South Korea

Reasons to go:

1. Seoul

Palaces:

  • Gyeongbokgung Palace - the great palace where you’ll see the most people dressed up in hanbok, making it extra beautiful.
  • Changgyeonggung Palace - another great palace. Entrance at (37.579144, 126.99643). Don’t miss the greenhouse (37.583, 126.994042) with a bonsai collection.
  • Changdeokgung Palace - the most modern of the three great palaces. Entrance at (37.57833, 126.989556). Book the Secret Garden tickets online six days in advance; tickets are released at 10:00 and sell out within seconds. The Secret Garden entrance at (37.57952, 126.99294); you have to arrive in time for the guided tour listed on your ticket, but it is not mandatory to join the tour, so I explored by myself instead. If after Changdeokgung Palace you want to visit Changgyeonggung Palace, you can use the Ham Yang Moon Gate (37.579524, 126.99307).
  • Deoksugung Palace - a fascinating mix of traditional Korean architecture and Western architecture. The only palace open until late - this is your chance to explore a Korean palace after dark.
  • If four palaces are not enough, there is also Gyeonghuigung Palace and Unhyeongung Palace.

Museums and art galleries:

  • National Museum of Korea - fascinating museum. Free.
  • Leeum Museum of Art - part museum (free), part art gallery (not free). Traditional Korean Art Collection in M1 building is incredible; free, leave an ID as a deposit to get a free audio guide. Exploring temporary art exhibitions (not free) and M2 building is on my wishlist.
  • Seosomun Shrine History Museum - worth visiting for the magnificent architecture, even if you are not interested in the content of it. Located mostly underground, so look for a path/staircase leading down, for example this one (37.559812, 126.96982). Free.
  • Korean Stone Art Museum - indoor and outdoor collection of stone sculptures, and a modern art gallery. Not free. Conveniently there is a bus stop just outside the museum. If you don’t get a chance to visit, you can see a similar, if much smaller, collection of stone sculptures outside National Folk Museum of Korea (free) - explore between the entrance (37.57962, 126.97933) and the Twelve Zodiacs (37.581165, 126.97822).
  • Art galleries (free) around Yeollin Songhyeon Square: Gallery Hyundai, Kukje Gallery, Hakgojae, Gallery Knot. In between gallery visits, grab a pastry from Salt 24 bakery and relax in the quiet tourist-free park in front of Jeongdok Library (37.580659, 126.983089).
  • National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA Seoul) - it’s huge, check for temporary exhibitions online. Not free.
  • Whitestone Gallery Seoul - cool art gallery, and a rooftop with good views. Free.
  • On my wishlist: Pace Gallery, National Palace Museum of Korea (free, including the water clock), War Memorial of Korea (huge war museum, free), Arario Gallery Seoul and/or Arario Museum in Space, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Deoksugung inside Deoksugung Palace, Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA).

Other stuff (free):

