Tigers & Magpies travel editor, Eddie Provencher, is an American citizen who first came to the Korean peninsula in September 2006 to teach English, learn Korean, and to have a cultural experience. Since coming to Korea Eddie has grown to love teaching English, has passed the Test of Proficiency In Korean (TOPIK) Level 4, and has had many deep cultural experiences.
In the spring of 2009 Eddie took a 3 month break from teaching English to travel in Korea. Through this experience, Eddie developed a sincere appreciation for the natural beauty of the landscape, for the culinary tastes of the nation, and for the warmth and kindness of the Korean people.
Here on Tigers & Magpies you will find Korean travel reports and photos so that you can learn a little bit more about the Korean peninsula, and so that you too can travel and have a travel experience worth remembering and cherishing.
Gangwon-do is Korea’s most northeastern province. It’s famous for being especially mountainous in an already mountain packed country. Gangwon-do’s beautiful landscape boasts three national parks: Seoraksan (1,708m), Odaesan (1,563), and Chiaksan (1,288m), and three provincial parks: Taebaeksan (1567m), Gyeongpo, and Naksan. On the southern edge of Gangwon-do bordering Chungcheongbuk-do, is where you’ll find Taebaeksan Provincial [...]
The Gangneung Danoje Festival (강릉단오제) is a 1000 year old tradition of praying to mountain deities for a healthy and prosperous year for the community. In 2005, it became the third Korean cultural tradition to be recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Before it, “The Royal Ancestral Ritual in the Jongmyo [...]
Named for the five plains that lie between its peaks, Odaesan Mountain National Park (오대산국립공원), located in Gangwon-do, offers hikers and nature enthusiasts a chance to experience the great outdoors. The highest peak of the range is Birobong (비로봉) at 1,563m. The trail I wound up following took me to Noinbong (노인봉) at 1,338m. The [...]