Jeju-do(Seogwipo-si) , Seogwipo

Joanne Bear Museum located in Jungmun Resort Complex in Seogwipo-si, on Jeju-do Island is a gallery exhibition hall for Joanne Oh, a world-famous teddy bear artist. The museum, which boasts the motto “nature and environmentalism", showcases teddy bears that are made of all-natural materials. The eco-friendly pieces mimic the natural beauty of Jeju Island and give visitors a feeling of comfort and refreshment.Joanne Bear Museum features a variety of teddy bears, polar bears, and 'joon bears' that were created based on the character of Bae Yong-joon, a famous Hallyu star. Due to the ‘joon bear’s world-wide acclaim, the museum is frequently visited by many Japanese tourists.At the museum, visitors can watch Joanne Oh’s teddy bear making process in person. The museum offers other conveniences as well: a café on the second floor and a backyard garden. Visitors are even permitted to go to the rooftop to enjoy the view. A variety of cultural events are also offered to double your fun. Those who wish to have a ‘joon bear’ of their own may purchase a mini joon at the museum’s souvenir shop.Joanne Oh, as a teddy bear artist, has given much thought on her role in saving polar bears from endangerment. As a result, she has designed a family of polar bear teddies and launched a campaign called STPB (Save the Polar Bear). She continues to seek to expand her efforts to preserve nature and help the environment. 


Jeollanam-do(Mokpo-si)

The slow city of Mokpo offers visitors an amazing view of the old downtown through Mokpo Marine Cable Car. With Bukhang Station and Gohado Island Station, the marine cable car has become a new top attractions in Mokpo.


Gyeonggi-do(Yongin-si) , Yongin

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.


Chungcheongnam-do(Buyeo-gun)

Gwanbuk-ri Relics and Busosanseong Fortress (Historic Site No. 5) is a mud fortress located on top of Busosan Mountain (alt. 106m) in the northern part of Buyeo. The fortress is estimated by some to have been built around 538 AD (16th year of King Seongwang) to protect Sabi (now Buyeo), which was once the capital of the Baekje Kingdom. Other historians, however, believe that the fortress was already in place by 500 AD (22nd year of King Dongseongwang) and modified in 605 (6th year of King Muwang) into the structure we see today. In either case, some parts of the fortress were reconstructed during the Unified Silla Kingdom period (676-935 AD) and modified again in the Goryeo (918-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910) eras.Busosan Mountain was once considered the guardian mountain of Buyeo and is home to historic landmarks from the Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-660 AD). In addition to Busosanseong Fortress, some of the most famous sites on the mountain include Baekhwajeong Pavilion, Sajaru Pavilion, Banwollu Pavilion, Yeongillu Pavilion, Samchungsa Shrine (dedicated to three loyal subjects of the Baekje Kingdom), Gungnyeosa Shrine, Goransa Temple, Gunchangji (military warehouse site), and Suhyeoljugeoji (site of pit houses for the Baekje soldiers). The mountain is also home to Nakhwaam Rock where, according to legend, 3,000 women of the Baekje Kingdom threw themselves into the river below after the collapse of the empire.Historic Sites of Busosan Mountain■ Samchungsa ShrineSamchungsa Shrine is just a short hike from Sabimun, the main gate of Busosanseong Fortress. The shrine holds the portraits and memorial tablets of Seongchung, Heungsu, and Gyebaek, who were known as the three most loyal subjects of the Baekje Kingdom. Memorial services are held for these great patriots during the annual Baekje Cultural Festival each October.■ Yeongillu PavilionYeongillu Pavilion was built on the site of Yeongildae, an observation platform located on the easternmost peak of Busosan Mountain. Kings and members of the royal family of the Baekje Kingdom once used this spot as a place from which to watch the sun rise above Yeoncheonbong Peak on Gyeryongsan Mountain, plan state affairs, and pray for the peace of the kingdom and their subjects.■ GunchangjiAlso known as “Mallichang,” Gunchangji is the site of a warehouse that was used to store grain for military use. Remnants of burnt grain were discovered at the site in 1915.■ SuhyeoljugeojiSuhyeoljugeoji, only a short distance from Gunchangji, was once the site of a pit house for soldiers of the Baekje Dynasty. The thatched-roof pit houses that stand on the site today have been reconstructed based on historical evidence uncovered during site excavation. Measuring 1m in depth with walls of wood and straw, the pit houses are neighbored by an exhibition hall that stands on the original excavation site.■ Sajaru PavilionSajaru Pavilion, located on the highest peak of Busosan Mountain (alt. 106m), is said to represent the cosmic powers of yin and yang together with Yeongillu Pavilion in the east. Adorned with a nameplate written by Prince Uichinwang Yi Gang (1877-1955), Sajaru commands an ethereal view of the moon and has long since been the source of poetic inspiration. The pavilion was also the site of discovery of the famous Geumdong-seokga-yeorae-ipsang (Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha, Treasure No. 196).■ Baekhwajeong PavilionBaekhwajeong Pavilion, perched on the cliffs of Nakhwaam Rock, was built in 1929 by a poets’ society called Bupungsisa to commemorate the story of the famous rock. According to the historical tale, the women of Baekje flung themselves off the cliffs of Nakhwaam to their deaths after the kingdom collapsed to keep themselves from being defiled by the men of the insurgent kingdoms.■ Gungnyeosa ShrineGungnyeosa Shrine is located a short distance from Taejagol (Crown Prince Valley) to the northeast of Banwollu Square. Established in 1965, the shrine honors the Baekje women who leaped to their deaths from the cliffs of Nakhwaam Rock in 660 when the empire was conquered by the allied forces of the Silla Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty of China. Commemorative rites are held at the shrine every October during the Baekje Cultural Festival.


