Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Nature
평창군
On the summit of Cheongoksan in Mitan-myeon, Pyeongchang, at 1,256 m above sea level, a broad plateau the size of six football pitches opens up. Around 20 huge wind turbines turn along the ridge, white Shasta daisies cover the slopes in ea…
Historic sites & memorials
화천군
The Peace Dam stands 125 m tall on the upper Bukhan River in Hwacheon, not far from the inter-Korean border. As a flood-control dam it normally holds almost no water, so a huge concrete wall blocks an all but empty valley – a striking sigh…
Gardens & parks
해남군
Every June, hydrangeas roll along the ridges above Bongdong village in Hyeonsan-myeon, Haenam, at the 4est Arboretum. Its hydrangea garden, said to be the largest in Korea, holds about 8,000 shrubs of more than 400 varieties, and the Ttang…
Waterfalls
포천시
A gorge opens suddenly beneath flat farmland, and at its far end a waterfall drops in front of a basalt cave into a blue-green pool. Bidulginang Waterfall was formed as the river cut into the lava plateau of the Hantan River, and because c…
Nature
영북면
Where the Hantangang River makes a sharp bend it has carved out a deep pool, and from the water rises a pale granite rock 13 m high. Because it looks like a stack of rice sheaves, locals called it Byeotgariso, "rice-stack pool", rendered i…
Nature
포천시
Sheer granite cliffs drop into an emerald pool at Pocheon Art Valley, which was once a stone quarry. For almost three decades, hard and handsomely patterned Pocheon granite was cut here; after the quarry was abandoned, the city turned it i…
Historic sites & memorials
포항시
In the yard of the Singwang-myeon community centre in Pohang, a small pavilion shelters a squat, block-shaped stone, shorter than a person. This is the Pohang Naengsu-ri Silla Stele, found by a local farmer while ploughing his field in 198…
Nature
포항시
In Buksong-ri, Heunghae-eup, on the northern edge of Pohang, a pine forest runs for almost 2.5 km along the embankment of the Gokgangcheon stream, known in the past as the Bukcheon. Bukcheonsu was planted on a flood dyke in the late Joseon…
Coast & islands
구좌읍
In Hado-ri, Gujwa-eup, on Jeju's east coast, Hado Beach is a wide sweep of sand right beside the Haemaji coastal road. The water is shallow and calm, glowing a clear jade green, and Udo island looks close enough to touch across the strait.…
Historic sites & memorials
하동군
Over the ridge from Cheonghak-dong on Jirisan, at about 850 m above sea level, stone towers and dry-stone walls climb the hillside in terraces. Samseonggung is a place of worship and spiritual practice dedicated to Hwanin, Hwanung and Dang…
Churches & monasteries
하동군
Ssanggyesa sits on the southern foothills of Jirisan, in Hwagae-myeon, Hadong County, at the spot where two mountain streams meet. It was founded in 722, and in its courtyard still stands a stele composed and written by Choe Chi-won, the m…
Other
하동군
On a hillside above the wide Akyang plain in Hadong, at the foot of Jirisan, stands a house that first existed only in a novel. Choi Champandaek recreates the family home of Choi Seo-hui, heroine of Park Kyung-ni's epic novel Toji (The Lan…
Nature
하동군
Halfway up the hill behind Daechuk village in Akyang, Hadong, a pine tree sits astride a huge flat boulder. Its roots have split the rock and wrapped around it, as if the tree had no need for soil at all. This is Munamsong (文岩松), and from…
Other
하동군
Where the Seomjingang River meets the Hwagaecheon stream, with Hadong in Gyeongsang Province on one bank and Gurye in Jeolla Province on the other, sits Hwagae Market. For generations people from the two regions crossed here to trade goods…
Museums
하동군
On the southern slopes of Jirisan, on the road up to Ssanggyesa Temple in Hwagae-myeon, the Hadong Wild Tea Museum is a public museum about the tea culture of Hwagae, known as the place where tea growing began in Korea. It tells the story…
Gardens & parks
서울특별시
Hangang Park is the shared name for 11 riverside parks running along both banks of the Han River through Seoul. This is where Seoulites cycle after work, spread out picnic mats at weekends and come for the river breeze at night, so it is t…
Museums
용인시
Before electricity, how did Koreans light their homes at night? The Korean Deungjan Museum in Mohyeon-eup, Yongin, answers that question with traditional oil lamps (deungjan), candlesticks and lamp stands, and it is the only museum in Kore…
Museums
용인시
The Korean Folk Village in Giheung-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is an open-air folk museum and traditional culture theme park. Opened on 3 October 1974, it was Korea's first open-air folk museum and recreates a late Joseon village on abo…
Museums
대전광역시
Inside Daedeok Science Town in Daejeon, the Currency Museum of Korea was opened in 1988 by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO), the company that actually makes the country's money. It was Korea's first museum devot…
Mountains & peaks
제주시
Hallasan is the shield volcano that forms the heart of Jeju Island, and at 1,947 metres its summit is the highest point in South Korea. Locals say "Jeju is Hallasan and Hallasan is Jeju", and the mountain is visible from almost anywhere on…
Mountains & peaks
서귀포시
The Yeongsil Trail on the south-western side of Hallasan is one of the mountain's shorter routes, and it is widely considered the most scenic. It starts high, at Yeongsil Rest Area at about 1,280 m above sea level, and soon brings you face…
Gardens & parks
제주시
Facing Hyeopjae Beach on Jeju's west coast, Hallim Park began with one man sowing palm seeds in the sand. The land he started planting in 1971 now holds a subtropical botanical garden, a palm avenue and two lava caves that are protected as…
Coast & islands
통영시
About 25 minutes by boat from Tongyeong harbour lies the island where Admiral Yi Sun-sin kept his headquarters: Hansando. The Battle of Hansan Island fought offshore in 1592 is counted among the turning points of the Imjin War, and Jeseung…
Museums
서울특별시
Nowhere makes it clearer that Seoul was once a Baekje capital than the Seoul Baekje Museum in Olympic Park. In its lower gallery stands a real section of the wall of Pungnaptoseong, Baekje's royal fortress, cut out and brought here, so you…