14 Days - Backroads Of South Korea

Your journey in South Korea begins as you arrive at Incheon International Airport, a modern gateway that reflects the country’s dynamic energy and efficiency. After completing immigration and customs formalities, you will be met by your private guide who will provide a first introduction to the country’s history and contemporary culture.

From Incheon, the drive into the city takes around one to one and a half hours, covering approximately sixty kilometres. As you travel, you will notice the landscape shift from the coastal wetlands of the Yellow Sea to the broad Han River plain, where Seoul’s skyline gradually comes into view. Your guide may share insights into how this once walled city grew into one of Asia’s most vibrant metropolises.

On arrival at your hotel, you will have time to settle in and rest after your flight. Depending on your energy levels, you may wish to take a gentle walk in the neighbourhood to begin orienting yourself. Even a short stroll often reveals the contrasts of modern Seoul, from bustling shopping streets to quiet temples tucked between office towers.

This first evening is left at leisure. You might choose to try a local restaurant near your hotel, sampling dishes such as bibimbap or Korean barbecue, which are central to the national cuisine. Your guide or hotel concierge will be happy to suggest dining options suited to your tastes.

As you return to your hotel, take a moment to absorb the atmosphere of the city. Tomorrow you will begin your deeper exploration of Seoul’s history, culture and contemporary life. Today is about grounding yourself in a new country, with time to rest and prepare for the days ahead.

Begin your exploration of South Korea with a guided driving tour through the city’s historic and civic heart. At Seoul Plaza and City Hall, you will see the grand open spaces where national events and daily life overlap. Cheonggye Square reveals a restored stream that flows through the modern centre, a project that has become a symbol of the city’s urban renewal. At Gwanghwamun Plaza, watch the pace of traffic circle statues of Admiral Yi Sun Sin and King Sejong, enduring figures who shaped the country’s history.

Next you will step back into the era of dynasties at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest and most celebrated of Seoul’s royal palaces. Its gates and pavilions carry centuries of triumph and turbulence. If timing allows, you may witness the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony with its traditional costumes, flags and court music, a spectacle that brings the palace grounds to life. Afterwards, visit the National Folk Museum of South Korea, where displays chart the customs, food, medicine, and rituals that have shaped society from prehistory through the Joseon dynasty.

In the afternoon, stroll through Insadong, a district that reflects both tradition and creativity. Once the centre for antique dealers and calligraphers, today it mixes narrow lanes of tea houses, craft shops, and small galleries with a lively atmosphere. This is an ideal place to wander slowly, enjoy a cup of tea, or browse for handmade souvenirs.

A short drive leads you to Gwangjang Market, one of the oldest surviving markets in South Korea. Here, five thousand stalls offer a vivid picture of daily life, from bolts of silk and linen to steaming bowls of noodles and hot plates of mung bean pancakes. As smoke rises and vendors call out, you will experience the sounds, tastes, and aromas that define everyday South Korean food culture.

End the day in Gangnam, a district known worldwide for its sleek skyline and cultural energy. Visit the Lotte World Tower, one of the tallest buildings on earth, with an observatory that provides sweeping views over the city. Outside COEX Mall, pause at the playful PSY sculpture that celebrates the Gangnam Style phenomenon. Inside the mall, discover the Starfield Library, a soaring open space lined with thousands of books, where contemporary design and a love of learning meet in spectacular fashion.

Leaving Seoul, you travel north toward Yeoncheon and Cherwon, regions that lie close to the Demilitarised Zone or DMZ. The journey of about one hundred and forty kilometres takes around three hours, moving through countryside that becomes increasingly rural before reaching one of the most sensitive borders in the world. This is where the landscapes of mountains and river valleys conceal deep scars of conflict.

Your first stop is Taepung Observatory, which provides a striking view across the border. Set only eight hundred and sixty metres from the ceasefire line, and less than two kilometres from a North Korean guard post, it is the closest publicly accessible vantage point of its kind. From here you can see Maryangsan Mountain, the site of a fierce battle in October 1951 where Australian troops fought alongside South Korean and United Nations forces. Known as the Battle of Maryang San, it remains one of the most significant victories in Australian military history, remembered today as a symbol of courage and sacrifice.

