Best route to Jeju, South Korea

[adamdegraff]

I don't know who else to ask, but since this is a well traveled bunch, I thought I'd see if anybody had an opinion. (Oh, please, I know... no opinions here!) :)

Pianafiddle has been offered a concert in Jeju, South Korea for this September. As y'all know, I really like to travel with my family. Any POGers been to South Korea in the recent past? I see flights from Washington Dulles direct to Seoul, S.K., then a puddle jumper to Jeju (which is an island often compared to our Hawaiian islands.) I hear S.K. is safe and very much a first world country, but since I'd be traveling with kids I thought I'd at least put out my feelers. Any thoughts?

This show will likely lead to other shows in the far east, with delegations from nearby Japan and China in the house to hear our unique brand of "Americana." (Which is why we are being invited.) Certainly something I'd like to do... just can't figure out how to get the bus over there. This won't be a money making venture, and will, in fact, likely cost us a bit in travel expenses.... though I'm hoping that since we'll already be over there one of our managers can help us set up a show in Seoul or any nearby/regional city/country that would want to trade a show for travel expenses and a tourist experience.

So, at this point, the details for us are sketchy, though the organization that would be bringing us over is reputable. (The International Delphic Council for the 2009 Delphic Games.) But before we go into negotiations with the Delphic Council this week, I thought I'd open myself up to the opinions of my traveling buddies at POG.

Thanks,

Adam

[flyu2there]

I have been to Cheju Island, about 100 miles South of the Korean Penensula. We brought back a dozen MD-11's from Malaysia that had been leased, we terminated the leases after 9/11. Anyway the bean counters, in their infinite wisdom, found that landing fees and fuel were cheaper in Cheju (Jeju if you are a purest) and that runway length was adequate, don't worry about the cross winds!!
I am sure we stayed at the nicest place in town, I believe and am quite comfortable to say that when we landed there with 4-6 of us on board, the English Speaking population increased by 100%. Now since then new hotels may have been built, ours was adequate and expensive. Korean food.....that can be an adventure on its own. STAY AWAY from SOJU which is some kind of vodka like substance that has been fizzed and served in a beer bottle. The beer is ok and I am certain that Coke and Pepsi are fine as well. Bottled water, beer, soft drinks from a bottle only...don't even think about the milk. Stay away from the hawker stands on the street, the Koreans still have a particular fondness for BBQ'd dog....no I am not kinnding. Oh, and do not forget the Kimchi....you will first notice that when you land in Seoul. That smell, that's Kimchi...fermented cabbage, turnips, whole fish that spends several months under ground in a Kimchi Pot prior to being served.
So, at the end of the day, Cheju is probably OK, it will be a culture shock. Oh, and one mre thing....they better pay well:D

John

[flyu2there]

I got so carried away with Cheju that I forgot to answer your questions. IAD to SEL is one long puppy, lets try about 14:30 give or take. Then you have to clear customs in SEL (PITA) and transfer to the domestic side, another PITA. I do believe from Seoul that Asiana and KAL fly to Cheju....that's a crap shoot and thats probably 1.5 hours. Unless you are seeking punishment, I would break up the trip and, if you ride an Asian Airline, DO NOT RIDE IN ECONOMY. How tall is you average Asian, case closed!

John

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Adam, I ablosutly would not take small children on that trip.
I've been to Japan, Hong Kong and the air trip is reeeeeaaaaallllyyyyy lllloooonnnnngggggg.
The kids and maybe you won't like the food and when they get older they won't remember any of it anyway so don't bother taking them for their benefit.
You really should negotiate to make money on the deal, isn't that why you do it. I don't know, maybe not.

JIM

[Will Garner]

Adam,

I am going to go 180 degrees the other way from Jim's comment on don't take the kids along.

I had a three month engineering assignment to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia back in 1980. Carole and the kids came along on the trip. Our oldest, Kelly Jo, was 6 years old and our youngest, Mary Kate, was just 1 1/2 years old. Kelly Jo has red, and I do mean RED hair, Mary Kate has blonde hair. They were a hit with the local populace everywhere we went. Kelly Jo missed her first three months of first grade (we lived in Indiana at the time) but learned so much from her travel experiences that she went straight to third grade the following year (we then lived on Long Island, NY).

So lets bottom line this. I was initially concerned about bringing the kids with us. Turned out my concerns were probably founded in my ignorance of never having been outside the US of A. Kelly remembers quite a bit of her experiences. Mary on the other hand sees photos but has little memory of the trip. Yes it was also a long flight from Evansville IN to Chicago IL to San Francisco CA to Honolulu HI to Singapore and finally to Kuala Lumpur. I think we were on planes or in lobbies for 36 long ones on the way over. Our trip was worth it. If you don't take the kids you will never know what your trip with them would have been worth or how much they would have gained from their experiences.

I agree with "Fly U 2 There", breaking up the trip would have been the right thing to do. A couple days in Hiwaii sounds about right to me! Wish we had done that in hindsight.

