K-Trend: Domestic Travel in Korea

Domestic Travel

We’ve been obsessed with the Instagram tag “domestic travel” for about.. let’s say a healthy two years now. Korea’s cafes, restaurants, and tourist sites are all pretty affordable but going out more often definitely adds up. Not to mention going traveling; going abroad from Korea means taking a plane and especially now during COVID times for most people it’s out of the question. But we’ve never even thought about complaining with the insane treasure trove of beautiful places and sites that Korea has to offer. Yes, Jeju, Jeonju, and Busan are wonderful but Korea is so much more, and 'Domestic Travel' is where you can find it.

The tag has been even more popular than over the last few months and is booming especially now since summer has arrived. Our friends tell us that young Koreans tend to have a slight inferiority complex about their country and its appeal and we hear most people say they’ve never been to Jeju or Busan; they’d rather go abroad. But people are now discovering these amazing places in their own country, and we are totally selfishly thankful for that since they are taking us with them, through Instagram! And now it’s our turn to take you through our favorite locations that we’ve found on the tag:

1. Taean 태안    

By far our favorite, favorite place in Korea right now. It is insane to us to see how many options and different sites and festivals this little county has. At about a two hour drive from Seoul, Taean is a seaside county almost right underneath Incheon and it is insanely picturesque.

The best thing about Taean is that there is something to see, or something to do, at every single time of the year. Fall seems to be the favorite season for Taean, because of all the colors: The Cheongsam Arboretum has these huge beautiful plants called Pampas Grass that make anyone standing among them look like they were shrunk to the size of ants (and that’s already good enough a reason for us to go, to be honest).

They also have a field of Pink Muhly grass (also to be found in Olympic Park if you don’t have the opportunity to go out of Seoul!) and a lot of really nice art pieces strewn around to park. The county actually has multiple flower gardens and arboretums, Cheollipo and Cheongsam Arboretum being the biggest ones. If you’re a big fan of flowers and forests, Taean has so many options.

Taean also has so- so many nice beaches but if you’re not the biggest fan of water or swimming you could also visit the beautiful Sinduri dunes! Looking at these pictures makes us feel like we're in the desert somewhere. Even if you’re not a fan of beaches of sand, the trip towards the dunes leads you through a field that looks so picturesque, we want a postcard to be made of it so we can send it home to our family. 

Haven’t seen enough of Taean? Find more yourself on the following tags

#태안 #태안군 #태안여행 #태안가볼만한곳

2. Daegwallyeong Sheep Ranch 대관령 삼양목장

Yes, there is a sheep farm on the top of a mountain, and yes we really want to go there. The pictures people have been posting of these lush fields are making us insane, and are even having us consider hiking up a snowy mountain. Both the sheep ranch and the fields are beautiful in all seasons but there seems to be something so magical about standing on top of a snow-covered mountain.

Despite the snow, the hike trails up the mountain are supposed to be very gentle, and we’ve seen a lot of pictures of parents with kids so it must be doable (..right?). Our favorite thing about this place is the photoshoots people have at the top of the mountain. We personally love it when people take pictures of themselves, and especially when they all take pictures in the same location; you get to see how people see themselves and their location differently. Especially since this location is so peaceful looking, going through the tag makes us feel very calm and relaxed, and we hope it will bring you as much joy as it did for me. 

Pro tip: If you’re not convinced this area is beautiful yet, might we draw your attention to the nearby Wondaeri Birch Forest, and our favorite pictures (and phone wallpaper):

Want to see more? Here are a few tags to look up! #대관령양목장 #선자령 #대관령하늘목장 #대관령여행 

3. Horogoru Ruins 호로고루성

The Horogoru Fortress was supposedly one of the three biggest fortresses of the Goguryeo Kingdom. The only thing that remains today are the royal tombs and ruins engulfed by small hills. However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t an amazing location. Beautiful in every season, the small hill is becoming more popular ever since this area of Imjim River above Seoul was added to the UNESCO cultural heritage site list. A set of stairs was built into the hill, and even those who are not interested in the area could easily enjoy the beauty of the hills and the river. (The hills are alive..) 

Close to the fortress are also eight other new cultural heritage sites, among which two other fortresses. We also found that the area is home to a massive Hanok that has been turned into a café (it’s literally called Hanok Cafe and we're adding this passive-aggressively because it took us 30 very stressful minutes to find that out.) All in all, it’s a beautiful place and definitely worth going on a (half-) day trip for!

More of Horogoru? #연천 #연천여행 #호로고루성 #연천한옥카페 are your friends!

Want to find more undiscovered places in Korea? Search the tags #국내여행 #국내여행스타그램 #국내여행추천 #국내여행코스 #국내가볼만한곳 

Or! Follow some of the Instagram accounts that we follow! @travelholic_insta @1994.8p_ @ojnuii @rainsoop @travel_ohwa