About Meagan & Dave | HappilyEverExpat.com

Meagan is from Texas and Dave is Australia. They met and fell in love with South Korea. They've continued living the nomadic expat lifestyle and are currently residing in Kazakhstan.

Daegu Bodypainting Festival Turns Nearly Nude Models into Exquisite Works of Art

Daegu Bodypainting Festival | LifeOutsideOfTexas.comEvery year artists from all over the world gather in Daegu, South Korea to compete in the Daegu International Bodypainting Festival. The entire festival is so fascinating because you can watch the models’ bare skin transform into gorgeously painted canvases in a matter of hours.

The festival is broken up into two categories: Bodypainting and Fantasy Make-up. In the bodypainting competition, the models are nearly naked; most only wear underwear and tape over their breasts. The artists are given six hours to complete their masterpiece. The participants are judged on technique, originality and overall completion.

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Garden of the Morning Calm is the most beautiful place that I’ve been in Korea!

 

The Garden of the Morning Calm has been on my list of places to see for a long time, but I’ve never had a chance to get there because it’s pretty out of the way. Having a car in Korea can be really liberating so when we had a three day weekend we decided to make the most of it and explore some of the northern parts of Korea that we hadn’t previously visited.

Garden of the Morning Calm... the most beautiful place that I've been in Korea! Continue reading

Beautiful Sunrise and Hydrangeas at Taejongdae in Busan

I love traveling around Korea! I spend a lot of time scouring the internet for the best places to visit and because of that my list of places to see in Korea is a mile long. When I saw that there was a hydrangea flower festival going on in Busan last weekend I immediately told Dave we had to go. Luckily for me, Dave usually just goes along with my crazy ideas and spends most of his weekends driving us all over Korea (he’s a keeper!).

I used my irresistible charm to talk Dave into waking up verrrrry early so that we could get to Taejongdae in time to watch the sunrise. That’s a pretty big ask considering the sun comes up around 5am and we live an hour and a half away from the park. Not only that, but once we got to the park it was a bit of a hike to get to the lighthouse.

Sunrise over Taejongdae

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Places to see in Gyeongju: Lotus Ponds & Summer Flowers

I’ve heard a lot of people complain about Korea just being a concrete jungle with no green spaces. These people must never get out of their small little bubbles because Korea is such a beautiful country. Summer in Korea can be hot and humid, but it’s still one of my favorite seasons because of how all of the trees and plants perk up and turn a stunning shade of green. It can be really breathtaking driving through the countryside this time of year.

Another great thing about summer in Korea is that the lotuses bloom! I’d never actually seen a real lotus until I came to Korea. I was so excited when we found the lotus ponds in Gyeongju two summers ago.

Lotus Ponds in Gyeongju, Korea

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Ulsan, South Korea has an entire festival dedicated to whaling!

When most people think of Ulsan, one word usually comes to mind: industry. Ulsan is home to a giant car manufacturing plant, shipyards and even chemical plants. Not everyone knows about Ulsan’s rich history. Migratory whales have been swimming in the waters near Ulsan since the prehistoric times, long before Hyundai moved to town and turned this area into the major city that it is today. Whale hunting was a large part of the livelihood of the early inhabitants of Ulsan and because of that, the people of Ulsan are very proud of their history of whaling. The city mascot is even a whale.

Taehwagang Grand Park in Ulsan, South Korea

Whale landscaping at Taehwagang Grand Park

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Things To Do In Gyeongju: Gyeongju Tower

Gyeongju is my absolute favorite city in Korea. It was the ancient capital of Korea so it’s extremely rich in history. There are tons of things to do in Gyeongju so I recommend taking at least a few days to explore as much of this amazing city as possible.

When I’m in Gyeongju, I always love driving by the Gyeongju Tower. It’s a 30-story tower with a giant pagoda cut right out of the middle. It’s really impressive, and it’s an observation tower so you can go up inside of it! Continue reading

Haeundae Sand Festival in Busan

Haeundae Sand Festival in Busan

This weekend we were among the thousands of people to attend the sand sculpture festival in Busan. Artists from all over the world came to create amazing sculptures out of the beautiful sand from Haeundae Beach. Continue reading

How to Pronounce Korean Words… Without Learning Hangul!

How To Pronounce Korea Words Without Learning Hangul | LifeOutsideOfTexas.com

Even though learning hangul, the Korean alphabet, will make your life in Korea infinitely easier, I know a lot of people can’t be bothered to study a language for a place they’ll only live for a year or so. That’s why I’m going to teach you how to pronounce words in Korean, the easy way! Continue reading

How To Use a Toilet in Korea

How to use a toilet in Korea When traveling abroad, everything you know about how to perform daily activities can suddenly be turned upside down. Even something as simple as how you go to the bathroom can completely change the instant you arrive on foreign soil. To help ease the culture shock, I have put together a list of everything you need to know about how to use a toilet in South Korea. Continue reading

Four Abandoned Places on Jeju Island You Didn’t Know Existed

Guest Post by Leah, The Vegetarian Traveller:

Korea is a curious place. Sometimes, things that go on here just can’t be explained logically or rationally; sometimes, they’re a bit too logical.  Living on Jeju-do allows me to be surrounded by some of the most beautiful nature that Korea has to offer, making it a typical tourist hotspot for Koreans and foreigners alike.  However, there is more to Jeju than awesome hiking and strange museums, and I was completely unaware of it until a few weeks ago.  On my birthday, I wanted to do something out of the ordinary.  A few co-workers and I read some rumors about several eerie abandoned places on the island so, naturally, we hopped into a friend’s minivan and decided to search for them.

Abandoned Movie Set Hotel

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