[flyu2there]

Will, Adam

I too lived for two years just outside Kuala Lumpur in Ampang Jaya. It would be really difficult to compare Penensular Malaysia with Korea, and even more difficult with Cheju. While I certainly agree that it won't hurt to bring along the kids, Cheju is about as tropical as Gull Island. Malaysia, everyone speaks English and the climate is spectacular. Cheju is way North and gets the winds off of Northern China and Siberia. It is a popular, so I have been told, honeymoon spot for South Koreans on a budget. The beaches are rock, there are not very many trees and my recollection was that it was cool, if not cold. As mentioned, English is not widely spoken and I do not recall seeing one sign anywhere that was penned in English; can be a bit difficult at times. Cheju is home to an interesting breed of divers, all women some a bit long in the tooth and they dive into the ocean from the rocks and stay down for what seems like an eternity. The bring back octupus, sea snails, urchins...all manner of undersea fare! Watching them is a must see!

Seoul, on the otherhand is a big cosmopolitan Asian city and there is much to see and do. As indicated by Adam, there is little crime there, save the occasional "student protest". I would butcher the correct spelling however, ITI WAN is the large shopping area. Kustom taylor suit sah, Leebok shoe, Lolex watchie are the words du jour. Most of the stuff is knock off however the clothing is really not a bad buy. Then there is hamburger hill, the DMZ.....all worth a peep.

[adamdegraff]

Thanks for the input guys. Still working out the details, but this all helps!

~Adam

[hobobimmer]

Adam,

I am going to go 180 degrees the other way from Jim's comment on don't take the kids along.

I am with Will. When I was 12, which was 1972, my family (mom, dad, three sons age 13, 12, 9) traveled to the far east. One of most memorable experiences of childhood. Didn't travel to Korea, but Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan. Wonderful exprerience for three young boys. Two of us were blonde haired. On ferry boats in Hong Kong, Chinese would come touch our heads since they'd never seen blonde hair (or at least not much of it). Restaurant experiences fantastic. Ate fish eye ball - not sure if that was cruel joke from Chinese host or truly good luck, as I was told. Negotiated with street vendors on the streets of Hong Kong. Saw pressed duck hanging from vendor stalls. Dad gave each of us three boys $25 to buy a watch. Remember, this was 1972. Younger brother bought Seiko for $12, mine was $15, and older brother's was $27. Younger brother and I pocketed $13 and $10, respectively. Older brother came out of pocket. Ate at restaurants in place I think was called Aberdeen, next to the "Junks" (the boats that people lived on). No they don't speak English, because they're not English. But you'll get by and have whole lot of fun doing it if you approach with open mind. You don't speak Chinese or Korean when you meet one in the United States, do you?

Visited markets, swam at public pool, experienced typhoon (I think that is what it was) and had to board up windows on our 13th floor apartment. We stayed in Hong Kong for about one month.

Taiwan and Japan for about a week each. When we landed in Tokyo on way over, a guy my dad worked with picked us up in his tiny, tiny station wagon (carrying 5 people with all their luggage for a 1.5 month trip), and drove us to tiny, tiny restaurant. Sat at counter on stools. Watched man cook. Ate squid, a big rubbery looking block of squid, that "bounced" a little when we dropped it on our plate. I love remembering that. I don't remember whether I liked the squid, but I love remembering how it bounced. We ate lots of other stuff, too.

Did lots of stuff, can't remember lots of stuff we did, but so glad was presented opportunity to travel with family at young age. I don't remember all the stuff I got to do on a trip I took to Canada just a month ago, so I sure wouldn't worry about your children not remembering everything about their trip. They'll probably get as much out of the trip as you will.

Have good family fun on your trip.

Eric Faires
Huntsville, TN

[flyu2there]

I noticed that both Eric and Will mentioned that speaking English, or the lack there of, is not big deal....I disagree, especially for a first time traveler to a strange and distant land. Both Hong Kong and Malaysia were British Crown Colonies so in either place it is a non event.

Start with Rosetta Stone today and maybe in a year one would be able to speak enough Korean to order food in a restaurant, hail a taxi, perhaps even find a public restroom. As I may have mentioned the big cities, not a problem however if you get into the boonies, and Cheju is in the boon docks, it can be frustrating beyond belief. Just imagine needing to find a bathroom NOW.......I rest my case.

Typhoon = Hurricane. The West Pacific is the most prolific place on the planet for these things but they rarely get as far north as Japan and Korea. Season runs from May until December...the Super-typhoons seem to hang out near the Philippines.

Errata. Lomotil, don't leave home without it....more valuable than your Amex Card. Visa's...check the current requirements used to be required for Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Viet Nam, Mainland China. Should you get into the tropics make certain that you have a prescription for a malaria suppressant...couple of cans of Deep Woods Off is nice to have as well. Don't change a whole bunch of money, use your card...you get the best rate and you don't end up with drawers full of the crap when you get home. No ice cubes (they are often made from the domestic water), no uncooked vegetables (has to do with a favorite fertilizer used in Northern Asia), no bulgogi on the streets (woof, woof).

Go for it!