  • ★ Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain - daily 20 minute shows in the evening. Pick two consecutive shows. Watch the first one from the middle of Jamsu Bridge, the bridge that is directly below Banpo Bridge. This is an amazing experience; the beginning of the show seen from the bridge is particularly memorable, so get to the middle of the east side pedestrian walkway of Jamsu Bridge before it starts (but not too early, you don’t want to catch the tail of the previous show). Then walk over to (37.512642, 126.998987) and watch the second show with everyone else. Afterwards you could walk around Some Sevit.
  • ★ Seoul City Wall walk. See blogs by Hallie and Ashley. I hiked from Sungnyemun Gate (Namdaemun), via viewpoint at (37.583839, 126.963951), library with toilets at (37.586521, 126.96206), Bugaksan Mountain (37.592998, 126.97373) and Cheongundae Peak viewpoint at (37.594739, 126.97519), to Sukjeongmun Gate (37.595531, 126.981084). Next time I’ll walk the whole wall, including Hyehwamun Gate (Dongsomun), Heunginjimun Gate (Dongdaemun) and Gwanghuimun Gate; and finishing at sunset at a good viewpoint.
  • ★ Seochon Hanok Village - this large area directly west of Gyeongbokgung Palace is much fun to explore, (37.579833, 126.96933) is a good place to start. Great coffee at Walking Around cafe. On my wishlist: Ground Seesaw Seochon (art gallery), Rogpa Tea Stall (Tibetan restaurant).
  • Yeollin Songhyeon Square is wonderful and it is surrounded by architecturally exciting buildings.
  • Jogyesa Temple - an old temple, fun to explore.
  • Seoul City Hall - a modern building in contrast to the adjacent old City Hall (now Seoul Metropolitan Library). Come during working hours to take the elevator up to Sky Plaza (the journey in the elevator is more fun then the destination). The rooftop of Seoul Metropolitan Library is on my wishlist. Depending on what’s going on in Seoul Plaza, it might be fun to come back in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere.
  • Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) - cool architecture by Zaha Hadid. DDP Architecture Tour (English tour at 13:30; free) is the best way to explore this building. I emailed ddptour@seouldesign.or.kr to book, since I didn’t have a NAVER account. Look for the M3 entrance and go up to the first floor where the tour starts. Seeing DDP at night is also very exciting.
  • Cheonggyecheon stream park starting from Cheonggye Plaza is magical between sunset and 22:00. Exploring the whole length of Cheonggyecheon stream during the day from Cheonggye Plaza to Cheonggyecheon Museum is on my wishlist.
  • Seoullo 7017 - a former highway redeveloped into a 1km long park, between this entrance (37.558093, 126.97781) and the urban art space Docking Seoul (37.556166, 126.96962). I explored it in the evening when the park and Culture Station Seoul 284 (the old train station) were beautifully lit up. See what’s on at Culture Station Seoul 284 and Docking Seoul.
  • Toegye-ro 20-gil - a fun street with loads of street art; (37.559526, 126.985759) is a good place to start exploring.
  • Myeongdong Shopping Street - fun to explore at night. Line Friends Square is a good place to start.
  • Myeongdong Cathedral is nice. There is also Seoul Anglican Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin and St Nicholas.

Outside central Seoul:

  • Gangnam district. ★ Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs - you can walk up very close to the sculptures at (37.508654, 127.04576) and (37.509463, 127.04726); entrance/tickets at (37.507014, 127.05194). Also visit Bongeunsa Temple and Starfield Library (37.51006, 127.06016). Milestone Coffee is on my wishlist.
  • Seongsu district. Explore exciting architecture between (37.543746, 127.052538) and Common Ground. Then, for contrast, walk through the traditional Norunsan Market (37.536656, 127.064985). Aga Gelato Seongsu - chestnut, tomato and other interesting flavours. Ttukseom Music Fountain in the evening. On my wishlist: Seoul Forest Park, Under Stand Avenue, coffee (Airdrop Coffee Seongsu, Mesh Coffee, Scène), cafes in converted industrial spaces (Daelim Changgo, Onion).
  • Around the World Cup Stadium. ★ Oil Tank Culture Park (free) - visit Tanks 3 (original), 1 (rebuild in glass) and 6 (take the elevator all the way up, see the rooftop and walk down). ★ Haneul Park - flowers in the summer, beautiful grass in the autumn, Seoul Silver Grass Festival in October; aim for the viewpoint at (37.566614, 126.8846); free, unless you want to take a shuttle from (37.566954, 126.89242) to avoid the stairs. Seoul Battleship Park (37.553198, 126.89758) - two ships and a submarine (where you can see the Assembly Hall through the periscope), not free. On my wishlist: Nanji Wetland, and Mapo Agricultural and Marine Products Market.
  • Around Seoul Botanic Park. The botanical garden is the area between (37.567194, 126.83295) and the big greenhouse (37.569359, 126.83572); not free. It is surrounded by large parks (free). The big greenhouse is architecturally exciting, and free to explore from the outside. Gyeomjae Jeongseon Art Museum (not free) is excellent, and Crack Roasters has great coffee.
  • Mullae Artist Village in a former industrial area. To start exploring, aim for (37.514221, 126.896823) and (37.513372, 126.893668). I visited on a weekend evening, it was fun. See blogs here, here and here. There is a red light district just outside Yeongdeungpo metro station, around (37.516202, 126.904686).
  • Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market - 24/7 indoor market that is really fun to explore.
  • Hongdae area. Architecture: KT&G Sangsangmadang building, this building (37.552851, 126.92427), this one (37.551924, 126.923302). Coffee: Anthracite Coffee Hapjeong (my favourite), Remind Coffee, Cowalk Coffee, Malic Coffee, Anthracite Coffee Seogyo (great location, but the focus is on pour overs, there is no espresso machine). On my wishlist: Advance Coffee, Protokoll, 내면의발견 (for inside), Coffee Libre Yeonnam Branch, Limil coffee, Condisco Coffee, Protokoll Roasters, Scent Flow Coffee Roastery, Coffee Lab Keopilaeb Mapo, Perception, Fritz Coffee Company Dohwa. Food: Plant Cafe Seoul Yeonnam - for a quick vegan meal; bakeries Frangerie Sinchon and Dinosaur Factory Bakery; Duongjeu gelato shop is on my wishlist. For running: Gyeongui Line Forest Park (the bit between Hongik University station and Seogangdae station is particularly nice) and Yeontral Park. In the evening - Hongdae Street is where the party is, see if anyone is singing karaoke in the big windows of Soo Karaoke club Hongdae (37.551154, 126.921208).
  • ★ Bukhansan National Park. Uiryeong Pass divides the national park into two parts - Bukha-san and Dobong-san. I did a hike in the Bukha-san part. From Bukhansan Ui metro station it is a short walk to the beginning of the hike (37.658065, 127.0022). I hiked through (37.662255, 126.98699), viewpoint of Insu-bong (37.661753, 126.98527), toilets at (37.658258, 126.9812), this gate (37.657655, 126.97955), Bukhansan peak (37.65863, 126.978), this gate (37.6509, 126.98237) and finished by exploring Samgaksan Doseonsa Temple with toilets (37.655452, 126.9903). On my wishlist is Dobong-san Main Ridge Trail from Mangwolsa station, via Dobongsan Mangwolsa temple, Dobongsan Sinseondae peak and Cheonchuksa temple. See Aurora’s blog.

