5 Days Essential Tour for Korea's past and present(Seoul, DMZ, Gyeongju, Busan)

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Explore Past and Present of Korea through Seoul City Tour
9 stops
1
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung palace is the first palace built in 1395 out of five palaces in Seoul in Joseon dynasty. This palace was built by fenhshui which is a traditional geological theory, The name of Gyeongbokgung palace means new dynasty would have big blessing and prospered forever. Geunjeongjeon Hall and Gyeonghoeru Pavilionare are national treasures in the palace, Geunjeongjeon Hall is the main building of the palace, most of major event like king’s inauguration ceremony and reception of ambassadors from foreign countries were held at this building. Gyeonghoeru Pavilion was used for the purpose of banquet and entertainment. There is an artificial pond besides of Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. Gyeongbokgung palace usually open to public in daytime, but especially the palace open to public in the night in spring and fall, and you can enjoy a beautiful night tour then. While tour of Gyeongbokgung palace, we will watch the Changing ceremony of Royal guards.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket included
2
National Folk Museum of Korea
You will see how the Korean lived from the birth to grave at this museum.The National Folk Museum of Korea is a museum that represents daily life and culture of Korea and is visited by more than two million people every year, and provide educational and cultural opportunities to better understand and experience the traditional Korean lifestyle.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
3
Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon(buk means north, chon means village) is a traditional residential village forming with Korea’s traditional house, Hanok(Tiled roof house). As you see, because of rapid industrialization of Korea, most Korean live in apartment and modified western style house, so it is very hard to see the traditional Korean Hanok village nowadays. This Bukchon Hanok village is one of traditional villages maintaining traditional Hanok style. Because this Bukchon was near the palace, and located at a good place according to fengshui, a theory of divination based on topography, this was a good residential area for royal family and high officials for 500 years of Joseon dynasty. Nowadays, Bukchon is one of famous tourist attraction in Seoul. Tourist can enjoy and feel the history of Bukchon , various cultural experience like tea ceremony, calligraphy, handcrafts and etc. at Bukchon.
40 minutes • Admission ticket included
4
Jogyesa Temple
Jogyesa Temple is located in central Seoul and it is one of Korea's major Buddhist temples, also serves as headquarters for the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest sect of Korea Buddhism. The temple's main hall is called Daeungjeon Hall and the famous statue of the seated Buddha is enshrined here (the statue is Tangible Cultural Heritage of Seoul No. 126). Baeksong, a white pine tree that is more than 500 years old stands next to Daeungjeon. Located in the heart of Seoul, huge numbers of tourists visit the temple to experience Buddhist culture.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
5
Insadong
Insadong is a traditional cultural place where you can see old Seoul. Originally, the government office in charge of paintings on king and royal family in Joseon Dynasty was located at Insadong. The streets of Insadong are lined with craft workshops, antique shops, galleries, and restaurants, traditional hanok style’s teahouse. Seoul city designated Insadong as street of traditional culture in 1988, and the first cultural place in 2002, This area is car free zone every weekend, so you can enjoy walking with shopping, cultural experience like making some handcrafts. And you can enjoy various events like musical performance. Samjigil is one of the place which you can feel Korea’s traditional handcrafts. During the tour at Insadong, we can taste refreshment.