The region around Cherwon formed part of the so called Iron Triangle during the war, an area that witnessed some of the fiercest battles. Today the landscape carries visible reminders of that past. If time allows, you may join an escorted tour into the Second Tunnel, discovered in 1975. Running three and a half kilometres through solid rock beneath the border, it was designed to move entire divisions and heavy weapons. Those with claustrophobia or medical concerns may prefer to remain above ground, but for others the experience offers a powerful sense of the scale and intensity of the conflict.

At the Peace Observatory, sweeping views open into North Korea itself. You can see the Pyeonggang plateau, the so called Propaganda Village, and notable ridges such as Kim Il Sung Hill and Baldy Ridge. Driving further, you will pass Weoljeongri Station, once the last stop of a railway line that ran through to Pyongyang. The bombed shell of a train that last ran more than seventy five years ago remains in place, a stark emblem of division and loss.

If you do not enter the tunnel, an alternative visit can be arranged to Baegmagoji Hill. This was the site of a ten day battle in which control of the ridge changed hands twenty four times. A monument stands here honouring the many who died, while a nearby museum displays artefacts from the fighting. Before the day concludes, you will also see the abandoned Labor Party Building. Constructed in 1946 in a Russian style and used for political control until the outbreak of the war, it now stands in isolation on the Cheorwon lava plateau, a haunting reminder of past ideologies and unfinished histories.

The day begins with a drive of about two hundred kilometres, taking you deeper into the landscapes of Gangwon Province. Your first stop is the Peace Dam near Hwacheon. Built without a reservoir, it was designed purely as a safeguard against catastrophic flooding should the Imnam Dam in North Korea ever fail or be deliberately destroyed. More than just an engineering work, the dam stands as a symbol of the continuing tensions and the fragile balance of life near the border.

Close by is the World Peace Bell, cast from empty cartridge cases collected from conflict zones across the globe. Weighing over thirty seven tons, the bell has been left incomplete, with a broken pigeon wing displayed beside it. The wing will be added only when unification of South Korea and North Korea is achieved, a gesture that lends the monument a poignant and unfinished quality.

From Hwacheon you continue toward Yanggu, officially designated as the geographic centre of South Korea. Here a small exhibition hall explains the historical, cultural and symbolic importance of this location. Displays highlight both the natural beauty of the region and the enduring hope for eventual reunification. The surrounding scenery, with its rolling hills and quiet valleys, offers a peaceful contrast to the weight of the borderlands you visited yesterday.

Next you travel into the Haean Basin, widely known as the Punch Bowl. This dramatic geological formation is a wide bowl shaped valley surrounded on all sides by steep mountain ridges. Once the site of fierce battles during the Korean War because of its strategic importance, today it is also one of the richest agricultural areas in the province. The mixture of fertile farmland and stark mountain ridges creates a memorable panorama that captures both the scars and the resilience of South Korea.

Climb to the Eulji Observatory, perched one thousand metres above sea level, for a sweeping view over the Punch Bowl and beyond into North Korea. The observatory offers a rare 360 degree panorama that is as striking for its natural beauty as for its political significance. From here, continue to Sokcho, once a modest fishing village but now the gateway to Seoraksan National Park and one of South Korea’s most loved coastal destinations. This will be your base for the next stage of the journey.

Today is devoted to the natural beauty of Seoraksan National Park, one of South Korea’s most celebrated mountain landscapes. The park offers a wide network of trails ranging from short gentle walks to more challenging climbs. Your private guide will help you select the routes that best match your interests and energy, whether you want to focus on panoramic viewpoints, forested valleys, or waterfalls hidden deep within the reserve.

Seoraksan is renowned for its rugged peaks, sheer cliffs, tumbling streams and distinctive rock formations. In autumn the slopes blaze with red and gold leaves, while in spring and summer wildflowers dot the meadows. The combination of dramatic geology and seasonal colour makes this one of the most photographed places in South Korea and a highlight of any visit to Gangwon Province.

One of the park’s most popular experiences is the cable car ride from the valley floor up to Gwongeumseong. At the top you will find yourself surrounded by vertical cliffs and higher peaks. The views stretch across the park, the Pacific Ocean, and the coastal town of Sokcho. Space on the summit is limited and the atmosphere can be busy, yet the sweeping panorama makes the ascent unforgettable.

After your time on the mountain, return to Sokcho itself, which has grown from a small fishing village into a lively coastal centre. Daepohang Port comes alive in the evening when seafood restaurants open their doors and stalls display the catch of the day. Fresh fish, squid and crabs are served in simple settings, giving you a taste of Sokcho’s maritime character.

