Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Other
서울특별시
Right next to Sungnyemun Gate, about 10,000 shops are crammed into a maze of alleys. Namdaemun Market traces its origins to 1414, when the royal court built shops near the gate and leased them to merchants, making it Seoul's best-known tra…
Other
서울특별시
Climbing from the hillside behind Myeong-dong to just below the summit of Namsan in a little over three minutes, this is Korea's first passenger cable car. It opened on 12 May 1962 and has run on the same line above central Seoul for more…
Old towns & squares
서울특별시
A few steps from Chungmuro Station the office blocks give way to tiled roofs and earthen walls. Namsangol Hanok Village, on the northern slope of Namsan, is a group of five Joseon-era hanok, traditional Korean houses, moved here and restor…
Viewpoints
서울특별시
Namsan Seoul Tower (officially YTN Seoul Tower, widely known as N Seoul Tower or Namsan Tower) is a broadcasting and observation tower near the summit of Namsan in the middle of Seoul. The structure is 236.7 m tall and reaches about 480 m…
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…
Gardens & parks
남원시
Gwanghallu Garden in central Namwon is the setting of the classic tale of Chunhyang, where she is said to have first met Yi Mong-ryong. The pond represents the Milky Way, the pavilion the palace on the moon and the islands the mountains of…
Churches & monasteries
남원시
In the farmland of Sannae-myeon, Namwon, with the ridges of Jirisan rising behind like a folding screen, a temple stands at the end of a path between rice paddies. Unlike most Korean temples, which sit deep in the mountains, Silsangsa is b…
Nature
가평군
Nami Island (Namiseom) is a half-moon-shaped island in the Bukhan River, criss-crossed by avenues of metasequoias, Korean pines and ginkgo trees. It was not originally an island but a riverside hill; it became one in 1944, when the Cheongp…
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…
Churches & monasteries
남해군
Boriam is a hermitage set into the cliffs near the summit of Geumsan in Namhae, surrounded by strangely shaped rocks. Together with Hongnyeonam at Naksansa in Yangyang and Bomunsa on Ganghwa Island, it is counted among Korea's three great…
Old towns & squares
남해군
White walls and orange roofs cluster on a hillside above the sea in Namhae. At first glance Namhae German Village looks like a European-themed resort, but it was built by Korean miners and nurses who went to work in West Germany in the 196…
Coast & islands
남해군
Off the southern tip of South Gyeongsang Province, Namhaedo covers 301 km², making it the fifth-largest island in South Korea. It is the main island of Namhae County, which also includes neighbouring Changseondo. Despite being an island, y…
Mountains & peaks
정읍시
In autumn, the maples on both sides of the road into Naejangsan meet overhead and form a red tunnel. The mountain, 763 m high on the border of Jeongeup and Sunchang, has been famous for its autumn colour for more than 500 years. On peak da…
Museums
제주시
Behind the glass sits a computer that looks like a wooden box. It is an Apple I, one of the few that still work. The Nexon Computer Museum, near Halla Arboretum in Jeju City, was opened by the game company Nexon on 27 July 2013. Its big dr…
Mountains & peaks
구례군
At the western end of Jirisan, 1,507 m Nogodan is the easiest of the range's high peaks to reach. Drive up to Seongsamjae pass at about 1,100 m and an hour or two on foot brings you onto a broad upland. It is counted with Cheonwangbong and…
Other
서울특별시
South of the Han River, just east of the 63 Building, Noryangjin Fish Market is the largest seafood wholesale market in inland Korea. Some 250–300 tonnes of seafood change hands every day, and auctions begin at 1 a.m. You stroll between th…
Historic sites & memorials
논산시
Donam Seowon was founded to honour Kim Jang-saeng (1548–1631), the great Joseon scholar of Confucian ritual. It is one of the few academies that survived the 1871 decree abolishing seowon, and in 2019 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World H…
National parks
완도군
Dadohaehaesang ("sea of many islands") is South Korea's largest national park, a scatter of islands and open water off the south-western tip of the peninsula in South Jeolla Province. Hundreds of islands, from Hongdo in Sinan to Geumodo an…
Caves
단양군
Cross the bridge over the Namhan River from Danyang town and the cave entrance is right there at the foot of the hill. Gosu Cave is a limestone cave whose narrow passages are packed with stalactites, stalagmites and cave coral. Metal stair…
Churches & monasteries
단양군
Drive deep into a valley of Sobaeksan and an unusual sight appears: multi-storey halls stacked like steps up both slopes. Guinsa in Danyang is the head temple of the Cheontae Order of Korean Buddhism, overseeing more than 140 temples natio…
Nature
단양군
Dodamsambong is a group of three rock peaks rising from the middle of the Namhangang River in Danyang, North Chungcheong. Its scenery has long been ranked first among the Eight Views of Danyang, and it was designated a national Scenic Site…