Traveling to Korea
Tours
Dillon International
Holt International
International Korean Adoptee Service (InKAS)
Adoption & Family Network (ACC)
Adoption Service Information Agency and Children's Home Society
& Family Services (ASIA & CHSFS)
Adoptive Family Homeland Journeys
Friends of Korea
Korean Focus
On Your Own
Global Overseas Adoptee's Link (G.O.A.'L)
KoRoot
Korea Tourism Organization
USO Tours
WorknPlay offers a comprehensive list of job vacancies and opportunities in Korea, as well as information on ESL/EFL and other jobs.
Other Travel Info
CDC travel and vaccination information
Korean alphabet and useful phrases on Life in Korea site
Life in Korea, Korean travel and cultural information Web site
Panmunjeom Travel Center, information on DMZ/Panmunjeom and tours
Seoul Metropolitan Goverment, city and tourism information
Teaching English in Korea
U.S. Department of State Consular Information Sheet for South Korea
U.S. Department of State Consular Information Sheet for North Korea
U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea
AKASF Member Travel Tips & Suggestions
Pack lightly. You can buy some inexpensive clothes at Namdaemun or Dongdaemun Market. It's a good idea to carry an umbrella around the city during the summer months as you may encounter very wet weather.
For money, you may want to exchange enough pocket money (about $500) at Incheon Airport and the exchange the remaining money from the "black market" since doing so will save around 10 cents (or 100 won) per dollar. Go to the alleyway in Namdaemun Market directly behind Shin-se-gae Department Store and you will find a small group of elderly ladies sitting in a row selling nothing. They will likely recognize you as a foreigner (by your body language) and approach you to see if you need cash exchange. Their exchange rate is much better than any Korean banks.
If you don't have time to get the recommended hepatitis vaccinations, drink bottled water and "avoid kissing strangers" while you are there!
Some recommended travel destinations:
- Hike up several Seoul-area mountains: Do-bong-san, Buk-han-san, Namsan ("san" means mountain). You will be joined by hundreds of other mountain climbers if you go on weekends. If want to avoid the crowd, be sure to climb on weekdays.
- Visit several Seoul-area Buddhist temples. Go to Insadong, a historical neighborhood in Seoul near the City Hall filled with Buddhist relic and bookstores. Pick up a directory of Buddhist temples, such as Bongwonsa and Bomunsa.
- Visit the large Kyobo Bookstore located near the City Hall and Insadong (two blocks from the U.S. Embassy). It's about five times the size of a typical Border's bookstore. You can probably spend the whole weekend browsing books assuming you can read Korean. It has a large selection of books in English. Take a quick detour to a four-story Starbucks is diagonally across street from Kyobo. A block away from Starbucks is a great Visitor's Center where you can obtain free maps and even access Internet for free.
- If you are into amusement parks, you need to check out Lotte World in Jamshil, a 30-minute subway ride from Ewha University. It's a massive indoor amusement park with an ice skating rink.
- Korean Folk Village located about 45 minutes outside of Seoul is a great destination to learn about Korean culture. "Dae Jang Geum" as well as many other Korean soap operas requiring historical/tradition backdrops were filmed there.
- Take a bullet train to explore other parts of Korea such as Daejeon (45-minute ride), Gyeongju (ancient capital of Shilla) and Busan (the second largest city and port city). Busan's Haeundae Beach is Korea's most visited and famous beach (Korea's Waikiki).
- Check out the DMZ/Panmunjeom, 40 minutes north of Seoul.
- If you have some extra cash, fly to Jeju-do (an hour flight south) and explore the island for the weekend. Climb Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea. You can drive around the whole island in one afternoon and eat amazingly fresh seafood.