Korea: The Tourist Wallflower

I was looking at the travel map I had stuck to the back of my cabinet with a pin in my hand thinking, “Where can I stick the next one on?” I had stuck one to the side of Australia when I went there to have a short and sweet getaway with my family in Surfers’ Paradise. I thought to myself, I’d like to see something that didn’t have to do anything with the beach. Perhaps I could be more adventurous, pretend to be like Lara Croft and go treasure hunting in Cambodia’s Angkor Wat; or head to Malaysia to see the wondrous Petronas Towers. My eyes landed on a small island just below China. Ah yes – the wallflower of a tourist spot – Korea.

A Warm Welcome Despite the Cold Weather

Traveling to Korea shouldn’t take too long, but it could feel like an eternity if the flight you took has a stop over and begins late in the evening. My eyes were heavy; my knees felt like Jell-o, simply put,I was tired. The flight I had been on had to drop by Singapore before it headed to Korea. By the time I arrived, it was already around 6 in the morning and my stomach was still full from the Bibimbap dinner and the airline breakfast I had before landing in Incheon.

I loved how the wind felt so cold against my skin. It did a good job in helping me wake up and come to my senses after the connecting flights and long waits at the airport. I took this package tour with two other Filipino families who, I am glad to say, have become friends by the end of this journey.

I’ve always known that I might not have any trouble fitting in if I ever went to Korea. My small eyes and my fair skin have always made it hard for people to tell that I was pure Filipino, not to mention my foreign-sounding surname. I thought it would be funny. When the tour guide, Celline, had asked me what my name was, she replied with a big smile in the most amusing Korean accent,

“Oh! You know, that name is very common in this country. Are you sure you are not Korean?”

Awakening the Child Within

I began my journey through Korea like an adrenaline junkie as the first stop was a theme park called Everland. It ranks 4^th place as one of the best theme parks in the world as it offers 5 different festivals all year round. Daredevils will surely have a blast riding Columbus Adventures as it carries you aboard a humungous pirate ship and swings you to and fro at a tremendous height of 33 meters or perhaps the Double Rock Spin which will spin you like a top while in the air. Should one feel like channeling Evel Knievel, there is the T Express, the steepest wooden rollercoaster in the world with heart-stopping drops.

I decided to take on the less daring rides for the meantime and went to explore the park in a more relaxed manner and had a go at the Herbivore Safari. The bus

driver took us on a little trip through winding trails lined with majestic towering trees. But don’t worry; there is more to this safari ride than just the giraffes and the panda bears; plus you won’t have to experience such boredom when all you can do is stand near the glass and watch the animals as they slept. There had been times when we had grown grizzly bears and white tigers standing literally less than ten feet away from the bus. Everland also protects a unique form of breed that they call the Liger, literally meaning a cross breed between a tiger and a lion. It’s amazing how you will see that it has the face of a lion but has the spots like a tiger. The bus driver even gives you bits and pieces of information as he drives you along and shows you how these amazing animals are fed.

The amazing island of Jeju also upholds a great reputation for taking pride in such animals as it is home to the famous Teddy Bear Museum. But this is only second to the beauty it exudes, as it is a vibrant island that is not overpopulated and well preserved in terms of its natural wonders. It had been a rainy day, but even though the rainwater had somewhat shrouded my view from the window. I could make out a seemingly unending line of cherry blossom trees in full bloom adorning the side of the highway.

The Teddy Bear Museum is a playground for both children and adults alike. Scattered around the museum are dioramas of famous children’s storybook characters played by, you guessed right, teddy bears. Everywhere you look there are bears that can fit on the palm of your hand and there are those that are more than 6 feet tall. I personally couldn’t resist letting the child in me out, and found myself taking a picture with an adorable fireman teddy that was at least three feet taller than I was.

Embodying Culture and Tradition

Whenever I travel, the thing that I love doing most aside from taking millions of photographs is to immerse myself in the country’s culture and learn of their ways. This was my favorite way of learning. I had the opportunity to do this when we were taken to the Kimchi School in Seoul.

They had us all take a spot in front of a horseshoe shaped table and provided us with aprons and plastic gloves.

I never remembered being so scared, as I am not used to being in a kitchen. A jolly looking man stands in the middle and shows us how they make the red paste. They have already provided us with pre-made paste as apparently, it requires days to thicken up. He proceeded to teach us how to spread the paste on the cabbage to make the perfect Kimchi. I don’t know if the same could be said for the one I made, but I can say that I am less clueless in the kitchen now.

It was also in the Kimchi School where I first experienced wearing a Hanbok, the traditional garment for Korean women. The woman had motioned me with a smile to come closer to the rack of dresses. It amused me so much to see the others also being dressed like one. With a friendly smile I asked the lady, about their traditional dresses, and she replied that the Hanbok usually consists of 24 layers of cloth. No wonder they look so thick when they wear them! They took my picture wearing a blue Hanbok with pink sleeves, and there it was, another memory immortalized.

Loveland, Literally!

Probably the funniest and craziest place that I went to in Jeju was Loveland. However, I could safely say that there was not a place in Korea that I laughed as much as I did when we went there. I didn’t even know what the place had to offer until we arrived.

It had been a cold evening and it was the last stop of the day. I went out the bus wearing the thickest jacket I managed to find before I left. The Korean language is still something I have yet to learn so I couldn’t read what the sign said. The only clue I had were the astrological symbols for the male and the female.

Lo and behold, what I came to find was something quite challenging to describe!

My tour mates have gone in before I did, so by the time I got through the entrance everyone else had already burst out in wild laughter. It turns out that Loveland was a sexually oriented park – the adult’s playground. Almost every corner had a towering statue of a man and woman doing the act. I find it hard to describe even until now. If I remember correctly, there was only one set of statues that could still be considered quite conservative, and it was of a woman in a balloon dress holding a bouquet of flowers behind her and a man in a vest with a box of chocolates kissing each other on the lips. Oh and by the way, every statue is around 3 to 4 times the height of the average person.

Sometimes you could only wonder, what on earth was the creator thinking when he was building this park? One thing is certain; he surely does have such a great sense of humor.

Korea is one that is rich in culture and modernity. This is a country that any young traveler today would surely find interesting. It only leads me to wonder what new things it can show me the next time around that I get to visit.