Bring your pajamas and a change of clothes for the next day!

BUS, SUBWAY

This was my very first time visiting Yeongju and we did and saw so many things. The first thing we did when arriving to Yeongju was having lunch at a korean buffet, the staff made sure to label all the foods so that people with dietary restrictions or needs knew which foods to pick out. The food was really good. We went to Yeongju Sunheung Ancient Tomb Mural and we went inside a replica to learn about how some people were buried during the Three Kingdoms Period. Personally, it was interesting to learn about the burial customs of the period and it was curious to see that it was a bit similar to how people were buried in ancient times in my home country. While we were in the site we had workshops to do handcrafts and play traditional korean games. We then went to Buseoksa Temple, where our guide was a former ranger of the area who taught us a lot about the temple and the meaning that visiting the site has. The place was beautiful and since we went on a holiday it was full of families and people, which made everything feel very lively. We watched a special dance performance at the temple and we received gifts for visiting. We got to our stay, where we had dinner and did some fun group activities and got some prizes. The place were we stayed had a beautiful view of a lake and there were massage chairs, a game room, etc that we could use in our free time. The next day we had our breakfast and went on to a Ginseng cooking class. I had never had ginseng before so I was very excited about it. We had a very interesting lecture about how Yeongju was the birthplace of cultivated korean ginseng and we had a tasting of a ginseng canape (it goes amazing with honey!) and we were also able to do our very own ginseng alcohol which we got to take home. When we got out of the hotel it was raining softly but the tour staff very kindly gave umbrellas to everyone so that we could continue the tour just fine. We visited Sosu Seowon and took a look around the buildings and learnt about its history. Lastly, we visited a Korean noble house that has been preserved for generations by the original family. The wife of the owner did a demonstration of how some korean side dishes are made. We had our lunch and dessert, which were delicious and inclusive of everyones dietary needs and then we had a chance to put on hanbok and walk around the house to take pictures with it. We truly had an amazing time and the way everyone was very welcoming and passionate about sharing their knowledge and culture was very heartwarming. I was also very impressed at how well organized the tour was and how the guides did a great job at making sure everyone was having a good time. I am definitely more interesed in traveling to not only Yeongju, but other parts of Korea after this trip.