Tourist explores Korean countryside on K-Travel Bus
Tan Cheng Hoe, an Australian national who lives in Singapore, stands in front of a K-Travel Bus while traveling across Korea in August. / Courtesy of the Visit Korea Committee
By Jung Min-ho
When people think of traveling to Korea, Seoul is most likely the first place that pops into their minds. The city of cutting-edge technology and rich history is surely a must-visit place. But the rest of the country also has hidden charms waiting to be explored.
For his second visit to Korea this summer, Tan Cheng Hoe, 67, an Australian national who lives in Singapore, traveled beyond the capital city with his friends. And he loved it.
“With the K-Travel Bus, we visited the countryside, where we ate local cuisine and saw many beautiful, interesting cultural places and parks,” he said in an interview.
The bus service, which is operated by the Visit Korea Committee, connects foreign visitors with tourist attractions and historical sites in provincial areas.
Tan and his friends took the bus four times during their stay for four different tours. They traveled from South Jeolla Province to North Gyeongsang Province, making many stops at cities and parks along the way.
Among his various experiences during the trip, including archery and making makgeolli, Tan said a farmer he came across at Yeongju Museum Village gave him the most unforgettable memory.
“We saw the man cooking corn in his backyard. He was friendly and to our pleasant surprise, he spoke good English. We had many questions about his lifestyle, garden and the grapes he was growing ― he gave us some to taste. That was a great unplanned experience,” he said.
“For city experience, I would recommend Daegu for its parks and outdoors. The city is very nice.” Tan said the only thing he disliked about the city trip was that he did not have as much time as he wanted.
Although it was a planned journey with other people, he said he also enjoyed much freedom. In Daegu, for example, Tan and some of his group went for a hike on a hill, while others stayed back enjoying the parks, scenery, coffee and shopping.
“The walk was not easy but doable and rewarded by the beautiful views,” he said.
Introduced in line with Visit Korea Year 2016-2018, the K-Travel Bus aims to show the country’s varied attractions to more visitors, many of whom stay within the confines of the capital city because they don’t know how to travel around the country.
The bus operates six routes: Gangwon Province, Daegu, South Jeolla Province, North Gyeongsang Province, the southeast regions (Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province) and Jecheon/Muju.
“I would definitely take a trip with the bus again,” Tan said. “It’s clean and has good air conditioning, Wi-Fi service, friendly guides and we had a very good, friendly driver too. It is a great way to see the Korean countryside.”