Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Historic sites & memorials
김포시
Gimpo Jangneung is the Joseon royal tomb where King Injo's father, Wonjong, and mother, Queen Inheon, lie side by side. Wonjong never sat on the throne in his lifetime; he was made a king only after his son took power, and his grave was ra…
Historic sites & memorials
김해시
A low hill in the middle of Gimhae is the burial ground of the kings and elite of Geumgwan Gaya. Tombs were built here for over 400 years, from the 1st to the 5th century, so the site traces how the small polity of Guya grew into Geumgwan…
Historic sites & memorials
김해시
In the middle of Gimhae, the low hill of Bonghwangdae and the shell mound below it make up the Gimhae Bonghwang-dong Site, where the people of Geumgwan Gaya lived. It combines the Hoehyeon-ri shell mound, scene of Korea's first archaeologi…
Fortresses
김해시
A stone wall roughly 900 m long rings the top of Bunseongsan, the hill on the eastern edge of Gimhae. From the ramparts you look over the city, the Gimhae Plain and the lower Nakdonggang River, and on clear days as far as the sea to the so…
Historic sites & memorials
김해시
In the middle of Gimhae, a round grassy mound sits among lawns and pine woods. The Royal Tomb of King Suro is traditionally identified as the grave of King Suro, founder of Geumgwan Gaya (Garak), one of the Gaya confederacy states. As the…
Historic sites & memorials
김해시
On a pine-covered hill in Gusan-dong, Gimhae, a single round burial mound sits quietly. This is said to be the tomb of Heo Hwang-ok, queen of King Suro, founder of the Geumgwan Gaya kingdom. The Samguk yusa records that she was a princess…
Museums
고흥군
At the far end of Oenarodo Island in Goheung, South Jeolla, the Naro Space Center Space Science Museum stands beside South Korea's first spaceport. On the same island from which the Naro and Nuri rockets lifted off, you can learn how rocke…
Coast & islands
울산
Nasa Beach lies in front of the village of Nasa-ri in Seosaeng-myeon, Ulju-gun, about 2 km west of Ganjeolgot. Local lore says the village itself grew from sand that piled up here until it became dry land, and the sand still has a reputati…
Historic sites & memorials
나주시
Naju Geumseonggwan was the gaeksa, the official guesthouse, of Joseon-era Naju. A gaeksa held tablets symbolising the king and lodged officials and envoys visiting the town, and Geumseonggwan's main hall is counted as the largest of all su…
Mountains & peaks
서울특별시
Behind Daehangno, a low hill follows the Seoul City Wall up to its crest: this is Naksan (about 125 m), laid out as Naksan Park. From the wall you look across downtown Seoul to Namsan, and the hill is best known for its night view, when th…
Historic sites & memorials
서울특별시
On the way to Seoul National University, at the foot of Gwanaksan, there is a park with a red-pillared shrine. Nakseongdae means "the place where a star fell": legend says a great star dropped here when Gang Gam-chan (948–1031), the celebr…
Other
광주
In Hak-dong, Dong-gu, right beside the subway station of the same name, Namgwangju Market is a market that grew up on its own in front of a railway station. Trains no longer stop here, but the market is still known for the fresh fish that…
Other
서울특별시
Right next to Sungnyemun Gate, about 10,000 shops are crammed into a maze of alleys. Namdaemun Market traces its origins to 1414, when the royal court built shops near the gate and leased them to merchants, making it Seoul's best-known tra…
Other
서울특별시
Climbing from the hillside behind Myeong-dong to just below the summit of Namsan in a little over three minutes, this is Korea's first passenger cable car. It opened on 12 May 1962 and has run on the same line above central Seoul for more…
Old towns & squares
서울특별시
A few steps from Chungmuro Station the office blocks give way to tiled roofs and earthen walls. Namsangol Hanok Village, on the northern slope of Namsan, is a group of five Joseon-era hanok, traditional Korean houses, moved here and restor…
Viewpoints
서울특별시
Namsan Seoul Tower (officially YTN Seoul Tower, widely known as N Seoul Tower or Namsan Tower) is a broadcasting and observation tower near the summit of Namsan in the middle of Seoul. The structure is 236.7 m tall and reaches about 480 m…
Historic sites & memorials
남양주시
King Sejo is remembered as the king who took the throne from his young nephew Danjong, but before he died he left a striking order: "Let me decay quickly – use no stone chamber and set up no screen stones." Gwangneung, the tomb of Sejo and…
Churches & monasteries
남양주시
In the foothills of Unaksan in Namyangju, Bongseonsa, whose name means "serving the late king", was named to pray for the soul of King Sejo of Joseon, who lies in Gwangneung right next door. Unusually for a Korean temple, the main hall's n…
Historic sites & memorials
남양주시
Sareung in Namyangju is the tomb of Queen Jeongsun (1440–1521), consort of Danjong, the sixth king of Joseon. She became queen as a teenager, lost her husband and then lived alone for more than 60 years, which gives this small tomb one of…
Churches & monasteries
남양주시
Halfway up Ungilsan, Sujongsa looks straight down on Dumulmeori (Yangsu-ri), where the North Han and South Han rivers meet. The early Joseon scholar Seo Geo-jeong is said to have called it the temple with the finest view in the East, and t…
Historic sites & memorials
남양주시
The Hongneung and Yureung Royal Tombs in Geumgok-dong, Namyangju, are the last two tombs built in the long line of Joseon royal tombs. Because they hold Emperor Gojong and Emperor Sunjong of the Korean Empire, they follow the model of Ming…
Historic sites & memorials
예산군
Heungseon Daewongun staked his family's fortunes on the site of a single grave. Told that a certain spot would produce "Sons of Heaven for two generations", he moved the tomb of his father, Prince Namyeon, from Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Provin…
Gardens & parks
남원시
Gwanghallu Garden in central Namwon is the setting of the classic tale of Chunhyang, where she is said to have first met Yi Mong-ryong. The pond represents the Milky Way, the pavilion the palace on the moon and the islands the mountains of…
Historic sites & memorials
남원시
On the western edge of Namwon, with Mount Girinsan behind it and fields stretching out to the south, lies the site of Manboksa, once a major temple of the Goryeo period. The temple burned down during the Japanese invasion of 1597, but four…