Top 10 weirdest places in South Korea Part 1
Every now & then, One just has to get away from their daily routine. Many of us has seen Gyeongbokgung Palace a few dozen times, have strolled down Insadong and purchased gifts for family & friends back home, and partied in Itaewon or Hongdae. But what’s next in your traveller’s list??
If you desire for weird, wacky or just a bizarre places to go, then I present to you the Top 10 weirdest places in Korea (but in a 2 parts series). Without much ado let’s start from No.10!
- The Suwon Toilet Museum (Suwon, Gyeonggi-do)
Interchangeably also called Suwon Toilet Museum or the Mr. Toilet museum House. The theme park gained worldwide publicity for its unique content- A garden filled with huge statues shaped like poo, a cartoon mural, statues of people squatting ( like in toilets) and a toilet museum. The two story toilet bowl shaped museum tell us the story of a man dubbed “Mr. Toilet”, Sim Jae Duck, a deceased former mayor of Suwon, toilet enthusiast and creator of the World Toilet Association. Don’t know why the poo can be seen in different colors or why it’s smiling at you. South Korea’s fascination towards excrement amazed me from the moment I saw this museum.
Directions: Suwon station, line 1, exit 2. Make a U-turn and walk toward the bus platforms Take bus 92 or 310 and ride to Dongwon High School (동원고 – Dong-won-go). Face the underpass and turn right at the intersection toward the high school –it’s about 500 meters and you’ll see it on the right.
- Love Castle – The sex museum (Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do)
Gyeongju is famous for having plenty of touristy things to see within a bus ride distance. Seokguram Grotto, Bulguska and various tombs which make the area a well noted destination for tourists. But this particular place is only for ADULTS. One will go between indoor and outdoor exhibits – but make sure you pull the penis in the second exhibition room to see what happens. Oh! Don’t forget your camera as there are plenty of interactive and photo ops there.
Directions: From Gyeongju’s Express Bus Terminal, turn right and go around the corner for the intercity bus terminal. Look for yellow bus 10 or 11 and get off at the 하동점마을 (Ha-dong-jeom ma-eul) bus stop. A taxi from here costs about 17,000 won. From Gyeongju train station, go out the exit and walk straight to the intersection. You’ll want to cross the LEFT crosswalk near the IBK bank. Walk 50 meters to the bus stop. Look for yellow bus 11 and get off at the 하동점마을 (Ha-dong-jeom ma-eul) bus stop.
- Haesindang Park, a.k.a. Penis Park, Samcheok
Haesingdong Park is located in Samcheok, Gangwan-do. The ‘Penis Park’ nickname is derived from the countless phallic statues that are scattered throughout the area. The reason behind these statues is explained through a local legend. A long time ago, a young woman from the village was drowned after her fiancé left her on a rock and couldn’t return to her before the tide came in. It’s believed after her death, the fish stopped coming to the nearby waters. The local thought that the girl’s ghost was vengeful as she died before getting married and therefore couldn’t lost her virginity. In order to appease her, villagers erected (ahem-ahem) several penis statues along the sea cost. The girl’s ghost was pleased and the fish returns to the water and the villagers lived happily, leaving the statues to appease both the girl’s ghost and to entertain tourists.
- Seojaedon Clinic, Seoul
An article was featured on a vice documentary about Fashion Week, the cosmetic surgery clinic is a different kind of tourist destination. With the immensity of cosmetic surgery clinics, surgery patients and low prices in Korea, people are flying from around the world purely for affordable cosmetic surgical procedures. However, price is not only the factor, Korea’s famous pop culture has also helped this industry. There are a large number of cosmetic surgery clinics and hospitals offering services for the medical tourist. Many of them are listed on the Korea Tourist Organisation’s website.
- Amethyst Cavern Park – Ulsan
Simply calling it a vulgar cave doesn’t do any justice to its vulgarity. A few of the surprises inside the caves include an interesting evolution of Humans (all nude, of course), faux skeletons in the Egypt hall and a miner with a hand on his shoulder which is not connected to anyone. Surprisingly, it’s a real cave with real water dripping from its ceiling. There is large model of Dokdo’s islands and amusement ride to enjoy in the afternoon.
Direction: From the Ulsan KTX station, take bus 323 to the park. This bus only comes once every 1 1/2 hours, so consider taking a taxi for the 20-minute ride. From the bus stop, walk to the first intersection and take a right, then stay straight through the second intersection and look for the entrance on the left. WARNING: the bus stop is over a kilometer from the entrance.
