Travel spots and food finds across Korea
A guide to eating at Gwangjang Market: why the food alley is the only part open on a Sunday and stays open until 11pm, what bindaetteok and yukhoe and the gimbap are, and what the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jongno District actually did after the 2023 overcharging controversy, taken from their own press releases.
A winter festival where you drill a hole in the frozen Hwacheoncheon and fish for trout. The foreigners-only fishing area and its Muslim prayer room, the passport discount, how to get there from Seoul without a car, and why the 2027 dates are still not out.
A first-timer's guide to the Korean bathhouse, checked against the law itself. Where you are naked and where you must be dressed is set by the Enforcement Rule, not by custom; there is no legal basis anywhere for a tattoo ban; and sleeping over is a stranger arrangement than most travellers expect.
What the Jongno 3-ga street-tent bar alley is now: the co-prosperity street designation Jongno District made in 2024, the 250-metre strip and how many businesses are on it, why the tents go up at 5pm, and the Halloween and year-end closures that catch visitors out.
A guide for first-time skiers in Korea: Elysian Gangchon, the only resort with a train station inside it, the two foreigner-only shuttles from Seoul, which resorts genuinely teach in English, and why this season's prices are not out yet.
The 2026 Chuseok holiday runs four days, 24 to 27 September. When the palaces and national museums open, when department stores and banks shut, and why the subway runs late on only two of the four nights — all checked against official notices.
The Aewol coast on Jeju's north-west shore: a 9 km drive starting 10 km from the airport, the 1.2 km Handam clifftop walk, why the cafés clustered here, and when to come to avoid the crowds.
Jinju's two dishes: a naengmyeon built on seafood broth, a bibimbap that is not vegetarian.
Jinju in one day: the station trap, the Busan day trip, and the two October festivals.
Where to stay in Jinju: the fortress area, Innovation City, and why no rates are listed.
Jinju Fortress hours and tickets, Chokseongnu, Nongae at Uiam, and the lantern question.
Busan's food explained for visitors: pork soup and cold wheat noodles you cannot get properly elsewhere, how the Jagalchi fish market system works, seed-stuffed hotteok at BIFF Square, and what it all costs.
Now, Yeogi