On my wishlist:

  • Viewpoints of Seoul: Jeongdong Observatory (views of the Deoksugung Palace from the cafe on the 13th floor of the Seoul City Hall Seosomun Building), Namsan Octagonal Pavilion Park Observatory, Sewoon Rooftop.
  • Tasting menu at Mingles, and Jungsik Seoul. Vegetarian options have to be arranged in advance.
  • Seoul Yangnyeongsi Medicine Market, Gyeongdong Market and Starbucks Gyeongdong 1960 Branch (a cool conversion).
  • Seoul City Wall Museum.
  • Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae).
  • Hwangudan (Wongudan) Altar.
  • Gwanghwamun Square and the secret museum underneath the Statue of King Sejong the Great.
  • Ikseon-dong Hanok Village, Insa-dong Culture Street (too touristy?), and the Ten-story Stone Pagoda of Wongaksa Temple Site.
  • Ihwa-dong Mural Village and Naksan Park.
  • Dongnimmun Arch (Independence Gate).
  • Namsan Outdoor Botanical Garden.
  • Hongneung Forest (Arboretum).
  • Namdaemun Market.
  • Mapo Resource Recovery Facility - book a tour in advance.
  • Seoul Robot & AI Museum - exciting architecture by Melike Altinisik Architects.
  • National Aviation Museum of Korea.
  • Yeongdeungpo District: National Assembly Building (email to arrange a tour), Yeouido Hangang Park, Seonyudo Park.
  • Peace Culture Bunker.
  • Sinchon Campus of Yonsei University.
  • Yongma Land - a theme park that used to be abandoned, but is now ticketed again as an abandoned theme park.
  • Hangang Art Park Ichon.
  • West Five Royal Tombs Goyang (Seooreung) and Suguksa Temple (Korea’s only golden Buddhist Temple?).
  • Songpa District: observation deck of Lotte World Tower, Seoul Hanseong Baekje Museum, SOMA Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Songpa Book Museum.
  • Namhansanseong Fortress Temporary Palace and Namhansanseong Park.
  • Ho-Am Art Museum and Samsung Transportation Museum.
  • Nam June Paik Art Center and Kyunggi Museum.
  • Museum SAN near Wonju.
  • Suwon: Suwon Hwaseong Fortress and Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, Suwon Museum of Art, Samsung Innovation Museum, Starfield Suwon (see the library), Mr. Toilet House.
  • Gwacheon: MMCA Gwacheon and Seoul Grand Park.
  • Incheon: Songdo Central Park, Tri-bowl art gallery, G-Tower observation deck, Incheon Art Platform, COSMO 40 cafe. Read about Songdo Smart City.
  • Anyang: Anyang Art Park.

