12Sep202212Sep2022

Top 80 Things to do in Korea OUTSIDE of Seoul (2022)

Korea has lots to offer outside of Seoul. Over the last decade, I’ve published, updated, and expanded this list many times. For 2022, here what I think are the “Top 80 Things to do in Korea OUTSIDE of Seoul.” This year, I’ve have added a Kakao Map with instructions at the bottom of this post to help you find these places. Let the countdown begin!

Things to do in Korea Countdown: #80-61

Skip Ahead: Top 61-80, Top 41-60, Top 21-40, Top 1-20

80) Chuja-do Island / 추자도

Chuja Rope Factory — Chuja’s main industry is fishing. It is supported by mini-factories like this one that makes fishing rope. I am kind of a sucker for industrial places and workshops.

Chuja Island is a set of twin islands between Jeju and the mainland. This small island doesn’t get many visitors outside of two daily boats. The best way to explore it is to hike Olle Trail 18-1 which does an 8 loop around the island. Many claim it is the most challenging of the 26 Jeju Olle Trails, so try it if you’re up to the challenge. Around the island are interesting mosaics, beautiful natural scenery, and plenty of friendly locals.

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07Aug202212Sep2022

Mulu National Park Review | UNESCO World Heritage Site

Julio Moreno Malaysia, UNESCO World Heritage Site Malaysia, Mulu, national park, UNESCO, world heritage site 6 Comments

Last Updated: Aug 7, 2022

Location: Mulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

Visited: July 28-31, 2016 and July 22-27, 2022

Site Type: Natural

Inscribed: 2000

Background and Opinion: (2016 with a few corrections)

Gunung Mulu is a National Park deep in Malaysian Borneo. It contains dozens of caves including one of the longest in the world, Clearwater Cave. The caves are situated within 530 square kilometers of forest with over 3,500 species of animals and 21,000 species of plants.

One of Mulu’s main attractions is the “bat exodus,” a 10 million strong stream of bats that leave the caves to feed at night. Even if you’re expecting it, nothing quite prepares you for this hour long spectacle.

Clearwater Cave Mulu — A river flows through Clearwater Cave.

Enough with the numbers though, here is my not so technical evaluation. It is freakin’ mind-blowing. The best time to go is yesterday, but the second best time is now!

14Jul202207Aug2022

Off the Beaten Path in Korea: Beyond Seoul and Busan

Julio Moreno South Korea, Top 10 Style Lists, Travel Itineraries, Travel Planning, Travel Tips andong, busan, gangneung, gongju, jeonju, korea, suncheon, thing to do, top 10, UNESCO, world heritage site 2 Comments

Look around any mock itinerary in Korea and what do you see? Travel in Korea: Four days in Seoul, two days in Busan. Some may get crafty and add Jeju. Boring! Seoul definitely has a TON to offer, so I wouldn’t really fault any traveler for being so capital-centric. Alas, the Busan bit will forever baffle me, but I’ll spare you my anti-Busan rant. Instead, I’d like to introduce five towns to get off the beaten path in Korea. It will definitely get you off the Seoul-> (train to) Busan bandwagon.

Gangneung

28Jun202207Aug2022

The Definite Top 5 Olle Trails: Hiking on Jeju Island

Jeju Olle Trails have been the highlight of my last two years. With international travel being limited, I looked inwards to get my travel fix and was not disappointed. The Olle Trails quickly became hands down my favorite thing to do in Korea. Now having finished all 26 trails, I can finally compare them to each other and tell you which are the best. I’ll try to say enough to get you interested but not give away too much. And of course, this is just my opinion, and yours may differ.

#5 – Olle Trail 2

Olle Trail 2 is really the one that set the tone to what I love about the Jeju Olle. You start in Gwangchigi Beach, one of the most crowded spots in all of Jeju. 10 minutes into your hike and you’re in an abandoned fish farm without a soul in sight. The calm lake reflects like a perfect mirror which leads to stunning pictures. There are plenty of surprises from view points to nice villages along the way. Make sure not to miss the fantastic Vietnamese restaurant “Tot Tot” at the end.

08Feb2020

The Great Korean Road Trip – Day 23 – Suncheon Naganeupseong

Julio Moreno South Korea, UNESCO World Heritage Site dinosaur eggs, filming site, folk village, korea, road trip, suncheon, suncheon bay, UNESCO, world heritage site 4 Comments

Naganeupseong Walled Town in Suncheon

Naganeupseong is one of those places that I heard about here and there, but never got around to visiting. Every time I’ve been to Suncheon, I’ve never had a car so I was always just rushing to see the highlights. That usually meant revisiting the famed Suncheon Bay (which I did again and it was awesome again). This time, however, it was the walled town of Naganeupseong which was the highlight, but keep reading because there were a LOT of honorable mentions. Read more →