Travel/Culture List

Samcheongdong-gil Road stretches from Gyeongbokgung Palace to Samcheong Tunnel. Just past Samcheong Tunnel, at the end of the walkway, you’ll find Samcheong Park—a park famous for its thick forest and scenic views. Samcheongdong-gil goes through the middle of the city, but is a peaceful, quaint area. The street is lined with cafes, museums, antique shops and a number of famous art galleries. Since each art gallery building along Samcheongdong-gil has its own unique architectural design, taking a walk and appreciating the buildings is a journey in itself. Many galleries have their own cafes, restaurants, or craft shops, allowing visitors to enjoy art, shopping, and lunch all under one roof.

Gwangju Family Land is an amusement park equipped with dozens of exciting rides as well as recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, an ice rink, and a sledge park. Spanning 290 acres of land, it is the largest urban amusement park in all of Jeollabuk-do and Jeollanam-do Provinces. The amusement park also offers entertainment courses designed for couples, families and children.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung was originally built as an annex to the National Museum of Contemporary Art. It specializes in seeking out and researching modern art, and also in exhibiting and preserving it. You can see classical works of modern art when you visit National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung. Because it uses the Seokjojeon annex inside the Deoksugung Palace as its exhibition space, the center maintains a unique traditional atmosphere. On the first floor are the administrative office and the audiovisual room, and the second floor has planned exhibitions of modern art in exhibition rooms one and two. The third floor has exhibitions three and four, where works selected as best modern art by the National Museum of Contemporary Art are displayed all year around. You can see modern works such as paintings in Indian ink, colorings, oil paintings, and sculptures. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung has "Art Center With the Citizens" as its motto. Besides the exhibitions, the center has various performances such as music and mime. Lectures or seminars on artists' works are also held often and are popular with tourists. The "Citizen's Park" outside the museum is frequented by many people who go there to relax. Tourists can take a breather here as well, so be sure to make use of it.

Kim Gwangseok-gil Street is a mural street near Bangcheon Market where the now deceased Kim Gwangseok used to live. The 350m long wall has statues and murals depict his life and music. Every autumn, the area of Bangcheon Market and Dongseongno hosts a “Kim Gwangseok’s Singing Contest.”

Located in Dongdaemun-gu Seoul (the largest distribution market of herbal medicine in Korea), the museum is situated on the grounds of Bojewon, a medical institution that was in operation during the Joseon Dynasty. The Seoul Yangnyeongsi Herb Medicine Museum was established with the goal of preserving and developing Korea’s herb medicine culture. It has on display oriental relics and samples of medicinal herbs.Opened on September 13, 2006, the museum boasts a wide assortment of items: 500 pieces of equipment used by practitioners of herbal medicine, 420 artifacts related to the field of oriental medicine, and about 350 herbal medicinal items.A large number of antique books related to herbal medicine are also on exhibit at the museum, helping visitors unfamiliar to the practice gain an overall understanding of what effect each herb or technique has and how each is used when treating patients.In addition, the museum also houses a model of the Bojewon from the Joseon Dynasty, an oriental medicine experience zone, a multi-purpose auditorium, a rest area, and museum shop.

There are two stories about how Busan's 415m high Geumnyeonsan Mountain got its name. One suggests that the mountain resembled lotus flowers and the other argues that Buddhists served Buddha with golden flowers. Although the mountain used to be home to two temples, Banyaam and Banyamilda, there are only traces of those sites left. Renowned for majestic tolling of temple bells, the mountain belongs to one of eight scenic sights in Suyeong and offers a training facility for children, mineral spring spots, and hiking trails.

Happy Day is a sports club and jjimjilbang complex located in Seoul Gwangjin-gu Jayang-dong, presenting a fitness club, golf facilities, a sauna, and jjimjilbang. A special feature of is its hotel-grade facilities with waters provided by a sulfur hot spring containing geranium and alkali. The grand facility’s main charcoal sauna sits on the 1st floor basement with separate men’s and women’s saunas on the 2nd and 3rd floors respectively, an exclusive women’s jjimjilbang on the 4th floor, and an outdoor aqua therapy facility situated on the 7th floor roof. The women-only jjimjilbang boasts a pinewood sweating room and ice room, along with an all-natural aqua therapy pool on the 7th floor. Aside from these facilities, Happy Day also offers rock-climbing health equipment at its fitness club as well.

Haeundae Beach in Busan is famous both in Korea and abroad. Not only is it popular as the largest summer vacation spot, but it also attracts people even in the spring, autumn and winter for its variety of festivals and events, such as the Busan International Film Festival, the International Yacht Race and the Haeundae Sunrise Festival. These festivals help keep Haeundae busy as a popular tourist site all year round. With Haeundae Beach at its center, Haeundae Special Tourist Zone offers diverse marine leisure activities and fresh seafood. The zone has transformed itself from a typical vacation spot into a destination where one can stay long-term while enjoying leisure activities and cultural events. Today, the zone attracts an increasing number of tourists from around the globe. The zone not only has natural resources, such as Haeundae Beach, Dongbaek Island, Dalmaji Hill and sea water hot springs, but also a convention center and IT complex. Well-equipped with cultural facilities, including movie sets, arts galleries and aquariums, it is a qualified destination for MICE (Meeting, Incentive tour, Convention and Exhibition) tourists. The coastal drive course is another way to enjoy Haeundae Beach. Moontan Road, offering a grand night view and various walking trails, including Galmaet-gil lying along the coastline, should not be missed as well. The skyline at Haeundae underwent a dramatic change with the advent of Centum City. At night, the city skyline that is brilliantly illuminated by the high-end residential/commercial buildings captivates travelers. Inside Centum City are luxury apartments and a grand shopping complex, including a department store and a retail outlet. * Current State of Haeundae Special Tourist Zone 1) Districts Covered: Areas around Jung, Songjeong, Jaesong and U-dong (Centum City), Haeundae-gu, Busan 2) Area: 6,225,000㎡ * Tourist Attractions Haeundae and Songjeong Beach, Dongbaek Island, Oryukdo Island, Centum City, Aquarium, Haeundae Hot Springs, etc.

The Seoul Olympic Museum was established to remember the success and significance of the 1988 Olympics. It was opened in September of 1990 in order to recreate the events and success that resulted from the events of the Olympic Games, and also continue the atmosphere of the Games and plant a seed of sports into the next generation of athletes through education, games and themed sections in this global tourist attraction.

The Mungyeongsaejae KBS Drama Studio was built by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) in 2000 in Yongsagol to film a historical drama about the Goryeo Period. The spacious studio (65,755m2) consisted of two large palaces, 42 tile-roofed houses, 40 thatched houses, and 13 additional buildings. It is the world’s largest historical drama film set.The studio was built in Mungyeongsaejae because its mountains (Joryeongsan and Juheulsan) resemble Songaksan in Gaeseong (the capital of the Goryeo Period) and the area is filled with numerous traditional roads. Major dramas and films shot at the studio include Taejo Wang Geon, the Dawn of the Empire, the Age of Warriors, Dae Jo Yeong, Scandal, and Romantic Assassin.In 2008 the studio was expanded and now covers 70,000m2 and has over 130 buildings representing structures from the Joseon Period, including palaces, houses lived in by the nobles, tile-roofed houses, and thatched houses.