Seoul notes:

  • Arrival at Seoul Incheon Airport is seamless. I bought a sim card, got cash out of ATM, purchased a T-money card from a vending machine (cash only), and took a train towards Seoul station.
  • The best place to stay in Seoul is the Hongdae area. It has many good coffee places, it is super well connected by public transport, and it is very lively in the evenings.
  • You can download Seoul Metro Map here.
  • Taxi apps: Uber, K ride (by Kakao for tourists), Kakao T (I had no luck creating an account). The public transport is amazing, you are unlikely to need a taxi.
  • ★ Drone shows are much fun. Free. If it’s in Ttukseom Hangang Park, north edge of the fountain (37.529903, 127.069725) is a good place to position yourself.
  • Seoul International Fireworks Festival usually in September/October, usually in Yeouido Hangang Park.
  • To avoid queueing for palace tickets, purchase Royal Palace Pass - a booklet with tickets to all 4 palaces, valid for 3 months. I purchased mine in the evening at Deoksugung Palace - that’s a sure way to avoid any queueing. See palace opening hours and tour times here.
  • Bukchon Hanok Village is the only place in South Korea I regret visiting. Tourists elbowing each other to get a perfect photo with the best view was not pretty. Locals are trying to enforce visiting hours to have some respite in the evenings and early mornings.
  • For grocery items you cannot find in E-mart and Lotte, try Foreign Food Mart (37.533443, 126.995651) - they have bean cans. And once you are there, don’t miss Seoul Central Mosque.
  • For all your outdoor clothing and gear needs head to Jongno 5 (37.570436, 127.003907) - there is a wide range of shops. And once you are there, go explore Gwangjang Market.
  • Read about Seoul apartment complexes.
  • Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. As I was planning my trip, I got obsessed with the stone sculptures surrounding royal burial mounds. I wanted to visit as many of them as possible, until I realised that in most places you are not allowed to get close enough to the burial mounds to be able to enjoy the sculptures. Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs in Gangnam are an exception, so definitely don’t skip them. If you want to visit more Royal Tombs, see information about each location here and photos of each location here (scroll down past the palaces). Also read this article. If you want to see some amazing sculptures at least in photos see this album (scroll past the ceremony photos to get to the good bit).
2. ★ Gyeongju, the old Silla capital
  • Gyeongju National Museum - an amazing collection of Silla Kingdom relics. There are 4 buildings to explore (Silla History Gallery, Silla Art Gallery, Wolji Gallery and Special Exhibition Hall) and an outdoor exhibition (including the Bell of King Seongdeok). Free. National Museum of Korea app is a free audio guide.
  • Silla Dynasty Tombs - they are absolutely everywhere between (35.841443, 129.208295), (35.840648, 129.214865) and (35.832566, 129.217203); you won’t miss them. There are (sort of) 3 tombs that you can enter - Cheonmachong (it looks in tacked on the outside), Geumgwanchong (it is more intact on the inside) and Jjosam Ruins Excavation Hall (still a work in progress). Each requires a ticket. I visited Cheonmachong and Geumgwanchong - both were nice but skipable. For a top view of the tombs, try the rooftop of OAR Contemporary Art Museum.
  • Gyeongju National Park with ruins of the old capital. I hiked from (35.798866, 129.20769) to the beautiful pine forest with ancient tombs (35.79743, 129.20891), the great view from the top of this huge rock with ancient carvings (35.79609, 129.21788) and continued up Mt Namsan, trying to score as many “archaeological site” icons on OpenStreetMap as possible. See this blog.
  • Cheomseongdae Observatory and the surrounding park with royal tombs, Cheomseongdae Pink Muhly (if it’s the season), and Lotus Garden and Flower Park. From there you could continue to Woljeonggyo Bridge and Woljeonggyo Stepping Stones.
  • Hanok village just west of the Daereungwon Tomb Complex - a nice place for an evening stroll.
  • The non-touristy part of Gyeongju: I found Hyangilmun Gate of Gyeongju Fortress, this old building (35.846225, 129.21049) and 구 서경사 temple (35.846114, 129.20853). See what you can find. Seongdong Market is more fun than Jungang Market. This fountain (35.840122, 129.213718) is really cute.
  • If you are driving, 경주보문동연화문당간지주 Flagpole Supports with Lotus Design (35.828825, 129.2533) are worth a short detour.
  • Bunhwangsa Temple and Stone Brick Pagoda (35.840585, 129.23362) is not like anything I’ve seen in South Korea. Not sure if it’s worth a visit, unless you are driving. Hwangnyongsa Temple Site nearby was not very interesting.

