Opposites that attract in South Korea

The Life: Business travellers to South Korea often remain in Seoul. But there are plenty of sites to see beyond the capital.

The Bulguksa temple in Gyeongjiu, South Korea. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo)

Seoul is an endless array of coffee shops, clothing boutiques and the towering headquarters of conglomerates. To leave the capital for the country is to go back in time.

Start with Gyeongju, the former seat of the Shilla empire. Buddhist temples thousands of years old sit among serene gardens of the sort a five-star resort might try to replicate. Slanting sunlight casts a golden glow on colourful statues guarding the gates and small stacks of pebbles, each representing a wish from a visitor.

The stone stairs at the entrance to each temple have been carved narrowly to nudge the visitor into going down sideways or, better yet, backwards; it is rude to turn one's back to the golden Buddha inside.

Other marks of a bygone time remain, such as a small stone pagoda stolen by foreign invaders and now returned to South Korean soil, said our guide on a recent visit to the country.

"Foreign invaders from where?" asked a Japanese man in our group.

The local guide is too polite to admit until pressed that the pagoda thieves hailed, in fact, from Japan.

Hospitality is something tourists and tourism officials alike love to say abounds in many nations; South Korea is one of those few places where it really exists.

We were asked in coffee shops questions such as, "My study group is coming. Will it bother you if we make noise?"

Take the opposite path from Geongju and you end up in Daejeon, the science centre of South Korea.

End your day meeting solar power researchers and their lab-coated assistants with a meal at Bibi Space, a western-style restaurant that showcases modern Korean art in its gallery. The centre of Daejeon, however, is rich in remnants of old times, with signs only in Korean.

From there, the train ride back to Seoul passes in a blink.

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