Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Nature
논산시
East of central Nonsan, the stream coming down from Daedunsan was dammed to create Tapjeong Reservoir (Tapjeongho), the second-largest reservoir in South Chungcheong. In winter tens of thousands of migratory birds such as whooper swans and…
Nature
태백시
Hwangji Pond is a spring in a small park right in the centre of Taebaek, between shops and roads. The water rising here is the starting point of the Nakdong River, which crosses the southeast of the country to reach the sea past Eulsukdo i…
Mountains & peaks
태백시
Rising on the border of Taebaek in Gangwon and Bonghwa in North Gyeongsang, Taebaeksan has long been called the sacred mountain of the Korean people. At 1,567 m it is not especially high, but its summit area still holds Cheonjedan, a stone…
Museums
태백시
At the Danggol entrance to Taebaeksan National Park stands a museum devoted to every side of Korea's coal industry. The Taebaek Coal Museum opened in 1997 in the mining town of Taebaek, and its eight galleries and outdoor yard cover everyt…
Nature
태안군
Behind the Sinduri coastal dunes in Taean, ringed by pine woods, lies a small pond called Duung Wetland. It formed when wind-blown sand piled up into dunes, cut off the sea and trapped fresh water behind them. The open water is only about…
Coast & islands
태안군
At the north-western tip of the Taean Peninsula, wind-built dunes spread out behind Sinduri Beach. These are the largest coastal sand dunes in Korea, designated a Natural Monument in 2001. Walking the boardwalks, you pass grassy hummocks,…
Coast & islands
태안군
Two rocky islets sit side by side off the beach, and in the evening the sun goes down behind them. This view from Kkotji Beach on Anmyeondo is counted among the classic sunsets of Korea's west coast. Anmyeondo stretches south from the Taea…
National parks
태안군
Stretching along 198 km of coastline around the Taean Peninsula and Anmyeondo Island in South Chungcheong, Taeanhaean National Park is Korea's only coastal national park. It was designated in 1978 as the country's 13th national park and co…
Mountains & peaks
경주시
Tohamsan (745 m) is the mountain that holds Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto. The Silla kingdom revered it as Dongak, the "Eastern Peak" among five sacred mountains that guarded the realm. From the summit you look west over the Gyeongj…
Coast & islands
무안군
Tommeori Beach lies on the Yellow Sea coast in Piseo-ri, Mangun-myeon, Muan, just south of Muan International Airport. The tidal range here is large: at low tide an endless sweep of sand and mudflat appears, and behind the beach a pine for…
Old towns & squares
통영시
Behind Jungang Market, Tongyeong's best-known fish market, small houses cling to the hillside: this is Dongpirang. It was nearly lost to redevelopment, but murals painted on its walls drew visitors, public opinion swung behind saving it, a…
Historic sites & memorials
통영시
The city of Tongyeong takes its name from this place, the Tongjeyeong. It was the headquarters of the Samdo Sugun Tongjesa, the commander of the navies of three provinces, Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang, and from 1605 to 1895 it was th…
Coast & islands
통영시
Of the many islands scattered off Tongyeong, Yokjido stands out for its well-made coastal road that loops right around the island, ideal for a slow drive or bike ride. On its roughly 12.5 km² you will find fishing villages, sweet-potato fi…
Historic sites & memorials
통영시
Chungnyeolsa is a shrine on a hillside in Myeongjeong-dong, central Tongyeong, that holds the spirit tablet of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. It was built by royal order in 1606, only a few years after the Imjin War, and for almost three centuries th…
Viewpoints
통영시
Eight-seat gondolas carry you up Mireuksan in Tongyeong in about nine minutes. The official name, the Hallyeo Waterway Observation Cable Car, says what it is for: looking down over the Hallyeo Waterway, the chain of islands scattered acros…
Industrial heritage
통영시
Beneath the narrow channel between central Tongyeong and Mireukdo Island runs a 483 m tunnel you can walk through. Completed in 1932, the Tongyeong Undersea Tunnel is regarded as the first undersea structure in East Asia, and today it carr…
Historic sites & memorials
파주시
North of Paju's Unjeong new town, Bronze Age dolmens lie scattered through the pine woods on the slopes of Jangmyeongsan. The Dayul-ri and Dangha-ri Dolmens form the largest dolmen group in northern Gyeonggi-do, the survivors of more than…
Historic sites & memorials
파주시
In a forest in Jori-eup, Paju, Paju Samneung – "three tombs" – brings together Gongneung, Sunneung and Yeongneung, which is why it is also called Gong-sun-yeong-neung. Two of them belong to the daughters of Han Myeong-hoe, the most powerfu…
Historic sites & memorials
파주시
In a pine forest in Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju, lie King Injo, the 16th king of Joseon, and his first queen, Queen Inyeol. Add the story of a king who lived through the Manchu invasion and the humiliation at Samjeondo to the tale of a tomb moved…
Mountains & peaks
대구
Palgongsan is Daegu's guardian mountain, about 20 km northeast of the city centre, spreading across Daegu and several cities and counties of North Gyeongsang. A ridge of roughly 20 km runs east to west from the highest peak, Birobong (1,19…
Mountains & peaks
서산시
Eight rocky knobs rise in a row from the fields of Palbong-myeon, Seosan, topping out at 362 m. It is not high, but after iron stairs and a squeeze through a rock tunnel the summit opens onto the mudflats and sea of Garorim Bay on the Taea…
Caves
평창군
Baengnyongdonggul Cave is a limestone cave opening onto a cliff at the foot of Baegunsan, right above the Donggang River in Mitan-myeon, Pyeongchang. Unlike show caves with lighting and staircases, this is an exploration cave: you put on a…
Churches & monasteries
평창군
Far up the Odaesan valley, among fir and oak forest, stands Sangwonsa. Most of its buildings are recent reconstructions, but the temple keeps Korea's oldest bell and a statue of a boy deity linked to a legend about King Sejo. It is also th…
Churches & monasteries
평창군
Past the first gate, straight fir trees rise on both sides of the path as if to close off the sky. Woljeongsa on Odaesan is often remembered first for this forest walk. Beyond the trees, a Goryeo-era octagonal nine-storey pagoda stands in…