54 attractions in Gyeonggi Province, including Gamaksan Mountain (Paju), Seosamneung Royal Tombs and Haengjusanseong Fortress.
Mountains & peaks
파주시
Rising on the border of Paju, Yangju and Yeoncheon, Gamaksan (675 m) has long been counted among the five sacred peaks of Gyeonggi. Its name means "dark-blue rock mountain", from the black and blue sheen said to shine from its rocks. A sus…
Historic sites & memorials
고양시
Between the wide pastures and woods of Wondang in Goyang, Seosamneung, "the three tombs west of the capital", is the name for the royal tombs of Huireung, Hyoreung and Yereung, where Joseon kings and queens are buried. Part of the UNESCO W…
Fortresses
고양시
On Deogyangsan, a hill rising where the Han River makes a wide bend at the western edge of Seoul, stands Haengjusanseong. In 1593, during the Japanese invasions of Korea, Joseon troops under General Gwon Yul defeated a much larger Japanese…
Churches & monasteries
고양시
On the slopes of Hanmisan, on the western edge of Bukhansan in Jichuk-dong, Goyang, stands a temple whose story begins with the great monk Wonhyo and takes a turn when King Yeongjo spent a snowy night here. That night made it a royal praye…
Mountains & peaks
수원시
Gwanggyosan rises on the border of Suwon and Yongin; its highest peak, Sirubong, is given as 582 m or 585 m depending on the source. Standing alone in a plain with no other large mountains nearby, it has long been seen as Suwon's guardian…
Gardens & parks
수원시
Gwanggyo Lake Park lies at the heart of Gwanggyo New Town in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, and joins two reservoirs, Woncheon Lake and Sindae Lake, into one urban lake park. The loop path connecting the two lakes is 6.5 km long, with boardwalks ove…
Caves
광명시
Just outside Seoul's southwestern edge, Gwangmyeong Cave is not a natural cave at all but a gold mine dug by hand and machine. It was a site of colonial-era resource exploitation, and after it closed the tunnels spent decades as a store fo…
Historic sites & memorials
구리시
Donggureung in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, is the largest group of royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty. The name means "nine tombs east of the capital": nine tombs, including Geonwolleung of King Taejo, the founder of Joseon, hold 17 kings and…
Gardens & parks
포천시
Not far from Seoul, on the border of Pocheon and Namyangju, lies a forest that has escaped the axe for more than 500 years. Gwangneung Forest, home of the Korea National Arboretum, survived because the Joseon court strictly protected the w…
Historic sites & memorials
양주시
This hillside burial ground in Jangheung, Yangju, is the resting place of Gwon Yul (1537–1599), the commander who defeated a Japanese army at Haengjusanseong Fortress during the Imjin War. The general's mound, the graves of his two wives a…
Historic sites & memorials
김포시
Gimpo Jangneung is the Joseon royal tomb where King Injo's father, Wonjong, and mother, Queen Inheon, lie side by side. Wonjong never sat on the throne in his lifetime; he was made a king only after his son took power, and his grave was ra…
Churches & monasteries
남양주시
In the foothills of Unaksan in Namyangju, Bongseonsa, whose name means "serving the late king", was named to pray for the soul of King Sejo of Joseon, who lies in Gwangneung right next door. Unusually for a Korean temple, the main hall's n…
Historic sites & memorials
남양주시
Sareung in Namyangju is the tomb of Queen Jeongsun (1440–1521), consort of Danjong, the sixth king of Joseon. She became queen as a teenager, lost her husband and then lived alone for more than 60 years, which gives this small tomb one of…
Churches & monasteries
남양주시
Halfway up Ungilsan, Sujongsa looks straight down on Dumulmeori (Yangsu-ri), where the North Han and South Han rivers meet. The early Joseon scholar Seo Geo-jeong is said to have called it the temple with the finest view in the East, and t…
Historic sites & memorials
남양주시
The Hongneung and Yureung Royal Tombs in Geumgok-dong, Namyangju, are the last two tombs built in the long line of Joseon royal tombs. Because they hold Emperor Gojong and Emperor Sunjong of the Korean Empire, they follow the model of Ming…
Fortresses
광주시
Namhansanseong is a mountain fortress on Namhansan in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, southeast of Seoul, built as a fortified town where the king could govern in wartime as an emergency capital. Its walls run for 12.4 km, and inside there is…
Coast & islands
안산시
Daebudo is the largest island in Gyeonggi Province. Because you can drive across the Sihwa Sea Wall, a day trip from Seoul is enough to explore its mudflats and coastal trails, the islet of Nueseom that you can walk to at low tide, and an…
Viewpoints
양평군
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 belo…
Gardens & parks
오산시
Mulhyanggi Arboretum is a Gyeonggi provincial garden just a five-minute walk from Osan University Station on Seoul Subway Line 1. As the name ("scent of water") suggests, it specialises in water-loving plants, with paths winding between po…
Lakes
의왕시
Ringed by the ridges of Cheonggyesan, Baegunsan and Moraksan, Baegunhosu Lake in Uiwang was created as an irrigation reservoir in 1953. Its job of watering the rice fields of Pyeongchon ended when the Pyeongchon new town was built in the 1…
Churches & monasteries
파주시
Bogwangsa, at the foot of Goryeongsan in Gwangtan-myeon, Paju, was the temple that cared for Soryeongwon, the tomb of Lady Choe, mother of King Yeongjo. Royal connections are everywhere: a main-hall name board said to be in Yeongjo's own h…
Churches & monasteries
안양시
Sammaksa sits high on the slopes of Samseongsan, the mountain shared by Anyang and Seoul's Gwanak and Geumcheon districts, at the end of a long forest climb. It is not a large temple, but within one compound you find a late Joseon Buddha t…
Historic sites & memorials
고양시
Seooreung in Yongdu-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang, is a cluster of royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty. The name means "five tombs in the west": five royal tombs of kings and queens, plus several tombs of princes and royal consorts, are spread a…
Zoos
과천시
Seoul Grand Park lies in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, but is run by the City of Seoul. It brings together Seoul Zoo, the largest zoo in Korea, a botanical garden, themed gardens and forest trails. The facilities are spread around a central…