With 25 years of theme park know how, the Lotte Group has opened the largest water park in Korea. The Gimhae Lotte Water Park is “Polynesian” themed and its styled surroundings and water rides are sure to leave visitors with lasting memories. Equipped with an outdoor water pool, indoor wave pool, tornado slides and much more, the facility is the size of 17 soccer fields and aims to grow as a must-visit vacation spot in Busan.

Dream Forest, previously known as ‘Odong Geullin Park’, is located at Bun-dong, Gangbuk-gu Seoul.Renovated and reopened on October 2009, Dream Forest is the fourth largest park after World Cup Park(2.76million ㎡), Olympic Park(1.45million ㎡), and Seoul Forest(1.20million ㎡) and the first large-scale green park created in Gangbuk area.Major attractions of the park include Wolyeongji Pond, Grass Square, Wolgwang Waterfall, Aewoljeong Pavilion, and Chilbokji (confluence of 7 different artificial waterfalls), Event Garden, Children’s Gallery, Wild Grass Garden, Deer Ranch, Exploring Path, Forest Rest, and a water park. Recently, the Changnyeongwigungjaesa estate (registered cultural heritage No. 40) has been restored with other traditional landscape architectures such as a pond, pavilion and waterfall created nearby to double the genuine beauty of Korean traditional park.On the slanted hill side where used to be sleigh slopes are now turned into a complex cultural space with Northern-Seoul Art Center that houses fantastic-looking observatory, performance hall, book café, and gallery; and a restaurant; jumping fountain; and children’s playground. Dream Forest Observatory where a drama ‘IRIS’ was filmed, provides a fantastic view of Bukhansan Mt., Dobongsan Mt. and Suraksan Mt. to the north while N-tower and Hangang River to the south. Just outside the park that is surrounded by apartment buildings and roads are a cultural exhibition lounge, forest workout space, badminton court and walking path for the residents. 

Anmok Beach spans over 150 km in length and covers an area of 20,000㎡. The beach is often packed with families on a vacation. Right in front of the beach is Anmok Port, where around 23 fishing boats can be moored to unload their catch of seaweed in the spring; flatfish, squid, octopus in the summer; and sailfin sandfish, and pollack in the fall and winter. The place has also gotten more popular because of the coffee geori (coffee street) that sells coffee at reasonable prices.

Namhansanseong Provincial Park is a very popular mountain-climbing and driving destination located just outside Seoul. The mountain is famous for being very beautiful all throughout the year. In the spring, the acacia trees grow thick, in the summer the green forest covers the entire mountain, and in the fall, many people visit to climb the mountain covered in red autumn leaves.Namhansanseong Fortress (남한산성), located on Namhansan Mountain, was originally built as a earthen fortress during Gogureyo period, about 2,000 years ago, but after many renovations, Gwanghaegun of the Joseon Period built the fortress properly in 1621. If you climb to the highest peak Iljangsan, you can see Incheon’s Nakjo area, and not only Seoul, but the surrounding Gyeonggi-do area as well. In terms of fortress structure, because the surrounding mountain area is high and rough, and the fortress center level and low, it is an easy place to defend, and to reside comfortably, two prime conditions for a mountain fortress.

Legend has it that the region of Hakhadong was where the gods lived when they periodically came down from the heavens. When the Jagwangsa Temple was built in the district, Song Siyeol saw it as a sign and created a village school near the temple to train his pupils. It was his hope that the sacred land would aide in the raising of gifted students who would grow to serve their community and country. When building the school, Song Siyeol also planted a juniper tree that, 300 years later, still proudly stands by Jagwangsa Temple.Upon entering the temple area, visitors will find to their left the Seongjeonnyeongdangji Memorial Stone, which serves to commemorate Song Siyeol and his school. Next to the memorial stone is a pond in which carp swim lazily around lotus flowers. To the left is a large bell which is rung every day, 28 times in the morning and 33 times in the evening. To the right is the main Dharma Hall.Not just a serene and beautiful building, the 3-story temple also houses artifacts such as the Beopgo, Mogeo, and Unpan, Buddhist instruments used during rituals to cleanse the mind of pain and doubt. Also inside the grand, 3-story temple are numerous signs and wall hangings engraved with Buddhist inscriptions.

Daejeon History Museum, comprised of a permanent exhibition hall, donated relics exhibition hall, planned hall, and city promotion hall, was created as a cultural area for citizens according to the Doan new city development project of Daejeon on October 16, 2012. The permanent exhibition hall presents precious cultural assets in Daejeon with the theme of life and culture of Confucian scholars of Daejeon. The donated relic exhibition hall showcases artifacts donated by residents of Daejeon, and in the planned exhibition hall, a special exhibition is held to offer diverse items to see one or two times a year. In addition, plenty of hands-on programs, lectures, and performances are given in the museum to entertain visitors.

Seodong Park (서동공원) is a sculpture park displaying 68 sculptures created by famous Korean sculptors. Mahan Hall showcases the lifestyle and culture of Mahan, a tribal confederation during the Samhan period. The park also features various facilities such as an observatory, fishing spot and a promenade.Gungnamji Pond (Historic Site No.135, 궁남지), located in Seodong Park, is Korea’s first artificial pond and was created by King Mu (from the Baekje Dynasty) who was in love with and eventually married Princess Seonhwa. ‘Gungnamji’ (literally means ‘a pond in the south of the royal palace’ in Korean) was named according to the Samguksagi record.According to a record in the Samguksagi, the History of the Three Kingdoms, King Mu dug this lake south of his palace in the 35th year of his reign (634) and connected it by a 7800-meter long waterway to the water source. The king then had willow trees planted around the bank and had an artificial mound constructed in the middle of the lake.

Busan Democracy Park was created to commemorate and continue the spirit of Busan residents who significantly devoted their lives to develop Korean modern history through the 4.19 Revolution, Buma (Busan and Masan) Democratic Movement and June Democratic Movement. The Middle-scale Theater is used to hold international conference, academic event, various lectures, recitals for singing, play, theater, and dance and Small-scale Theater is used for small-sized conference, lecture and movie theaters. Plays and music concerts usually take places at the Outdoor performance hall and a wedding ceremony is held in the hall over the weekends and holidays. A botanical garden that houses about 400 species of trees and Ilju Path has themed-resting areas along the trail. Nearby attractions are the main library, Democracy Hall, memorial sculptures and other auxiliary facilities.

Gyeongpodae (경포대) is famous for the view of the moon on the 15th day of the first lunar month, and is located 6 km north from the center of Gangneung. It is a large, tall pavilion, and its architectural feature- a “paljak” roof, is the most common form used in Korean buildings. It has been designated as Regional Cultural Asset No. 6. Its structure is divided into 6 sections in the front, and 5 sections at the side, with 28 pillars surrounding the pavillion. Located inside is the Gyeongpodaebu, which was written by Yul-Gok when he was only 10 years old. It writes about the slow and leisurely movement of the heavens, making it even more distant, and the clear, bright moon shimmering in the darkness. There is also a poem written by Suk-Jong (1095~1105), the 15th king of the Goryeo Dynasty, and many other literary records and poetry of famous artists like Ha-Mang Jo’s (1682~1747) Sangryangmun.In the Geyongpodae area there are 12 other Pavilions, including Geumnanjeong, Gyeonghojeong, Banghaejeong, Haeunjeong. You can enjoy Gyeongpodae, and its place in the surrounding nature, just as you would enjoy seeing artwork at a museum. It is best to visit between March and October.