertions at a night-time sauna. However, set foot outside the urban centres and your mere presence will cause quite a stir – in the remote rural areas life continues much as it did before the “Economic Miracle” of the 1970s, and pockets of islands exist where few foreigners have ever set foot.

And for all its new-found prosperity, the South remains a land steeped in tradition . Before being abruptly choked off by the Japanese occupation in 1910, an unbroken line of more than one hundred kings existed for almost two thousand years – their grassy burial mounds have yielded thousands of golden relics – and even the capital, Seoul, has a number of palaces dating back to the fourteenth century. The wooden hanok housing of decades gone by may have largely given way to rows of apartment blocks, but these traditional dwellings can still be found in places, and you’ll never be more than a walk away from an immaculately painted Buddhist temple . Meanwhile, Confucian-style formal ceremonies continue to play an important part in local life, and some mountains still even host shamanistic rituals.
As for the Korean people themselves, they are a real delight: fiercely proud, and with a character almost as spicy as their food, they’re markedly eager to please foreigners who come to live or holiday in their country. Within hours of arriving, you may well find yourself with new friends in tow, racing up a mountainside, lunching over a delicious barbecued galbi , throwing back rice beer until dawn or singing the night away at a noraebang . Few travellers leave without tales of the kindness of Korean strangers – it’s likely you’ll be left wondering why the country isn’t a more popular stop on the international travel circuit.

FACT FILE
• The Korean peninsula is split in two by the 4km-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). North Korea’s population of around 25 million live in an area half the size of the UK. Slightly smaller South Korea has a population of 51 million, meaning that if reunited, the peninsula would be the world’s 20th most populous country.
• Ethnic Koreans dominate both countries, making them two of the most ethnically homogenous societies on Earth. Before splitting, both North and South Korea were traditionally Buddhist nations. Since then the North has followed Juche, a local brand of Communism, while Christianity has become the most popular religion in the South.
• There are over seven million ethnic Koreans living overseas; famous “ gyopo ” include golfer Michelle Wie, Yunjin Kim of TV show Lost, Joe Hahn of nu-metal band Linkin Park and Woody Allen’s wife Soonyi Previn.
• The economies of South and North Korea were almost equal in size until the mid-1970s. The “Economic Miracle” that followed in the South has propelled it to the cusp of the world’s top ten economies, while the North languishes just above 100th place.
• Psy’s Gangnam Style went ultra-viral in 2012, becoming by far the most-watched video in YouTube history.
< Back to Introduction to Korea
Where to go
Korea is still something of a mystery to most non-natives, and more than half of all its visitors get no further than Seoul . One of the largest and most technically advanced cities in the world, the capital confounds many expectations by proving itself steeped in history. Here, fourteenth-century palaces, imperial gardens, teeming markets and secluded tearooms continue to charm amid a maze of skyscrapers and shopping malls. From Seoul, anywhere in the country is reachable within a day, but the best day-trip by far is to the DMZ , the strip of land that separates the two Koreas from coast to coast.

Alamy
JEJU ISLAND
Gyeonggi , the province that surrounds Seoul, is a largely unappealing area dissected by the roads and railways that snake their way into the capital, but two of its cities certainly deserve a visit: Suwon , home to a wonderful UNESCO-listed fortress dating from the late eighteenth century; and cosmopolitan Incheon , gateway to the islands of the West Sea. By contrast, the neighbouring province of Gangwon is unspoiled and stuffed full of attractions: in addition to a number of national parks, of which craggy Seoraksan is the most visited, you can head to quirky Sokcho city, the giant caves near Samcheok , or peek inside a genuine American warship and North Korean submarine north of the sleepy fishing village of Jeongdongjin .
Stretching down from Gangwon to the South Sea lie the markedly traditional Gyeongsang provinces, home to some of the peninsula’s most popular attractions. Foremost among these is gorgeous Gyeongju ; capital of the Silla dynasty for almost a thousand years, and extremely laidback by Korean standards, it’s dotted with the grassy burial tombs of the many kings and queens who ruled here. There’s enough in the surrounding area to fill at least a week of sightseeing – most notable are Namsan , a small mountain area peppered with trails, tombs and some intriguing Buddhas, and the sumptuously decorated Bulguksa temple, another sight on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Although less picturesque as a town, Andong is almost as relaxed as Gyeongju, and a superb base from which to access Dosan Seowon , a remote Confucian academy, and the charmingly dusty village of Hahoe , a functioning showcase of traditional Korean life. The region’s rustic charm is actually best appreciated offshore on the windswept island of Ulleungdo , an extinct volcanic cone that rises precipitously from the East Sea, and where tiny fishing settlements cling barnacle-like to its coast. Thrills with a more urban flavour can be had in Busan , Korea’s second city, which has an atmosphere markedly different from Seoul; as well as the most raucous nightlife outside the capital, it has the best fish market in the country, and a number of excellent beaches on its fringes.

THE CREATION OF HANGEUL
One thing that will strike you on a trip around Korea is hangeul , the peninsula’s distinctive, almost Tetris-like alphabet. Amazingly, this was a royal creation, having been the brainchild of King Sejong in the 1440s. Most of this creative king’s subjects were unable to read the Chinese script used across the land at the time, so he devised a system that would be easier for ordinary people to learn. Sejong was forced to do much of his work in secret, as the plan did not go down well with the yangban – Confucian scholars who were even more powerful than royalty at the time. As the only truly educated members of society, the yangban argued fiercely against the change in an effort to maintain their monopoly over knowledge.
Hangeul experienced periodic bursts of popularity, but was almost erased entirely by the Japanese during their occupation of the peninsula (1910–45). However, it’s now the official writing system in both North and South Korea, as well as a small autonomous Korean pocket in the Chinese province of Jilin.
The alphabet, while it appears complex, is surprisingly easy to learn , and demonstrating that you can read even a handful of simple words will generate gasps of admiration across Korea. Just a few hours of hard study should suffice – to get started, turn to the table of c