Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
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…
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…
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…
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…
Historic sites & memorials
함안군
In the middle of Gaya-eup, Haman, round burial mounds rise one after another along a low ridge running north to south. The Marisan Tumuli are the tombs of the ruling class of Ara Gaya, a Gaya state centred on what is now Haman, with large…
Historic sites & memorials
함양군
Namgyeseowon sits on a low hill beside the Namgyecheon Stream in Sudong-myeon, Hamyang. Founded in 1552, it was the second seowon (Confucian academy) in Korea after Sosuseowon in Yeongju, and its layout, with study halls at the front and t…
Mountains & peaks
합천군
Rising on the border of Hapcheon and Sancheong counties in South Gyeongsang, Hwangmaesan was for a long time hard to find even in hiking guides. It became known after being designated a county park in 1983, and today it stands with Gayasan…
Churches & monasteries
합천군
Haeinsa sits halfway up Gayasan in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, and is famous for the Tripitaka Koreana, the Buddhist canon carved on wooden blocks in the Goryeo period, and for Janggyeong Panjeon, the halls built to store them. It…