Two Weeks Vacation in South Korea - Part III
Part I: Two Weeks Vacation in South Korea - Part I
Part II: Two Weeks Vacation in South Korea - Part II
Part III: Two weeks Vacation in South Korea - Part III
Itinerary to South Korea
Day 3: Seoul
Suwon Hwajeong Fortress
After ate breakfast at MoMo Cafe at Courtyard Seoul Times Square, we went to Yeongdeungpo Station to catch KTX to Suwon Hwajeong Fortress. We bought the ticket there without reservation. The vending machine did not have English language so we had to queue and buy it from the ticket windows.
Direction:
1. Take KTX from Yeongdeungpo station to Suwon station (1 stop)
2. From Suwon station, Exit 7/8 walk to a bus stop and take bus 7770/66/700-2/900/301/66/2007
1. Take KTX from Yeongdeungpo station to Suwon station (1 stop)
2. From Suwon station, Exit 7/8 walk to a bus stop and take bus 7770/66/700-2/900/301/66/2007
Fee: 2,000 - 5,000 won for the train ticket depend on what train you took (KTX - Saemaeul - Mugunghwa - Nuriro). We just chose the one that was leaving next. For the bus, we use the T-money card that we bought yesterday.
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| Wait for the train |
There are couples of buses that left from Suwon Station bus stop to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. Where we were waiting for the bus, there was a board showing the bus number and lists of the destination but in Korean. Based on this board, choose the bus that stopped at Hwaseong Fortress and least stops.
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| Suwon Station Bus Terminal |
When we saw the first gate, Paldamun, we was exit there from the bus to take some pictures.
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| Paldamun |
From Paldamun, we turned to right toward Dongnamgangnu and Dongsamchi.
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| Dongnamgangnu |
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| View of Suwon Jeil Presbyterian Church from Dongsamchi |
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| View of Giant Golden Buddha from Dongsamchi |
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| Giant Golden Buddha Close View |
Next, we walked back toward Hwaseong Haenggung Palace.
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| Bell Pavilion in front of Hwaseong Haenggung Palace |
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| Hwaseong Haenggung Palace |
In front of the front gate of Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, there was a regular performance 24 Martial Arts Trial. The event occurred on Tuesday to Sunday at 11 AM and 3 PM. We were lucky that we arrived there around 2:30 PM so we could watch the show.
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| Front Gate of Hwaseong Haenggung Palace |
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| 24 Martial Arts Trial Performance in front of Hwaseong Haenggung Palace |
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| One of the 24 Martial Arts Trial Performance |
We skipped the entrance to the Hwaseong Haenggung Fortress and decided to hike to Seojangdae where 1 night 2 days filming at night. Before we went there, we grabbed lunch by eating samgak-gimbap (triangle kimbap).
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| Halfway to Seojangdae - Spring Water |
People in South Korea are actually drinking from the spring water. We did not drink it since we are not used to it. This half-way point was also one of stops for the dragon trolley. After taking a rest, we continued our hike to Seojangdae.
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| Seojangdae |
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| Seonodae behind Seojangdae |
After that we went back down to take the dragon trolley towards Janganmun, the largest gate in Hwaseong fortress. The powerful dragon in front of the trolley was designed to signify King Jeongjo. This trolley run twelve times a day everyday except Monday starting from 10 AM to 5:50 PM. The riders of the trolley were taken from a platform near Paldasan where the statue of King Jeongjo located through Janganmun before arriving at Yeonmudae.
Fee: 1,500 won for adults, 1,100 won for teens, and 700 won for kids
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| Dragon Trolley Ticket - 3,000 won for 2 people |
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| Dragon Trolley |
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| Hwahongmun |
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| Janganmun |
Janganmun was the last destination at Hwajeong Fortress. There were more attractions that we missed and hopefully, we can go back in the future. From Janganmu, we caught a bus to go back to Suwon Station.
1. Take a bus 16-1/16-2/26/32-5/35/50-2/50-4/50-5/700-2
2. From Suwon station, take KTX to Seoul Station
There are couples of buses toward Suwon Station. It took faster to go back to the station about 12 minutes. We just took the one we saw.
The trip to the Hwaseong Fortress took whole day but worth it. I would rate it at 5/5.
For the history of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress: Hwaseong Fortress UNESCO
Gwangjang Market
From Suwon Station, we took a KTX back to Seoul Station instead of Yeongdeungpo since we want to eat bindaetteok and mayak-gimbap (drug kimbap).
1. From Seoul Station, take line 1 (blue line) to Jongno-5-Ga (4 stops)
2. Exit 8 and walk to Gwangjang Market
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| Gwangjang Market (Copyright @ english.visitkorea.co.kr) |
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| Gwangjang Market - Hanbok Section (Copyright @ english.visitkorea.co.kr) |
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| Gwangjang Market - Food Section (Copyright @ english.visitkorea.co.kr) |
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| Different types of kimchi |
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| Mayak-Gimbap |
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| Bindaettok (Copyright @ http://discoveringkorea.com/110123/gwangjang-traditional-market-in-seoul/) |
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| Samgyeopsal |
From Gwangjang market, we decided to go back to hotel since we had to go to the airport and picked up our parents early in the morning.
1. From Jongno-5-ga, take line 1 (blue line) to Yeongdeungpo station (10 stops)
At the hotel, we ended eating again. We ordered one jajangmyeon and one tangsuyuk for us to share at the chinese restaurant near our hotel, Song Juk Jang. The jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk are just okay. I would rate it at 2.5/5.
Continue to Part IV: Two Weeks Vacation in South Korea - Part IV
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