Travel/Culture List

King Sejong The Great Memorial Hall was established in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, on November 1970 in memory of King Sejong and his saintly virtues and great achievements. Officially opened to the public in October 1973, the memorial hall is a modern structure housing an exhibition area, auditorium, laboratory, and a reference room. The exhibition area is further divided into the Hangeul Room, Science Room, Traditional Music Room, King Sejong Art Room, and an outdoor exhibition space.

The Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is the world’s leading shipbuilding plant: building various vessels, offshore plants, drill ships, FPSO/FPUs, submarines and destroyers all year round. Construction began in October 1973 and was completed in 1981 and the resulting shipyard currently spans an area of 4.3million meters squared. It encompasses several docks, one of which boasts an astounding million-ton capacity. The plant is optimized for building high-tech motor vessels using cutting-edge equipment, including a 900-ton goliath crane. DSME manufactures high-quality products based on vast IT expertise, well-managed shipbuilding technologies, superb fixed-platform construction capacities, large-scale project management know-how, and submarine/destroyer construction technologies.

Spa Valley first opened in 2003 and the citizens of Daegu City have been enjoying its hot springs and sauna facilities ever since.The 1st floor of Spa Valley holds a health club, souvenir shop, and various stores, while the 2nd floor has a variety of hot spring pools and a jjimjilbang. The hot spring pools include a bath pool that is said to be good for your health and a kids’ pool for the children, while the jjimjilbang facilities include the UK-Ball Jjimjilbang, proven to be beneficial for skincare and blood circulation, and a jjimjilbang cave.The 4th floor provides a large hot springs spa where visitors can enjoy various themed saunas and hot springs. The outdoor water park offers a wave pool, youth pool, waterslide, a water polo pool, diving pool, and more.

The Appenzeller Noble Memorial Museum opened in 2008 in the East Hall of the Pai Chai Institute, a Western-style educational institution built in 1916. The museum building is designated Seoul Monument No. 16. With dynamically-arranged permanent exhibitions, annual special exhibitions and special lectures, the museum offers a unique learning experience to visitors and people with an interest in the history of education in Korea.

Ganghwa Hwamunseok, which is Korean's only rush-weaving handicraft, is a cultural legacy inherited from Goryeo (the ancient Korean state) period, and is a product that is exclusively produced in Ganghwa-gun.To both preserve and develop its historic rush-weaving handicrafts, Ganghwa-gun constructed Hwamunseok Cultural Center at Yangoh-ri Songhae-myeon, the craft's place of origin.Visitors to the cultural center will be able to view the individual features and transformations of Hwamunseok in addition to the past, present and future of rush-weaving handicrafts.

Gamcheon Culture Villiage lead to the village's cultural center houses a wide alleys as shown below, formed by the cascade foothills area of London called to Machu Picchu, a theme that house projects and alleyways of tours throughout the formative work experience, recreated by local residents a place where you can enjoy the sights.  

The Korean Manhwa Museum is the first cartoon museum that preserves and exhibits various rare cartoon materials and historically valuable materials, including the original copy of cartoons drawn by well-known cartoonists, which Bucheon Manhwa Information Center (currently Korea Manhwa Contents Agency) has collected and preserved. Located in the Bucheon Visual Culture Complex, the museum exhibits a wide range of cartoons from those of the 1990s to the latest works of cartoonists who are popular among kids.

One of the amazing things about Seoul is that some of the most interesting historical sites are right in the middle of the business districts. Located near the Jongno Police Station and the Japanese Cultural Center, Unhyeongung Royal Residence is one such site. Unhyeongung Royal Residence was the home of young Gojong, who later became Emperor during the Joseon Dynasty. Under order of Queen Mother Jo, Unhyeongung was renovated into a grand, palace-like house with four gates. Gojong’s father, Yi Haeung, or better known as Heungseon Daewongun, continued to live at Unhyeongung for most of his life. Damaged during the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War, the Unhyeongung Royal Residence seen today is a much smaller version of the majestic structure that it used to be. Entering through the front gate, the first noticeable sight is a small row of rooms to the right. This area, called Sujiksa, housed the servants and guards. To the front, left-hand side of Sujiksa is a structure called Norakdang. Many important events, such as birthday parties and ceremonies, as well as the wedding ceremony for Gojong and Myeongseong, were held here. To this day, traditional wedding ceremonies continue to be held at Norakdang. Norakdang also served as one of the two women’s quarters. The most notable structure inside Norakdang is the kitchen, which was used for food preparation when hosting important events. Right outside Norakdang, there are several rock structures along the path to Irodang. The rock structures are said to resemble various animals. To the left of Norakdang lies Irodang, the main building of Unhyeongung. This was where the wife of Heungseon Daewongun resided. Irodang's most prominent feature is its tall steps and square shape. It was built this way in order to help protect the women inside from intruders. Outside Irodang lays an old well on one side of the wide, open yard. To the right of Norakdang lies Noandang. Noandang served as the men’s quarters and was where Heungseon Daewongun received his guests. The word noan means "old man" and carries with it the connotation of comfort and ease. Thus, it served as the leisure quarters for the men. However, Noandang was not just a place of rest and entertainment. As the father of a young Emperor, Heungseon Daewongun carried out all his business from Noandang. Upon exiting Noandang, there lies an Exhibition Hall to the far right. The Exhibition Hall houses a small collection of interesting artifacts and information. Items such as a scale model of Unhyeongung, writing tools, traditional wedding garments, and more, can be seen here. Next to the Exhibition Hall, there is also a small coffee shop and tea room where visitors can enjoy a nice beverage while taking in the sights of Unhyeongung. 

Busan Cinema Center is the venue of the Busan International Film Festival, which is a major world film festival. There are theaters of different sizes in the 3 buildings of the center, named Cine Mountain, BIFF Hill, and Double Cone. The center runs a tour program as well as film-related lectures. Known as the cinema paradise of Korea, the center is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in Busan.