Beyond the port, Sokcho’s downtown markets sell everything from fresh produce and daily essentials to grains, vegetables and dried goods. For a glimpse of living history, you can also cross by hand pulled boat to Abai Village, a community established by displaced people from North Korea during the 1950s. The narrow lanes, modest homes and local eateries reflect both resilience and heritage, offering a poignant counterpoint to the natural splendour of the park.

Today’s journey takes you inland from Sokcho to Andong, a distance of around two hundred and seventy kilometres that will take most of the day with sightseeing along the way. The drive begins along the eastern coast before turning west through mountain valleys. This route gives you a sense of South Korea’s varied geography, from fishing villages and rugged cliffs to farmland and wooded hillsides.

One of the day’s highlights is a stop at Hwanseongul Cave near Samcheok, the largest limestone cave in South Korea. A short ride by monorail carries you up to the cave entrance, a dramatic opening set in the middle of the mountain. Inside you will find vast chambers with soaring ceilings, underground waterfalls and streams that continue to shape the cavern’s features. The public route extends for just over one and a half kilometres but requires more than an hour to explore, with wet walkways and narrow passages that add to the adventure. Visitors who prefer to remain outside may relax in the surrounding natural scenery.

Continuing west, you will reach Dosan Seowon, one of the best preserved Confucian academies in South Korea. Established in 1574 in memory of the scholar Yi Hwang, who introduced Neo Confucianism into the country, it became a model for hundreds of academies built during the Joseon dynasty. Most of these institutions were dismantled in the nineteenth century, but Dosan Seowon survived and was later recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The complex of sixteen wooden buildings, arranged with simplicity and restraint, reflects the values of discipline, respect and learning that defined the Confucian order.

Walking through the courtyards and lecture halls of Dosan Seowon, you can sense the influence of Confucian philosophy on South Korean society. From education and governance to family life and ritual, these ideas have shaped the country for centuries. The serene setting beside a river and forested slopes adds to the contemplative atmosphere, making this a memorable stop before entering Andong.

Arriving in Andong by late afternoon, you will settle into the city that is often described as the spiritual home of Confucian culture in South Korea. With its preserved traditions, historic villages and scholarly heritage, Andong provides a profound contrast to the modern energy of Seoul and Busan. It is an ideal base to continue your exploration of South Korea’s cultural heartland.

This morning you will explore Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back to the fifteenth century. Known as Hahoemaeul in Korean, it is the best preserved traditional village of the Joseon dynasty, with more than four hundred traditional houses still inhabited and in daily use. Walking through its narrow lanes, you will find thatched cottages, tiled manor houses and quiet courtyards that together evoke the rhythms of life in an earlier era.

At the heart of the village stands a zelkova tree believed to be more than six centuries old. This tree is considered the dwelling place of the village spirit, and at its base residents still tie prayers and offerings for protection and good fortune. The cultural vitality of Hahoe is also expressed in the famous Hahoe Mask Dance, a traditional performance where villagers once poked fun at authority figures and performed shamanic rituals to drive away evil spirits. This tradition links back to the Goryeo dynasty and illustrates the blending of folk belief, humour and spirituality.

After your time in Hahoe, continue the journey to Gyeongju, about two hundred kilometres to the southeast. Once the capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly a thousand years, Gyeongju is one of South Korea’s most important historical centres. Known as the Museum without Walls, the city is scattered with temples, stone pagodas, tombs, fortresses and carved Buddhas, offering a sweeping view of the nation’s cultural heritage.

Your first visit here is the Gyeongju National Museum, which houses treasures that illuminate the sophistication of Silla art and society. The centrepiece is the eighth century Bell of King Seongdeok, the largest surviving bell in South Korea. Its elegant design, long resonating tone and legendary associations make it one of the most admired artefacts of the era. Standing before it, you will appreciate both its artistic beauty and the advanced casting techniques that produced it more than a millennium ago.

The museum also displays an extraordinary collection of gold crowns, jewellery, ornaments, pottery, glassware and clay figures unearthed from royal tombs. Together these items tell the story of a kingdom that reached remarkable levels of craftsmanship and cultural refinement. Exploring the galleries provides a strong foundation for the rest of your time in Gyeongju, where the legacy of the Silla dynasty still shapes the landscape.