Gyeongju notes:

  • You could see everything in one day if you really tried, but Gyeongju is an extremely pleasant city, so make it 2 days or more.
  • Baked goods: Tourists are supposed to go to Hwangnamppang Hwangnam Bread Original Store for red bean buns; the queues are long. Instead I went to 브레드몬스터 Bread Monster - the best baked goods I found in Korea, seating upstairs.
  • Coffee: No Words (upstairs) is where you’ll find truly great coffee. For something that opens a bit earlier I tried Hyangmisa and Slept Coffee Shop, both are ok.
  • I skipped these ticketed attractions that seemed less interesting than the free stuff - Donggung Palace, Oreung and Hwangnyongsa History & Culture Hall.
  • The major tour bus hotspot is at (35.835248, 129.215603), so the best place to stay is slightly north of Daereungwon Tomb Complex.
  • There are direct express buses from Gyeongju Intercity Bus Terminal (35.839783, 129.202445) to Busan Airport.
3. Jeju Island
  • Hallasan National Park. There are two trails that lead to the volcano summit, both require a reservation in advance. See blogs by Hallie, Sam and Kim. Since I was not aiming to reach the summit, I did ★ Yeongsil trail which starts from the highest parking lot (33.348375, 126.49669); it fills up fast, so arrive early. Also, if you get to Witse Oreum Shelter with toilets (33.362024, 126.51762) before the cut-off time (usually 13:00), you can continue hiking to a great viewpoint (33.362456, 126.52306) of the crater wall. Afterwards, stop at (33.357661, 126.46275) for a short beautiful walk through the wetlands. For more hiking on Jeju, there are many oreums, for example Ttarabi Oreum.
  • Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone - seeing it from the beach (33.461996, 126.93872) was the best bit (free). You have to buy a ticket to climb to the summit - the view is good, but skipable. On the way back, stop at (33.469037, 126.92349) to see the port from the bridge (33.468849, 126.92532).
  • Bijarim Forest (33.491452, 126.81093) - a very beautiful old forest of Florida nutmeg (Torreya taxifolia). Not free. For more forest walks there is Saryeoni Forest Path Red Ascension Entrance and Seogwipo Natural Recreational Forest.
  • Sinchang Windmill Coastal Road - boardwalks into the sea that allow you to get really close to offshore wind turbines. Free.
  • Jeju Stone Park - several museum buildings and a large outdoor area. Don’t miss the collection of huge volcanic rocks in the main museum building. Some areas are mostly for kids. Not free.
  • Seogwipo Astronomical Science & Culture Center - I stopped here to see the big telescope (33.288953, 126.4598) while the center was closed.
  • On my wishlist: Manjanggul Lava Tube; art museums - Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju Museum Of Art, Arario Museum (Tapdong Cinema, Dongmun Motel 1 and 2); waterfalls - Seogwipo Jeongbang Waterfall, Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls, Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls; South coast: Jusangjeolli Cliff and Yongmeori Coast (two ticketed viewpoints that must be visited at low tide); Unification Buddha Relic Pagoda (33.532046, 126.63639).

Jeju notes:

