Korean Express
This train bring you to another world!
Prologue
Korean Rail has being served about 100 years with their own sprit. This is beyond of your immagination.
KR bring you to the very peaceful country side and big metropolitan area in whole Korean Peninsula.
(Photographs & Copyright to S. Hyun)
Contents
If you are nature lover backpacker, you should take on Korean Rail at korea in peaceful far east asia.
Wherever you go, you feel that place is like a your hometown. KR bring you to Traditional old market,
Peaceful buddhist temple, modern Mose's miracle sea road and etc.
( All price on this page are based on U.S $1 = 100 Japanese Yen = 1,000 Korean Won. )
Korean Rail & Korean Rail Pass
There is great news for backpackers to visit Korea! Korean Rail start to sell Korean rail pass for
foreign visitor. This pass is you can buy only outside of Korea. Please ask more details to travel agency .
Price of Korean Rail Pass is fallow as;
3 consecutive days ---> 4800 Yen/1 adult, 4400 Yen/2-5 people saver pass, 3900 Yen/under 25
5 consecutive days ---> 7200 Yen/1 adult, 6500 Yen/2-5 people saver pass, 5800 Yen/under 25
7 consecutive days ---> 9100 Yen/1 adult, 8200 Yen/2-5 people saver pass, 7000 Yen/under 25
10 consecutive days ---> 10500 Yen/1 adult, 9500 Yen/2-5 people saver pass, 8400 Yen/under 25
You can travel unlimited way within those days by Korean Rail routes to Seoul, Teagu, Pusan, Mokpo and etc.
And there is no limit to take on Sae-ma-ul Ho(Hikari) express or Mu-Gung-Wha Ho(Kodama) express which difference is similar as
Hikari and Kodama on Sanyo ShinKanSen in Japan. And Nozomi class train will be available on 2001 in Korea.
You can reserve to Bed Car depend on where you go & should pay some surcharge for KR Pass holder.
You can't use private company train lines which is included in Seoul city subway and Pusan city subway with those KR Pass.
If you want to just stay at one place, please buy the regular subway ticket at subway station.
Also you can available internet or e-mail service on train so call on the Cyber Train. This is great news to who want to send some
messeges to friends or family during your travel. But Cyber tarin schedule is limited as follow as;
Service fee ---> 250 Yen/hour
Seoul (10:15 a.m.) ---> Pusan (15:53 p.m) on MuGung-Wha express at Even number month (2,4,6,8,10,12)
Pusan (18:15 p.m.) ---> Seoul (23:35 p.m) on MuGung-Wha express at Even number month (2,4,6,8,10,12)
Seoul (10:05 a.m.) ---> MokPo (15:35 p.m) on MuGung-Wha express at Odd number month (1,3,5,7,9,11)
MokPo (17:20 p.m.) ---> Seoul (22:49 p.m) on MuGung-Wha express at Odd number month (1,3,5,7,9,11)
Please enjoy before you go.
(Photographs & Copyright to Korean Rail)
More specific informations are you can check here
Go to more information for Korean Rail in English
Subway at big city
Subway is very well developed at Seoul & Pusan in Korea.
Just I will tell how you get the subway ticket from the ticket vending machine.
It's little bit different from Japan, first you should push the button where you want to go within Seoul.
And price will be show up than put in the coins. Usually you need to push 1 section button within Seoul
which is 500 won (50 Yen) will show up & put in the coin and you will get the ticket. If you have any problem,
please ask to officer at counter. They can speak in English & help you out !
Here are some pictures of Seoul subway ticket counter, enterance & inside at subway.
(Photographs & Copyright to Tomomi Sunagawa)
More specific informations are you can check here
Go to more information for Metropolitan Subway in Korea in English
( if you want to see the map, please click the Red Map button at the bottom of Metro-Sub site. )
Bul-Guk-Sa temple
Bul-Guk-Sa, or pronounced Pul-Guk-Sa, is one of the famous and oldest buddist temple at Kyong-Ju, simillar as Kyoto in Japan, in Korea.
This temple is also resistered as World cultural heritage by UNESCO. Location is about 5 miles south (8km) from Kyong-Ju city.
To go over there, take a train from Seoul to Kyong-Ju and exchange the local bus or taxi from Kyong-Ju to Bul-Guk-Sa, it takes total 5 hours.
You can see also lots of Buddhist temples, National treasures and National park during you stay at Kyong-Ju.
One more good news is you can enjoy the famous hot spring(On-Sen) at Kyong-Ju hot spring(On-Sen) on Kyong-Ju city.
I will brifely tell you about train scedule and fare from Seoul Central Station to Kyong-Ju.
