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14-Days in Korea |
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Day 1 - Arrive in Seoul
Arrive in Seoul at Seoul's Kimpo International Airport, where you will be met and transferred to your downtown hotel, Hamilton. After check-in the balance of the day is at leisure. Dinner at a downtown local restaurant with an orientation conducted by a representative of Root Travel. Overnight in Seoul. (D.)
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Day 2 - Seoul / Korean Folk Village / Seoul |
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After breakfast, enjoy a morning tour of the city of Seoul, where old meets new in modern Korea, including Kyongbok Palace(Palace of Shining Happiness) - the main palace during the Chosun(Yi) Dynasty - via the Blue House (Presidential Residence); the National Folk Museum - the collections display complete items from every region of Korea which illustrate all aspects of traditional life; Kyobo Bookstore for those who wish to purchase English books on Korea; and Seoul |
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Tower on Mt. Namsan for a bird's-eye view of Metropolitan city of Seoul. After lunch an afternoon tour visits the Korean Folk Village outside of Seoul to see a superb and truly authentic display of Korean history including folk traditions, legends, and the lifestyles of the nobility, the 14th-20th centuries, Korea. Return to Seoul. Dinner at a downtown local restaurant. The evening is at leisure. Overnight in Seoul. (B.L.D.)
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Day 3 - Seoul |
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Breakfast at the hotel. Visit Social Service Agencies involved in adoption and meet the staff. Visit the babies' homes and see your child's file. Lunch may be served by the Social Service Agencies or at a downtown local restaurant. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Seoul. (B.L.D.) |
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Day 4 - Seoul / Mt. Soraksan(Sokcho)
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Today we journey to Mt. Soraksan National Park, this northern stretch of Korea's eastern coast, which is rugged and mountainous with breathtaking scenery making it the "Alps of Asia", and give this area an unparalleled popularity with the dense forests bordering crystal clear streams, tumbling over cataracts and dropping from precipices to form fleecy waterfalls, as well as awesome sawtooth cliffs spiraling into the blue skies. |
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Lunch en route. Dinner at a local restaurant in Sokcho with an orientation of the Park. Overnight in Sokcho. (B.L.D.) |
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Day 5 - Mt. Soraksan / Unification Observatory / Daejin Harbor / Mt.Soraksan(Sokcho)
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Breakfast at the hotel. This morning explore Mt. Soraksan National Park with visits to Shinhungsa Temple - established in 653 A.D., claims to be the country's oldest Zen Buddhist temple, and it would be the oldest existing Zen temple in the world; Chonbuldong Valley - the most visually stimulating valley in the park ; and Pisondae(Flying Fairy Rock) - a wide, flat rock surface where the river rapids drain into a crystal clear pool and a peak rises majestically above the valley, one
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hears many legends of the heavenly nymphs who come to laugh and play while they bathes in the placid pools of the many glens hidden from human eyes. Lunch en route. Drive this afternoon to the Korean Peninsular Unification Prayer- Observatory set at the edge of the demarkation line which is a symbol of the Korean people's long-cherished desire for the unification of the two Korea. Afterward, visit Daejin Harbor, where you will have your own independent tour to explore this small exotic harbor, located near the demarkation line and in the northeastern tip of Korea. Dinner at the harbor local restaurant. Over night in Sokcho. (B.L.D.) |
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Day 6 - Mt. Soraksan(Sokcho) / Andong |
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Check out. Early this morning travel to Andong, one of the last living vestiges of old Korea, where still is very conservative and traditional, a stronghold of Confucianism, which has deeply influenced all aspects of the lives of its people, along the crystal east coast. En route to Nagok Beach for a rest or swimming; Puryong Valley - The most beautiful and scenic valley in the country featuring granite and limestone cliffs, many waterfalls and crystal clear water with forests
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of fir and pine trees ; and Pusoksa Temple - established in 676, it is one of Korea's most venerated temples, and five national treasures and three treasures including the second oldest wooden structure and some of the oldest mural paintings in the country, are preserved at this temple, and the panoramic mountains' spreading views from the temple are spectacular. Breakfast on board en route. Lunch is your own. Dinner at a local restaurant in Andong. Overnight in Andong. (B.D.) |
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Day 7 - Andong / Hahoe Village / Haeinsa Temple |
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out. A morning tour of Andong visits Tosansowon Confucian Academy - founded by Korea's foremost Confucian scholar, Yi Toe-gye during the Chosun(Yi) Dynasty and was the hub of Korea Confucianism which ruled all Koreans in their ethical-moral way and still conduct the ethical behavior in Korean society; Andong Folk Museum which displays rich folk artifacts collected in variety in Andong and its surrounding county¡Ì¡íand
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Hahoe Village - the best preserved traditional village of the Chosun (Yi) Dynasty, where residents still live in traditional thatched and tile-roofed houses and one of the few remaining examples of a classical Chosun(Yi) Dynasty Confucian village layout. Lunch en route. Continue to Haeinsa Temple which is one of three greatest temples of Korea, established in 803 A.D., chiefly known today as the repository of the Tripitaka Koreana, set of over 80,000 wooden printing blocks engraved with one of the most comprehensive compilations of the Buddhist scriptures in all of Asia, and the Depositories and the Tripitaka Koreana Wooden Printing Blocks were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995. Dinner at a local restaurant in the temple village. Overnight in Haeinsa Temple Village. (B.L.D.)
