Traveling in Korea

by Roger White

Traveling in Korea is a wonderful experience. Photography is one of my hobbies, so I love traveling around Korea on weekends to shoot pictures of scenic places in Korea. I often travel alone, and when I do, I always meet interesting people.

I have traveled all over Korea during my 18 month stay here. I climbed Manisan in the spring, I visited Kyongju in winter, I traveled to Yosu in the summer, and I went to Yoju in the fall. On each of these trips I met wonderful, warm Koreans.

Climbing Manisan, I met a director of the Korean Press Association, and two army captains and their wives. We met on the summit, then later ran into each other again on the bus heading for Kangwa city. We talked more, and went to dinner together. Meeting them made the trip a special treat for me.

I took the train to Yosu. The first half of the trip was a quiet ride, but as we left Kongju, four beautiful young women sat down in the seats across from me. I was struck with their beauty, and that made me curious. I hoped I could find a way to talk with them. Half an hour later one offered me a stick of chewing gum, and our conversation started. They were coming back from a fan dancing competition in Kongju. I told them about living in Utah in the US, and they told me about living in southern Korea. Talking them was the high point of my trip to Yosu. It was even more memorable than seeing the full size turtle boat anchored in Yosu harbor.

I traveled to Kyongju with a tour of Korean English teachers. We saw the sights, and I climbed from my hotel to Saccuram to see the sun rise on a cold December day. I was impressed. It was five thirty in the morning when I started the climb and it was really dark, but as I climbed the mountain, it soon became clear that I was far from alone on the mountain that cold morning. There were dozens, perhaps hundreds of other Koreans climbing up and down the mountain that morning. It was 6am on a freezing mountain path, and it crowded! On the way back from Kyongju the teachers and I used the bus noriban to sing songs. Singing songs on a long bus trip was something I did long, long ago in summer camp in the US. This was my first experience singing songs on a long bus trip as an adult, and it was great fun.

Photography is one of my hobbies, and I when I travel it's always with camera in hand. I went to Yoju to see the [temple name] temple. There were lots of other photographers there, including a circle of student photographers from Ehwa Woman's University. One of them came up to ask if I would pose for them next to the fountain. I said, "Sure, if they would do the same." The picture I got there was one of my favorites, it shows a group of wonderful, smiling Koreans having a wonderful time as they wave at me.

Traveling alone through the smaller cities and countryside of South Korea on weekends is great fun. Unexpected meetings and pleasant surprises fill my journeys, and I meet Koreans from all walks of life.