Seoul(Seocho-gu) , Gangnam・Samseongdong(COEX)

The National Gugak Center (Formerly: National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts) is the governing body established to preserve and promote traditional Korean performing arts. It consists of three performance halls. First, the largest venue for traditional Korean performing arts is the Reservation Hall. The outward appearance of this theatre is based on Suwon Castle. The interior is built to accentuate all the features of the performing platform for traditional performing arts, and can accommodate every single type of traditional performing art, such as Palace Music, Court Music, and all other genres including major productions of Changguek (Korean musical drama). The structure of the stage and seats are reminiscent of a Korean yard.Long ago in Korea, traditional arts were performed in the yard. The audience was separated into an area in the shape of an earthen wall, and the ceiling had a shield/kite shaped emanating plate. The theatre gives the illusion of being in an ancient Korean household. On the 2nd floor of the Reservation Hall, there is a separate children's playground, which allows for quiet enjoyment of the music in the performance hall. Umyeondang (small hall) was designed to accommodate performances which were held outdoors. The performing space can be adjusted to fit the needs of the production.The National Gugak Center Outdoor Performance Stage is also called the "Star Welcoming Stage." You can watch many traditional performances that are usually held on traditional holidays. You can listen to traditional music, and if you want more information on the music try going to the Gugak Museum. Videos on Korea's traditional instruments and other Gugak related videos are always exhibited here. Also at the shop you can buy various Gugak related souvenirs. Having a Gugak CD or a cassette will be a great souvenir to remember the inspiration of Gugak for a long time. At the Front courtyard of the museum you can try to play traditional games and instruments from 10am to 5pm. You can play traditional games like neol ttwigi (seesaw jumping) or jegi chagi (Korean hacky sack) and try playing traditional instruments like the jing (gong), janggu (drum), kkwaenggwari (cymbal) and buk (drum).


Gangwon-do(Samcheok-si)

Haesindang Park is home to the the nation’s largest aquarium museum, which exhibits folk materials that shows the lifestyle of fishermen of the East Sea, an arboretum and a park that displays some sexual art sculptures. In addition, there is an interesting bronze statue that tells about a legend of a nearby village.* Legend of Aebawi and HaesindangThere once lived a young maid who was engaged. One day, the maid took her husband’s boat out to sea to harvest seaweed. Her husband dropped her off at a site that was at a distance from the beach. After promising to pick her up later, he returned to the beach to do his work. However, the weather turned bad as strong winds and pummeing waves begun. The husband failed to rescue his wife on time and she ultimately drowned. Since then, the villagers were unable to catch any fishes and some claimed that it wasbecause of the dead maid. To soothe the spirit of the dead maid, the villagers made several wooden carvings and held religious ceremonies. Later, fishes were gradually seen appearing and the villagers were able to fish and live comfortably again. Therefore, the place where the maid died was named Aebawi Rock and the building where the religious ceremony is held twice a year was named Haesindang. The ceremony is still honored today as a traditional folk event.


Chungcheongbuk-do(Cheongju-si)

Situated in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju (Chungcheongbuk-do), the terminal operates over 950 buses on 90 routes. Travelers are encouraged to plan in advance as seats are often limited for buses heading to the Chungcheong and Jeolla. Nearby the terminal are restaurants, pharmacies, a book store, and a large parking lot.


Seoul(Seocho-gu) , Gangnam・Samseongdong(COEX)

Located in the area near San93 of Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Montmartre Park was initially a wild forest filled with groupings of acacia trees, later cut down for use. In 2000, as part of Seoul Metropolitan Government's redevelopment, this hilltop was turned into an accessible public area for community residents to come for rest and leisure. This hilltop has come to be nicknamed "Montmartre" due to its close proximity to the nearby French-styled village, where roughly 600 people have come to form a little provance including international schools, boulangeries, wine shops and exotic restaurants. For the same reason, people started to call this neighborhood Montmartre, symbolizing the nostalgia of the French people. * Total area site: 24,690m² * Park area: 20,054m²


Gangwon-do(Gangneung-si)

Gangneung-si in Gangwon-do is the first local district in Korea to host a coffee festival and support coffee artisans as well has promote development of coffee-related contents such as coffee museum, coffee street, coffee factory, barista academy, etc. With almost all coffee shops in the area roasting their own coffee beans, Gangneung-si is well-recognized as the "city of coffee."  


Gangwon-do(Sokcho-si)

Abai Ferry is a special way to get across the Sokcho harbor, separating downtown Sokcho from Abai Village. The distance is quite small, only reaching about 50m across, but riding one of the two ferries across is much quicker than going around by land. The ferry must be pulled across by rope by all passengers, excluding the elderly. This unique experience can only be found in Sokcho.


Seoul(Jongno-gu) , Namdaemun・Seoul-Station

Cheongwadae Sarangchae is a space to learn about Korean culture and the history of former Korean presidents. The area is comprised of a planned exhibition hall where various special exhibitions are held, Korean culture exhibition hall, Korean food (hansik) promotion hall on the first floor and Cheongwadae Hall which introduces former Korean presidents and Haengboknuri Hall which presents the future vision of Korea on the second floor.


Gyeongsangbuk-do(Gyeongju-si)

Gyeongju World Culture Expo is a valuable cultural exposition which has attracted over 16.2 million visitors so far through eight runs since 1998. In particular, previous expos introduced: the harmony of traditional culture and ICT (Information and Communications Technology), Korean culture and global culture, abundant hallyu contents, and is the first cultural expo to showcase the theme of the Silk Road. The expo is expected to welcome visitors with various exhibitions, performances, and hands-on programs.


Busan(Dongnae-gu)

Opened on June 10, 1994, the Busan Marine Natural History Museum is the first and largest museum of its kind in Korea. The museum features some 25,000 marine specimens from over 100 countries around the world, including rare living species and those native to Korea. The museum opened a second exhibition hall in April 2003, and launched the Busan Fishing Village Folk Museum on February 23, 2007. Marine life on display in the museum The major exhibits of Busan Marine Natural History Musem include the largest existing man-eating clam, arapaima (the largest living freshwater fish), oarfish (a legendary fish that is said to live half of the month in the mountains and the rest in the sea), whale fish (the largest living of the fish species), jumbo squid (the largest of sthe quid species), a blade bone fossil of a dinosaur, piranha (an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers), sturgeon (toothless bony fish species, whose eggs are often eaten as caviar), water monitor (the second largest species of lizards), alligator snapping turtle (giant turtle with strong teeth and a violent temper), spur-thighed tortoise (the third largest turtle in the world) and more!