Family's Vacation in South Korea

I just got home from the airport where I sent-off my family back to the Philippines, after a special weekend spent with them here in Seoul. Finally, all the stress and the worries from whether my mom would get a tourist visa or not, to how I’ll divide her time in spending an out-of-the-country vacation have paid off! I couldn’t be any happier.

My family’s plan to visit South Korea came in at the start of this year, a big hooray to that airline’s promo fare. A couple of months later, I got to see and tour them around the place where I let myself be exiled, hahaha!



The itinerary was made as soon as the bookings were confirmed in January. It was just so easy for my mind to let itself be pre-occupied with such task of making the most out of my family’s four-day vacation. The two months that passed by allowed for some changes to this original plan, though:

How the actual schedule turned up was like this:

Apparently, my family was willing to give up theme-parking for their own personal appointments in Korea.

My two sisters wanted to pay a visit to the Korean student who stayed in our house while he was on a cultural exchange program in the Philippines. Especially my youngest sister, Red, she wanted to pay a visit to the house where she stayed as well, when she earlier went to Busan for the same exchange program.

On the other hand, my mom and “tita” (family friend), wanted to visit this Catholic Church in Naju, South Korea, where a blood-weeping Mama Mary is claimed to have transpired. Both the Naju and Busan trips are hefty four to five-hour travels.

My girls also said “no” to the public bath experience. I think we're just a conservative breed.

There was also no need to go to Seoul Grand Park for the cherry blossoms and the traditional Korean villages, since all have been seen/experienced while on the city bus tour.

The late night to early morning Dongdaemun clothes shopping was so enough for everyone too, that we had to pass up on what Insa-dong, another shopping destination, had to offer the next day.

It has nevertheless been a fun weekend. It’s not really always that I get to bond well with my family. Plus, they got me meet my very accommodating housemates, too.