History:
The characteristics of the Korean people are unique in the world. Its origin is thousand-year-old and the legend of its creation dates back to 3rd millennium BC when Hwanung, "Lord of the Heaven", went down on Paekdusan, Mt Paekdu, current border between China and South Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, -DPRK- creating the kingdom of Chosong, "The Land of the Morning Calm". Since the peninsula did not know any ethnic minority, it is a homogeneous people.

---- From 2333 BC to the beginning of our era, the mythical Kingdom of Joseon -Chosong- created by Dangun -Hwanung- reigned on the peninsula. At that time the writing was not known. Only the Chinese chronicles of the previous century of our era mentioned it. Its capital would have been in the current North Korea which excavated Dangun's tomb close to Pyongyang in 1993.

---- By 57 BC to 668 AD three Kingdoms emerged. The Kingdom of Goguryeo -Koguryo- extended from the north up to Pyongyang. The Kingdom of Baekje -Paekche- occupied the area around current Seoul. Finally the Kingdom of Shilla -Silla- is established in the south.

---- From 668 AD to 930 the Kingdom of Shilla unified the peninsula with the help of the Tang dynasty of China introducing the Chinese culture, arts and religions, Buddhism, Confucianism. The capital of Gyeongju was known like the City of Gold.

---- From 930 to 1392 Wang Geon conquered the Kingdom of Shilla and founded the Goryeo dynasty from which the name of Korea with the current borders including the north and the south. The capital of the Kingdom was in Kaesong 76 km away from Seoul in North Korea.

---- In 1231 the Mongolian armies broke in the peninsula obliging the royalty to take refuge in the island of Ganghwa-do. Thousands of Korean was enlisted to invade Japan from 1274 to 1281. Typhoons, "Divine Wind" -kamikaze- swept the fleet.

---- From 1292 to 1910 the General Yi Seong-gye founded the longest and last Korea's dynasty taking again the name of Joseon with Seoul as capital. It was called "The Hermit Kingdom" by an author in the 19th century who never visited it. The new dynasty exiled the Buddhist monks in the mountains and promoted the Confucianism with the passage of a society quasi matriarchal to a patriarchal one  relegating the woman in domestic tasks. The contemporary society so much in the North than in the South remains marked by the Confucian culture. Starting from 1637 Korea paid tribute to China three times every year.

---- From 1592 to 1597 Japan invades Korea with 150,000 men devastating the country. They were pushed back at the time of a naval battle under the command of the admiral Yi Sun-sin of whom the statue throne in Seoul.

---- In 1895 the Japanese troops came back, Korea became a colony under the bloody Japanese cane. Hundreds of thousands of men were put in slavery in industries and mines, hundreds of thousands of young women became the "comfort women" of Nipponese soldiers.

---- 15/08/1945 Japan's surrendering after the bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was followed by the partition of Korea along the 38th parallel.

---- In 1948 both Korea became republics, quite different.

---- From the 25/06/1950 to the 27/07/1953 Korean war devastated the two countries and made more than three million deaths.

---- From 1953 to 1992 South Korea knew an animated political life.

---- In 1992 the election of Kim Young-Sam was marked by an extraordinary economic boom and the opening of talks with the North Korea obliterated since by the nuclear gesticulations. In 2007 Lee Myung-bak, called -bulldozer- was elected as president. He is protestant.

----On 11 & 12 November 2010, the G20 meeting in Seoul gave a flash of spotlight on this small country with blazing prosperity and crawling impoverishment. It aspires to be the third world economic power in 2050.

---- On November 23, 2010 the North Korea drew more than one hundred of shells on the Yeonpyeong island pertaining to South Korea making four dead and ten eight injured people. International analysts interpreted this attact an attempt as ruler's power proof intended to reinforce it at the time of the power passing on. At no moment the population of Seoul appeared anxious.

Cultural facts:
The Korean social behaviour is articulated around two complementary principles, harmony and hierarchy from Confucian philosophy. Everyone must know his place in the social ladder by age, occupation, university status etc.

Four spiritual streams occupy religious space. The Shamanism is a communication system with spirits in some occasions, to cure diseases, at the time of the burial… Buddhism was introduced in 370 AD by the Goguryeo dynasty. Some temples have a hall of the three-spirit Shamanism. Buddhism canon -the three baskets or Tripitaka- were engraved in 81,340 woodblocks preserved in the monastery of Haein-sa. The Confucianism, appeared in China during the turbid period of the Combatant Kingdoms (555-479bc), became the philosophy of State of the Kingdom of Jeoson during 500 years. It always constitutes the bases of the Korean social behaviour. Finally the Christianity was imported by Jesuits via the Chinese Imperial court. A third of the population is either Catholic or Protestant.

