It was a drizzly Saturday, and I visited Gapyeong and Chuncheon. Both are serene rural-ish places.
In case this attempt at an embedded-Google-Map doesn't work, try this: [Map]. Click on it and zoom out to see just how far east Chuncheon is, more than halfway across the country.
What may be most interesting about the trip is my method of transportation: I got there on the Seoul subway network. Amazingly, I can scan my card into the "subway" system here in Bucheon, and arrive in Chuncheon 2 or 2.5 hours later. Total charge: $2.65, deducted from my card. Less than Koreans tend to pay for a single cup of coffee.
(My friend Jared dreams of a day in which the subway system is nationwide. Scan-in with your card at your home station in Ilsan [say], and get off in Daejeon [say], several hours later. Not very speedy, but essentially free, and gloriously easy. Why not?).
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Chuncheon is famous for the tasty Korean chicken dish called "dakgalbi". We ate a delicious meal on "dakgalbi street". The soda was free, all-you-can-drink, which delighted me.
I find it funny that in Seoul, everybody claims to make "authentic Chuncheon-style dakgalbi". Naturally, in Chuncheon, though, I noticed several businesses bearing the name "Seoul". Seoul Dry-Cleaners, for example. The grass is always greener on the other side. I also noticed a bunch of quaint establishments called da-bang (다방), tea houses. I'd read about these in old tourist guidebooks. I had no idea they still existed. I don't know if I've ever seen any in the Seoul area outside Insadong, the tourist street. In Seoul, it's all coffee. Maybe I just don't look hard enough.
What may be most interesting about the trip is my method of transportation: I got there on the Seoul subway network. Amazingly, I can scan my card into the "subway" system here in Bucheon, and arrive in Chuncheon 2 or 2.5 hours later. Total charge: $2.65, deducted from my card. Less than Koreans tend to pay for a single cup of coffee.
(My friend Jared dreams of a day in which the subway system is nationwide. Scan-in with your card at your home station in Ilsan [say], and get off in Daejeon [say], several hours later. Not very speedy, but essentially free, and gloriously easy. Why not?).
______________________________________________
Chuncheon is famous for the tasty Korean chicken dish called "dakgalbi". We ate a delicious meal on "dakgalbi street". The soda was free, all-you-can-drink, which delighted me.
I find it funny that in Seoul, everybody claims to make "authentic Chuncheon-style dakgalbi". Naturally, in Chuncheon, though, I noticed several businesses bearing the name "Seoul". Seoul Dry-Cleaners, for example. The grass is always greener on the other side. I also noticed a bunch of quaint establishments called da-bang (다방), tea houses. I'd read about these in old tourist guidebooks. I had no idea they still existed. I don't know if I've ever seen any in the Seoul area outside Insadong, the tourist street. In Seoul, it's all coffee. Maybe I just don't look hard enough.
Dakgalbi (stolen from here)
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