Day 16 - KTX to Seoul, Namsangol Hanok Village & SNOW!!

Thursday, December 4th, 2025

This morning we packed up and left our hanok accomodation at Gyeongju and caught the KTX high speed train to Seoul.  Note the train station is about twenty minutes out the main township of Gyeongju and my pre-trip research indicated it was a thirty minute bus ride (our accommodation is only a few hundred metres from the bus station).  But yesterday my enquiries at the intercity bus terminal said to use the nearby express bus terminal but no one was there to help and the ticket machine did not have the train station as a destination.

This morning we arrived with our bags to the express bus terminal but there was still no staff there to help.  So I called a taxi on the Kakao taxi app (which I used in Busan and yesterday) and within two minutes we were on our way to the train station for only AUD16.  We were there in quarter of an hour, more than an hour before our KTX was due to arrive.

These KTX high speed trains are originally of European design and collaboration but were just as effortless and comfortable at 270 km/h as the various Japanese shinkansen I have travelled on.

Note the train was packed, there were no vacant seats, so the recommendation to buy your ticket in advance is well deserved.

Around half way through the journey of just over two hours, we looked out the window and could see snow!!

Soon we were at Seoul station.  Temperatures were still very cold and we took the underground exit 12 to our accommodation for tonight only, next door to our previous AirBnB.  (We will post links to all our accommodation in a post in around one week, for your reference in case you would like to travel to Korea one day).

It was too early to check into our room, but we could leave all our bags at the hotel.  After leaving our bags, I took the opportunity to re-visit the Yonsei University Medical Centre next to Seoul Station where the same kind doctor gave me another prescription and I had some more physiotherapy on my knee.

Then we caught the bus a few kilometres to visit the Namsangol Hanok Village.  This is a recreated Korean village with five restored hanoks built 1392 - 1910.

 Notice the water in the above stone bowl?  It is frozen solid . . . gives you an indication how cold it is!

One the way out of the village we noticed the pond was also frozen solid, see below:

Caught the bus back to our hotel, passing the Sungnyemun Gate (Namdaemun) below:

Below is the view of Seoul south from our hotel room on the 23rd level.

After settling in we decide to go get something to eat, and when we went outside found it was SNOWING in Seoul!!!  YAY!!













It was amazing to see it snow and see the joy of so many locals as it was happening.  A young lady who was also staying at our hotel came out to discover the snow at the same time as us, and she was also enjoying it because she was from Taiwan where it never snows (like Sydney).  

13,904 steps today.

This will be our last live entry onto this blog, as tonight is our last evening in Korea.  Tomorrow at 8:00pm we will be flying out of Incheon airport, back to Sydney where we land Saturday morning.

I will likely add a few posts in a week or so listing our accommodation and some other tips which may prove helpful should you wish to plan your own trip to visit South Korea one day.

Having now visited South Korea and Japan twice, if I were to be asked my preference, it would be South Korea.  The food is amazing, the people generous and kind even though the population of both countries is largely homogenous.  But I didn't experience any direct racism in Korea which I did in Japan.  Korea has just as much history and culture.  Everything one can experience in Japan can also be experienced in South Korea.  But we did not see the over-tourism which I did see on my last visit to Japan and continues to be reported as an issue.

The fact that I experienced a serious issue with my right knee on the second day of our visit and was able to visit the Yonsei University Medical clinic, without notice nor an appointment, and see an expert doctor, receive an x-ray and diagnosis, prescription, physiotherapy for several days to enable my knee to function for the remainder of the trip is an absolute tribute to the medical facilities in Seoul.  And the cost to me for all the visits, medication and care has been around AUD300 in total (which I will claim back from my travel insurance when I return).  I'm not sure I could have received the same care, without notice, in Australia!

Thanks for hanging around, if you have enjoyed this, please let Jen or I know.  Ask any questions.  Come visit Korea.  Ignoring the air fare, it is a cheaper holiday than Australia!