Travel/Culture List

Located in Seoul Subway Line 2, Yongdap Station Bridge is a place that takes part in the everyday life of the local community. It was also a filming site in tvN's drama "Guardian (2016)" for many notable scenes, inclduing Sunny and Jeoseungsaja's first encounter.

Hahoe Village is home to descendants of the Ryu clan of Pungsan and is well-known for its traditional houses. Birthplace of renowned scholars of the Joseon Period such as Gyeomam Ryu Un-ryong and Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, the village became even more famous after Queen Elizabeth of England visited on April 21, 1999.Hahoe Village (translating to “Village Enveloped by Water”) gets its name from Nakdong River, which flows around the town’s perimeter. The village is located at the foothills of Hwasan Mountain, an offshoot of Taebaek Mountain that rises up to the east. The center of the village is populated by large tile-roofed houses belonging to the Ryu clan, adding their own unique charm to the surrounding thatched roofs.Hahoe Village boasts exquisite scenic sights: the elegant Nakdong River flowing around the village, the magnificent Buyongdae Cliff, endlessly unfolding sandy beaches, and lush, ancient pine trees. Visitors can take the boat to Buyongdae Cliff for a panoramic view of the village.In addition to breathtaking scenery, Hahoe Village offers delectable local delicacies. Try the Andong Soju (distilled alcoholic beverage), Heotjesabap (a type of Bibimbap eaten by the nobles), Andong Gangodeungeo (salted mackerel), and Andong Guksu (a kind of noodle dish).Nearby attractions include Bongjeongsa Temple (built during the Silla Period), Gosan Seowon (Confucian Academy), Gwiraejeong, Gyemyeongsan Mountain Recreational Forest, Hakgasan Mountain Recreational Forest, and Waryongsan Mountain.Hahoe Village, along with Yangdong Village in Gyeongju, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the category of “Historic Villages in Korea” on July 31, 2010.Andong Mask Dance Festival is held every autumn. 

Saji Park is well landscaped with various trees and flower beds. Around April 15th every year, cherry blossoms are in full bloom creating a splendid scene. During this time, the municipality of Gwangju installs lighting in the trees for citizens to enjoy the blossoms late into the night. The park has become established as a favorite rest area for Gwangju citizens.The park houses several attractions including a memorial for national heroes, the Gwangju Broadcast Station (KBS), the Memorial Tower for Policemen, Yeonpajeong Pavilion, the Gwandeokjeong shooting range, and the Palgakjeong Pavilion overlooking downtown Gwangju. The various trees, shrubs, and flowers offer an inviting atmosphere for an outing.

From Eungbongsan Mountain (94m) one can easily see the Hangang River, Seoul Forest, Jamsil Sports Complex and more in the eastern part of Seoul. With such a great view of the Hangang River, the mountain are packed with visitors including many photographers. There is a sunrise event on the first day of the year and forsythia festival around April as the mountain is well-known for its forsythia.

Paik Nam-june explained: ‘Marcel Duchamp achieved everything in every field except for video art. He created a large entrance and an extremely small exit. The small exit is video art. When we take the exit, we are out of the scope of influence of Marcel Duchamp.’ The NJP Art Center is a creative space, wherein it is possible to practice the ‘mediation of endless potential unfolded outside the exit of Duchamp’. As a space of ‘introspective anarchy of infinite light and life’, the NJP Art Center aims to become a venue for the ‘escape from enlightenment’, going beyond enlightenment. Paik Nam-june, who was well versed in aesthetics and music, rather than the figurative arts, discovered a new ‘exit’ by combining electronic music and happenings. He didn’t regard video and television, with their great disseminative power, or communication networks, as a means for communicating messages, but as an explosion of time, instead creating a space for mandala-based televisuals, and for participation by the public where ‘consilience’ among heterogeneous fields can take place.Inheriting the spiritual legacies of Paik Nam-june, the NJP Art Center will expand the possibilities of creating new media for information and communication in the information age, and create a new space for cultural participation from aesthetic, ethical, and political perspectives. The center aims at expanding effective, creative consumption by encouraging reflections on the aspects of human existence that are still involuntary and lack freedom. The center aspires to become a space for cultural mediation that expands the space of freedom’s activities throughout the globe.

