Discover verified historic sites & memorials — descriptions, map and practical info.
Historic sites & memorials
강릉시
When the moon rises there is one in the sky, one on the sea, one on the lake, one in your wine cup and one in the eyes of the person beside you. The Joseon poet Jeong Cheol wrote that from Gyeongpodae you could see five moons. About 7 km n…
Historic sites & memorials
강릉시
When Gyeongpoho Lake was far larger than today, villagers crossed it on a bridge of boats, so the village was called Baedari, or Seongyo (船橋) in Chinese characters. The grand residence that settled here is Seongyojang. With its main quarte…
Historic sites & memorials
강릉시
Ojukheon in Gangneung is the house where Shin Saimdang (1504–1551) and her son, the scholar Yi I, known as Yulgok (1536–1584), were born. It is one of the oldest surviving houses of the early Joseon period and was designated a Treasure in…
Historic sites & memorials
강릉시
About ten minutes' walk from Gangneung Station, tiled roofs climb in tiers up the slope of Hwabusan hill. Gangneung Hyanggyo is considered the largest provincial Confucian school in Korea after the national academy Seonggyungwan, and becau…
Historic sites & memorials
강진군
Daegu-myeon in Gangjin is the cradle of Goryeo celadon. Across the valleys of Yongun-ri, Gyeyul-ri, Sadang-ri and Sudong-ri lie more than 180 kiln sites where celadon and earthenware were fired throughout the Goryeo period, and few places…
Historic sites & memorials
강진군
On the slopes of Mandeoksan in Gangjin, Dasan Chodang is where the late-Joseon scholar Jeong Yak-yong (1762–1836), known as Dasan, spent more than ten years of his exile writing works such as Mongmin simseo and Gyeongse yupyo. A forest pat…
Historic sites & memorials
서울특별시
The two-storey villa attached to the front of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital is Gyeonggyojang. After liberation, independence leader Kim Ku lived here from November 1945, using it as the last seat of the Korean Provisional Government, and on 26…
Historic sites & memorials
대구
In the heart of downtown Daegu, a few minutes' walk from Jungangno Station, brightly painted Joseon government buildings appear among the trees. Gyeongsang-gamyeong Park stands on the site of the Gyeongsang Provincial Office, which governe…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Driving from central Gyeongju towards the East Sea, you will spot two huge stone pagodas standing side by side at the edge of the fields, below a low hill. Every temple building has gone and only foundation stones remain, yet the site stil…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Between Cheomseongdae Observatory and Wolseong Palace Site lies a small grove of willows and zelkovas called Gyerim (鷄林), the "Rooster Forest". This is where, according to legend, Kim Al-ji, founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was found in a…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
In September 1921, a man building a house in Noseo-dong, in the centre of Gyeongju, dug soil from a nearby mound to level his plot. Children found beads in the earth and played with them; a policeman noticed, looked into the mound and real…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
On a pine-covered ridge, walk around the round burial mound and you notice that the twelve animal-headed guardians carved around its base all turn their heads the same way. The Tomb of Kim Yu-sin is traditionally the grave of Kim Yu-sin (5…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
On the slopes of Seondosan on the west side of Gyeongju, the Tomb of King Muyeol belongs to Kim Chun-chu, King Taejong Muyeol, 29th ruler of Silla, who laid the groundwork for unifying the Three Kingdoms. It is one of the few Silla royal t…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
The Tomb of King Munmu is a small rocky islet about 200 m off the beach at Bonggil-ri, Munmudaewang-myeon, on the coast of Gyeongju. It is said to hold the remains of King Munmu (r. 661–681), the 30th ruler of Silla, who completed the unif…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Step away from the crowds around the great mounds of Daereungwon, head a little south and you reach a quiet burial ground ringed by pine trees. Oreung, the "Five Tombs", is believed to hold Hyeokgeose, the founder of Silla, his queen Lady…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Woljeonggyo is a roofed wooden bridge over the Namcheon (Muncheon) stream in Gyo-dong, Gyeongju, just south of Gyochon Village. It recreates a Silla-era bridge that linked the royal palace of Wolseong with the land to the south, rebuilt in…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Cheomseongdae, whose name means "star-gazing tower", is a stone structure built in Gyeongju during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla (632–647). It is regarded as the oldest surviving observatory in Asia, was designated a National Treasu…
Historic sites & memorials
경주시
Poseokjeong is a Silla-era stone watercourse hidden in woodland at the western foot of Namsan in Gyeongju. Water ran along a groove curved like an abalone shell, and the site is famous as a place where courtiers floated wine cups and compo…
Historic sites & memorials
고령군
Along the ridge of Jusan, the hill behind Daegaya-eup in Goryeong, rows of round burial mounds rise one after another. The Goryeong Jisan-dong Tumuli are the tombs of the kings and ruling class of Daegaya, one of the states of the Gaya con…
Historic sites & memorials
철원군
Walk down the steps into the gorge and, in the middle of the Hantan River between black basalt cliffs, a single rock crowned with pines stands on its own. Goseokjeong means "pavilion of the lonely rock", and the name covers the rock, the p…
Historic sites & memorials
고성군
In Toseong-myeon, Goseong County, the Cheonggancheon stream flows down from the Seoraksan area into the East Sea, and on a rocky bluff right at the river mouth stands Cheongganjeong. A few minutes along a path through pine trees bring you…
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…
Historic sites & memorials
공주시
The Tomb of King Muryeong and Royal Tombs lie on the southern slope of Songsan hill in Ungjin-dong, Gongju, South Chungcheong. They are the burial ground of the kings and royal family of Baekje during its Ungjin period, when the capital wa…
Historic sites & memorials
광주
On a hillside above a stream at the upper end of Gwangju Lake, in Chunghyo-dong, Buk-gu, stands the small pavilion of Hwanbyeokdang. It is where the mid-Joseon scholar Kim Yun-je taught students after retiring to his home village, and wher…