The South (Busan & Gyeongju)4 places
- GyeongjuThe capital of the ancient Silla kingdom for a thousand years, often called a museum without walls, where grassy royal…
- Haeinsa & the Tripitaka KoreanaA mountain temple holding 81,258 carved woodblocks — the complete Buddhist canon, cut in the thirteenth century — kept…
- Haedong YonggungsaAlmost every Korean Buddhist temple is in the mountains. This one is bolted to a rock shelf above the sea on the edge…
- UlleungdoA volcanic island 120 km out in the East Sea with almost no flat ground — steep enough that the coastal road had to be…
The Centre (Gangwon & the Mountains)2 places
- The Seoul–Busan Bike PathA 633-kilometre cycle route from Seoul to Busan that is almost entirely separated from traffic — riverside path the…
- Seoraksan & SokchoGranite spires and ravines an hour inland from the East Sea, holding the most concentrated autumn colour in South Korea…
The Capital Region (Seoul)1 place
- Seoul & the DMZA hyper-modern megacity of neon, K-pop, and endless food, wrapped around granite mountains and old palaces, an hour…
Jeju Island1 place
- Jeju IslandA volcanic island south of the mainland built around Korea's highest mountain, ringed by black-rock coast, lava tubes…