South Korea Travel Guide

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Top Things to See

• See the sights of Seoul: Changdeokung is an exquisite Joseon palace and its picturesque Biwon, (secret gardens) are enchanting. Nearby Jongmyo Shrine contains ancestral tablets of the Joseon Dynasty. The huge National Museum of Korea is both architecturally jaw-dropping and culturally fascinating.

• Also in Seoul, go up N-Seoul Tower (238m/ 776ft), atop landscaped Namsan Mountain. Visit the poignant War Memorial and Museum. Spend time around revitalized Cheonggyecheon Stream, and relax at Olympic Park or World Cup Park. Experience how life was centuries ago at the Korean Folk Village.

• Admire the UNESCO-listed city walls and defenses of Suwon City, with its Hwaseong Fortress.

• Hike, check out relics and visit the temples and fortress in the mountains of the Bukhansan National Park. They are some of the most favored in Korea, and they’re not far outside Seoul.

• Jump on Korea’s pride and joy, the KTX high-speed train, launched in 2004 and capable of traveling at 300kph (186mph). Take it to the bustling port of Busan to see Jagakhi Fish Market (not for the squeamish), Busan Tower and Beomeosa Temple.

• Visit Korea’s ‘museum without walls’ Gyeongju, near Busan. The capital of the Silla Kingdom for 1,000 years, it is packed with history and Buddhist culture, all designated by UNESCO as one of the world’s 10 most historically significant sites.

• Soak up the wonderful atmosphere of Bulguksa Temple. This large wooden temple is beautifully painted. A winding road high on the mountain above leads to the Seokguram Grotto, with the magnificent granite Buddha, looking serenely down through his protective glass case.

• Head west of Daegu to the Mount Gayasan National Park, at the center of which is Haeinsa, Korea’s best-known temple. It houses the extraordinary UNESCO-listed Tripitaka Koreana: 80,000 wooden printing blocks engraved with the complete Buddhist scriptures. Completed in 1252 after 16 years of work, it is still in perfect condition.

• Travel to the Hallyeo Maritime National Park in the southeast for a cruise around the archipelago, dotted with 400 islands. This is where Admiral Yi Sun-Sin (an Admiral Nelson-figure) defeated the Japanese in the sea battles of the 16th century.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.

Top Things to Do

• Learn about Korea’s Buddhist heritage by experiencing the serenity of a temple. The country has over 10,000 temples and 20,000 monks and you can stay at some of them, practising meditation, lantern-making, tea ceremonies and simple elements of Buddhism.

• Shop until you drop in the myriad markets and malls of Seoul (see Going Out), with many shops providing special duty-free prices for foreigners.

• Join in the Korean love of theme parks. Try Lotte World in Seoul or head to the Everland leisure complex, an hour outside the city.

• Go on an excursion to the demiliitarised zone (DMZ) and the truce village of Panmunjeom, one hour from Seoul, on the border with North Korea, where the 1953 armistice negotiations took place. Access is possible only on an official tour.

• Hike in the three national parks, Seoraksan, Odaesan and Chuwangsan, each accessible from the East Coast highway. Seoraksan National Park, the northernmost, is widely considered to offer the most beautiful scenery in Korea.

• For winter sports, head to the Alps Ski Resort. There are 13 ski resorts within four or five hours of Seoul. The city of Pyeongchang has plenty of action, such as the Dragon Valley (Yongpyong), but has failed in two recent Winter Olympics bids. Odaesan National Park is also famous for its ski resorts.

• Go to Korea’s ‘honeymoon island’ of Jeju-do, off the southwest coast. Here, follow the trail to the summit of Mount Hallasan, Korea’s highest mountain at 1,950m (6,400ft), looking out for the atmospheric ‘stone grandfather’ statues (made from black lava) all over the island, spectacular waterfalls and the volcanic scenery of Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak.

• Watch or take part in T’aekwondo (the main martial art practiced in Korea) at Gyeonghuigung Palace in Seoul.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.