Begin your morning with a visit to Seokguram Grotto, one of South Korea’s most revered UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Set high on the slopes of Mount Toham, this eighth century sanctuary houses a serene white granite Buddha seated in meditation, surrounded by thirty seven carved figures including Bodhisattvas, disciples and guardian deities. The grotto is celebrated as a masterpiece that unites religion, science and artistry, embodying the Buddhist vision of a pure land. Standing within its cool stone chamber, you will sense both the spiritual and the architectural brilliance of the Silla craftsmen who built it.

A short drive brings you to Bulguksa Temple, another UNESCO site that has stood for over a thousand years. The temple complex reveals the architectural sophistication of the Silla dynasty, with graceful wooden halls, stone bridges symbolising the path to enlightenment, and iconic pagodas such as Seokgatap and the ornate Dabotap. Each element reflects a balance of dignity and beauty, and the temple remains one of the finest achievements of East Asian Buddhism.

From here you will continue to Tumuli Park, a vast field of grassy mounds that mark the burial sites of Silla royalty. Within the park, twenty three tombs rise gently from the earth, each holding the remains of kings and queens who once ruled the kingdom. One of the tombs, Cheonmachong or the Heavenly Horse Tomb, has been opened to the public. Inside, exhibits illustrate the construction of the chamber and display replicas of treasures excavated during the 1970s, giving a rare glimpse into the wealth and artistry of the Silla elite.

In the afternoon, travel south toward Busan, a journey of around one hundred and ten kilometres that takes two to three hours. Along the way the scenery shifts from the historical landscapes of Gyeongju to coastal views as you approach South Korea’s second largest city. The road introduces you to the contrast between ancient capitals and bustling modern ports, each essential to the country’s story.

Arriving in Busan late in the day, you will find a city framed by mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. Its deep harbour and sheltered bays have allowed it to grow into the nation’s largest port and one of the busiest in the world. Busan combines industry and commerce with beaches, markets and cultural districts, offering a modern counterpoint to the heritage you explored in Gyeongju. This evening is at leisure to settle in and prepare for your exploration of the city tomorrow.

Your day begins at Yongdusan Park, a central green space that rises above the harbour. From here you will ascend Busan Tower, a landmark that provides sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, the coastline and the busy port. Standing on the observatory platform, you can take in the scale of South Korea’s second largest city and the energy of its waterfront.

Descending from the park, stroll along Gwangbokro Street, a lively shopping area where local boutiques stand beside global brands. Just off the main thoroughfare lies a maze of small lanes filled with independent shops, local eateries and hidden corners. This is one of the best places to feel the rhythm of Busan life, where residents and visitors mingle in colourful, bustling surroundings.

Nearby is BIFF Square, the heart of Busan’s modern film industry. What began with a cluster of cinemas over fifty years ago has grown into a district dedicated to cinema and culture. Pavements are inlaid with the handprints of famous directors and actors, while street stalls serve snacks to crowds moving between theatres, shops and cafes. The square captures both the glamour and the accessibility of South Korea’s film scene.

Across the road you will enter Jagalchi Fish Market, the largest seafood market in the country and one of the city’s defining experiences. Stroll among narrow aisles where vendors display crabs, clams, octopus and every imaginable catch from the sea. Inside, tanks hold live fish and upstairs restaurants serve freshly prepared sashimi at reasonable prices. The market is as much a cultural encounter as a culinary one, alive with shouts, scents and movement.

In the afternoon visit Gamcheon Village, once a hillside community for refugees and now transformed into a vibrant artistic quarter. Brightly painted houses, murals, small galleries and creative cafes line the steep alleys, giving the village a playful and distinctive character. Residents still live here, and the mixture of daily life and art projects makes the atmosphere genuine rather than staged. Walking through the maze of steps and viewpoints, you will enjoy panoramic views of the harbour while also experiencing how local resilience has created one of Busan’s most unique neighbourhoods.

Today is a full day of travel, covering about three hundred and twenty kilometres, but the route is richly rewarding. Leaving Busan, you will cross the Geoga Bridge, a remarkable engineering achievement and the deepest highway in the world. Stretching more than eight kilometres, it combines cable stayed spans with tunnels running beneath the sea, including a section nearly fifty metres below water level. As you pass through, you will appreciate both the scale of modern construction and the maritime setting of South Korea’s southern coast.