Sanjeong Lake is one of the main attractions in Pocheon and is situated down in the valleys between Myeongseongsan Mountain, Mangbongsan Mountain, and Mangmubong Peak.Meaning “lake as clear as a mountain well,” Sanjeong Lake was built as a reservoir to supply water to farmlands in 1925. Thanks to its surrounding attractions, the lake brings many visitors each year. Promenades along the lake are popular for couples as well as tourists who stay in the nearby hotels. Beautiful fog often rises from the lake in spring and fall, making boating at night quite picturesque.Hikers frequent Myeongseongsan in spring and fall. Visitors love skating on the lake in winter. The lake is also surrounded by an amusement park, swimming pools, sledding facilities, and spa amenities, attracting many family visitors. Local restaurants are renowned for their delicious, wholesome food made using freshwater snails and mushrooms. Other local favorites include maeun-tang (spicy fish stew), dotori-muk (acorn jelly), sanchae baekban (a bowl of rice served with wild herbs and vegetables), and deodeok-gui (a grilled dish made from Codonopsis lanceolata root).

Located in Nogobong Valley in Taehwasan Mountain in Gwangju-gun, Gyeonggi-do Province, Konjiam Resort is only an hour away by car from the Gangnam area in Seoul. The year-round resort boasts the largest ski slopes of Gyeonggi-do Province, a condominium with 476 rooms, the nation’s first residential spa, and a variety of other facilities.Some of the most unique features of the resort are the ecological stream running through the resort and the cave wine cellar where about 90,000 bottles of wine are stored. Another visitor favorite is the Konjiam Arboretum, which has 3,700 species of plants and about 20 themed gardens.

Tapsa Temple is located 1.9km away from the southern parking lot of Maisan Mountain in Dongchon-ri, Maryeong-myeon, Jinan-gun, Jeollanam-do. Tapsa Temple is famous for the over 80 stone pagodas built by Lee Gapyong, a retired scholar. Those stone pagodas have different sizes and shapes from cone-shaped to straight-shaped. Behind Daeungjeon, Cheonjitap tower is located. It is the largest tower, with a x_height 3 times as high as the average adult’s x_height. How this tall tower was built is still unclear, drawing much attention from people. It is said that those stone pagodas were made in the late 1800's entirely by Lee Gapyong alone. He collected stones in daytime and built the pagodas at night. Even though the pagodas have been around for more than 100 years, they have never collapsed nor even moved through strong winds, making them truly amazing.Tapsa Temple is also well known for cherry blossoms in spring, covering an area of 1.9km from Nambu (south) parking lot of Maisan Mountain to the entrance (a 30min walk). This road is the venue for Maisan Cherry Blossom Festival as well.* Cheonjitap is comprised of two twin pagodas with x_heights of 13.5m and placed in the south and north directions. Cheonjitap is the main pagoda, making the other pagodas at Tapsa Temple look well-balanced. It is believed that 120 towers originally existed, but only 80 of them remain today. The two towers at the very front are named Ilgwangtap and Wolgwangtap. These groups of towers are strong enough to stand up to typhoon winds, something quite hard to believe, giving the towers a certain mystery. Also, towers are tilted slightly in both directions, showing that Lee Gapyong erected the towers with the direction of the wind in mind.

The Maritime and Fisheries Science Museum, Korea's first science institute of its kind, was established in 1997 in order to promote maritime science and technology to the Korean public. The museum was opened after six years of effort by the National Fisheries Science Institute in preparing research and materials regarding marine resources, the fishing industry, fishery and fish farm technology and equipment, taxidermied fish specimens, sea life species, and others. There are a total of 15 separate areas, and even an actual right whale skeleton on display, as well as a room where visitors can learn how to operate a marine vessel.