Travel/Culture List

Located in Baekje Cultural Land (Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do), the museum shows the history and culture of the Baekje Period (18 BC- 660 AD). Consisting of three floors (B1F-2F), the museum offers a Regular Exhibition Hall (divided into four areas by time period), a Special Exhibition Hall, a Bakje Experience Hall, Archives Room, a 3D Theater, and an Auditorium. Equipped with diverse exhibition and education facilities, the museum displays reconstructed miniatures of relics, photos, and videos rather than real relics related to the Bakje Period, which help visitors understand the splendor of the period. It also hosts special exhibitions such as the Photo Exhibition of Buyeo a Century Ago.Baekje Cultural Land reproduces a royal palace from during the Baekje Dynasty (Sabigung Palace), a village, Wirye Fortress, Gobun (ancient burial mound) Park, and Baekje Forest, making it a pleasant tourist destination for families and friends. 

Saeyeongyo Bridge is the longest pedestrian overpass created in the southern-most area of the country. The bridge, inspired by ‘Tewu’ (Jeju's traditional log boat), was opened in September 2009, and connects Seogwipo Port and Birds Island. The overpass is the first single cable-stayed bridge ever created in Korea. The bridge has a major tower inspired by the wind and a sail and flamboyant LED lights. With the creation of the bridge, it has become much easier for people to travel to Birds Island, which features the island's ecosystem designated as a warm temperate forest conservation zone. The island also has diverse convenience and leisure facilities such as a 1.2km walking path, a public square, wooden deck road, pebble road, forest walking path and theme photo zone.

Daegwallyeong Donkey Ranch Don Quixote is the first and only of its kind in Korea. Here, visitors can feed and interact with farm animals such as donkeys, sheep, rabbits, ducks and geese, while seeing pheasants, turkey and chickens in the indoor halls. The vast prairie, stretching about 711,663 square feet, will surely refresh the body and soul, adding an exotic touch to this farm experience. Also, visitors can participate in a variety of experience programs and enjoy food at the farm. All-terrain vehicles (ATV), a snow sleigh in winter and water rafting or boating in summer are available on-site for families seeking some fun activities.

Naejangsa Temple is located in the midst of the beautiful Mt. Naejangsan National Park. The temple is said to have been built by the Buddhist monk Yeongeunjosa in the year 636 of the Baekje Dynasty. Once a large temple with over fifty buildings, Naejangsa was completely destroyed throughout the course of Jeongyujaeran (second Japanese invasion in 1597) and the Korean War (1950-1953). The present temple is largely the result of reconstruction efforts completed in the 1970s. One of the most prized treasures at the temple is the Ijo-dongjong Bell, considered a major cultural asset.Naejangsan Temple is a representative temple of Jeollabuk-do Province along with Geumsansa Temple on Moaksan Mountain. Surrounded on all sides by towering peaks, Naejangsa Temple boasts a picturesque landscape that is particularly striking in the fall when the mountains turn crimson with autumn leaves. Nearby attractions include Baegyangsa Temple, Bangjangsan Mountain, Jangseongho Lake, and Damyangho Lake.

First established in 1929, the Buyeo National Museum was reopened in August 1993 at the current location. The museum has 4 exhibition halls and an outdoor exhibit with a total of about 1,000 relics on display.The Prehistoric Hall presents representative relics from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age found in Buyeo and the nearby Chungcheongnam-do area. In the History Hall, most of the exhibited relics are the remains of the Sabi Era of Baekje. The Sabi Era (538-660) was when the culture and art of the Baekje Kingdom was at its most prosperous. Buddhist statues that are well-known for ‘the smile of Baekje’ welcome you with happy faces in the Buddhist Art Hall. Numerous stone remains such as Buddha statues and stone pagodas can be found at the outdoor exhibition area.National Treasures such as the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (National Treasure No. 287), and the Stone Basin of Buyeo (Treasure No. 194) are also on display. Visit Buyeo National Museum to see the treasures and riches from the Baekje times and to experience the dynasty’s love of form, detail and restrained opulence.

