Trip Report - my second visit to South Korea
About Me - mid-30s male on summer break from a teaching job in the US.
About the Trip - I wanted to go back to an event that I really loved in Seoul last year, and as long as I was in Korea again, I also chose to revisit Busan and then go to some other nearby places that are bit of a step further past the "standard" international tourism destinations in the country.
Itinerary
Incheon (one night) - I arrived late-ish in the evening, enjoyed a massive dinner in the airport, and then in my sleep deprived state got kinda confused about how best to get to my hotel near the airport but figured it out. In some ways figuring out which shuttle to take to my hotel was actually the most confusing transit experience of this whole trip lol.
Busan (four days) - Busan was a real highlight for me last time and I was excited to go back and explore some more and also just hang out and enjoy the city. Last time I missed the famous and slightly tourist trappy but still very pretty Gamcheon Cultural Village so I went there, revisited some of the street market areas I loved so much last time, enjoyed more of the great seafood and visited Shinsegae (the world's largest department store, though IMO not a particular highlight of Busan)
Geoje Island (three days) - Korea's second-largest island after Jeju, and not too far from Busan by bus. This island seems pretty far off the international tourism map but parts of it seemed popular with domestic Korean tourists. I stayed in Geoje city and did two hikes from there, the more exciting and worthwhile being to the summit of the small-ish Gyeryong-san mountain with some fun rocky terrain at the top and lovely views of the island and some smaller nearby islands. I also did a day trip to another part of Geoje Island to an area called "windy hill," from which you can walk to see some other natural features. Quite a few Korean tourists around there, and it was close-ish to some small villages on the coastline that were pretty.
Tongyeong (three days) - I mainly wanted to use city as a base for a day trip to Someamuldo Island, a very small island reachable by ferry from Tongyeong, but the city of Tongyeong itself was really fun. Some nice walkable markets, pretty coastal scenery, and an again very local Korean domestic tourist crowd and just generally a pleasant atmosphere. The ferry out to Somaemuldo island was a fun experience in and of itself, with some old Korean dudes day-drinking and inviting me to hang out and drink with them for a while; again I think they just don't see a ton of foreign tourists go out that way and I was something of a novelty for them. And the island itself was very pretty with one tiny village situated on it and some nice scenery including great views of other small islands nearby. Another old Korean dude bought me some noodles and a beer for lunch, and yet another older Korean couple invited me to sit with them for a while despite completely insurmountable language barrier, just nice to be treated with such friendliness as an outsider.
Daejeon (one day) - a large city somewhat centrally located in Korea and a transit hub, and honestly a place without much draw for tourists, but a convenient stopover. The bus ride from Tongyeong to here took a few hours with probably the worst driver I've ridden with in Korea. Daejeon itself isn't really a tourism-oriented city, but made for an interesting chance to see what felt like a somewhat "normal" Korean big city. I had some superb food here and wandered around a bit but it again was sort of a stopover mostly.
Seoul (four days) - much of this time was non-solo since I was attending an event and meeting up with some friends I met here last year, but I did do some things solo including going to the Korean National Museum (wish I had done this last time since it gives some helpful context to some of Korea's major historical sights, even though some wings were closed for renovation/repairs) and enjoying some shorter walks around neighborhoods. The social event was really great too. Pending final stages of visa process I, uh, may or may not be moving to an East Asian country rather soon, so returning to this social event in Seoul was helpful for deepening some friendships in the general region of my future homeland as well, but I'm keeping some of the specifics of that private for now until it's more finalized.
What went well
This was my first time going back to a country I'd already visited solo before, and my experiences with that were very positive. Last time I got a good feel for how to get around, what to expect from the social climate in the country, what apps were most useful and so on, so this time it felt like I skipped more of the culture shock and just fell into a really comfortable rhythm right away. I ate better this time, with a better sense of what sorts of places to look for, what my favorite dishes are, and what sorts of places don't serve solo diners which really confused me last time.
I adored Busan again, just such a nice city to walk around in, and was thankful for the extended time to hang out there. Tongyeong was a nice surprise and a comfortable and fun home base for a few days, and I enjoyed seeing some more of Korea's islands and doing some hiking.
I also frankly was just in a happier mental space this year. Last year, I still enjoyed S Korea, but I was also in the final stages of a bitter, badly communicated interpersonal situation back home that sometimes distracted a bit from my usual carefree travel mode. This year that situation is thankfully far behind me and I felt more consistently present and just generally much happier.
I felt like Korean people were also nicer to me this time? But maybe that's partly because I was more relaxed and gave off a more approachable energy. I suspect though it may also be that I was pushing farther out of where foreign tourists usually go, so maybe I was more of a novelty and more local people wanted to chat with me or at least say hi.
I think this trip affirmed my general impression that Korea is a very easy place to get away from international mass tourist traffic, and that can be fun and rewarding, especially once you get used to how to navigate.
What didn't go well
By Korean standards I thought public transit and pedestrian infrastructure on Geoje Island were sometimes lacking. For instances, some buses run quite infrequently (again by Korean standards) or their frequency and routes aren't listed accurately on Naver Maps, and likewise there were a few areas where the walkability wasn't very good and Naver Maps again was not very accurate about what could or couldn't be walked.
It was mostly fun, but occasionally getting extra attention as an obvious outsider intruded on my "me time."
This last gripe is actually kind of funny, but it also taught me a useful lesson. I have facial hair and have for years, and wanted to trim/neaten up my beard towards the end of this trip, but I hadn't packed an electric razor. I assumed it'd be easy enough to find one for a decent price in Korea but turns out, it's very difficult to find facial hair-grooming products in a country where almost nobody grows out their facial hair! Even in the major cities I had a real tough time finding anything that would do the job. Lesson learned!
Otherwise this was a great trip and a very peaceful one.