Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Fortresses
성산읍
Hwanhaejangseong is a defensive wall of black basalt built along the coast of Jeju Island. Work began in 1270 to keep out the Sambyeolcho rebels, it was repaired again and again until the late Joseon period, and a Joseon-era account called…
Historic sites & memorials
제주시
In the uplands of Bonggae-dong, Jeju City, low stone walls and memorial stones stretch across a broad hillside. Jeju 4·3 Peace Park is a memorial park and museum for the people killed during the Jeju 4·3 events, which lasted from 1947 to 1…
Gardens & parks
제주시
In Jeju, house walls, field boundaries and the walls around graves are all built of black basalt. Jeju Stone Park gathers the life and myths of islanders who lived alongside stone into one museum and nature park. Dol hareubang statues, tom…
Coast & islands
제주시
Jeju Olle Route 20 is a "badang olle", a sea trail along Jeju's north-east coast. It starts at Gimnyeong West Port and passes the turquoise water of Gimnyeong, Woljeong and Sehwa beaches before ending near the Jeju Haenyeo Museum in Hado-r…
Museums
서귀포시
At the Jeju Aerospace Museum in Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo, real aircraft fill a huge exhibition hall, some parked on the floor and some hanging in the air. With an aviation history hall showing 26 real aircraft, an astronomy and space hall an…
Fortresses
제천시
Drive along the Songgye valley on the south side of Woraksan and a stone gate with an arched opening suddenly appears beside the road. Deokjusanseong is a mountain fortress that once blocked the route between Mungyeong and Chungju. Most of…
Historic sites & memorials
제천시
In Songgye-ri, Hansu-myeon, Jecheon, on the road into the Songgye Valley of Woraksan, a single stone pagoda stands on an empty temple site. The Four-Lion Nine-Story Stone Pagoda at Sajabinsinsa Temple Site is an unusual Goryeo pagoda: four…
Nature
제천시
When Koreans call the Chungcheong region "Hoseo", west of the lake, the lake they mean is said to be Uirimji in Jecheon. This ancient reservoir is generally dated to the Samhan period, roughly two thousand years ago, and it still irrigates…
Historic sites & memorials
제천시
On a patch of lawn in Jangnak-dong, on the eastern side of Jecheon and not far from blocks of flats, a dark grey tower rises in seven storeys. From a distance it looks like a brick pagoda, but it is in fact a mojeon seoktap, a stone pagoda…
Historic sites & memorials
제천시
When Chungju Dam flooded the old county town of Cheongpung, its heritage was moved up the hillside and rebuilt here. Government offices, a Confucian school, old houses and stone monuments now stand above the lake, led by Hanbyeongnu, a pav…
Churches & monasteries
서울특별시
Jogyesa in the middle of Jongno-gu, Seoul, is the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Its main hall and a lacebark pine thought to be around 500 years old stand among office towers, and the grounds are open 24 hours a day, s…
Other
서귀포시
The wide grasslands of Gasi-ri, in the uplands of eastern Jeju, were once home to Gapmajang, the Joseon-era ranch where the state raised only its very best horses. Jeju Horse Park was created by the village itself on this old ranch land. B…
Museums
양주시
Up on a hillside in Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju, the Lighting Museum traces the history of light from torches and oil lamps to modern electric fittings and contemporary light art. It was founded in 2004 by the lighting company Feelux and regis…
Lakes
충주시
At the western end of Chungjuho Lake, the Jongdaengi Trail loops right around Simhangsan, a 385 m hill. Rather than climbing to a summit, it follows the slopes above the water, so the gradients are gentle and the blue lake keeps appearing…
Historic sites & memorials
서울특별시
Jongmyo is the royal ancestral shrine where the spirit tablets of the kings and queens of the Joseon dynasty were kept and honoured with rites. It lies in the middle of Jongno in central Seoul, yet behind its walls the woods, wide stone co…
Nature
증평군
Jwagusan Recreational Forest in Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong, is where you can spend a night in a forest cabin and then look at the stars through Korea's largest refracting telescope, a 356 mm instrument. By day you cross the 230 m Medit…
Mountains & peaks
포천시
Rising to 813 m where the borders of Pocheon, Gapyeong and Namyangju meet, Jugeumsan is known locally as "Silk Mountain". In late April its summit ridge turns pink with azaleas, and near the top stand Dokbawi, a sheer rock tower, and an oc…
Mountains & peaks
청송군
Stand in the courtyard of Daejeonsa Temple and you see a cluster of rock towers rising behind its roofs like fingers pointing at the sky. Juwangsan is only 720.6 m high, but cliffs, gorges and waterfalls carved out of hardened volcanic ash…
Gardens & parks
담양군
Right next to the centre of Damyang, a whole hillside is covered in bamboo. Juknokwon is a bamboo garden that Damyang County planted across Seonginsan and opened in May 2003, with walking paths winding between stems so tall and straight th…
Coast & islands
서귀포시
Below the Jungmun Resort area in Seogwipo, Jeju, a bow-shaped strip of sand curves between wooded cliffs. Jungmun Saekdal Beach is known for its unusual sand, a mix of black, white, red and grey grains, and for big waves. In summer it fill…
Mountains & peaks
산청군
Jirisan is a vast mountain spread across three provinces and five cities and counties: Hadong, Hamyang and Sancheong in South Gyeongsang, Gurye in South Jeolla and Namwon in North Jeolla. Its highest peak, Cheonwangbong, is second only to…
Museums
대전광역시
Run by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) inside the Daedeok research district, this is Korea's specialist museum of geology. In a single hall you will find an armoured Edmontonia chased by a Tyrannosaurus, a M…
Historic sites & memorials
양평군
On a slope behind Jipyeong-myeon, a village in eastern Yangpyeong known for its rice wine and country market, stands Jipyeong Hyanggyo. It was the state school of the old Jipyeong county in the Joseon period and a shrine where rites were o…
Waterfalls
철원군
It is barely 3 m high, yet more than 80 m wide. Jiktang Falls cuts straight across the Hantangang River in Cheorwon, and instead of impressing with height, the whole width of the river drops in a single line. The falls were carved out of a…