  • See this useful website, Sam’s blog and Hallie’s blog.
  • Food: Bagdad Halal Jeju - the best Indian restaurant I found in the whole of South Korea; Warda restaurant - Yemeni restaurant with good vegetarian options; ABC 에이팩토리베이커리카페 - I’ve heard good things about this bakery.
  • Coffee: Coffee Light Roasters; muusu (22-2 Jocheon 11-gil, Jocheon-eup).
4. Pohang, the steel city
  • ★ Hwanho Park Space Walk - the world’s best staircase! Climb it during the day (sunset time is most magical) and come back to see it lit up at night (a different kind of magical). Check the opening times here, and check again on the day of the visit. Even if it is closed for climbing due to bad weather, do come to see it. Free.
  • Pohang Museum Of Steel Art - a lovely art museum, just don’t expect art made of steel. Free.
  • ★ POSCO History Museum (35.997095, 129.38706) - a very interesting museum that changed the way I think about the history of South Korea. Free. Take this skywalk (35.998767, 129.38525) for a view of some of the POSCO facilities.
  • On my wishlist: Homigot hand-shaped sculptures.
5. The land of caves between Gangneung and Uljin
  • ★ Hwanseongul Cave - a huge cave which feels like being inside a giant sourdough. You can spend a long time exploring. The monorail to the entrance saves a lot of time, which justifies the price; they take only cash and Korean cards. No toilets after the monorail. I did not visit Daegeumgul Cave (guided tours only, pre-book online), but maybe you should since it is right there.
  • ★ Gosu Cave - narrow and intimate, this a magnificent counterpart to Hwanseongul Cave. You can spend a long time exploring.
  • Seongnyugul Cave - a nice cave, but a lot of it is covered in mold and you have to wear a mandatory helmet. They take only cash and Korean cards.
  • I wish I had skipped Hwaam Cave (it is an old mine, most of it is just a corridor) and Haesindang Park 해신당공원 (in decline, many art pieces are badly damaged and the big cannon is no longer there).
  • On my wishlist: Cheonjedan Altar on Taebaeksan Mountain, Chogok Yonggul Cave Chotdaebawi Rock Trail, Taebaek Coal Museum.
6. DMZ (bring passport and binoculars)
  • I did this DMZ Half-Day Tour led by a retired military officer from Seoul. Look for “DMZ Tour From Seoul / PLK Travel” on Google Maps to see their reviews. All tours pass through (37.890563, 126.7403); instead of Seoul, you could join there. The two interesting things to see on this kind of tour are The Third Tunnel (37.916651, 126.69916) and Dorasan Observatory (37.911031, 126.70598) or Odusan Observatory. Even the no-shopping tour I did had a shopping stop at (37.909253, 126.73431), I believe other tours are worse. Definitely bring binoculars to make the most of your time at the observatory; taking photos is not allowed, but binoculars are allowed.
  • ★ To learn a bit about North Korea, watch The Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020) and read Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (2009) by Barbara Demick. Both are truly outstanding.
  • Koryo Tours do tours to North Korea from China.

On my wishlist:

