Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Fortresses
부산
Among the apartment blocks and markets of Beomil-dong in Busan's Dong District, one small hill has been left as woodland. Busanjinseong was a Joseon naval fortress, closely tied to the first battle of the Japanese invasion of 1592. The wal…
Churches & monasteries
부안군
At the foot of the inland Byeonsan mountains on the Byeonsan Peninsula, Naesosa is remembered for its approach as much as for the temple itself. A shaded avenue of some 700 fir trees leads from the first gate to the Gate of the Four Heaven…
Coast & islands
부안군
Chaeseokgang and Jeokbyeokgang are stretches of coast at Gyeokpo-ri in Buan, at the point where the Byeonsan Peninsula juts furthest into the Yellow Sea. Despite the word "gang" (river) in their names, they are sea cliffs and rocky shores.…
Old towns & squares
서울특별시
Buam-dong is a neighbourhood of Jongno-gu tucked into the valley between Inwangsan and Bugaksan. Being so close to the former presidential compound, it spent decades under military and green-belt restrictions, so there are almost no tall b…
Fortresses
부여군
Garimseong is the only Baekje fortress for which both the year of construction and its original name survive in written records. It rings the summit of Seongheungsan, a hill of only about 260 m, so the climb is easy, yet the top looks out…
Historic sites & memorials
부여군
On the northern edge of downtown Buyeo, where Busosan hill meets the plain, lies a wide stretch of lawn. It looks like a park, but this is believed to be the royal palace of Sabi, Baekje's last capital from 538 to 660. In 2015 it was inscr…
Gardens & parks
부여군
In the fields south of the town of Buyeo lies a wide pond lined with weeping willows. Gungnamji, literally "the pond south of the palace", was made south of the royal palace when Sabi, today's Buyeo, was the capital of the Baekje kingdom.…
Churches & monasteries
부여군
On the slopes of Mansusan, Muryangsa is remembered for its Geungnakjeon Hall, which looks two-storeyed from outside but is one tall open space inside, and for the Goryeo pagoda and stone lantern lined up in front of it. The Joseon writer K…
Fortresses
부여군
A low wooded hill on the south bank of the Baengmagang River watched over the last days of Sabi, the final capital of the Baekje kingdom. Busosanseong Fortress is thought to have served as a royal retreat in peacetime and as the city's las…
Historic sites & memorials
부여군
During the 538–660 Sabi period, when Baekje ruled from what is now Buyeo, its kings and royal family were buried on a hillside at Neungsan-ri just east of town. The grass-covered round mounds lined up on a south-facing slope look modest, b…
Historic sites & memorials
부여군
In an open field in the middle of Buyeo stands a stone pagoda that has kept its place for almost 1,400 years. Jeongnimsa Temple Site was the main temple of the period when Sabi (today's Buyeo) was the Baekje capital (538–660), and its five…
Nature
서울특별시
In Gangbuk-gu, northern Seoul, Dream Forest (Buk-Seoul Kkumui Soop) was created on the site of an old amusement park called Dreamland. At about 660,000 m² it is one of the largest parks in Seoul, with cherry-blossom avenues, a maple forest…
Mountains & peaks
서울특별시
Bugaksan is a granite peak about 342 m high rising directly behind Gyeongbokgung Palace and the former presidential compound, Cheong Wa Dae. In the Joseon period it was called Baegaksan, and as the guardian mountain on the northern side of…
Old towns & squares
서울특별시
Bukchon Hanok Village is a neighbourhood of traditional houses on the hill between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces and Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno District, Seoul. Tiled roofs step up the slopes of Gahoe-dong, Samcheong-dong, Wonseo-d…
Mountains & peaks
서울특별시
Bukhansan is the granite mountain that rings the northern edge of Seoul and the highest mountain in the city. Its top peak, Baegundae (836.5 m), rises next to Insubong (810.5 m) and Mangyeongdae, and the jagged skyline is visible from almo…
Churches & monasteries
영광군
Bulgapsa sits at the foot of Bulgapsan (516 m) in Yeonggwang, and tradition says it was the very first temple founded by Marananta, the Indian monk who brought Buddhism to Baekje. Hence the name, written with the characters for "Buddha" an…
Churches & monasteries
경주시
Bulguksa is the best-known temple of the Silla kingdom, set on the western slopes of Tohamsan in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Its wooden halls stand on tall stone terraces, so while fires replaced the buildings several times, the 8…
Waterfalls
속초시
Biryong Falls is a 16 m waterfall 2.4 km up a valley from Seoraksan's Sogongwon entrance, about an hour's walk. Its name means "flying dragon", after the way the water seems to leap skywards, and it drops between granite cliffs into a roun…
Mountains & peaks
대구
Rising to 1,084 m where Daegu's Dalseong County meets Cheongdo and Changnyeong, Biseulsan turns pink with azaleas along its summit ridge in spring, and on its slopes lies a huge block stream, a river of boulders. Near the top, Daegyeonsa,…
Nature
구좌읍
Step into this forest in Gujwa-eup, eastern Jeju, and the canopy closes over you, formed by thick, twisted trunks with wide-spreading branches. Bijarim Forest (officially the Torreya Forest of Pyeongdae-ri) is a stand of thousands of centu…
Coast & islands
통영시
Bijindo is an island in the Hallyeosudo waterway, a little over 40 minutes by ferry from Tongyeong, made of two islands joined by a narrow sandbar. The beach along the sandbar has fine sand on one side and smooth pebbles on the other, so f…
Coast & islands
통영시
Saryangdo belongs to Saryang-myeon in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, and is made up of two main islands that face each other about 1.5 km apart, Sangdo (Upper Island) and Hado (Lower Island), plus the smaller Suudo. For its size the…
Nature
제주시
In the mid-mountain belt on the eastern flank of Hallasan, at about 500–600 m above sea level, a path of red volcanic scoria runs for miles between tall cedars and cypresses. Saryeoni Forest Path stretches roughly 15 km from Bijarim-ro tow…
Mountains & peaks
서귀포시
Rising like a bell from the flat fields of southwest Jeju, Sanbangsan is a 395 m mountain made of a single mass of lava. It is counted among Jeju's three great mountains alongside Hallasan and Seongsan Ilchulbong, and a Buddha is enshrined…