In spite of scholar controversies the Korean language belongs to the Ural-Altaic family to which Turkish and Mongolian belong to. Of course Chinese, Japanese and Anglo-American contributions were introduced. At the beginning was Chinese writing like currently for Japanese. It underwent two evolutions. The first one was the scientific creation of the Hangeul alphabet in 1443 under the aegis of King Sejong who wished that the small people have access to writing and reading, democratization of knowledge.  There are only 24 characters assembled to represent a syllable giving a writing similar to the Chinese pictogram. It was imposed only in 1945. The second evolution was the romanisation, transcription in Latin writing, of the language as from the year 2000 pushed by the government and the tourist office. One understands easily why, economic expansion obliges. It would not be surprising that the Latin script replace the Hanguel in common life.

The population is 49,1 million inhabitants including 24,5 million in the Great Seoul which is the second greater agglomeration in the world after Tokyo. Four cities are more million inhabitants, Busan (3,5), Daegu (2,5), Daejeon (1,5) & Gwangju (1,4). The density of the population is 480 per sq km in average. The birth rate is of 1.19 child per woman. The foreigners account for 1.4% of the population including Chinese 45%.

South Korea has a surface of 96.920 sq km being similar to Portugal. It is a peninsula with only one land border with the North Korea. Its overall length from the north to the south is 500 km and the narrowest part is 220 km from the east to the west. Landscape is characterized by forested mountains whose summit is the Mt Hallasan in the island of Jeju-do.

I Team:
My MAN truck was on a vessel to sail from Brisbane to Vancouver BC, Canada. During this time I visited Korea then Japan as backpacker.

II Journey:
The journey consisted in going from Seoul to Busan by intercity buses and visiting sights either by local buses or on foot.
2.1 the trip: The plan of road was studied in Brisbane, the lived reality differs only by the expenditure realities.
2.2 the road network: Road infrastructure is in perpetual evolution, motorways connect great cities, express roads exist for the medium cities, the remainder consists of sometimes degraded old roads. There is little traffic out of the cities, the traffic is primarily composed of buses and heavy trucks. I noticed an evolution with the presence in great cities some European cars, of course the top-of-the-range ones of Germanic origin. Korean foreign trade opened with the imports.
2.3 The trip as backpacker: This type of trip has the advantages of its disadvantages and vice-et-versa. The advantages are the contacts necessary with the population to be directed. and the use of Tourist Offices. The major disadvantage is time, the dependence on public transport is time consuming. It is necessary to take the first bus at dawn to connect the next one. The frequency of buses is a function of the importance of the cities and the sites to be visited. In the time assigned by the journey by my truck on sea and the visit of Japan it was impossible for me to see some sites. Buses are comfortable, drivers wear white gloves and greet their colleagues by passing them. For the trip I had a cabin luggage and a good pair of shoes, I had bought  "100% Australian elastic sided boots" in Brisbane.

III Bivouacs:
Of course no bivouac, I went down in budget hotels recommended by Lp. They always have TV often with a large flat-faced screen and sometimes a computer, and in great cities a free connection either by cable or WiFi.

V Supply of food:
According to my practice I lunched in markets and in food courts. Alas Korean restaurants have low tables, it is necessary to seat on ground with crossed legs, impossible position for me.

IV Fluids:
NA

VI Money:
HSBC Bank has agencies in million-inhabitant cities. I withdrew all the money of the budget in Seoul. In Korea payment is still in cash although I noticed the use of local bank cards with an electronic pad for the signature.

VII Guide books:
As before I used Lonely Planet, Lp, with a critical eye considering its ill-considered tendency to panegyric. Tourist Information Centres are generally located at Intercity Bus Terminal with helpful & English-speaking staff and sometimes a document giving buses to visit local sights. Tourist booklets are abundant and very well documented. Alas some sites do not have English subtitled labels.

VIII Passport, visa, border crossing:
Normally to enter Korea one needs a return ticket either by plane or by another transport to leave it. This checking was made at the checking in the airport of Brisbane. On arrival without control I received a free three months VOA.

IX My appreciation:
9.1 I liked:
-- I adored Seoul, its palaces and its museums. The use of subway is easy with a T-money card with English-speaking recharging terminals.
-- The discovery of sites, in week, without any tourist in the cold early morning. On the other hand on weekends Korean families stroll parks in exuberant bands.
-- Budgets hotels recommended by Lp have a sufficient comfort and caretakers are accustomed foreigners.
9.2 I hated:
-- Korean restaurants with low tables.
-- Great cities are modern and the habitat is composed of numbered high-rise buildings.
-- As everywhere in Asia, lato sensu, commercial boards are noisy and colours sharp.
9.3 I regretted:
-- I did not visit the DMZ due to the attack by the North Korea.

X Relevance of the trip by camper :
I had informed the journey in Korea with my truck, I gave up. At the time of the trip by bus I noted that vertical signposts are always subtitled in English. the carriageway signposts and detours for work are in Hangeul only. Motorways are toll ways. I did not see any campsite, but parkings on motorway, carparks of the places of interest and in open country is possible nowhere I did not see prohibition as in Australia.