#myRTW: Aussie on the Road in South Korea

The interview series #myRTW coincides with our hash-tag of the same name which is featured on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Our aim with the series is simple: to show off the world’s amazing destinations that long-term travelers have enjoyed on the road!

In each entry of this series, participating RTW travelers highlight one experience or destination they consider a favorite from their trip and share what they loved about it.

Today’s #myRTW interview features Chris from Aussie on the Road.  His long-term trip lasted nearly seven years and took place between November 2007 and August 2014 while hitting 14 countries in Asia, the Pacific, as well as a few shorter journeys to the UK, East Africa, and the USA.  For Chris, his favorite experience was coming out of his shell in South Korea in 2007-2008.

In his own words, Chris talks about the experience…

“My round the world travels started on pure whim, when I accepted a job teaching English in Gwangju, South Korea. Having never even been on a plane before, it was a daunting prospect for a socially awkward wall-flower who hadn’t even realised South Korea was in the northern hemisphere until he touched down and wished he’d brought a jacket.

Over the course of twelve months, however, I found out a lot about myself. From my fumbling first attempts at entering the social scene to learning to cast off past hurts and be a brighter, more confident person – I owe my time in South Korea for helping shape me into the man I am today.

Debauchery at the Boryeong Mud Festival

You never forget your first heart-break, and mine came at the hands of a fiery haired South African who took my heart for a ride and then dumped me with a melodramatic letter and a string of confusing post break-up hook-ups.

To bust me out of my Dashboard Confessional and Audrey Hepburn movie watching funk, some of my friends dragged me along to the Boryeong Mud Festival – a week long orgy of drinking, swimming, and mud fights on one of Korea’s nicer stretches of beach.

I remember the way my heart sank when the very first person we encountered on the trip was the heart-breaker herself, but my wingman and temporary best friend, Dean wouldn’t let me go into my shell. He dragged me out into the surf, forced me into a few mud wrestling contests, and eventually saw me into the comforting arms of a pretty Cali girl.

I remember bobbing in the Yellow Sea with the stars overhead and the noise and activity of the beach somewhere behind me. My feet couldn’t touch the bottom of the dark water, but I wasn’t afraid. I leaned my head back and took in the fireworks as they exploded overhead, revelling in the fact I was alive and I was doing something very few others would ever get to do. In that moment, I was as far removed from the awkward kid who’d left Australia six months earlier than I could be.

Unearthing History at Daewonsa and Yonggunsa

A year in Korea somewhat annuls you to the width and breadth of the country’s long history, but there were a few moments in my time there when I was transported away from the hustle and bustle of a rapidly westernising country and into a far more serene time.

Whether seated in a natural stone ‘throne’ overlooking a forest valley lit only by lanterns or standing on the craggy cliffs of Busan’s seaside temple, Yonggungsa – it was rare that I wasn’t amazed by the temples of South Korea. While the structures themselves were often eerily similar to one another, each temple I visited had a unique personality to it while still embracing a central precept of serenity and a oneness with nature that western religion rarely aspires to. It’s a dream to someday go back and immerse myself more fully in temple life, eschewing technology for a day or two and living as the monks do.

Embracing Korean Festival Culture

One thing that I learned quickly about Koreans is that they love a good festival. The aforementioned Mud Festival is just the tip of a hectic iceberg of street food, fireworks, carnival games, and general madness.

The ‘Jindo Moses Miracle Festival’ sees thousands of people flock to the quiet seaside town to wade across a land bridge that is only exposed for a day of every year, the seething mass of humanity forming a many-legged insect as we all scramble across to the rocky shores of a distant island.

Jinhae’s Cherry Blossom Festival sees a town awash with the pink of cherry blossoms, and they’re nearly massed by the press of eager festival goers out to celebrate the coming of warmer months and to snap photos of the iconic tree. Not far away in Jinju, the river comes alive at night with a flow of lights as the Jinju Lantern Festival commemorates the city’s bloody past and optimism for the future. Revellers get up to their elbows in ice cold, stinking kimchi juice as they make their own example of Korea’s signature dish at Gwangju’s Kimchi Festival, and Wando’s ‘Slow Walking Festival’ is every bit as dull as it sounds.

Hundreds of festivals united by their central theme of togetherness and Korea’s zany sense of occasion. It’s one way to break up the busy working year.”

Check out more great photos and stories from Aussie on the Road on social media at the following links:

Join in! Are you a traveler who has been on a RTW adventure, has an amazing experience or destination to share, and would like to participate in this series? Email us at [email protected] to receive the prompt for the post!

For even more #myRTW goodness, submit your photos to the hash-tag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our group board on Pinterest to share your RTW journey with the world!

The post #myRTW: Aussie on the Road in South Korea appeared first on Living the Dream.

Jeremy is the primary author of