South Korea Attractions

Songnisan National Park

Central Korea's top scenic spot, Songnisan means 'remote from the mundane world mountains', and indeed it is. The place is a magnet for hikers, with heaps of excellent walks. The thing that really drags them in by the busload though, is Beopjusa, one of the largest and most magnificent temple sites in Korea.

Gyeongju

Gyeongju is an open-air museum masquerading as a small, provincial town littered with ancient rubble. Those keen on Silla culture or archaeology will be in heaven, fossicking through the remains of temples, tombs, shrines, palaces, pleasure gardens and castles.

Seoul

Seoul is an intriguing city transforming itself from the Yi Dynasty capital of the Hermit Kingdom to a major mover and shaker on the international scene, especially in the field of commerce and sports. Nowhere else is the Korean drive to come to terms with a turbulent and fractured past so evident.

Seoul was battered by Japanese and Manchu invasions in the 16th and 17th centuries and flattened by the Korean War; most of its cityscape is modern. Overshadowed by high-rises and 12-lane freeways, it yet retains a hidden history of centuries-old temples, palaces, pagodas and pleasure gardens.