Travel/Culture List

Miryang Theatre Village was etablished in 1999 and is situated in Gyeongsangnam-do Province's Miryang U-RI Theatre Institute. The Street Theatre Troupe (STT), led by the art director Lee Youn-taek, took up residence in the village, giving the village a reputation as a great place to enjoy the arts. Beginning with simple performances, the village has evolved into a popular theatre offering tour performances (across the country and abroad), theatre education, and theatre experience programs and has accumulated materials about the history of Korean theatre. The village's performance hall, Forest Theatre, is equipped with 500 seats while the indoor indoor studio theatre can accomodate 120 guests. STT shows various performances every Saturday and 40-50 performances every year, attracting over 150 visitors to each performance. In addition to performances, visitors can enjoy touring the entire village from performance halls to practice rooms and costume rooms, broadening their understanding of how theatre actually works.  

Jisimdo Island is about 500m wide and 1.5km in length and sits 5km to the southeast of Geojedo Island’s Jangseungpo Port. The island is densely filled with tree. 37 species of trees including pine trees, and Geoje aerides can be seen but camellia trees account for 60 to 70 percent of the whole area of the island. The flower of cameillia trees blooms in the beginning of December and closes its flowers in April. The best time for seeing the flowers is around March even though people can admire the blooming flower for 5 months. The island’s edges are mostly comprised of steep cliffs, otherwise private land and mountain slopes are generally flat. To see the whole island, it may take 2 to 3 hours on foot along the flat trail in the village.

Manggyeongam’s name derives from the hermitage's view of Bokjeong-dong in Seoul, and is located in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Manggyeongam Temple is said to be the place where the kings of the late Goryeo and early Joseon periods prayed for peace for their subjects. In addition, Prince Pyeongwon, the 7th son of King Sejong, and Grand Prince Jean built a dais at Mangyeongam Temple and Chilseongdae and pledged filial piety. The temple is more widely known for its connection to the Chilseong faith, in which believers worship Chilseong (the Seven Stars). It is easily recognized by the written records inscribed into the rock wall. Located at the temple is Maaeyeoraejwasang (Seated Maitreya Buddha), an original work of the temple that is also designated Gyeonggi-do’s Tangible Cultural Asset No. 102. The Buddha is embossed inside a deep hole in the rock. In the words inscribed near the statue, there is also a legend that says Lee Gu-seung carved Gwaneum Statue near the Maaeyeoraejwasang and built the temple in 1897. Next to the temple is a pond called “Bokumul,” which means “blessed sugared water.” The neighborhood of Bojeong-dong takes its name from this pond. At the temple, Daeungjeon Hall (the main temple) and Samseonggak Shrine (shrine for three spirits), Mireukjeon Hall were all established fairly recently. The temple site also includes a huge Mireuk Daebul statue (Great State of Maitreya Buddha) and a five-storied pagoda.  

Located within Woljeongsa Temple in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, Woljeongsa Museum was founded in October 1999, and began displaying treasures and artifacts from some 60 plus temples in the southern part of Gangwon region. Currently, the museum houses Sangwonsa Temple’s Jungchanggwonseonmun (National Treasure No. 292) and Woljinseokbo (Treasure No. 745), the remains of Octagonal nine-story pagoda (National Treasure No 48), and many other treasures.

Sandong-myeon in the Gurye-gun region is widely known as the home of Sansuyu (cornus fruit) and is responsible for 67% of Korea’s Sansuyu fruit production. The Sangwi Village located at the foot of the southwest side of Manbokdae Mountain (1,433m) is considered the region’s most representative village of Sansuyu. The village has a beautiful natural landscape with the snow-covered Jirisan Mountain range to its back and a small valley to its right. Visitors to Sangwi Village can wind down at the hot spring complex near the village, which is famous for its germanium content and said to have numerous health benefits. The Sansuyu flowers of Sanwi Village typically are at full bloom between March 20th and March 31st, drawing throngs of visitors. * Please note that blossom dates are not exact and change slightly from year to year.

Ulleungdo Lighthouse was first lit in 1958 as a guiding light for boats coming to and from Ulleungdo Island. The lighthouse is a round, white concrete structure rising 7.6 meters high with a light reaching as far as 50 kilometers away. The hiking trail up to the Ulleungdo lighthouse is a natural, narrow path among groves of trees. The gentle slope is surrounded by uniquely shaped cliffs, so it is a popular hiking course for tourists.

Deokpojin Museum of Education was established by Kim Dong-seon, an elementary school teacher, for his wife, Lee In-suk who lost her eye sight due to an accident while she was also an elementary school teacher. He decided to build the museum to cheer up his wife who was deeply depressed with the fact that she could no longer teach students. Through the husband's will to give his wife opportunities to teach children again, his dream to create a hands-on educational programs not available in the ordinary school education system became a reality as well. The museum was finally opened in 1996 with materials collected by the couple, comprised of a music class taught with her harmonium and Mr. Kim's collection of various school materials such as a book wrapper, a nature textbook from 1960, nickel silver lunch boxes and more. These collections attracts many visitors, from kindergarteners to university students and even family visitors.

The Invention Education Center offers an experience room, experience hall, lecture rooms, and various other facilities throughout four floors. Visitors can learn about top inventors and their inventions in each area. The education programs are conducted by researchers from Daedeok Innopolis, members of the board of examiners of the Korea Industrial Property Office, professors from top universities and more. With their vast knowledge and experience, the lecturers help to cultivate students' ingenuity and competitive spirit. The Invention Education Center aims to help students understand inventions better through the use of fun and playful experiences. The experiences are divided into four themes, including "Click, Imagination Icon," "View Imagination's Strength," "The Fruit of Imagination," and "Imagination is Reality."

Pocheon Sansawon is a museum of traditional Korean liquor, mainly home-brewed liquor. Several rows of liquor crock pots in Sewollang, a garden in Sansawon, create a magnificent view. Old materials and books about the history of Korea's liquor culture attract visitors. After touring the museum, visitors can try non-sterilized liquor of Baesangmyeon Brewery and join activity programs for making home-brewed liquor, fruit-based liquor, seasonal liquor, and more.

Taebaek Highland Natural Recreational Forest is located in 700m above the sea level. Being in the highland, visitors can enjoy snowy landscape in winter, cool and breezy stay in summer, and a peaceful walk with clean and refreshing air in spring and autumn.