Travel/Culture List

Bandal Art Museum, which opened in 2002, displays domestic and foreign ceramic livingware. The Ceramic House is one of the most popular exhibits for visitors with its displays of ceramics set in a re-created living room, bathroom, kitchen, and so forth. Nearby tourist attractions include Silleuksa Temple, the Tomb of King Sejong and more.

The historical border of the Silla and Baekje Kingdoms, Rajetongmun Gate of Seolcheon-myeon, Muju was formed from a rock cave in Seokgyeonsan Mountain. The tunnel is approximately 3m in x_height and 10m in length, and divides the villages of Sindu Maeul into Dugil-ri, Seolcheon-myeon and Inam Maeul in Socheon-ri. During the Three Kingdoms Period, the rocky ridges of Seokgyeonsan Mountain drew the boundary of Silla's Mupung in the east with Baekje's Seolcheo to the west. Tracing the history from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Goryeo Dynasty, the cultures and traditions of the two regions were markedly different. If curious about the difference, one could simply stop by Seolcheon on market day, where the Muju and Mupung local dialects and customs can easily be distinguished. People used to cross Seokgyeonsan Mountain by a footpath along the rocky ridge to travel between Seolcheon and Mupung. During the Japanese occupation, a new road was created by turning a cave into a tunnel through the mountain so cows and horse carts could freely pass from Muju to Gimcheon. General Kim Yoo Shin from the Silla Kingdom, the hero of unification of the Three Kingdoms, often passed by the gate, later giving rise to the gate's nickname, Tongilmun (literally "Unification Gate"). The gate is number one on the list of 33 scenic sites in Gucheon-dong.

Goseong Dinosaur Museum (고성 공룡박물관), located in Sangjogam (상족암) County Park, is Korea’s first dinosaur museum. It was built next to one of the world’s largest dinosaur footprint fossil sites and opened to the public on 9 November 2004. Located in the center of the beautiful Sangjogam area, the museum is a tourist attraction that showcases both major dinosaur footprints as well as breathtaking scenery. The four-story building offers five exhibition halls and other special-purpose rooms such as an A/V room.

As one of the oldest buildings found in Mokpo, it was built in 1900 for consul duty during the Japanese colonial era. Afterwards, the building served various roles, being Mokpo City Hall before changing to a municipal library, and then the Mokpo Cultural Institute. The building opened as a history museum in 2014.

Jumunjin Port, one of the main fishing ports on the east coast, is home to over 350 fishing boats. The East Sea, where the warm and cold waters meet, is excellent for catching a lot of different types of fish including squid, lance fish, pollack, herring and anchovy. Fish caught in the area is often served fresh or cooked at nearby seafood restaurants.

On the second floor of Yonsei’s Student Assembly Hall is the gathering place, of foreigners and students of Yonsei, to come together and share ideas in foreign languages. The Global Lounge has an area for debates and a multimedia TV on which, with a headset, you can listen to multinational broadcasts.

Palgongsan Mountain (1,192m in elevation), in the outlying reaches of the Taebaek Range, stands sentinel over the spot where the Nakdonggang River and Geumhogang River converge. In the past, Palgongsan Mountain was regarded as a sacred mountain because it resembles the shape of the Three Buddhas. This mountain has magnificent granite formations at higher elevations, and the beautiful valleys, seamlessly interwoven with rock formations and thick forests, make for a spectacular view. Palgongsan Mountain borders Gyeongsan, Yeongcheon, Gunwi-gun and Chilgok-gun in the north and surrounds Daegu metropolitan city in the south. With Birobong Peak in the middle, it extends to Dongbong Peak – Gwanbong Peak (Gatbawi Stone Buddha) in the east and Seobong Peak – Gasan Fortress in the west (20km long). It also offers many beautiful trails. Located to the north of Gyeongsan City, Palgongsan Mountain has a splendid history, as many ancient temples and historical sites such as the Gatbawi Stone Buddha, Wonhyosa Temple, Cheonseongsa Temple and Bulguksa Temple are found on this mountain.  

Serving as the boundary between Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, the Seomjingang River (섬진강) boasts the cleanest water among Korea’s five largest rivers. Every March the Baegunsan Mountain (백운산) at the downstream of Seomjingang River is covered with plum blossoms. Seomjin Village, in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do – alias Maehwa (Plum Blossom) Village (매화마을) – has a vast wild field of more than 132,231m2 entirely covered with plum blossoms. 100,000 plum trees blossoming all together offer a magnificent view. North of the village is Hwagaejangteo marketplace (화개장터) and east of it is Pyeongsa-ri, the main setting for Park Gyeong-ri’s saga novel The Land. People gathering Jaecheop (clean water clams), below the farm in the mud flats of the Seomjingang River, offers a great view. The ‘Maehwa Festival’ or Plum Blossom Festival is held in Seomjin Village every March.

Sinsido Island is the largest of the 24 islands in the Gogunsan Island Cluster 50 kilometers to the southwest of Gunsan. The cluster of islands (Sinsido, Seonyudo, Jangjado, Munyeodo, etc.) makes for such a breathtaking scene that it is affectionately known as the ‘Star Above the Lake.’ Sinsido, one of the most beautiful islands in the cluster, is located at the center of the Saemangeum Sea Wall connecting Gunsan and Buan. The sea wall itself is also a point of interest as it is the longest of its kind worldwide. To make the island of Sinsido even more tourist-friendly, the island government has systematically begun opening and supporting island “minbaks” (lodging facilities at private residences). While staying at one of these minbaks, guests can explore the island, visit the island’s mid-sized beach or go fishing. Although it’s possible to fish right off the rocks on the shores, travelers are encouraged to a rent a fishing boat in order to see more of the beautiful island scenery.