#GempakSpot: Besides Seoul, Here Are Other Places To Visit In South Korea That Are Off The Beaten Track

If there's one place everybody goes to every single day at least once a day without fail no matter where they are, it’s the toilet (if you don’t, you might want to pay a visit to the doctor’s). Believe it or not, there is an entire museum dedicated to toilets in Suwon! Oh, Koreans, they have a museum for everything! Haewoojae Museum, also known as Mr Toilet House, is a double-storey museum shaped like a, you guessed it, toilet bowl.

Housing all kinds of loos and potties, this place was formerly home to a mayor known for improving the city’s public toilets. The mayor was Sim Jae Deok, who actually nicknamed himself Mr Toilet. He even helped to establish the World Toilet Association in 2007, which was the reason he built this ‘toilet house’ in the first place – to celebrate the establishment. Ironically, there’s no bathroom within the building. So if you really need to go, there is a separate building right outside for that purpose. Make your way to Haewoojae Museum if you’re not too keen on seeing typical historical artifacts.

The Garden of Morning Calm is a beautifully designed garden that features more than 20 themes and 5,000 different kinds of plants along scenic walkways, beautifully manicured grass and flower beds. This garden is the oldest private garden in Korea, carrying a nice balance between the Korean concept of natural curves with asymmetry. It is a perfect spot for couples, families and photographers. A professor named Han Sang Kyung conceptualised this garden. He wanted to create a garden that would become world-famous and to spread the concept of Korean beauty around the world. One of the most meaningful points of this place is the Sukgeun Garden, which is shaped just like the Korean Peninsula and decorated with beautiful flowers on each side, subtly representing the desire for North and South Korea to reunite.

Gangwon-do

Taebaek Mountain

Gangwon province is well-known for its heavy snow during winter. It is the best skiing spot in the country. More than 40% of this region consists of hills, mountains and valleys, making it Korea’s most mountainous region. Particularly in the Taebaek Mountain range, winters here are known to last as long as six months! You may have a hard time shivering in the cold, but if you just want to get away from Malaysia’s hot and hot season, head to the annual Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival and enjoy the winter wonderland that we can only dream of. Take part in fun activities like hiking competition, snow rafting, starlight festival, ice fountain, Igloo Café, and so much more. The festival’s activities are perfect for visitors of all ages.

One of the best things to do during winter is ice fishing. And even if fishing is not exactly your choice of fun, you’ll definitely enjoy the eating part. The Inje Smelts Festival is held on Soyang Lake every winter. A smelt or a bingeo is a small freshwater fish that lives in Korea’s lakes and reservoirs. It is one of the most popular fishes for winter fishing. At this festival, families and couples alike can enjoy ice fishing, ice sledding, trekking, football on ice, ice race walking, traditional folk games, and many more. One of the highlights of the festival is the cooking contest, where participants can grill or fry the smelts.

Gyeongsangnam-do

Gyeonghwa Station (Cherry Blossom Road)

Gyeonghwa Station is a small railway station that becomes exceptionally busy every spring thanks to the beautiful cherry blossoms blooming along the 800-metre track. Although railway services in and out of this station have been discontinued since February 2015, the tunnel covered with cherry blossoms is still a sight to see. Along with Anmingogae Road and Yeojwacheon Bridge, Gyeonghwa Station is one of the top three spots in Jinhae for photo ops. The area has been featured in a number of Korean movies and dramas, including Spring Waltz and Boy Goes to Heaven.

Upo Wetland is the country’s largest natural swamp at 5,550 square-kilometres. That’s three times the size of Yeouido in Seoul! The swamp is made up of four small and large swamps in the Changnyeong area and is said to have formed more than 140 million years ago. The murky waters of the wetland is home to over 1,500 plants and animals, some of which are even endangered species. Visitors can choose to walk or cycle around this swamp, or if you wish to attempt dipping into the one-metre deep swamp, please proceed with caution. There are also famous sights at Upo Wetland, including fireflies, constellation gazing, willow groves, the Upo rain fog, migrating bird, and more.

Gyeongsangbuk-do

The Umbilical Cord Shrine for King Sejong’s Children

Yup, this place is exactly what the name suggests. It might just be one of the strangest spots in the world! In case you didn’t know, King Sejong was one of the great kings from the Joseon Dynasty and was most popularly-known for creating the Korean alphabet, hangul. However, legend has it that he had a unique habit during his reign. He collected the taeshil, or umbilical cords and placentas of his children, all 19 of them! If you’re grossed out by this, you might want to skip this part and scroll down to the next point. King Sejong apparently moved the taeshil from Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul to this current location in Seongju, which took his people four years (no underground subway systems back then lah)! Why umbilical cords? We’re not too sure why, but if you ever feel like you’ve seen it all, come visit this eccentric shrine and in a way, take a part of the Korean royal family back with you.

The Cheongdo Bull Fighting Festival is the largest festival of its kind in Korea, and attracts almost half a million visitors every year since 1999. There are about 130 matches between fighting bulls while spectators cheer on. In the beginning, bulls were paired together regardless of size. But in recent years, the organisers have decided to divide them into three segments according to weight. Now, if the sight of bulls head bumping, pushing and neck butting is a bit too violent for you, you can also enjoy art contests, rodeo experience, magic shows, and even cow-play exorcisms.

If you're planning a trip to South Korea for your next holiday, don't just go to Seoul! There will be a travel platform offering a variety of exciting holiday packages around the world waiting for you.