Gyeongsangbuk-do(Gyeongju-si)

BomunTourist Complex is the international tourist district of Gyeongju. This tourist district is formed with Bomunho Lake at its center, located about 10km east of downtown Gyeongju. The dimensions of the area is 19.38 square km, and it is designated as a spa and special tourist district. It is a total tourist complex that opened in April 1979. At the entrance, the stream from Deokdongho Lake flows in, powering a water mill inside, and flows on to a 12m artificial waterfall.Within the Bomun Tourist Complex are facilities designed in a traditional style such as the tourist center, international conference room, golf resort, shopping mall, and a tourist hotel. It contains many amusement facilities such as a ferry port, Yukbu Village, Seonjae Art Gallery, Bomun Outdoor Performance Hall, drive-in theater, and Gyeongju World. Every year from April to January the following year, traditional Korean music (Gugak) performances are held free of charge at Bomun Outdoor Performance Hall. You can also enjoy the hot spring in the Bomun District. Along the lake is a long walkway with many cherry trees. In April the whole walkway is covered with pink petals of cherry blossoms.


Daegu(Jung-gu)

Kim Gwangseok-gil Street is a mural street near Bangcheon Market where the now deceased Kim Gwangseok used to live. The 350m long wall has statues and murals depict his life and music. Every autumn, the area of Bangcheon Market and Dongseongno hosts a “Kim Gwangseok’s Singing Contest.”


Daegu(Buk-gu)

The Daegu Citizen Stadium was established on April 20, 1948. It features a main stadium, a baseball stadium, a ssireum (wrestling) stadium, an indoor ice rink, tennis courts, and many more. The baeball stadium, which was completed in February 1981, is also the home stadium of the professional baseball team, the Samsung Lions. Since its expansion in 1975, the Daegu Citizen Stadium has hosted several matches during the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics. The Stadium can accommodate up to 13,000 people.


Jeju-do(Jeju-si) , The Eastern Part of the Jeju Island

Jeju Jeolmul Natural Recreation Forest is located northeast of Hallasan Mountain on Jeju Island. Jeolmul Oreum, the park's main mountain, is famous for its beautiful Japanese cedar forest. Jeolmul Oreum is about 697m high and created by volcanic activity. The peak boasts amazing views.  On clear days, it is even possible to see all the way to Seongsan Ilchubong on the east coast of the island.The recreation forest features a promenade, pond, observatory, and grass square. There are forest cabins available for lodging. Reservations can be made online.


Seoul(Dongdaemun-gu) , Dongdaemun

Hongneung Arboretum is a first generation arboretum in Korea. It was established in 1922 when experimental forests were built on Hongneung burial mound, which is the royal tomb of Queen Myeong-Seong. On the 780 square meters area southwest of Mt. Cheonjangsang, there are 9 gardens such as a garden of conifers, a garden of broadleaf trees and an ornamental garden, 3 botanical gardens with edible & medicinal plants garden, an aquatic garden and a wetland garden. There are 6 resting places as well.Hongneung Arboretum has beautiful scenery for every season. The garden of broadleaf trees behind the main building is the one that shows the change of season most dramatically. The hundreds of broadleaf trees appear their best in autumn. The arboretum is good for nature education walk because of the many nameplates offering information on the species and characteristics of each tree. There are also many things to see at the Forest Science Exhibition Hall which provides visitors with knowledge and information of the value of forests, forestry, and the forest industry. The building itself is an exhibition because the hall is made of Korean wood. Inside, there are three general exhibition rooms, a regular exhibit hall, a planning exhibit hall, and a special exhibit hall.You may look around from Garden 1 to Garden 9 in regular order or take the course from Garden 2, pass the Forest Science Exhibition Hall to the mountain ridge ending at Garden 1. Note that it takes approximately 3 hours to see everything, whichever course you may take.