1 hour • Admission ticket free
6
Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art
You will visit Dawon Traditional Tea Garden in Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art in a hanok (traditional Korean house) and enjoy traditional Korean Tea, this place offers the visitors a moment to relax and find peace in the city. When seated, greenery and flowers in the private garden make for a nice view while sipping tea. There are more than 15 homemade teas available, all of which originate from Korea. Dawon's peaceful atmosphere and authentic experience make it a must visit for anyone in Seoul. The unique charm of the tea house is made up of antique furniture.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
7
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Cheonggyecheon is a 11 km-long waterway flowing center of downtown Seoul. This waterway was natural stream until Joseon dynasty. After Korean war, many refugees made their houses and lived there, so this area was a typical slum and very dirty with bad smells there. Later 1950, Cheonggyecheon was covered with cement structures and automobile overpass was built over there, and many modern buildings were built at surrounding area, so this place became a successful symbol of Korea industrialization. But, after 40 years passed, the structures and overpass became obsolete and dangerous, and so city government decided to restore the place as Eco-stream. This was changed to Eco-waterway through 2 year's restoration project. Total length of restoration is 5.8km, there are 22 bridges, and 50,000 visitors a day. Cheonggyecheon became a symbol of the rapid development of Korea and major tour attraction place nowadays.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free
8
Baek In-je's House
Baek In-je House is a museum and cultural heritage site located in Bukchon Hanok Village. The house is a well-preserved as hanok(Hanok means traditional Korean house). The hanok was built on an elevated plot of land and there are incredible views of Bukchon Hanok Village from the house. There is also a spacious garden. The hanok is one of the few largest remaining hanok in the city, and because of its unique history and beauty, the hanok was designated a Citizens' Cultural Heritage site and converted into a museum. Closed on every Monday.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
9
Kwangjang Market
Kwangjang market is Korea’s first commercial market. This market opened in 1905. Originally, Namdaemun market was the biggest traditional market until early 1900s, but Japanese occupied Namdaemun market by Japanese’s invasion to Korea, so Korean merchants opened Kwangjang market for Koreans in 1905 to compete Japanese Namdaemun market. In the early of this market, major products were agricultural products, but nowadays, there are many kinds of products including fashion items, especially Gwangjang market has become famous as eating place to taste various street foods at cheap price. From about 10 years ago, many foreigners began to visit this market and became famous. This market is one of the famous tourist attractions in Seoul. The typical street foods are Kimbap, Soondae, Nokduejeon(Korean pancake made with mung beans), Yukwhe(beef sashimi)and etc.. we will taste various kinds of street foods for dinner here.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket included
Day 2
DMZ and N Seoul Tower
2 stops
10
DMZ
DMZ(Demilitarized Zone), established in 1953 after the Korean War, is the most unique attraction in the world. DMZ includes key sites such as the Freedom Bridge, 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, Imjingak Park, and Dora Observatory which you can see North Korea at.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
11
N Seoul Tower
N Seoul Tower is located at Namsan park in the center of Seoul and offerings a unique and beautiful panoramic view of Seoul, and chosen as one of Lonely Planet’s 500 best places to visit.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 3
Move to Gyeongju. We explore the UNESCO-listed sites, Gyeongju, was the capital of Silla kingdom for 1,000 years.
5 stops
12
Bulguksa Temple
It is one of the most popular Buddhist temples in Korea which every tourist must visit. Bulguksa Temple built in 751 during Silla kingdom era is the representative relic of Gyeongju because of the beauty of the temple itself and the artistic touch of the stone relics like a series of wooden buildings, stone bridges and pagodas. There are seven national treasures. Bulguksa were listed on UNESCO world heritage in 1995.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
13
Seokguram
Seokgulam is a typical Buddhist stone temple built in 751 during Silla kingdom era located on the slope of Mt. Tohamsan in Gyeongju. Inside the round-shaped main hall are a huge granite Bonjon Statue, Bodhi-sattva and his disciples. The Bonjon figure wearing a generous smile is seated on the stage engraved with a lotus flower design. The rounded ceiling looks like a half-moon or a bow and has a lotus flower decorated cover on it. Designated as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995,
1 hour • Admission ticket included
14
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond was a secondary palace used by the crown prince of the Silla Kingdom. It also served as a banquet site for important national events and important visitors. The pond was created in 674, during the reign of King Munmu. The pond features three small islands, and a landscape of 12 small hills to the northeast. After the fall of Silla, the site was abandoned and forgotten. The pond was referred to as "Anapji" from the Goryeo and Joseon periods and onwards. In the 1980s, a pottery fragment with the letters “Wolji” (a pond that reflects the moon) carved onto it was found, revealing the true name of the pond. After the discovery, the site was renamed to the current Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
15
Cheomseongdae Observatory
Cheomseongdae is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju. This was built in the era of Siilla kingdom around the 7th century, and has been designated as the 31st national treasure. This was built in a hollow cylinder shape and is made of 362 granite blocks, which represent the 362 days in a lunar year. There is one window in the middle of the tower, which divides 12 stone layers below it and 12 above. The height is about 9.5m.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
16
Daereungwon Tomb Complex is large ancient 26 large tombs of kings and nobles of the Silla Kingdom. The most famous tombs are Cheonmachong and Hwangnamdaechong. Those two tombs were excavated in the 1970's, and many jewelries, royal gold crown, accessories and painting were found. The inside of Cheonmachong is open to public, so we can see the lifestyle of the king and ancient culture of Korea 1,500 years ago through a tour.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
Day 4
Move to Busan, the biggest port city famous for spectacular beaches, fresh seafood and popular film festival.
