Suwon
The World Heritage–listed fortress wall that encloses the original town of Suwon is what brings most travellers to the city. Snaking up and down Paldal…
Must-see attractions in South Korea
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
One of Seoul's five grand palaces built during the Joseon dynasty, Deoksugung (meaning Palace of Virtuous Longevity) is the only one you can visit in the…
Gyeongsangbuk-do
This delightful traditional riverside village – a Unesco World Heritage site – is a place to commune with the traditional fabric of old Korea and, in the…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
This vast and imposing concrete slab of a museum takes visitors on a fascinating journey through Korea's past from prehistory all the way to the Korean…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
This large and pleasant park was the focus of the 1988 Olympics. Strolling its paths takes you past its stadiums surrounded by plenty of greenery, ponds…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
This huge museum documents the history of the Korean War (1950–53) using multimedia exhibits and black-and-white documentary footage, along with artefacts…
Jeonju
This maeul (village) has more than 800 hanok (traditional wooden homes), making it one of the largest such concentrations in the country. Virtually all of…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Located in the heart of ritzy Gangnam, the shrines and halls of the Buddhist temple Bongeun-sa, with its tree-filled hillside location, stand in direct…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Located in a park at the foot of Namsan, this peaceful village is a wonderful spot to encounter traditional Korean culture. It features five differing…
Seoul
Providing terrific photo opportunities, Korea's largest fish market supplies every kind of aquatic life form to restaurants, fish shops and the general…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
You could spend all day in this swarming night-and-day market and not see it at all. The largest market in Korea, each section has hundreds of stalls,…
Busan
This magnificent temple is Busan’s best sight. Despite its city location, Beomeo-sa is a world away from the urban jungle, with beautiful architecture set…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
Amid the celebrity-owned apartments on the leafy southern slope of Namsan is Korea's premier art gallery. Beautifully designed and laid-out, it balances…
Busan
Anyone with a love of seafood and a tolerance for powerful odours could easily spend an hour exploring the country’s largest fish market. Narrow lanes…
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Gangneung
Revered as the birthplace of the paragon of Korean womanhood, Sin Saimdang (1504–51), and her son, the philosopher and government official Yi Yulgok (1536…
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Gangwon-do
Of all the things you’d expect to find in a fishing village like Sinnam (신남), a ‘penis park’ is probably not one of them. There are more than 50 phallic…
Jeju-do
This majestic 182m-high, extinct tuff volcano, shaped like a giant punchbowl, is one of Jeju-do's most impressive sights and a Unesco World Heritage site…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
The iconic N Seoul tower (236m), atop the city’s guardian mountain Namsan, offers panoramic views of this immense metropolis from its observation deck…
Busan
This historically rich, mountainside slum became a tourist destination after an arty makeover in 2009, when students decided to brighten up the…
Jeollanam-do
Sandy walking trails wend through this bamboo grove, past pavilions and film locations for Korean dramas. It's one of the area's most popular attractions…
Busan
Haeundae is the country’s most famous beach. During the peak August travel season, umbrellas mushroom across the 2km-long beach while frolickers fill the…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Hyundai Development Company commissioned Daniel Libeskind to work with Seoul-based firm Himma on its headquarters opposite COEX Mall. The result, Tangent,…
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Gangnam & Southern Seoul
This huge complex includes an amusement park, an ice-skating rink, a cinema multiplex, a department store, a folk museum, a shopping mall, a hotel,…
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Gangwon-do
Sangwon-sa's intricately decorated bronze bell was cast in AD 725 and is the oldest bell in Korea (and one of the largest as well). Another prized object…
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Seoul
This 6.3km park, named for the former Gyeongui Line (on which it was built), is a narrow, long green space that runs along the discarded railroad tracks…
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Gyeongju
The huge, walled park has 23 tombs of Silla monarchs and family members. From the outside, they resemble substantial grassy hillocks that echo the…
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Jeju-si
One of the island's most interesting art projects, Arario has four galleries in renovated buildings in and around the Tapdong area hosting permanent and…
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Daegu
This red brick structure is one of the city's historic churches. Within the church is a fascinating history of the building and a collection of Bibles and…
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Gyeongju
Near the main shopping area is the Noseo-dong district, where you'll find Silla tombs. Seobongchong and Geumgwanchong are adjacent tombs built between the…
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Jeju-do
The educational Jeju Folk Village gathers together traditional buildings from across the island (some reconstructions, others hundreds of years old) in an…
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Daegu
This excellent museum has English labelling throughout most of its collection – and what a collection. Armour, jewellery, Buddhist relics from various…
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Daegu
An icon and motif of Daegu, this lovely cruciform church is quite a sight, with its twin spires. Originally constructed in wood, the first incarnation…
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Seoul
Funded by Korea’s top tobacco company, this visually striking building is home to an art-house cinema, a concert space (hosting top indie bands) and…
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Seogwipo
This popular 22m-high waterfall is reached after a 10-minute walk through a beautifully forested, steep gorge. The waterfall can be impressive following…
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Mokpo
This is the only museum in Korea dedicated to the country’s maritime history. The highlights are two shipwrecks, one dating from the 11th century and the…
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Jeju-si
Thoughtful and evocative, this museum chronicles the events that led up to and followed the ‘April 3 Incident’ – a series of island massacres between 1947…
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Gyeongju
Sprouting huge trees of vast girth, this is the largest extant Silla tomb – 22m high, with a 250m circumference. It's quite a picture at any time put…
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Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
A good example of Deoksugung's potpourri of contrasting architectural styles, the grand neoclassical-style Seokjojeon was designed by British architect GR…
Gyeongju
On a series of stone terraces about 16km southeast of Gyeongju, set among gnarled pines and iris gardens, this historic temple is the crowning glory of…
The DMZ
Unquestionably the highlight of any trip to the DMZ is the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjeom. An improbable tourist destination, it's here where the…
