Discover places worth seeing โ from historic sites to mountain trails.
Churches & monasteries
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On the way up to Baegundae, the highest peak of Bukhansan, a temple sits above the Ui-dong valley. Doseonsa stands at about 400 m, the highest temple in Seoul that can be reached by car, and it is the largest temple complex on Bukhansan. Aโฆ
Zoos
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In the hills of Aewol-eup on Jeju, alpacas wander unhurriedly across wide fenced meadows. Dochidol Alpaca Ranch lets you see alpacas up close, feed them and walk with them. Guests from the Andes The ranch's alpacas were brought in from Ausโฆ
Museums
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The Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan is the country's largest history museum devoted to the modern history of Korea, with a focus on the independence movement under Japanese colonial rule. A public fundraising campaign began in 1982 iโฆ
Historic sites & memorials
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A granite arch that looks like a small Arc de Triomphe stands in a park in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Independence Gate (Dongnimmun) was completed in 1898 with money donated by ordinary citizens, on the spot where Yeongeunmun, the gate for welcoโฆ
Waterfalls
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Water from Hallasan splits into two streams deep in a Seogwipo forest and drops into an emerald pool. Donnaeko is a valley in Sanghyo-dong, Seogwipo, and Wonang Falls inside it is only about 5 m high, but its water is famously cold even inโฆ
Viewpoints
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This hilltop park looks straight down on Dolsan Bridge, which links central Yeosu with the island of Dolsando. At dusk the sun sets beyond the bridge, and after dark the illuminated span, the islet of Janggundo and the lights around Yeosuโฆ
Coast & islands
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Just one bridge from central Yeosu, Dolsando is the tenth-largest island in Korea. A coastal road loops around it past pebble beaches, small harbours, fields of mustard greens for kimchi and a hermitage perched on a sea cliff. It deservesโฆ
Other
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Head north from central Busan to the foot of Geumjeongsan and you reach a neighbourhood where signs for hot springs hang all along the streets. Dongnae Hot Spring has been known since the Silla period and is one of the oldest hot springs iโฆ
Fortresses
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In April 1592, Dongnae Fortress was among the very first places hit by the Japanese army after it landed at Busan. What survives today along the Maansan ridge, Dongnaeeupseong, is the much larger walled town rebuilt in 1731. Walking the waโฆ
Other
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Step out of Exit 3 of Dongmyo Station and you are already in the Dongmyo Flea Market, often called the biggest flea market in Seoul. Its streets overflow with second-hand goods of every kind, from heaps of used clothes on the pavement to fโฆ
Churches & monasteries
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Enter Mureung Valley, which runs between Dutasan and Cheongoksan in Donghae, and you will find Samhwasa close to its mouth. The name means "harmony of three", a wish attributed to Wang Geon, founder of the Goryeo dynasty. It is a natural sโฆ
Caves
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Between apartment blocks and a school in the middle of Donghae lies the entrance to a limestone cave hundreds of millions of years old. Cheongok Golden Bat Cave was discovered by chance in 1991 during construction of a new residential distโฆ
Viewpoints
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Dumulmeori means "where two waters meet head to head". Here in Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong, the Bukhangang (North Han), which flows down from the Geumgangsan mountains, joins the Namhangang (South Han), which rises at Geomnyongso spring beloโฆ
Mountains & peaks
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Not far inland from the East Sea coast rises a deep mountain of granite gorges and waterfalls. Dutasan straddles the cities of Donghae and Samcheok in Gangwon Province, and sources give its height as 1,353 m or 1,357 m. Far more people walโฆ
Gardens & parks
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Step out of the ticket gates at Jayang (Ttukseom Hangang Park) Station on Seoul Subway Line 7 and you are already on the banks of the Han River. This stretch was once a hunting ground for Joseon kings and later a riverside resort where ordโฆ
Theme parks
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Lotte World in Seoul's Jamsil district is two theme parks in one: Lotte World Adventure, a huge indoor park under a glass roof, and Magic Island, an outdoor park on an island in Seokchon Lake. The indoor half is what sets it apart from othโฆ
Viewpoints
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Lotte World Tower rises 555 metres over 123 floors, making it the tallest building in South Korea and the first in the country to pass 100 storeys. It opened on 3 April 2017. For visitors, the point is Seoul Sky, the observatory on the topโฆ
Museums
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On a hillside in Hannam-dong, Leeum Museum of Art is a private museum run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture that shows national-treasure-level Korean antiquities alongside Korean and international contemporary art. Its buildings were deโฆ
Coast & islands
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Marado is the southernmost island of South Korea. It lies about 11 km south of Moseulpo and covers just 0.3 kmยฒ, so you can walk around the whole island in a little over an hour. Black basalt cliffs ring a flat, grassy plateau, and at theโฆ
Lakes
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In Gisan-ri, Gwangtan-myeon, Paju, a 220 m suspension footbridge hangs over a reservoir ringed by wooded hills. Since the bridge opened in 2018, Majang Lake (Majanghosu) has become an easy lakeside outing from northern Seoul. Cross the briโฆ
Coast & islands
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Mallipo is a long, gently curving sweep of fine sand at the western tip of the Taean Peninsula. It has long been counted among the three great beaches of Korea's west coast, alongside Daecheon and Byeonsan, and more recently surfers have nโฆ
Gardens & parks
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Manseok Park in Songjuk-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon, is a neighbourhood park around a broad lake called Manseokgeo. The lake, though, is a reservoir that King Jeongjo had built in 1795, while Suwon Hwaseong Fortress was going up. Nearly 230 yeaโฆ
Historic sites & memorials
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In Seoksu-dong, Anyang, a bridge of seven stone arches spans the Sammakcheon stream. Mananggyo Bridge was built in 1795 so that King Jeongjo could travel to his father's tomb, and it is regarded as a classic late Joseon arched stone bridgeโฆ
Churches & monasteries
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Maneosa sits halfway up Maneosan in Samnangjin, Miryang, at the top of a field of dark boulders that pours down the slope like a frozen river for more than 700 m. According to legend, these are fish that followed the son of the Dragon Kingโฆ