Sae-Ma-Ul Ho ( Seoul CS ---> Kyong-Ju, one way )
1st class : 3040 Yen/person , 2nd class : 2390 Yen/person
Seoul CS ---> Kyoug-Ju / 9:30 ---> 13:49 / 16:30 ---> 20:51 / 18:30 ---> 22:51 /
Mu-Gung-Wha Ho ( Seoul CS ---> Kyong-Ju, one way )
1st class : 2240 Yen/person , 2nd class : 1650 Yen/person
Seoul CS ---> Kyong-Ju / 21:00 ---> 02:00 /
Here are Bul-Guk-Sa pictures, please enjoy before you go!
(Copyright to J. Kim)
More specific informations are you can check here
Go to official site of Bul-Guk-Sa in English or Japanese
Go to more information for Kyong-Ju Tourist Board in English or Japanese
Go to general information for Kyong-Sang-Buk-Do prefecture in English or Japanese
Hae-In-Sa temple
One of the oldest this buddhist temple is located at Hap-Chon on Kyong-Sang-Nam-Do prefecture in Korea.
Miracle Pal-Man-Tae-Jang-Kyong, which means 80,000 hand carved wooden printing blocks, at Hae-In-Sa is also resistered as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
Original Pal-Man-Tae-Jang-Kyong, Tripitaka, was made in 1232 and seriously damaged by invading Jingiskan's Mongol. Next version was made from 1236 to 1251 and stored at Sun-Won-Sa temple
in Kang-Wha-Do island. Then it was moved to Hae-In-Sa temple in 1398. If you want to see real Korea, you should stop by this gorgeous temple.
There are couple ways to go this temple from Seoul by Tour bus or Express bus, but I will just focus on train schedule for rail travel lovers.
To go Hae-In-Sa, take train Seoul CS ---> Tae-Gu (the name of rail station is exactly Dong-Tae-Gu, which means East Tae-Gu station.)(about 4 hours) & exchange the intercity bus at West Tae-Gu intercity bus terminal ---> Hae-In-Sa(about 1 hour).
You better to take a taxi from Dong-Tae-Gu rail station to West Tae-Gu I.C. bus terminal (called So Tae-Gu Shi-Wae Bus Terminal or sometimes called So Bu Shi-Wae Bus Terminal in Korean, about 10-15 mins & less than 500 Yen), if you have big suite-case.
And Intercity bus daparts every hour from West Tae-Gu to Hae-In-Sa.
Here is regular train schedule from Seoul CS ---> Dong-Tae-Gu
Sae-Ma-Ul Ho ( Seoul CS ---> Dong-Tae-Gu, one way )
1st class : 2390 Yen/person , 2nd class : 1920 Yen/person
Seoul CS ---> Tae-Gu / 06:00 ---> 09:12 / Every hour service / 23:00 ---> 02:12 /
Mu-Gung-Wha Ho ( Seoul CS ---> Dong-Tae-Gu, one way )
1st class : 1650 Yen/person , 2nd class : 1320 Yen/person
Seoul CS ---> Tae-Gu / 06:15 ---> 10:05 / Every 30 mins service / 23:55 ---> 03:51 /
(Last train is available on Bed Car, upper : 3720 Yen, lower : 4560 Yen)
Here are Hae-In-Sa pictures, please enjoy before you go!
(Copyright to Hae-In-Sa hotel)
More specific informations are you can check here
Go to more information for Tour Hae-In-Sa & Hae-In-Sa Hotel in English
Go to official site of Korean Temples in English
Go to the official site of Cultural Heritages in Korea in English
Go to more information for UNESCO World Heritage Center in English
Go to Traditional Koean Tea site in English
Jong-Dong-Jin by Sand Watch Express
Jong-Dong-Jin station is resistered as World the closest rail station to the sea on The Guinness Book of records.
You can also see the world most beautiful sunrise & peaceful mountains during the travel with your partner.
Rail route is Chong-Ryang-Ri(Seoul) ---> Kang-Nung ---> Jong-Dong-Jin. Jong-Dong-Jin is located in 5 miles (8km) away from Kang-Nung.
If you take on regular train, you should exchange to local train at Kang-Nung to Jong-Dong-Jin.
To go, you better use Special Direct Service Train from Seoul(Chong-Ryang-Ri station, not from central station)
to Jong-Dong-Jin every weekend night one which takes 7 hours to go the most east part in Korea.
And return to Seoul (10:20 p.m.) on saturday. Price is about 4,000 Yen for round trip. Schedule is follow as;
Sand Watch Express(Directly serviced by Mu-Gung-Wha Ho Express)
Chong-Ryang-Ri ---> Jong-Dong-Jin / 21:50 ---> 04:50 / running on only Friday
Chong-Ryang-Ri ---> Jong-Dong-Jin / 23:30 ---> 05:25 / running on only Friday, Saturday and Sunday
I don't think there are a bed car & 1st class, only 2nd class on available with some snacks & soft drink.
But there is always many couples to use this tour, you should make a reservation so called Mo-Rae-Shi-Gae Tuk Kup in Korean or
Sand Watch Express in English at major KR station. But May be you better use Korean to make a resrevation named as Mo-Rae-Shi-Gae Tuk Kup.
