I’ve been so busy with family visiting for the last few weeks (along with spending 4 days in the hospital over Chuseok) that I forgot to mention that some pretty exciting things were happening in the blog-o-sphere last month. It seems the Sam-shin deigned to smile upon Gyeongjublog and blessed it with a fair bit of K-blog love back in September. read more
Korea Exchange Bank (image from www.thislondon.co.uk)
Having worked in Gyeongju for over 5 years, all of my banking’s done in Korea, so it’s been a while since I’d had to deal with the trouble of changing money or withdrawing cash from an international account. A while that is, until this afternoon. My folks are currently visiting from the States, so we walked downtown with hopes of a hassle-free banking experience. read more
Sampo Ssambap Restaurant, Gyeongju
Looking back on my blog I realize that it’s been months since I’ve posted any restaurant reviews. To make up for this oversight, I hope this will be the first in a series of reviews that focus on restaurants both unique and accessible to tourists.
Sampo Ssambap Restaurant, Gyeongju
To start off with, I have to mention group a of “Ssam-bap” (쌈밥) restaurants just east of the Daereungwon (대릉원) parking lot. If you’ve not had “Ssam-bap” before, it is a culinary force to be reckoned with. Any Ssam-bap joint worth its salt will bring out no less than 20 plates of Korean side dishes: all known manners of kimchis, veggies, fermented fish, spiced squid, marinated tofu, pickled eggs, and peppered salads along with a couple of dishes of soup and pork or beef. read more
Sarangchae Guesthouse (image from kjstay.com)
I was online this afternoon checking out local pensions for Chuseok when it dawned on me that I’ve been seriously delinquent in updating the “Links” section of this blog over the summer. In fact, for a blog that targets tourists, I hadn’t really posted that many websites for hotels and what not around Gyeongju. After several hours rectifying this oversight, I’ve compiled a formidable (if not definitive) list of local links. Here’s a brief rundown of what I’ve found:
Hotels and Housing
Down around the bus station are scads of love hotels and tourist motels. As they’re already pretty easy to find, I’ll link to the Gyeongju Tourist Hotel as a typical example of the whole lot. Instead, there are a few more traditional guesthouses around town that’d give you a more unique experience, like the Sundo Sanbang Guesthouse or the Shillabang Gueshouse. And of course there’s the classic Sarangchae Guesthouse tucked away next to Daereungwon Tombs Park. read more
Tongdosa Temple, South of Gyeongju
Not to become a broken record or anything, but most tourists just bounce down to Gyeongju for a long weekend, hit up the big tourist sites, and head home Sunday night. It’s a shame really. You can barely even scratch the surface of what Gyeonju has to offer in 2 days. To finally prove what I’ve been harping on so long, I’ve cooked up a 10 day itinerary for visitors to Gyeongju. That’s right: over a week and a half of things to see and do in the area. If you don’t have 10 days, feel free to pick and choose what suites your liking. But here are some ideas for exploring a deeper side of Gyeongju and Korea as a whole. read more
Seogyeongsa Japanese Zen Temple, Gyeongju
The other week my wife and I were walking through an older neighborhood of Gyeongju on our way downtown to grab a burger at McDonalds (Yeah, yeah. I know, but she’s pregnant. I’m not going to argue.) About a block from the courthouse, we turned the corner and stumbled on something we’d not seen since our last trip to Kyoto: the sweeping rooftop of a Japanese Buddhist temple. read more
Pranzo Italian Restaurant, Gyeongju
One of my few complaints about Gyeongju is that there just aren’t many foreign restaurants here. Sure, Gyeongju has all your usual greasy fast food joints, but you’ve got to go all the way to Daegu to find a TGI Fridays or Outback Steak House. And if you’re itching for Thai or Mexican, just forget it. Luckily we do have a couple of descent Italian joints in town, and the cream (if you’ll pardon the pun) of the crop is Pranzo (프란조). read more
Phoenix Street of Traditional Culture, Downtown Gyeongju
With the KTX slated to start running to Gyeongju by next Winter(fingers crossed), there’s been a lot of hustle and bustle around town lately If you’re local you may have noticed there’s been a lot of construction downtown over this last year. Seems the city decided to give a serious makeover to the pottery and antiques street, just a block over from McDonalds and Baskin Robbins. read more
View Gyeongju Shopping in a larger map
Since there are about 24 new foreign teachers starting this semester at my university this semester, I thought I’d take a few minutes to slap together a short shopping guide for Gyeongju’s local foreigners. It’s pouring down rain today, so please excuse me for not running out and shooting photos. I’m afraid we’ll just have to make do with Google Maps for the bling factor. Anyhow, here are a few things most foreigners ask about when they move here:
English-Speaking Pharmacists
If you’re in need of an English-speaking pharmacist, there’s one who runs the Medipharm Dongguk Pharmacy right on Dongdae Sagori Intersection. I don’t remember her name at the moment, but she’s quite fluent in English (her husband’s foreign, I believe) and real friendly. If she’s not in when you go by, her assistant might give her a ring if it’s an emergency. read more
Bean Stock Coffee, Downtown Gyeongju
If you’re local, you may have noticed lately that coffee shops have been springing up downtown like mushrooms after a rain. I’m an espresso addict who remembers the dark days when the only thing you could get here was instant hazelnut coffee, so these shops are practically manna from heaven. read more
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