Find Your Peak.
Itaewon (이태원) is where Seoul stacks its international bars and restaurants into a few dense blocks. Most British-themed places in Asia hedge — the visual lands but the food doesn’t. Rose & Crown (로즈앤크라운) doesn’t hedge. The pub occupies the 2nd and 3rd floors of a pink building off Exit 1, and from the bar … Read more
Days 2 & 3 on Jeju — Udo Island, Seongsan, and a Family Trip 20 Years in the Making This continues from Day 1. Four of us — my parents included — making our first return to Jeju Island (제주도) together in two decades. I had an itinerary. They had opinions. We split the difference, … Read more
Twenty Years Between Jeju Trips Four of us — my parents, my younger sibling, and me — took an early flight to Jeju Island (제주도) on what turned out to be our first family trip there in roughly two decades. I put together the itinerary. The broad route runs west on Day 1, then east, … Read more
A February Long Weekend in Boryeong (보령) The Lunar New Year holiday meant crowded trains, relatives, and the particular tiredness that comes right after an international flight. Rather than sleep it off at home, we loaded into the car and headed south to the Yellow Sea coast. Boryeong (보령, Chungcheongnam-do) is about two hours from … Read more
Daejeon & Okcheon for Lunar New Year: Walk, Eat, Repeat Seollal (설날) — the Korean Lunar New Year — clears out the cities and fills the roads. We headed to Daejeon (대전), a major hub in central South Korea roughly 1.5 hours south of Seoul by KTX, with family in tow. One errand, two days, … Read more
Sokcho (속초) in One Overnight: A Food-First Road Trip Sokcho (속초) is a coastal city on the East Sea, about three hours from Seoul by car or express bus. Small enough to cover in a day, big enough to leave with a list of things you didn’t get to eat. This trip had one agenda: … Read more
A family trip to Sunchang (순창) and Imsil (임실) — two counties in North Jeolla Province (전라북도), roughly three hours south of Seoul. First stop of the day: Chaegyesan Suspension Bridge (채계산 출렁다리). One of Korea’s longest tower-free suspension bridges. 270 meters of walkway strung between two forested ridge tops, no central support towers. The … Read more
A Day Out in Jeonju (전주), Jeollabuk-do Jeonju (전주) is best known for its hanok village and bibimbap, but the city has quieter corners worth a slow afternoon. Jeonju Arboretum (전주수목원), in Jeollabuk-do (전라북도), is one of them — a large public garden with free entry, free parking, and enough ground to fill two hours … Read more
The first stop on this family trip was a cliffside sky trail in Sunchang (순창). The second was quieter — and, if you time it right, far more serene. Bungeo Island (붕어섬) sits in the middle of Okjeongho Lake (옥정호) in Imsil (임실), a county in Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla Province). The island takes its name … Read more
Here’s the thing about arriving in Korea with only Google Maps on your phone: you’re going to have a bad time. I’ve watched countless tourists standing on street corners, zooming in and out on Google Maps, trying to figure out why it won’t show them how to walk three blocks to their guesthouse. It’s not … Read more