"Passion For Korea" Tour

April 5 - 20, 2006
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Copyright 2006  KoreanWiz.org.  All rights reserved.
I was invited to join the Spring 2006 Passion for Korea Tour so that I could experience Korea firsthand. 

On April 5, 2006, I joined the group and headed for Korea for a 16-day eye-opening, wonderful experience.  The Passion for Korea tours provide a broad spectrum of cultural matters in addition to drama related matters.
Below is a recap of the Spring 2006 Passion for Korea Tour.

Day 1:  Leave Honolulu for Seoul 
Day 2:  Seoul - Our Arrival, Lotte World & Our First Meal in Korea
Day 3:  Shindo Island - filming sites for Full House and Sad Love Story, Bibimbap Lunch, Yangju - Dae Jang-geum Theme Park, and Seoul - MBC Studio
Day 4:  Jeju Island - Our Arrival, Yongduam (Dragon Head's Rock), Soingook Theme Park, and Jeju Art Park
Day 5:  Jeju Island - Lotte Jeju Hotel, Teddy Bear Museum, filming site for All In, Seonimgyo Bridge, Seongeup Folk Village, and Jeju-Do Folklore and National History Museum
Day 6:  Leave Jeju for Busan, Busan - Jagalchi Fish Market
Day 7:  Hadong - filming site for Toji, Suncheon - Songgwangsa Temple
Day 8:  Suncheon - Naganeupseong Folk Village, Boseong - Green Tea Plantation (filming site for Summer Scent) and Green Tea Kalguksu Lunch, Wando Island - filming site for Emperor of the Sea
Day 9:  Sunchang - Gochujang Village; Damyang - Bamboo Theme Park (filming site for Damo and Summer Scent), Gourmet Lunch; Buan - filming site for Immortal Yi Soon-shin, Buan Cinema Center (filming site for The King & the Clown); Jeonju City - Korean Buffet Dinner
Day 10:  Jeonju City - Pan Asia Paper Museum, Vendors Along Cherry Blossom Trees, Fan Gallery, Gyeonggijeon Shrine, Paper Crafts, Wine & Drums, Palace Dinner
Day 11:  Jinan - Maisan (Horse Ears Mountain), Jeonju City - McDonald's Lunch
Day 12:  Munkyung - filming site for Emperor Wang Gun and Doenjang Jjigae Lunch;  Andong - Hahoe Folk Village (Ryu Si Won's ancestral village), Hahoedong Mask Museum, Byeongsan Seowon
Day 13:  Yongin - Everland (filming site for One Million Roses), Dong Chun Hong Restaurant, Suwon - KBS Suwon Center
Day 14:  Seoul - Nami Island (filming site for Winter Sonata), Chuncheon (filming sites for Winter Sonata), KBS Studio - Dinner and Open Concert, Shopping at Night
Day 15:  Seoul - National Folk Museum of Korea and Gyeongbokgung Palace, SBS Studio (watched Ryu Si Won), Meeting Kim Sung Soo, Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup) Dinner
Day 16:  Seoul - Our Final Day, Going Home.  Return to Honolulu
Many thanks to Mr. Wonchul Shim of Korea Travel Service (1617 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, Hawaii  96814, phone:  (808) 947-1611) and Mr. Hwa-Kyung Kim of Rye Tour Co., Ltd (phone:  82-2-725-0808 in Seoul) for making all of the travel arrangements.  Our Korean tour guide, Joon Ki "James" Kim (aka "Mr. Kim" or "Oppa"), did a fabulous job informing us of Korean history and keeping us together.  Sincere thanks also go to our own personal guide from Hawaii, Mrs. Hyoncha Koga, who helped each and every one of us have a marvelous time.  Thanks also to everyone on the tour for letting me sit in the front of the bus to avoid motion sickness, and for providing the continuous supply of ono snacks on the bus.  This was one of the best groups that I have ever traveled with.  Mahalo everyone.

If anyone is interested in joining a Passion for Korea tour, contact Mrs. Hyoncha Koga at (808) 623-3452.  These tours, usually scheduled in the Fall and Spring, are not advertised, but sell out fast.  U.S. mainland residents may join the tour in Seoul or Honolulu.  I encourage fellow addicts of all ethnic backgrounds to travel to Korea since Koreans still don't believe that non-Asians love Korean TV dramas.  Increasing the number of non-Asian visitors to Korea can help change that misperception.