  • The Second Tunnel tours (about 3 hours) from Cheorwon Peace Tourist Information Center (38.2656137, 127.2826855) at 15-19, Yangji 2-gil, Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do. Same-day in-person registration (cannot be bre-booked), arrive at 9:00 to join one of the self-driving tours that day. Closed on Tuesdays. Sometimes these tours are cancelled for security reasons, so it’s best to ask a local to call +82-033-450-5559 (or +82-033-452-9989) and ask about the date you are interested in (they don’t speak any English). If you are already in the area, you can ask at Cheorwon Tourist Information Center (also no English, but they use translation apps with enthusiasm). I arrived too late when all the tours were already full, so instead I ended up doing a riverside suspension walk - Cheorwon Hantan River (Columnar Joint Road), starting from the ticket office at (38.17498, 127.29974).
  • Ganghwa Peace Observatory on Ganghwado island. And Ganghwa Anglican Church in Ganghwa-gun - the most Korean looking church.
  • Goseong Unification Observation Tower and DMZ Museum.
  • 510km of hiking path along the DMZ.
7. Mokpo and around
  • Wolchulsan National Park. From the carpark (34.776895, 126.72154), I hiked to Weolchulsan Suspension Bridge (34.768891, 126.71218), the peak (34.766619, 126.70404) and then looped back past the waterfall (34.769911, 126.710043).
  • Taepyeong Halophytes Botanical Garden (34.99668, 126.1738) - boardwalks through a unique wetland ecosystem. Free.
  • ★ Taepyeong Salt Farm. I am not sure I was allowed to be there, but nobody stopped me (it was just past working hours, but before sunset). There are no gates or barriers to prevent you from driving between Taepyeong Halophytes Botanical Garden and (34.992307, 126.14708).
  • On my wishlist: Nosong-dae (34.473308, 126.63658) - not a famous hike, but could be fun; National Maritime Heritage Research Institute 국립해양유산연구소; Mokpo Dancing Sea Fountain.
8. Wetlands around Suncheon
  • Suncheon Bay Nature Reserve (34.886225, 127.50868) - wonderful boardwalks through the wetlands. Not free. The ticket includes entry to Suncheon Bay National Garden on the same day, but I skipped it.
  • Gangjin Bay Ecological Park (34.620641, 126.77333) - equally wonderful boardwalks through the wetlands. Free and much less popular than Suncheon Bay Nature Reserve, so this would be my first choice if I could only do one.
  • On my wishlist: 벌교생태공원 (Beolgyo Ecological Park) - more wonderful boardwalks through the wetlands.
  • Daehan Dawon Green Tea Tourist Farm - a big tourist tea farm with walking trails. Not as good as a working tea plantation, totally skippable unless you’ve never seen a tea plantation before. Not free.
9. Gwangju and around
  • Mudeungsan National Park. From the parking (35.100667, 126.99525), the hike goes past this shelter with toilets (35.116163, 126.99881) to Ipseokdae (무등산 입석대) rocks (35.117547, 127.00221). See Aurora’s blog.
  • Leeleenam Studio - really cool art space in a cool neighbourhood. Free.
  • On my wishlist: Jeonil Building 245 (museum).
  • Juknokwon 죽녹원 - a big bamboo forest. Not free. There is a lot of parking at the back door ticket office (35.332118, 126.98666). It’s a great place to stop if it’s on the way, but if it’s not, consider visiting Ahopsan Forest near Busan or Taehwagang Bamboo Forest in Ulsan instead.
10. Jeonju and around
  • Daedunsan Provincial Park 대둔산도립공원 (전북). Parking at (36.117483, 127.3344). I took the cable car (36.116684, 127.32976). The hike goes via Geumgang Suspension Bridge (36.123114, 127.32365), the iconic steep staircase called Samseon Cloud Bridge (36.123691, 127.3223) which you can bypass if you’d rather not, and the Daedunsan peak (36.12783, 127.32321). I took a diversion to (36.124594, 127.32048) before returning to the cable car. Instead of taking the cable car, it would have been fun to do the ridge walk via (36.14495, 127.322501).
  • Geumsansa temple (35.723002, 127.053698) - from all the temples I visited in South Korea, this one stood out as really nice. It also had great coffee at nearby Hay ground 헤이그라운드 (35.716689, 127.040542).
  • Jeonju Hanok Village - a nice place for an evening stroll. And there is Jeondong Cathedral.
11. Seoraksan National Park
  • I hiked to Ulsanbawi Rock (38.194182, 128.47473) first. On the way back I explored this little temple in a rock (38.190016, 128.47496) and Seoraksan Sinheungsa Temple. Then I hiked to Towangseong Falls Observatory (38.161979, 128.49911) for beautiful mountain views. See this useful blog.
  • On my wishlist: Mountain views from Gwongeumseong fortress; Wondae-ri Birch Forest.
12. Sejong City and around
  • Ieung Bridge (Geumgang Pedestrian Bridge) - doing the whole lap (36.48581, 127.284156) was much fun.
  • Architecture: Government Complex Sejong is a 3.6km long building (well, a series of buildings), National Library of Korea Sejong, Government Complex Sejong Convention Center (36.500954, 127.26982), Presidential Archives (36.501584, 127.2732), Sejong Lake Park Floating Stage Island 세종호수공원 수상무대섬 (36.497383, 127.2725).
  • On my wishlist: Buyeo National Museum with relics from Baekje Kingdom; Muryeongwangneung Tomb of King Muryeong; Baekje Royal Tombs Park; Exhibition of the Remains of the Japanese Government General Building; a rooftop tour of the Government Complex Sejong (advanced booking required); Catholic Diocese of Daejeon - a cool looking church.
  • Read about Sejong City, the administrative capital of South Korea…sort of.

13. Busan
  • Haeundae Beach - the beach, the architecture of Haeundae Marine City (35.156985, 129.14474), and Momos Coffee (Marine City branch is great, and there are more).
  • Beomeosa Temple - I particularly enjoyed the turtles (35.283513, 129.07118). From (35.282613, 129.06793) it is an enjoyable hike along the river of boulders to Geumjeongsanseong Fortress North Gate 금정산성 북문 (35.275473, 129.05752).
  • Gwangalli Beach - a fun area. For coffee I’d try Werk Roasters.
  • F1963 Cultural Center - a cool place to explore. Kukje Gallery is on my wishlist.
  • Busan Cinema Center - world’s longest cantilever roof. Looks particularly good when lit up at night.
  • Busan Citizens Park is where locals hang out.
  • Seomyeon - the area around Strut Coffee and Baguette Factory Seomyeon (both are good) and Hytte Roastery (on my wishlist).
  • On my wishlist: Kiswire Museum; 황령산 봉수대 (Hwangnyeongsan Beacon Tower) for the best views of Busan; Dadaepo Sunset Fountain of Dream and 고우니생태길 Gouni Ecological Trail; Jagalchi Market - the big seafood market; Gamcheon Culture Village might be fun; Bosu Book Street and Scuola di Atena might be fun.

