Anyway... The weekends are much different.
I try to go somewhere every weekend. I think there was only one weekend that I stayed in Boeun actually. By this point I have visited the following cities:
Seoul/Incheon:
A population of 10.3 million. This is in an area of a little over 600 square km...making the population density nearly 17 times larger than New York City. People usually combine Incheon and Seoul since they are right next to each other. The city of Incheon has a population of around 2 million. Over those to cities and the area in between, the population reaches to a little over 22 million. So many people... I already posted a bunch of pictures of Seoul, but here is another. This is Gangnam. I don't know why it's the only picture I took while in Gangnam.. but yea this is the money district in Seoul.
Gwangju:
A population of 1.46 million, making it the sixth largest in South Korea (by population).
I only took one picture when I went here and it was of the motel I was staying at. They have these places called "Love Motels", which are meant for a certain thing... but many people just use them as regular hotels since they're cheap, clean, and convenient.
Gwangju is huge. Much much bigger than Chicago (downtown wise at least). It's in the Southwest and takes me about 4 hours to get there by bus with one transfer.
I was only here for one night for a friends birthday gathering. Just went to some clubs and bars. It was a lot of fun, but we didn't really do anything cultural. Except we did go to a ping pong club while we were pregaming...I don't know if that counts.
A population of 10.3 million. This is in an area of a little over 600 square km...making the population density nearly 17 times larger than New York City. People usually combine Incheon and Seoul since they are right next to each other. The city of Incheon has a population of around 2 million. Over those to cities and the area in between, the population reaches to a little over 22 million. So many people... I already posted a bunch of pictures of Seoul, but here is another. This is Gangnam. I don't know why it's the only picture I took while in Gangnam.. but yea this is the money district in Seoul.
Gwangju:
A population of 1.46 million, making it the sixth largest in South Korea (by population).
I only took one picture when I went here and it was of the motel I was staying at. They have these places called "Love Motels", which are meant for a certain thing... but many people just use them as regular hotels since they're cheap, clean, and convenient.
Gwangju is huge. Much much bigger than Chicago (downtown wise at least). It's in the Southwest and takes me about 4 hours to get there by bus with one transfer.
I was only here for one night for a friends birthday gathering. Just went to some clubs and bars. It was a lot of fun, but we didn't really do anything cultural. Except we did go to a ping pong club while we were pregaming...I don't know if that counts.
Daegu:
The third largest city in South Korea with a population of 2.5 million. My jaw drops when I drive by this city on the bus on my way to Pohang. It seems like a never ending city, and it's just the third largest in this country behind Seoul and Busan. I'm really impressed with how clean these cities are especially given their size and population. Then again, all of these places are relatively new, which is just as shocking. I can't believe how quickly this country is expanding.
The following picture was taken at 10am. Probably the only time you'll see them empty. This is a bar/restaurant/club area. These types of streets look the same no matter what city you're in.
Daejeon:
Another massive city with a population of 1.52 million, making it the fifth largest. I live only an hour away from Daejeon and I really only go there when I transfer buses. I have more friends in Cheongju, which is another city that's only an hour away, so I go there more often. Daejeon is bigger though.
The only time I really hung out in Daejeon was when I was on my way back from Daegu. I took the KTX (fast train) and apparently it's not by the bus station. I wandered around Daejeon for a very long time before finding it. Normally I would hop in a taxi, but I was low on cash. But yea... to anyone who wants to walk from the KTX terminal to the bus terminal in Daejeon, they aren't anywhere near each other. And the city is 540 square kilometers so that means a lot (I'm not saying they're 500 kilometers apart, but probably like 6 maybe...).
I didn't take a lot of photos...I was panicking that I wouldn't make it to the bus terminal before the last bus to Boeun left..
And finallyyyyyy... THE GRAND FINALE!!
Busan:
Second largest city in South Korea with a population of 3.5 million. My best description of this place "Seoul on a Beach". I had been in Seoul 3 times before going here and I always told myself "this is the best city in the world"...and then I went to Busan. How do you make the best city in the world better? Well...you just put on the coast and have awesome beaches everywhere. And put towns on hills and cliffs over looking the water.
