Korea

We leave Seoul and move to the mountains of Pyeonchang. After an early breakfast and checkout of the hotel, a taxi drops us at Seoul Station. Taxis are plentiful in Seoul. Standard taxis have different colors depending on their region; the standard taxis in Seoul are generally orange. The metropolitan areas and other cities feature many silver colored standard taxis. Blue sedan taxis are enviromentally friendly electric cars. Taxi fare for electric taxis costs the same as the regular standard taxis. Deluxe taxis are black with a yellow sign on the top. Both sides of the taxi have the Deluxe Taxi sign. They offer slightly more passenger space and a higher standard of service than regular taxis. This means that the basic fare and the fare for additional distance are higher than regular taxis, but there is no late-night surcharge, excluding in Daegu. Deluxe taxis can generally be found at stands located in front of hotels, stations, bus terminals, and major city streets.

Seoul train station is the primary terminus for the KTX and express services to Busan or Mokpo. The station is also served by about a dozen trains per day on the Honam Line and its express Gwangju station and Mokpo.

AREX express trains provide service to Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 station. Service began December 29, 2010. Seoul Subway serves the station with Line 1 and Line 4, and an hourly train on the Gyeongui–Jungang Line.

A giant display reminds all of us about the Winter Olympics of the past week en the coming Paralympics

The KTX Train to take is the Gyeonggang line running from Seoul Station passing Pyeongchang and ending at Gangneung on the east coast. We get off in Jinbu station, close to our booked Starvill Pension. Departure is still an hour away and Jas is looking for some merienda to take on the train.

This looks great for a snack on the train

Expensive Valentine cakes still on sale weeks after Valentine..."

Time to get on the train. Jas get exited when the landscapes turn white. It takes about 90 minutes to reach Jinbu. The owner of Starvill pension house awaits us in the train station. With "google translate" the owner introduces himself and drives us to his place. He explains that the busy days of the winter Olympics are over and all guests have left. It is a unique winter event for him because most of his regular guests come in summer time. On arrival both man & wife of the pension house helps us to the room with the needed instructions. There is no in-house restaurant but luckily we have leftovers from what we bought in Seoul with us and can survive the rest of the day. The room has all the amenities you need, a bathroom with amenities, a fully equipped kitchen, TV and high speed Internet. The room temperature is warm to hot. We go out for a stroll in the area to enjoy the clean fresh air. If you need a place to relax, away from the hustle & bustle, this is it.

• Green houses
• Train stop in the snow
• More snowy landscapes
• Close to our destination
• Arrived in Jinbu
• Owner of the Pension House pick up
• Tourist info board 
• Narrow roads
• Getting the luggage to the upper floor.
• Lugage lift
• In the room. Some last instructions from the owner
• View from the balcony of the room.
• Stroll in the middle of nowhere
• Agriculture land
• Even the rabbits found a home here
• Quiet winter life but no poverty here
• Even in the middle of nowhere, high speed mobile telecoms
• Rock next to pension house
• Panoramic view of pension house. We are on the top right room (balcony)

Pyeongchang (in full, Pyeongchang-gun) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about 180 km (110 mi) east southeast of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and connected by expressways and high-speed passenger railways. Pyeongchang's slogan, "Happy 700 Pyeongchang", is taken from its average elevation of approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft).

History

Pyeongchang region was ruled by the Goguryeo Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, and it was called Uk-o-hyeon (욱오현). After the Silla dynasty conquered the Goguryeo Dynasty and Baekje Dynasty, it was renamed Baek-o-hyeon (백오현).

After the Goryeo Dynasty was established, it renamed Pyeongchang-hyeon. Then, it was under control of Wonju. When a 10-provincial system was enforced, the north of Pyeongchang region was involved in Sakbang-do, and the south of the region was involved in Jungwon-do. When a new administrative system was carried out by King Hyeonjong, the east of the region was involved in Dong-gyeo, and the rest of it was included in Yanggwang-do. An administrator for the region was sent from the central government, and it became independent of Wonju in 1299.

When the Joseon Dynasty was founded in 1392, the region was promoted from a hyeon to a county (gun). After the territory was divided into 8 Provinces under the reign of King Taejong, it was involved in Gangwon-do. After the territory was divided into 23 districts in 1895 with the 8-provincial system abolished, it was included in Chugju-bu. When a 13-provincial system was enacted in 1896, it was involved in Gangwon-do.