D1 WINTER WONDERLAND
A lot of domestic travels visit Vivaldi, which has made it the most visited ski resort in all of the country, but if you’re an international traveler intent on making sure you get the best experience, do spend a weekend. There are nearly 2,000 rooms in the complex, as there are five condotels, and one beautiful 79room hotel called The Park Hotel.
(PS: We highly suggest you try out the Viva Ski Festival, which not only is the fun introduction to skiing you didn’t think you needed, but is the perfect tour package. It’s three days and two nights of non-stop snowy fun, complete with instructors who will patiently teach you the basics, but it’s also a great way to experience Korean culture, as the festival organizers carefully crafted an itinerary that shows off the best of their traditions. You’ll get chimaek delivery (chicken + beer in your room), cooking classes, a hanbok experience, and Korean Night, where you’ll get to watch top rated Korean performers on Farewell Dinner Night.
After your weekend of skiing at Vivaldi, here are a few other things to do in South Korea for a topnotch winter experience:
1. Explore Nami Island.
If you do go to Vivaldi Park for the Ski Festival, a tour of Nami Island will be part of the package. Made famous in Winter Sonata, the Korean telenovela that is widely recognized as the pioneer that set off the K drama wave, Namiseom, as it is known in Korea, is a half moonshaped isle that was formed due to the construction of a dam. Nami is breathtakingly and legendarily beautiful in autumn and spring, as tree-lined roads are its main attraction, but there’s a certain melancholic charm to it come winter, when its bare branches are covered in snow and all you hear is the sound of your boots sloshing across the ground in the stillness of a wintry morning. Yup, K drama fare. Don’t forget to check out the grave of General Nami, who led a great victory against the rebels during the Joseon dynasty in the 1400s and for whom the island is named after.
The island is 553,560 square yards with chestnut trees and poplar trees throughout.
Going with kids? Nami features facilities for skating. There’s a lone hotel that’s booked solid months in advance for those who would like to stay on the island.
2. Shop in the cold, and eat some warm food, at Myeong deong.
A trip to South Korea is not complete without a trip to Myeong deong, Seoul’s busiest shopping street showcasing the lifeblood of South Korean economy—the beauty industry. Competing for attention with its bright lights and big fonts are beauty stores famous for hawking the promise of Korean skin flawlessness. Korean beauty brands are so much more cheaper in Myeongdeong with prices being routinely slashed, so be sure to take an extra trolley for your shopping stash.
There are casual eateries around offering Korean dumplings, beer and chicken, and the traditional ginseng chicken soup, but don’t miss the chance to hop from one street vendor to next, selling anything from lobster rolls to Thai snacks to oysters.
3. Explore Ganghwa County
Incheon, where the airport is located, is a good day trip if your flight leaves at night. In Gangwha, the fourth largest island of Korea, Here are a few places to check out:
• See North Korea from the Ganghwa Peace Observatory
Ganghwa Peace Observatory in the Incheon area, about two hours drive south of Seoul, allows visitors to observe the North Korean territory and some aspects of Korean life at the closest possible distance. You can go up the observatory, and observe through a telescope, the landscape of the north. The first floor has the Reunification Aspiration Hall, which contains a digital tree wishing for the peaceful reunion of separated families. Here, you can educate yourself with the long, intense, and heartbreaking history between the two Koreas, and find out about the ongoing efforts to reunite the Korean people. Here, you can also check out the “vision” for the Korean peninsula after the reunification.
• Do crafting at Hwamunseok Cultural Center
Ganghwa is a county known for its history, culture, and tradition, which is why a stop at Ganghwa’s Hwamunseok Cultural Center, Korea’s only rush-weaving handicraft center, is a must. Hwamunseok (rush mates woven with florals or other patterns) is a legacy the people inherited that started in 918. Here, you can have the opportunity to make your own rush-weaving handicrafts together with local craftspeople.
• Take IG photos at Café Joyang Bangjik
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that Joyang Bangjik is perhaps one of the most beautiful café in Asia, if not the world. A former textile factory built in 1933, it reopened this year as a large café, gallery, and art space. Bathed in natural light, the café displays toys, carousels, and other cute knickknacks (as well as impressive installation pieces.)
• Ganghwa Dolmens
Dolmens are prehistoric tombs from the first millennium BC, constructed of large stone slabs, and part of the Megalithic (huge stones) culture. Dolmens are found in many parts of the world, but nowhere are they more concentrated than in the area of Ganghwa, Gochang, and Hwasun, which has the highest density and greatest variety in the entire world. Consisting of two or more undressed stone slabs supporting a huge capstone, they were burial chambers built over the bodies or bones of notable deceased people.
A side trip to the one in Ganghwa is a chance to view this great archaeological treasure.