Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A scenic place of rolling hills, verdant fields, and dramatic coastlines, the west of the coun-
try has long been South Korea's breadbasket, with its emerald rice paddies and fish-rich
bays providing much of the national food supply. With its fresh produce and generous por-
tions, the region has developed a well-deserved reputation for offering the country's finest
indigenous cuisine. On a less positive note, its formerly largely poor rural population caused
many leaders throughout the country's history to dismiss it as a backwater and concentrate
their development efforts elsewhere, giving rise to distinctions and resentments that persist
to this day.
The west has long since outgrown those stereotypes, however, and its expanding centers
are building altogether different reputations and attracting more expatriates in the pro-
cess—often people who prefer easygoing ways to excitement or who have a serious interest
in traditional culture. Gwangju has gained renown as a center for the arts as well as the
photonics and high-tech materials industries, while Daejeon has focused on building one of
the country's most successful science and technology clusters. Jeonju is a smaller city that
is an important educational center and boasts some of the country's best-preserved tradi-
tional architecture.
The mountainous east of the country is where South Korea's postwar industrial revolution
began—which in many ways is still ongoing. The country's largest and most powerful con-
glomerates have their roots in the Gyeongsang Provinces, and many of the foreign engin-
eers and experts they hire consequently end up in the region.
Most of the major cities here dot the coast, including Pohang, a significant steel industry
center, and Ulsan, little more than a fishing village a few decades ago but now a thriving
hub of the shipbuilding, automobile, and petrochemical industries. Busan, South Korea's
main port and second-largest city, was one of the first places in the country to host a sizable
foreign population, and with its multiple international ferry links and a renowned film fest-
ival, it maintains a cosmopolitan flavor. It also enjoys some of the mildest weather on the
peninsula. Farther inland, Daegu, the third-largest city in the country, sits at the heart of
South Korea's transportation network and does a bustling trade in textiles, fashion, and Asi-
an medicine. It'd be wrong to assume the region is all smokestacks and smelters. It is home
to several national parks, and with the open-air museums of Gyeongju and Andong, is also
South Korea's beating historical heart.