5 stops
17
Haedong Yonggungsa
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is situated on the coast of the north-eastern portion of Busan. This superb attraction offers visitors the rare find of a temple along the shore line; most temples in Korea are located in the mountains. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple was first built in 1376 by the great Buddhist teacher known as Naong during the Goryeo dynasty. Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (Seawater Great Goddess Buddha), Daeungjeon Main Sanctuary, Yongwangdang Shrine, Gulbeop Buddhist Sanctum (enclosed in a cave), and a three-story pagoda with four lions can all be seen looking out over the ocean.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
18
Nurimaru APAC House
Nurimaru APEC House is a construction which was used as conference hall for 13th APEC summit on Nov. 2005. Nuri means world, and maru means peak, summit. So, nurimaru means the house which summits are using for conference. This APEC House is located in beautiful Dongbaek island surrounding with camellia and pine trees. After APEC summit on 2005, this building has been used for high level conference. This building is three story building, the overall shape and design of this building express and represent Korea’s traditional pavilion, JeungJa. At the terrace, we can enjoy the gorgeous scenic view of five islands, Kwangan bridge, Haeundae beach and etc..
1 hour • Admission ticket included
19
Dongbaekseom
Dongbaekseom is an island located on the west end of the Haeundae Beach. A name of Dongbasek is originated from Korean word for camellias. As the name of Dongbaek, there are lots of camellias in the island. Thirty minutes’ walking and jogging path along the coast pf island supplies stunning view of coast line and sea. It was designated as the 46th monument of Busan on March 9, 1999.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
20
Jagalchi Market
This is the biggest fish market in Korea and represents Busan and is famous throughout the country, At this fish market, customers buy the raw fishes at fish shops in the first floor and bring them to restaurants on second floors in the fish market. The restaurant slice the fish and make them sashimi. And people enjoy sashimi and some fish stews with alcohol.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free
21
UN Memorial Cemetery
The UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea honors UN soldiers from 16 countries and UN aids from five countries that were killed in battle during the Korean War from 1950-1953. It is the only memorial cemetery in the world dedicated to UN soldiers. While the cemetery originally held up to 11,000 graves, most of the fallen soldiers were repatriated at the request of their families, with only 2,300 graves remaining. The serene park spreads across a grassy plain area of 135,000 square meters. Some notable sites and memorials include: Memorial Service Hall, Memorabilia Hall, two Turkish Monuments, Greek Monument, Australian Monument, British Commonwealth Monument and two ponds.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
Day 5
Busan tour and move to Seoul
1 stop
22
Busan Gamcheon Culture Village
Gamcheon Culture Villiage is formed by houses built in staircase-fashion on the foothills of a coastal mountain, earning this village the nickname "Santorini of Busan." Many alleys that cut through this community are vibrantly decorated with murals and sculptures created by the residents. This village was originally made by war refugees for their settlement during Korean war. In 2000's, the city government of Busan launched maintenance and revitalization project in the area, bringing vibrant murals and sculptures into the meandering alleys of this town.
1 hour • Admission ticket included

Additional info

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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