This train named Sand Watch ( Mo-Rae-shi-Gae ) is origined from famous TV drama title and this rail staion, Jong-Dong-Jin, was the film shooting location.
I think Jong-Dong-Jin is one of the top 10 date courses in the world.
Here are Regular train scedule from Chong-Ryang-Ri station(Seoul) to Kang-Nung on weekday.
Sae-Ma-Ul Ho ( Chong-Ryang-Ri station ---> Kang-Nung, one way )
1st class : 2600 Yen/person , 2nd class : 2130 Yen/person
Chong-Ryang-Ri ---> Kang-Nung / 17:00 ---> 23:15 /
Mu-Gung-Wha Ho ( Chong-Ryang-Ri station ---> Kang-Nung, one way )
1st class : 1800 Yen/person , 2nd class : 1470 Yen/person
Chong-Ryang-Ri ---> Kang-Nung / 08:00 ---> 14:54 / 10:00 --->16:54 / 12:00 ---> 19:08 /
/ 14:00 ---> 20:50 / 22:00 ---> 04:56 / 23:30 ---> 07:44 /
Here are some pictures, please enjoy before you go!
(Copyright to J.Han)
Mose's miracle sea road in Chin-Do
Have you ever seen Mose's miracle sea road? Not movie but real at HoiDong area on Chin-Do Island in southwest Korea.
Not exactly explained by scientist but reasonable explaining is because of lunar gravity.
You can see the real miracle which sea become a road with 20ft width(7m) & 2miles(2.8km) length for 2 hours.
That means you can walk to the opposite island (HoeDong-ri to MoDo-ri). And this road will not always open but only 3 times a year in spring.
To go Jin-Do, take a Sae-Ma-Ul or Mu-Gung-Wha express from seoul central station to Mok-Po station (4 & 1/2 hour), and than
exchange to Express bus from Mok-Po city to Chin-Do island(2 hours).
One more famous thing at Chin-do is Chin-Do Gea which means Chin-Do island's pure blood dog.
This royal dog is only you can see at Chin-do, because government strictly prohibits to bring out from island to mainland to keep the pure blood line.
Also this dog is registered as a natural treasure by Korean government.
May be you can imagine as German shepherd or Japanese Shiba-ken.
But unfortunately you can not buy this Chin-Do Gea so far. If you could buy, that's illegal or mixed blood one.
Police will check out your backpack by the special animal preserving law, when you get out from the Chin-Do island.
I will brifely tell you about train scedule and fare from Seoul Central Station to Mok-Po.
Sae-Ma-Ul Ho ( Seoul CS ---> Mok-po, one way)
1st class : 3130 Yen/person , 2nd class : 2480 Yen/person
Seoul CS ---> Mok-Po / 9:05 ---> 13:48 / 12:05 ---> 16:55 / 17:05 ---> 21:48 /
Mu-Gung-Wha Ho ( Seoul CS ---> Mok-Po, one way)
1st class : 2300 Yen/person , 2nd class : 1710 Yen/person
Seoul CS ---> Mok-Po / 8:05 ---> 13:35/ 10:05 ---> 15:35 ( Cyber Train on odd number month ) /
/ and services are next every 2 hour / last train 20:03 ---> 03:51 ( available Bed Car )
Here are some pictures of Chin-Do's miracle sea road & Chin-DO Gea.
(copyright to Chin-Do tourist board)
More specific things are you can check here
Go to Chin-Do tour in English
B & B and Guest House in Korea
There are many choices for B&B or Guest House with faily cheap price & good condition in Korea.
One of benefit to stay at B&B or GH (called Home Stay in Korea) is free pick up service at major airport.
They treat guest as their family, you feel like a stay at your home.
Price is follow as;
Single room---> about 3,500 Yen/person included in breakfast
Twin or Double room ---> about 6,000 Yen/room included in breakfast
Also you can available lunch box or dinner with your host family in option.
Here is some selected B&B and Guest House link on Korea.
Go to B & B and Guest House in Korea by Korean home stay co.ltd in English or Japanese
Go to B & B and Guest House in Korea by GSH co. ltd in English or Japanese
Go to B & B and Guest House in Korea by AndYou co. ltd in English or Japanese
Go to B & B and Guest House in Korea by WAWO co. ltd in English
Go to Korean National Tourist Board in English, German, French and Japanese
Go to more about Seoul at Space Seoul in English
Go to Tour Korea in English
Go to official site of Korean Kim-Chi, Korean traditional pickle, in English or Japanese
Go to more scientific information Kim-Chi in English
Go to Everything of Korea by Kodensha in Japanese
Go to Korean Hot Spring (On-Sen) collections at Spa Zone in Japanese, Sorry! no English
Go to Asiana Airline in English or Japanese
Go to Korean Airline in English or Japanese
Epilogue
I wait your experience, opinion or any kind of question.
Please write yours or send e-mail.
Also I glad to receive
your travel pictures through the attachment file with e-mail
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