Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Mountains & peaks
단양군
Sobaeksan is a major peak of the Baekdudaegan mountain range, straddling Danyang in North Chungcheong and Yeongju in North Gyeongsang. Around its main summit, Birobong (1,439 m), there are wide grassy meadows instead of trees, so once you…
Coast & islands
완도군
Soando, an island in the sea south of Wando, greets arriving boats with a stone reading "Land of resistance, island of liberation". During Japanese rule it produced an unusually large number of independence activists for its size, and it i…
Industrial heritage
춘천시
Soyang Dam blocks the Soyang River north-east of Chuncheon with a 123 m embankment of earth and rock, holding back the vast man-made Lake Soyang. It is the largest rock-fill dam in South Korea, and from the crest the lake stretches away be…
Mountains & peaks
동두천시
A short walk from Soyosan Station on Seoul Metro Line 1, Soyosan is a rocky mountain nicknamed the "little Geumgangsan of Gyeonggi". At 587 m it is not high, but six sharp peaks ring the valley like a horseshoe, and the full ridge loop is…
Mountains & peaks
보은군
True to its name, "the mountain that leaves the world behind", Songnisan has long been tied to stories of kings and monks who came here to retreat. It straddles Boeun and Goesan counties in North Chungcheong and Sangju and Mungyeong in Nor…
Churches & monasteries
속초시
Sinheungsa stands at the Seorak-dong entrance to Seoraksan National Park and is the head temple of the 3rd district of the Jogye Order. Hikers heading for Ulsanbawi Rock or Biseondae pass it first. Late Joseon halls and a large pavilion si…
Old towns & squares
속초시
There is no ferryman on board: passengers hook iron bars onto a steel cable and pull. About five minutes and some 50 m of water later, you step off in Abai Village. This corner of Cheongho-dong in Sokcho was built on a sandbar by refugees…
Lakes
속초시
Right in the middle of Sokcho, Cheongchoho Lake is a lagoon about 5 km around. It formed where river water meets the sea and a sandbar cut it off from the East Sea, and from the lakeside path you can see the ridges of Seoraksan rising beyo…
Coast & islands
속초시
Step off the express bus and in a few minutes you are on the sand. Sokcho Beach sits right against the city centre, so you can reach the sea with your luggage still in hand, with the ridges of Seoraksan behind you and the East Sea in front…
Museums
함양군
In Gaepyeong Hanok Village, Jigok-myeon, Hamyang, opposite the old house of the scholar Jeong Yeo-chang, the Solsongju Cultural Center is a hanok where you can learn about and taste the village's own family liquor, solsongju. Brewed with p…
Churches & monasteries
순천시
Songgwangsa stands on the slopes of Jogyesan in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, and is the head temple of the 21st district of the Jogye Order. Together with Tongdosa (the Buddha) and Haeinsa (the Dharma) it is one of Korea's Three Jewel…
Gardens & parks
인천광역시
In the middle of Incheon's Songdo International City, a long seawater canal runs between the high-rises. Songdo Central Park covers about 41 hectares and was the first park in Korea with seawater flowing through it. Kayaks and boats glide…
Mountains & peaks
서귀포시
At Jeju's southwestern tip, a low volcano juts into the sea, and from its rim Sanbangsan, the Hyeongjeseom islets, Gapado and Marado line up in a row. Songaksan is a double-crater volcano, one crater nested inside another. Under its coasta…
Coast & islands
부산
Follow the coast east from Haeundae and you reach Songjeong Beach, a gently curving strip of sand about 1.2 km long and around 57 m wide. It is noticeably calmer than Haeundae or Gwangalli, and the shallow water makes it a good choice for…
Coast & islands
서귀포시
Soesokkak is the mouth of the Hyodoncheon stream, which runs down the southern slopes of Hallasan and meets the sea in Hahyo-dong, Seogwipo. Just before the shore the stream widens into a deep pool framed by cliffs of solidified lava and p…
Churches & monasteries
예산군
Sudeoksa sits on the slopes of Deoksungsan in Yesan, South Chungcheong, and its main hall, built in 1308, still stands today. It is one of the oldest wooden buildings in Korea whose construction date is documented, so it is a key stop if y…
Museums
서울특별시
At the southern tip of Seoul Forest, beside the Gangbyeon Expressway, stands a red-brick building. This is the Ttukdo Water Purification Plant No. 1, which sent Seoul its first tap water in 1908 and now houses the city's Waterworks Museum.…
Mountains & peaks
의정부시
Suraksan is a 638 m granite mountain on the border of Nowon-gu in Seoul and the cities of Uijeongbu and Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province. You can start hiking straight from a subway station, yet the summit area is a ridge of bare boulders th…
Mountains & peaks
군포시
Surisan rises to 489.2 m where four cities meet: Gunpo, Anyang, Ansan and Siheung. Locals treat it as their backyard mountain (a subway station is named after it), yet its ridge carries a chain of quartzite peaks, a hill fought over in the…
Gardens & parks
인천광역시
Subong Park wraps around the whole of Subongsan, a small hill in the middle of Michuhol-gu, Incheon. It is a memorial park, with a memorial tower to those who died in the Korean War and several other monuments, but also a much-loved local…
Gardens & parks
옥천군
In Gunbuk-myeon, Okcheon, where Daecheong Lake winds its way deep into the hills, an entire knoll jutting out into the water has been turned into a garden. Officially the Aquatic Botanical Garden (Susaeng Sikmul Hagseubwon), it is now bett…
Other
충주시
Suanbo, south of Chungju, is a spa village where weakly alkaline water at around 53°C rises from 250 m underground. The springs have a long history: they appear in Goryeo-era records, and King Taejo, founder of the Joseon dynasty, is said…
Viewpoints
청주시
On the slopes of Uamsan, just east of central Cheongju, an observation deck sits above Suamgol, a hillside village built by refugees during the Korean War. By day you look over a dense patchwork of roofs and apartment blocks towards distan…
Historic sites & memorials
부산
The Busan place name "Suyeong" is a shortened form of Sugun Jeoldosayeong, a naval command headquarters. Suyeong Historical Park in Suyeong-dong occupies the site of the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command (Gyeongsang Jwasuyeong), which led the…