Travel/Culture List

Lafesta is Korea’s largest open street shopping mall, full of fun events year-round. Resembling Santa Monica Pier in California or Shinjuku Street in Tokyo, Lafesta is tailored to maximize pedestrian shopping experiences. Consisting of six buildings, Lafesta is a unique place full of shopping and entertainment. Its main facilities include Fashion Outlet, accessory shops, food courts, restaurants, theme cafes, a game center, a book store, and a movie theater.Near Lake Park, Lafesta has become a wildly popular place in Ilsan among Korean and international tourists by offering exquisite shops, fun entertainment, and colorful events. It is also surrounded by shopping malls (e.g. Lotte Department Store and Homever), Ilsan Dong-gu Office, banking and finance institutions, MBC, and China Town. 

The Daegu Culture and Arts Center opened in May, 1990 and is a grand facility housing a performance center, exhibition hall and outdoor stage.The performance hall consists of a large (1,090 seats) and small (320 seats) theater. The large stage is mainly used for concerts, dances, plays and opera performances while the smaller stage is for solo recitals and plays. The exhibition hall consists of 13 rooms and an international conference hall. Behind the exhibition hall building is an outdoor stage with seating for 700 guests. The stage is also used for concerts, dances and madangnori and also can be rented for wedding ceremonies.The outdoor facility at Duryu Park is among the largest in Korea with a capacity of 27,000 people. The hall is for performances of diverse genres such as music concerts, plays, musicals and operas. Other amenities at the park include an art shop selling traditional living items and a coffee house.Daegu Culture and Arts Center is a top attraction in Daegu. The schedule is always filled with events hosting various municipal art groups (orchestra & choir, dance corps, Korea traditional music group, theatre, youth choir and opera group) and local artists. At the same time, it maintains a pleasant atmosphere to rest and relax for Daegu urbanites.

Just south of Gyeongpo Beach is Chodang Sundubu Village, which is famous for sundubu (watery tofu). Along Gangneung's most famous food street the beans are ground for Chodang sundubu, then through several steps, salt water from the East Sea is used in the congealing process resulting in a soft and light tofu. The name of this village, Chodang, originates from the name of a famous family that once lived here known as Chodang-Heoyeop. Heoyeop was the father of son, writer/poet Heo-gyun [1569~1618] and daughter, poet Heonan-seolheon [1563~1589]. A traditional-style Korean house has been reconstructed on the site where the original house of Heo-gyun and Heonan-seolheon once stood.

Located between Haeundae Beach and Gwangalli Beach, the Millak Waterfront Park is the first park in Korea to combine the oceanfront with public rest and leisure facilities. The park (about 33,000㎡) can accommodate up to 40,000 people and boasts convenience facilities such as gardens, shaded rest areas, and benches. The 3,040㎡ platform from which visitors can overlook the beach also serves as a place where people can dip their feet in the ocean when the tide is high.

Ripley’s "Believe It or Not!" Museum (originally created by Robert Ripley) is the largest museum franchise business in the world, with 31 locations worldwide. The new branch on Jeju Island (near the entrance of Jungmun Resort, Seogwipo-si) is the 32nd location and 11th country for the chain. The Jeju branch of the museum consists of 12 galleries, an outdoor park, souvenir shop, and a coffee house. The museum will feature as many as 700 astounding, one-of-a-kind items collected by explorer Robert Ripley (1893∼1949), during his travels of over 35 years to 198 different countries. Visitors to the museum will be awed by a large selection of hard-to-believe pieces including part of the Berlin Wall from 1989, meteorites from Mars, and a life-size model of man that's part Unicorn. All the items on display come complete with anecdotes and historical explanations, which present an amusing alternative to traditional museums.

Located in Gyeongju-si, Gyeongju Gyochon Village is a hanok village that allows visitors a look inside life of famous the Choi Clan. Visitors can see the House of the Gyeongju Choi Clan (Important Folklore Material No. 27) and try some Gyeongju Gyodong Beopju Liquor (Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 86-3) inside the village.

The Jeonju Korean Traditional Wine Museum offers visitors the unique chance to explore the world of traditional Korean liquor and engage in related hands-on experience programs. At the museum, visitors can see the tools and machines used in the making of alcohol and get a closer look at the different types of Korean traditional wine. Some of the most interesting displays at the museum are the alcohol preparation room and the fermentation room. Thanks to speakers located in these two rooms, visitors are able to hear the amplified sounds of the fermentation process.

Located east of Naksan Mountain at Sungin-dong, Jongno-gu in Seoul, Myogaksa Temple offers the urbanites a chance to experience Temple Stay. Since 2002, Myogaksa Temple has run its special Temple Stay program titled “Free from All Anxiety”, which sees a growing number of foreign participants every year. Moreover, you may also have a chance to experience Korean traditional culture as well as get to know Korean history better through interesting stories.

Otgol Village was named for its concave topographical features, as three sides (except for the southern side) are surrounded by a mountain. Others believe that the name derives from the groves of lacquer trees (locally called otnamu) in the nearby mountains and fields. Otgol is the clan village of the Gyeongju Choi family, who settled with the arrival of Choi Dong-jip, a scholar in the mid-Joseon era who came and established himself in the area.Otgol Village has a beautiful earthen wall and stone wall spanning about 2.5 kilometers. A tree stands along the wall path: it was not cut down, but the wall was instead built low to accommodate the tree, showing the wisdom and the respect for nature of the people at the time. In the Baekbul Residence, the document bestowed by King Jeongjo to Baekburam Choi Heung-won in appreciation of his deeds remains. Various other relics are also preserved, including old books and identity tags that have been passed down over the generations in the head family, the Seonghaksipdo (The Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning) folding screen, and dishes used in religious services. Nearby is the forest of Oriental Arbovitae in Dalseong, which is the No. 1 Natural Monument of Korea, as well as the Bullo-dong Tumuli Park and Palgongsan Provincial Park.

The Kukje Galley has been committed to presenting the work of significant Korean and international contemporary artists to the public since 1982. The gallery has established itself as a leading venue for international exhibits such as Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Francis, Jim Dine, Frank Stella, Robert Mangold, Anthony Caro, Cy Twombly, Edward Ruscha, Anselm Kiefer, Joseph Beuys, and Bill Viola, attracting enthusiastic responses from both the public and the media.The gallery has placed emphasis on collaborations between artists, galleries, and art dealers around the world and nurturing upcoming artists by sponsoring their artwork and giving them international exposure.Since 1988, Kukje Gallery has participated in major art fairs such as Art Basel, which is one of the most influential art fairs in modern and contemporary art. And, subsequently, works of Korean artists have received great attention from non-Korean collectors who were previously unexposed to Korean art.