9월11일 토픽입니다

[Vuitton(김소윤)]

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, this year's autumn leaves began transforming into their beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow on Mt. Seorak on Sept. 29.

And although they predict the mountain's beauty to peak on Oct. 20, there are dozens of places all over the peninsula to capture the splendor of the season, right up until early November.

But if you want to do something a little different, go to a temple instead of any-old mountain to enjoy the autumn. Temples also provide great backdrops for your photographs, rather than simply photographing pretty leaves in a forest.

Every week Expat Living will highlight weekend travel destinations. This weekend, we suggest you head to Mt. Seorak on the East Coast to beat the crowds. But if you want to wait for more leaves to change color, hold off until mid-to-late October.

If you're one of those people that likes to make plans in advance, we also want to highlight the often-overlooked Suncheon for a mid-October visit. The city is in the province of Jeollanam-do, and its temples are of national fame. Moreover, the city is not famous for its autumn leaves, meaning you would avoid the swarms of people that will slog up Mt. Seorak single file. The true beauty is in the city's surroundings.

To get to Seoraksan take a bus bound for Sokcho from the East Seoul Express Bus Terminal (Subway Line No. 2, Gangbyeon Station). There are 49 busses daily costing 18,600 won. From the Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, take city bus No. 7 to the entrance of Seoraksan. Total travel time is around four hours.

If you want to stay overnight, which is recommended, there is no shortage of lodging, but book in advance as this is Seoraksan's peak season.

To get to Suncheon from Seoul, you'll need to catch the bus from the Dong Seoul bus terminal; the journey takes a little more than four hours and costs 28,000 won. The alternative is the train, which takes five hours.

The KTO also suggests three Mt. Seorak hiking courses.

Gwongeumseong Course - Sinheungsa temple district

A cable car is an easy way to get great views. From Sinheungsa Temple, get a 10 minute ride, then hike for about an hour. Total time needed is three hours.

Biryong Falls Course - Sinheungsa Temple District

Another good afternoon course starts at Sinheungsa Temple. Passing Biryong Falls, this 2.4-kilometer course will take about one-and-half-hours.

Ulsanbawi Rock Course - Sinheungsa Temple District

One of the most popular trails is the Ulsanbawi Rock Course, because it offers great views of the mountain. One way is about 4 kilometers and the whole course will take more than five hours. This isn't the type of trail you take your young children on.

(mattlamers@heraldm.com)

By Matthew Lamers

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Suncheon: A natural paradise

SUNCHEON, South Jeolla Province - The easiest way to enjoy the sights here is to take the Suncheon city tourist bus. The bus leaves from the tourist office near the train station at about 9:30 a.m. It is very convenient and will take you everywhere in a day.

The main sights in and around Suncheon are Suncheon bay, Nagan folk village, a film set, Songkwangsa and Seonamsa.

The bay is a really nice place to take a lazy late afternoon stroll, and you can take a course around the wooden planked pathway as it navigates the reed beds.

For further relaxation, there's a great boat cruise, while for the more active sightseer it's a 30 minute climb to the viewpoint over the bay. The view is perhaps one of the most iconic landscapes in Korea.

If you don't decide to use the tourist bus, you can either get a taxi from the train station (10,000 won) or the number 67 bus will also take you there (1,000 won). A great time to visit Suncheon bay is in October when the reed festival takes place (Oct. 17 to Oct. 24).

The next attraction worth seeing is Nagan folk village. The village is one of the best preserved fortress towns in Korea, with its fortress wall dating back to 1424. It will take you a minimum of two hours to see, and has numerous points of interest. There is a pottery shop, water wheel, large ponds, a smithy and various other crafts from older times.

The village is full of old houses with thatched straw roofs and there are changing of the guards ceremonies outside the fortress walls several times a day.

For overnight stay there are several houses that rent out rooms.

Traveling to the village is by the 63 or 68 city bus (1,000 won) or by taxi (20,000 won). As with Suncheon bay, Nagan folk village has a festival in October. The Namdo food festival begins Oct. 29 and finishes Nov. 1.

Suncheon, like many other places around Korea, has some very nice temples. Indeed, Songkwangsa is considered to be one of the three jewel temples in Korea and can be visited from Suncheon by bus number 111 (1,000 won), which leaves close to the train station.

The other temple worth seeing is Seonamsa. You can enjoy a nice walk to this temple through the woods and along a stream. Along the way there is a tea garden complex, a great place to put your feet up and enjoy some refreshments. Those with the time could hike to Songkwangsa temple. The hike takes around half a day to complete and is well worth doing. To get to Seonamsa temple catch city bus number 1 (1,000 won), which also leaves close to the train station.

(alternative_si@hotmail.com)

By Simon Bond

2009.10.09

1. Autumn is really here. People usually say that women like spring better and men like autumn better,,

    How about you?

2. Talking of autumn, what does it come into your mind first?

    such as, fallen leaves, reeds. red dragonflies, or the fall sports back in schooldays?

    and why does autumn remind you of it?  any stoty? tell us~ 

3. Do you know any place that is best if we go in autumn?

    the places you have been or you'd like to go to this autumn, any of them'll be ok. let's share~

4. When autumn comes, which song comes into your mind?  tell us the stoty briefly~

5. When autumn comes, which book comes into your mind?  tell us the stoty briefly~

   They say autumn is the season of reading books. This autumn, do you have any book to want to read?

[Daunte]

Thanx Vuitton I wanna go travel and kick back

[Nick(이이슬이)]

흐.. 내가 올렸어야하는데.. 고마워~

[paul - 대성]

여행가고 싶어지네...

[범이(전기범)]

여행 가라고 등떠미는 글. ㅋ 싱글들 다 죽네 ㅋ

[Christopher(강경헌)]

수고했다