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Day 8 - Haeinsa Temple / Kyongju |
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Breakfast at hotel and check out. This morning visit Haeinsa Temple, then travel to Kyongju, where was the capital of the Shilla Dynasty from 57 B.C. to 935 A.D. and designated by UNESCO as one of the world's ten most historically significant sites with numerous relics of that era, and is called the "Museum Without Walls". After lunch at a local restaurant an afternoon tour of Kyongju explores Sokkuram Grotto - constructed in 535 A.D., one of Asia's finest |
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Buddhist
shrines, an attempt to represent physically the highest spiritual aspirations, the crowning achievement of Shilla religio-artistic work, was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995 ; Kyongju National Museum, which has the best collection of Shilla Dynasty artifacts with more than 100,000 pieces¡Ì¡íAnapji Pond - constructed in 674 A.D. as a pleasure garden to commemorate the unification of the peninsula by the Shilla forces, used the recreational area for the Shilla royal family and banquet garden to entertain royal important guests ; Chomsongdae Astronomical Observatory - built in 634 A.D., is considered the world's earliest known existing observatory and admired by archaeologists worldwide; Tumuli Park - a collection of royal Shilla tombs located in the middle of Kyongju with 20 tombs, of which Chonmachong(Flying Horse Tomb) is the most famous with its excavation which yielded more than 10,000 treasure-artifacts; and the 15th century built Family Choi' s House. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight in Kyongju. (B.L.D.) |
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Day 9 - Kyongju / Pohang Iron & Steel Company(POSCO) / Pusan
Breakfast at the hotel and check out. This morning visit Pohang Iron & Steel Company(POSCO) which is enormous milling complex and the largest steel mill in Korea, and one of the most advanced in the world. Drive to Pusan. Lunch at a downtown local restaurant and the afternoon is at leisure. After dinner,Overnight in Pusan (B.L.D.)
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Day 10 - Pusan / Seoul |
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out. A morning tour of Pusan visits Yongdusan Park, where provides a pleasant touch of greenery on a hill in the heart of the city and a very popular public park with Pusan Tower; Pusan Tower - yongdusan Park crowned with the tower, 120-m-high tower observatory dominates the most of the area of the city, and the sea and harbor views spreading below the tower are spectacular; Chagalchi Fish Market - Pusan's most active fish-dealers' |
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cooperative, the colorful spectacle is also a great attraction for tourists and camera buffs; Taejongdae Seaside Cliff Park - the scenery of rugged cliffs dropping straight down to the sea is breathtaking, along with a panoramic sea view from the Park, overlooking the Korean Strait - on a very clear day you can even see the Japanese island of Tsushima on the horizon to the southeast; and UN Memorial Cemetery where the Korean War(1950-53) dead from the sixteen UN allies rest in honored serenity and is the unique one in its kind in the world. After lunch, return to Seoul, passing the rolling, green countryside and clusters of unique tiled houses. Dinner is independent. Overnight in Seoul. (B.L.)
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Day 11 - Seoul |
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Breakfast at the hotel. This morning visit a Maternity Home and meet the expectant mothers and talk with them. Lunch at a downtown local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit Namdaemun Market, the largest general wholesale market in Korea, for Hanbok (traditional Korean costume) shopping, etc. Dinner at a downtown local restaurant. The evening is at leisure. Overnight in Seoul (B.L.D.)
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Day 12 - Seoul |
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Breakfast at the hotel. This morning visit War Memorial Museum - opened in 1994, the War Memorial Museum offers visitors an educational experience of the many wars in which Korea has been involved. Lunch is independent. In the afternoon, visit Midong Elementary school and observe the school's facilities, classrooms, etc. Then watch a Taekwnodo Exhibition Game demonstration. Dinner at a downtown local restaurant. The evening is at leisure. Overnight in Seoul. (B.D.)
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Day 13 - Seoul |
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Breakfast at the hotel. Enjoy a full day at leisure or for your independent activities with independent lunch. This evening there will be a farewell dinner with a Korean folklore performance and music at Korea House. Overnight in Seoul (B.D.)
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Day 14 - Seoul / Depart Korea
Breakfast at the hotel, and free time until check out. Transfer to Kimpo International Airport for departure. (B.) |
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Schedules are subject to change according to the unforeseen circumstances. |
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