Songjeong Beach (송정해수욕장) is the ideal beach for families to swim together because of its shallow waters and fine sand. The white sandy beach stretches for 1.2 km, and covers an area of 62,150 square meters. The beach has the unique feel of the southern region, making the experience all the more fun. At the entrance of the beach is Jukdo, where you can find relaxation facilities in the evergreen groves. You can enjoy fishing as well at the northeast end of the beach. There is also a dock where you can use motorboats and take cruises in the summer. A particularly famous part of Songjeong Beach is the Songiljeong Pavilion, which offers a magnificent view of the sunrise and moonrise.Because this beach is a bit out of the Busan area, it is quite unlike many of the other beaches in Busan. Every year the Harvest Full-Moon Seaweed Festival and the Songjeong Beach Festival are held here, and many vacationers come to enjoy the celebrations.

Missionary Wilson’s House is a two-story brick building that sits upon the eastern foothills of Yangnimsan Mountain. Known as the oldest surviving Western-style house in Gwangju, the house is an icon of modern culture and architecture in Korea. The house was built by an American missionary named Wilson in the 1920s (exact date unknown) and was the home of the Wilson family while they stayed in Korea. When the family completed their work in Korea, they sold the house for a very cheap price with the stipulation that the house continued to be used for missionary purposes. The house fell into the possession of the General Assembly of Chonnam Presbyterian Church of Korea in 1986 and now serves as the home office for the Presbyterian Church of Korea.The square-shaped house consists of a living room, a family room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (1F), several bedrooms (2F), and storage areas and a boiler room (B1). The fact that the entrance of the house faces east is said to be a result of the prevailing architectural culture of Korea at that time. A Netherland-style house built with 55-milimeter thick, gray bricks, the first and second stories are delineated on the exterior with an eye-catching band of bricks.

Ewha Welcome Center opened in 2013 as the first promotional center and visitor center of its kind on a university campus in Korea, comprising an information desk, an exhibition lounge and a gift shop. The information desk offers useful information to help visitors get the most out of their Ewha campus experience. The exhibit lounge introduces the history, traditions, and vision of the present-day and future of the university year-round. Visitors can purchase university gear at center’s gift shop. Furthermore, foreign visitors can take part in a range of campus tour programs for an enriching experience on Ewha’s campus with the center's English and Chinese language services.

The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (성덕대왕신종), the largest Korean bell preserved, stands 3.75m tall, has a lip diameter of 2.27m, and is 11-25cm wide. In 1997, Gyeongju National Museum weighed it at 18.9 tons. The bell was cast to pay tribute to the memory of King Seongdeok. It was completed in 771 and named ‘The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok.’ However, because the bell was installed at Bongdeoksa Temple, it has also been called the Bell of Bongdeoksa. The bell is also known as the Emile Bell (에밀레종), a name derived from an ancient legend in which a child was sacrificed in order to give sound to the bell, whose echoes of ‘em-ee-leh’ resemble the traditional Korean word for "mommy." The tubular sound pipe at the top of the bell that helps the sound reverberate is a unique feature that can be found only in Korean bells. The yongnyu, which servers as a loop to hang the bell, has been decorated to resemble a dragon’s head. A band of arabesque patterns can be found at the shoulder, and the striking point of the bell is in the shape of a lotus flower. The magnificent design and inscription methods used in this bell exemplify the craftsmanship of artisan’s from the Unified Silla period. The bell is also inscribed with over one thousand Chinese characters, and its beauty and integrity have been meticulously preserved despite the passage of over 1,300 years.  

Taekwondowon is a place for practicing “change” with the aim of cultivating the spirit of taekwondo through physical training and the endless quest for mastery of this martial arts form. Some 45 training and hands-on experience programs are offered under the themes of experience, training, rest, and interest. The programs are open to anyone who is interested in training the mind and the body through taekwondo, including local and international taekwondo practitioners, business groups, students, and general public.