Hanok Guest House Experience
The primary reason which brings us to Gyeongju is to experience a traditional Hanok stay, and after shortlisting several places from the likes of Agoda and Airbnb, we came across this hidden gem.
Located only a stone throw away from the bus terminal, this was one of the main reasons that we decided to choose this due to the heavy winter luggage that we would be dragging alongside with us in the cold. The plan is also to find a convenient spot as we only have a day to go.
We are on the much quieter side of Gyeongju street as shops and stalls go to sleep really early at around 6-8pm. However, our saving grace is perhaps a heartwarming diner that is located beside the bus terminal (possibly to serve the drivers), and also some global f&b (Dal.komm Coffee, Mcdonald's, and Starbucks). Starbucks definitely caught my attention because of its amazing exterior.
Our room is on the second floor, and of course, for the traditional experience, we'll have to pull our luggage up. It is no crazy feat but it'll take quite a bit of effort of course. Our humble accommodation is a single room apartment with an attached bathroom with showers. The living area would also double as our sleeping area, with 2 traditional floor mattress (or is it called Yo?). We'd a TV, a place to hang clothes and also a small table at the side. This would be our humble abode for the day before we head off towards Jeju.
The bathroom area is decent and it is not too squeezy and small. The water pressure is pretty good and yes there are warm showers for you weaklings out there. Though not one of the best (Best goes to Jeju of course), this one isn't too shabby. I didn't have a habit of staying in for long showers so I'm done before I know it.
It is also much to my delight after that we are living pretty near the Wolseong Belt, a string of UNESCO heritage gems that lies only about 20minutes walk away from us. It might be arguable that it isn't as close as it is, but it is best to walk due to the not so convenient bus frequency in this area. I'll be covering the Wolseong Belt in one of my write up as a whole.
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After getting take-outs back, we finally get to experience our accommodations peacefully. We bought cakes and coffee, had TV on while we channel surf. We settled on the wrestling channel as trust me, there is nothing much except eSports or this. Maybe we are just really bad at channel surfing and the Tekken tournament is just over. We ventured out for a bit after having cakes and chills, to look at the surrounding area and also to check out the other amenities.
My highlight is actually the common area where bread and spread are provided. Of course, you'll have to keep the area clean. I love how they use post-it to stick to our door to minimize disturbance and it is also truly sweet of our Airbnb host.
The ultimate highlight is actually the radio that's on 24/7, and it is the old school vintage radio with the sliding dial that moves through the frequency channel. It adds a really warm vibe in such a cold night. There is also a water dispenser too if you need anything.
After exploring, we actually ran into Jung Hyun (If I remember the name correctly), who is here to help his mum ran the place. We chatted briefly, for an hour or so but yet his hospitality is incredibly heartwarming as he wanted to get us some drinks when he asked if we like beer. We politely decline, as much as we would love to, we have to get up at 6 tomorrow to head over to Jeju. We talked about a lot of other things, from hobbies to random cultural snippets of South Korea and how he is going to get married this coming September and he'll go back to his hometown in Gumi. It is really nice to socialize with a local (finally), and I really do kinda miss socializing after staying in the apartment for such a long time. We ended the night exchanging handshakes and it is incredibly heartwarming to get back to post-it note asking us to help ourselves with breakfast and greetings. This is a place that I'll come to stay again if I'm pulling luggages in Gyeongju. I like how convenient this whole place is to set up camp and the retro and unique common area sets this Hanok Guest House apart from many others.
Thank you for having us and I hope so stay with you nice folks again the next time I'm visiting Gyeongju!
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