The Next Big Thing From Korea: K-Biking

‘Hallyu, a.k.a., the Korean Wave, has put South Korea on the culture map in recent years – think K-Pop superstars BTS, big and small screen hits like Parasite and Squid Game, and the K-Beauty craze – but the country is still off many travellers’ radar. That’s changing, and for good reason. Especially if you like to travel on two wheels.”
– Christina Palassio, Globe & Mail, July 17, 2024

The lucky cyclists on the 2024 edition of the Journey to the East Cycling Tour included a Canadian journalist, Christina Palassio, for the Land of the Morning Calm section in Korea from Seoul to Busan. Christina was there to write about the experience of cycling through the country and report on her adventure for the Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe & Mail.

Christina on the road in Korea

She was surprised to find that, “Chatting with my fellow riders on the tour…I learned that most had joined the trip for the Japan section” but “by the time we neared the finish line, after some tough climbs in the Busan Alps, we all agreed that we’d discovered something unexpected and special.”

Christina wrote, “The great thing about bike travel is that you can see the major sights, and you can see the small and quirky everyday stuff, too: seniors exercising at calisthenics machines, traditional hanok houses with their tiled roofs made from burned soil, and their rows of onggi, the pots used to ferment kimchi, and the many cute cafés that popped up seemingly out of nowhere” and concluded that “Forget music, movies and makeup – the next Korean Wave phase should be K-biking.”

You can read her full article here.

Come to Korea and Bike the Journey to the East Cycling Tour!

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