My Vacation to Korea - Amazing Roads (pics)!!

[TigerNSX]

I am currently visiting my family in Korea for Chirstmas.
Korea is not as internationally well known as Japan or China, but it is a beautiful place to visit.

What amazes me the most about Korea as a car enthusiast is their love for cars and driving. Koreans started making cars only from the 70s, far later than Japan, Europe and the U.S. did. Nevertheless, it is currently one of the very few countries that manufacture cars in the world (if you really count the number of countries that produce cars, there aren't that many), and has caught up very quickly to the standards of other car manufacturers - as can be shown in the example of Hyundai and Kia.

One of the most amazing parts of Korea is their roads. They are extremely well paved, wide, curvy and beautiful (I have not yet seen a pot hole - it's surprising since Korea has 4 distinct seasons as in Northeast of the U.S.). A government official has informed me that Korea features many of the best roads (that equals the ones on Alps) in the world since more than 70% of the Korean lands are composed of mountains (only very few people are aware of this)

Please see these amazing pictures!!! I cannot wait to take my NSX to Korea and drive through the roads. If you ever visit East Asia, please don't forget to stop by Korea.

 

[PoohBEAR]

OMG!!!!! no traffic? nobody driving? that is heaven

 

[loNfastNSX]

Wow! Ive been to Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippins. All are so well manicured as far as the landscape and the roads. Very nice pics Tiger. Have a good trip and a Merry Christmas!!! :biggrin:

 

[Casper91]

Great Photos!! :smile:

 

[otto_joe]

OMG!!!!! no traffic? nobody driving? that is heaven

Sheesh, I remember when I went there on vacation the roads were packed.

Divider lines meant nothing because it was common to see 5 cars side by side in a 3 lane road.

Great pictures though.

Otto

 

[NeoNSX]

Land of the Morning Calm

Annyong Haseyo!
These photos are beautiful and bring back sooooo many memories. Having been to Sth.Korea myself a few years ago, I totally agree with you -- Korea is a beautiful place to visit. Despite the busyness of Seoul, the regional areas live up to the countries name "Land of the Morning Calm".

The people are especially wonderful and kind (esp. to westerners ). What struck me was the contrasts of the Seoul -- it's extremely modernized & western-influenced (almost every building was flattened in the Korean war when the Communists captured Seoul) yet there are a handful of ancient buildings right in the middle of this urban concrete jungle that survived. See attached pix of the #1 city monument which acts as a huge round-about.

Many tourists only visit Seoul & Pusan, but going out into the country areas shows a completely different Korea. Mountains are everywhere, and all the roads snake through the valley sections. Throughout the countryside there's nothing but mountains, rice fields, more mountains, and little buddist temples -- with the occassional cluster of high-rise apartments. But it's so beautiful. And yes, the main roads are well maintained.

The other things I remember from my trip is that there were coffee shops and cosmetic stores everywhere. Everyone is so preoccupied with their looks and appearance. That's not all bad though..... The Seoul Tower is worth going too. Not only do you get a wonderful view of the endless city, they serve "western" meals which are hardly western (instead of a side-serving of bread you get rice?!?! )

I'll have to scan some of my photos if i have time over the next few days.


Anyone considering a holiday to Asia, seriously check out Korea. It's absolutely wonderful and a lot cheaper than Japan (Plus you'll save heaps of money by not being able to buy NSX parts).

Thanks <B>TigerNSX</B> for this wonderful post.


EDIT: that 2nd photo from the bottom is Pusan right??? When i was there, they were in the middle of building that bridge.

 

[mohaji]

OMG!!!! Those Photos are AWESOME!

And I notice some of the photos are of the JEJU island. For those in the dark,
JEJU island is a big island south of the main land of S.Korea. It was THE most beautiful thing I've seen among the natural scenaries.(I've seen little....)

Only thing, though, the island has road all around the shore, quite big one. like 6 lane wide road... and I noticed nobody was keeping to the traffic light.
But the view from the road will match any ocean side drive you guys have in west coast, i bet. ;-)

Aside from that, I would strongly recommend the Jeju isle. for a vacation.
lots of stuff to see, great weather pretty much all year round.
Damn... I wanna go back there, again.....

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Very impressive pics. Nice looking driving roads for sure. :biggrin:

 

[Zishan]

Beautiful pics! They look very professional!

 

[TigerNSX]

Thank you so much for the comments. Yes, the traffic in the city is almost unbearable. Nevertheless, once you are away from the traffic, it's just so beautiful.

NeoNSX: Wow, your knowledge never ceases to amaze me. I cannot believe that you have been to all these places!! Thanks so much for the kind words. Yes, it is so true that everyone is so into fashion!!!