South Korea Explorer

Reached via the Namsan Cable Car, Seoul Tower yields an astounding panoramic view over the city and is the perfect introduction to the awesome scale of the metropolis. Numerous visitor attractions are to be found on its upper floors, from four separate Observation Decks, to restaurants, shops, a teddy bear museum and popular ‘Locks of Love’ installation, where couples hang padlocks as symbols of eternal love.

Most tours kick off with the Chandeokgung, former seat of the Joseon Dynasty, whose gracious apartments hold displays of priceless Korean antiques. Afterwards you’ll be shown around the Gyeongbokgung, Seoul’s largest palace, which served as the Taejo’s principal residence until 1592, and retains beautifully well-preserved audience halls, gateways and paved courtyards. For lunch, head across town to Gwangjang Market for a bowl of ‘bibimbap’ (warm, white rice topped with sautéed vegetables, and soybean paste). Then explore the district of Insadong, home to half of the country’s art galleries and antique shops, as well as some atmospheric old tea houses where you can review your purchases over a pot of restorative quince tea.

For over 50 years, the armies of the two rival states have maintained an uneasy truce along this heavily fortified border, separated by a three-mile-wide buffer zone, which scythes for 160 miles (250km) across the middle of the peninsula. The main showpiece of the DMZ is Panmunjom, an hour’s drive north of the capital, where the Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, and peace talks are still occasionally held. Despite the mines and listening posts scattered across it, the absence of human activity within it has ensured the DMZ is now a biodiversity hotspot. Rare red-crowned cranes and even tigers are believed to inhabit this wild limbo land.

Seoraksan, in the far northeast of Korea, takes its name from the mountain whose snow-streaked heights form the park’s centrepiece. Renowned as much for its floral diversity as its spectacular landscapes, the sanctuary is especially popular during the autumn, when Koreans flock here to admire the changing colours. Serene waterfalls and Sillia-era Zen shrines are its other attractions. Once you’ve checked in to your hotel, travel to the park entrance at Seorakdong and catch the cable car up the mountain to Gwongeumseong Fortress, site of a ruined castle, from where the views are astounding.

There are plenty of options for hikes in the area, ranging from full-day summit ascents to gentle woodland ambles – your guide will be able to advise you on the best for your levels of fitness. One of our favourites starts at the Sinheungsa Temple, just beyond the Cable Car Base, where a large bronze Buddha flags the start of a beautiful path winding along the banks of a rocky stream of turquoise meltwater. Numerous large boulders provide picnic and sunbathing spots as you ascend the valley to the Geumganggul Cave, a grotto halfway up a rock tower reached via a steep flight of steps.

You’ll be spending the night in a particularly fine hanok, sleeping on an old-fashioned mattress laid out on under-heated floors – a uniquely Korean experience. Pass the remainder of the day wandering around the pretty lanes and field paths of Hahoe village, home to a fine assemblage of thatched period properties.

Gyeongju, half a day’s journey southeast of the capital, was the seat of the powerful Sillia dynasty, who ruled over the region between 57BC and 935AD. An exceptional crop of monuments survives as their legacy, the most impressive of them dating from the 7th and 10th centuries. Comprising temples, pagodas, ancient burial sites, statues and gardens, they stand in the shadow of Mt Namsan, Korea’s most sacred peak, whose many shrines can be viewed from the pilgrimage paths ascending its sides.

It’s worth a bleary-eyed start to savour the view from the Seokguram Grotto as the sun rises over the distant East Sea. The cave itself is home one of the great treasures of oriental stone sculpture: a sensuously carved Sakyamuni Buddha. An even more spectacular vestige of Silla rule, the Bulguksa Temple further down the mountain conveys the great power and sophistication of ancient Korea, and is a good place to watch the current population at play and at prayer. In the afternoon there will ample time to visit the National Museum, with its superb collection of priceless artefacts unearthed at the site, which include solid gold crowns, ornamental weapons and the huge ‘Emille Bell’.

Highlights of the Tumuli Park include the Cheonmachong, the only ancient tomb in the country you can enter, and Tomb of King Michu (262–284AD). Anyone wishing to tackle longer, more challenging walks will be spoiled for choice with the network of ancient pilgrims’ trails winding through the pine, peach, plum and cryptomeria trees on the lower slopes of Mount Namsan. Your guide will be able to advise you on the most rewarding options.

Fine textiles, traditional tea-making paraphernalia, artisanal ceramics, brass spoon sets, hand-carved stamp seals and exquisite rice bowls are the stock in trade of MMP, which occupies the mansion of a former lacquer master on Gyedong-gil. It stays open until 8pm.