Busan notes:

On my wishlist:

Notes:

  • When to visit: September to November has great weather and autumn foliage, but October is peak tourism season and there might be Fall Fire Closures at National Parks. December to February is very cold. March to May has great weather and cherry blossom, but April-May is peak tourism season and there might be Spring Snowmelt Closures at National Parks. June to August is very hot. If you’ve never seen a drone show before, try to catch one in Seoul or Busan. Seoul International Fireworks Festival (Sept/Oct) and Busan Fireworks Festival (Nov) are both really good. The last Wednesday of every month is the Culture Day in Korea - many museums/galleries are free on that day, and there might be some interesting events too. Most things are closed on Mondays, making it the best day for long-distance travel.
  • Planning your trip: The road network across the country is very dense, so start with a list of what you want to see, and there is a good chance that there will be an efficient route that connects all of your points of interest. There are four types of traditional architecture - temples, palaces, fortresses and hanok villages - structures within each category are fairly similar, so treat them as interchangeable and don’t plan on seeing too many of each.
  • Navigation: Google Maps provides public transport directions only, no walking or driving directions. Organic Maps or any other offline OpenStreetMap-based app will be very useful. I used Naver Map website to create an account and plan my trip, but then I accidentally logged in over VPN and my account got suspended. When in Korea, I used Naver Map app for driving directions. If you can’t find something on Naver Map, try searching by the phone number of the place. Kakao Map is an alternative to Naver Map, see if you prefer it.
  • SK Telecom sim card - I purchased one at the airport. There is a fixed price for unlimited data, so the only choices to make are how many days you need it for and whether you want to pay a tiny bit extra to be able to make local calls.
  • T-Money Card - this is the national card for all public transport payments. Buy it from a vending machine in an airport or from a convenience store. Topping it up with 20,000 KRW is a good starting point. See this blog.
  • To use an ATM select the “foreign card” option. ATMs that don’t have it won’t work. I had three use cases for cash - topping up my T-Money Card, paying road tolls (if you don’t have a Hi-Pass with enough money on it) and at places that take only Korean bank cards (some parking lots, some caves). Apart from that, it’s contactless card payments everywhere.
  • You can buy train tickets on Korail website. You can look for buses on T-Money website, but you can’t buy them there.
  • We rented a car from an airport and received a Hi-Pass card. If your car rental doesn’t give you a Hi-Pass card, I have no idea how else one could obtain it. We had some luck finding Hi-Pass topup machines in highway rest stations, but most had Hi-Pass Plus topup machines which don’t work with Hi-Pass. Sometimes there is an option to pay the road tolls with cash. When we did drive through without paying the tolls, we were able to settle that easily with the car rental company afterwards.
  • National Parks: All of them are free, but the parking is not always free. I found Aurora’s blog useful for picking my hikes. Some trails have restrictions on when you can start hiking. Check the status of the park/trail of interest on the Korea National Park Service website. If you are having trouble with Google Translate, try Aurora’s helpful tool. Beautiful suspension bridges and sky walks are common, don’t shape your plan around a particularly pretty photo you’ve seen. Also they get replaced frequently, so by the time you get there it might be not the one you were hoping for.
  • Download National Museum of Korea app to use as a free audio guide at several museums.
  • Public toilets are absolutely everywhere, but not water refill stations.
  • Food: Korean buckwheat tea is really good. Kimchi is not vegetarian, almost nothing is vegetarian. See this article. Best supermarket chains are Lotte and E-mart, only some locations stock bean cans.
  • Useful blogs: In My Korea, Hallie’s blog, Travel Lexx, Renata’s blog, Sam’s blog, Nick’s blog, Visit Korea.
  • Learn to Read Korean in 15 Minutes.
  • Concrete Utopia (2023) is one of my favourite movies, and it happens to be a Korean movie.