On arrival in Geoje, you will find a city shaped by shipbuilding and its natural harbours. Geoje also holds a poignant place in history as the final port of call for the SS Meredith Victory in December 1950, when the vessel evacuated more than fourteen thousand refugees in a single mission, still recognised as the largest humanitarian rescue carried out by one ship. If time allows, visit the Prisoner of War Camp Museum, where exhibitions explain how the site once held up to one hundred and seventy thousand captives during the Korean War. Today the camp has been transformed into a memorial park that recounts the hardships of that period and the human cost of conflict.

Continue south to Tongyeong, a traditional seaport with a colourful character. Here you can stroll through Dongpirang Village, a hillside settlement saved from demolition and brought to life with witty murals and vibrant colours. From the top, views stretch across the harbour where fishing boats still dock and markets hum with activity. At Jungang Market, watch as vendors sell the daily catch and restaurants cook it into simple, fresh dishes, offering you the true atmosphere of a working port town.

Driving further along the sunken coastline, you reach Namhae, a region of high rugged mountains and fertile valleys that slope to the sea. This pastoral setting is dotted with small farming communities, tea fields and rice terraces. You will pass through German Village, built by South Koreans who had travelled to Germany in the 1960s to work and later returned to settle. Nearby, Gacheon Village clings to the hillside above the water, its terraced paddies and symbolic stone carvings creating a striking view that has become one of the region’s landmarks.

By evening you will arrive in Yeosu, a coastal city with a scenic natural setting. The coastline here is jagged and dramatic, with offshore islands and rocky headlands. A visit to Hamel Park recalls the story of Dutch sailor Hendrick Hamel, who escaped from detention in South Korea in the seventeenth century. A lighthouse and statue mark his place in local memory. As darkness falls, enjoy a night drive through the city, where the harbour lights reflect across the water, before settling into your hotel for the night.

Departing Yeosu, your journey today covers about one hundred and ninety kilometres and introduces you to some of South Korea’s most enduring cultural and natural landscapes. The first stop is Nagan Fortress Village, an extraordinary place that has survived the centuries and resisted the pull of modernisation. Enclosed by a mud rampart stretching for more than one kilometre, the fortress was originally built in the fourteenth century to repel pirate raids. Within its walls stand around ninety traditional thatched roof houses, each arranged in harmony with the fortified layout. Walking the narrow lanes, you will feel as though you have stepped back into an earlier time, when daily life revolved around farming, ritual and seasonal cycles.

From Nagan, the route continues north toward Boseong, where South Korea’s most famous tea plantations blanket the hillsides. Rows of neatly trimmed bushes spread across steep slopes in curved patterns that form a living green carpet. A cedar lined path leads visitors into the plantation, a space carefully designed to welcome guests. Here you can stroll between the rows, pause for photographs and appreciate the careful cultivation that has turned tea into both an agricultural staple and a cultural icon. Tasting a cup of fresh green tea in this landscape is a way of experiencing the region through flavour as well as sight.

The journey continues to Hwasun where you will visit Unjusa Temple, a site dating to the ninth century that is unlike any other in South Korea. The temple grounds once contained a thousand stone Buddhas and pagodas, said by legend to have been built overnight by a monk of the Silla dynasty. Today ninety three statues remain, ranging from just a few centimetres in height to towering figures more than ten metres tall. The sculptures are notable for their unorthodox and abstract style, with simplified forms that give them a strikingly different character from the more polished works of other Buddhist sites.

Among the highlights of Unjusa is the reclining Buddha carved directly from a massive boulder in the earth. This figure is claimed to be the largest stone reclining Buddha in South Korea, and its presence in the quiet temple grounds adds to the sense of mystery and timelessness. The combination of unusual artistic expression, scale and spiritual resonance makes Unjusa a compelling stop along your route.

Arriving in Gwangju by evening, you will enter a city known today for its role in South Korea’s modern democratic movement and for its rich cultural scene. After a day immersed in villages, tea fields and temples, Gwangju provides an urban contrast where you can reflect on the diversity of landscapes and histories that shape the country.

Leaving Gwangju this morning, you travel north through the fertile plains of Jeolla Province. Your first stop is Damyang, a town renowned across South Korea for its bamboo groves. Bamboo has long been admired here as a symbol of resilience and upright character, qualities often likened to the spirit of a true gentleman. At Juknokwon you will wander shaded paths that wind through dense bamboo stands. The rustling leaves and filtered light create a calm and refreshing atmosphere, an experience that locals treasure as a restorative escape.