They have water shows in their malls.
They have a casino! I only went because my cousin collects casino chips, and it's also cool to gamble in South Korea since it's illegal for South Koreans to gamble. There were a lot of Japanese men though. High rollers I'm assuming.
When I say "Seoul on a Beach", I don't mean that literally. It is noticeably different. As you can see here, there are trees and bushes throughout the city. It's more of a laid back feel. Which makes sense...since it's on the beach.
Okay I keep talking about these beaches...
This is Gwangali beach. There is a huge bridge that Stretches across the bay. I saw it from the 14th story of this building at night (a bar on the 14th story of a building) and it looks amazing. It's like a light show. Korean's are really good at making things look cool with lights. Sorry I don't have a photo of the night bridge, my iPhone can't take pictures from far away.
The third largest city in South Korea with a population of 2.5 million. My jaw drops when I drive by this city on the bus on my way to Pohang. It seems like a never ending city, and it's just the third largest in this country behind Seoul and Busan. I'm really impressed with how clean these cities are especially given their size and population. Then again, all of these places are relatively new, which is just as shocking. I can't believe how quickly this country is expanding.
The following picture was taken at 10am. Probably the only time you'll see them empty. This is a bar/restaurant/club area. These types of streets look the same no matter what city you're in.
Daejeon:
Another massive city with a population of 1.52 million, making it the fifth largest. I live only an hour away from Daejeon and I really only go there when I transfer buses. I have more friends in Cheongju, which is another city that's only an hour away, so I go there more often. Daejeon is bigger though.
The only time I really hung out in Daejeon was when I was on my way back from Daegu. I took the KTX (fast train) and apparently it's not by the bus station. I wandered around Daejeon for a very long time before finding it. Normally I would hop in a taxi, but I was low on cash. But yea... to anyone who wants to walk from the KTX terminal to the bus terminal in Daejeon, they aren't anywhere near each other. And the city is 540 square kilometers so that means a lot (I'm not saying they're 500 kilometers apart, but probably like 6 maybe...).
And finallyyyyyy... THE GRAND FINALE!!
Busan:
Second largest city in South Korea with a population of 3.5 million. My best description of this place "Seoul on a Beach". I had been in Seoul 3 times before going here and I always told myself "this is the best city in the world"...and then I went to Busan. How do you make the best city in the world better? Well...you just put on the coast and have awesome beaches everywhere. And put towns on hills and cliffs over looking the water.
They have water shows in their malls.
They have a casino! I only went because my cousin collects casino chips, and it's also cool to gamble in South Korea since it's illegal for South Koreans to gamble. There were a lot of Japanese men though. High rollers I'm assuming.
When I say "Seoul on a Beach", I don't mean that literally. It is noticeably different. As you can see here, there are trees and bushes throughout the city. It's more of a laid back feel. Which makes sense...since it's on the beach.
Okay I keep talking about these beaches...
This is Gwangali beach. There is a huge bridge that Stretches across the bay. I saw it from the 14th story of this building at night (a bar on the 14th story of a building) and it looks amazing. It's like a light show. Korean's are really good at making things look cool with lights. Sorry I don't have a photo of the night bridge, my iPhone can't take pictures from far away.
And the party beach of Haeundae. The scene here was awesome, except for the huge amount of foreigners. I've never seen so many in one place since I've been here. But...it is awesome, so I understand.
I would definitely like to return to this city before I leave.
So there you have it. The top 6, and I have checked them off on my checklist.
1. Seoul
2. Busan
3. Incheon (technically I flew into Incheon, so I'm counting that I've been there)
4. Daegu
5. Daejeon
6. Gwangju
And a few other honorable mentions.
Cheongju (I go here all the time. My home city and biggest in my province)
Pohang (I've been here way too many times considering it takes me 5.5 hrs to get there. But it's another beach city and I have close friends that live there)
Jecheon (I've only been there once for bungee jumping (I'll get to the bungee jumping in another blog) but it's a nice little city and I'm going back tomorrow to visit some friends and BBQ on a roof. Always fun)
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