Continue to Namwon, a city that blends cultural heritage with natural beauty. Namwon is best known as the setting of the love story of Chunhyang, sometimes called the South Korean Romeo and Juliet. At Gwanghallu Pavilion, built during the Joseon dynasty, you will see the site where Chunhyang and her lover are said to have first met. Nearby stands a bridge across a lotus pond, which legend holds will bring lasting harmony to couples who cross together. The pavilion grounds are a popular place for locals to stroll, reflecting the enduring power of this romantic tale in South Korean culture.

Your journey then takes you to Jeonju, one of the country’s most important centres of tradition and the birthplace of several cultural legacies. Jeonju Hanok Village is home to hundreds of well preserved traditional houses, where tiled roofs and wooden beams preserve the elegance of historic design. Walking among these homes, you will see workshops, tea houses and craft stores that carry on the city’s artisanal spirit.

Nearby is Jeondong Catholic Church, completed in 1914 and built in a blend of Byzantine and Romanesque style. Designed by the French priest Victor Louis Poisnel, who also contributed to the design of Seoul’s Myeongdong Cathedral, the church stands as one of the earliest and largest Western style buildings in the region. Just beyond lies Pungnammun Gate, the last surviving gate of Jeonju’s old fortress wall. At this site in 1791, three Catholics were executed for their faith, marking the beginning of Catholic martyrdom in South Korea.

The day concludes in Iksan, where you will explore two UNESCO World Heritage Sites linked to the ancient Baekje kingdom. Mireuksa Temple site preserves the remains of a grand Buddhist temple complex established in the seventh century, including the country’s oldest stone pagoda. At nearby Wanggungri you will see the five storey stone pagoda standing alone on an expansive archaeological plain. Both sites speak to the cultural sophistication of Baekje and its role in spreading Buddhism across the region. From here you continue to Buyeo for your overnight stay, entering a city that was once a capital of the Baekje kingdom.

Your day begins in Buyeo, once the capital of the Baekje kingdom and today one of the most important centres of its cultural heritage. The Baekje are remembered as the most artistically sophisticated of the Three Kingdoms, and their legacy survives in temples, tombs and artefacts now recognised as UNESCO World Heritage. At Jeongrimsa Temple site, you will see the five storey stone pagoda that still rises in the heart of the city, a landmark that recalls the grandeur of Baekje architecture and faith.

Nearby lies Gungnamji, the oldest artificial pond in South Korea, created in 634 during the Baekje dynasty. Surrounded by willow trees, the pond comes alive in summer with blooming lotus flowers, creating a scene that has inspired poets and painters for centuries. Continue to Buyeo National Museum, which houses some of the finest artefacts from the Baekje era. Among its treasures is the gilt bronze incense burner, a masterpiece of craftsmanship more than fifteen centuries old, admired for its graceful lines and elaborate detail.

From Buyeo you travel north to Gongju, another capital of the Baekje kingdom for more than sixty years. At the Gongju National Museum you will view artefacts excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong, who ruled in the early sixth century. Gold ornaments, glassware and other relics provide a vivid insight into the wealth and artistry of the court. The nearby Songsanri Tombs appear as grassy mounds, yet beneath them lie royal chambers. The tomb of King Muryeong and his queen was discovered intact, one of the most significant archaeological finds in South Korea. Although the original chamber is sealed, an exact replica allows visitors to understand the construction and symbolism of these royal burials.

Later in the day you continue toward Seoul, stopping in Suwon to explore Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the late eighteenth century by King Jeongjo. Enclosing both flatlands and hills, its nearly six kilometre wall includes more than fifty structures, four massive gates and a temporary palace where the king sought refuge and rest. Though smaller than some fortifications in Asia, Hwaseong is widely recognised as one of the most advanced examples of military architecture of its era. Walking a short section of the wall offers views over the city and brings you to Janganmun, the largest gate in South Korea.

By evening you will arrive back in Seoul, where the journey that began almost two weeks ago now comes full circle. After exploring the backroads, ancient capitals and coastal towns of South Korea, you return to the vibrant energy of the capital city for your final night.

This morning marks the close of your journey through South Korea. After breakfast, take some time to reflect on the many landscapes, traditions and encounters that have shaped your experience. From ancient capitals and fortress villages to mountain peaks and bustling coastal ports, you have followed the backroads into the cultural heart of the country.

When ready, your driver will meet you for the transfer to Incheon International Airport. The drive of about sixty kilometres takes around one hour, passing once more along the Han River and through the outskirts of Seoul. Along the way you may recall the first sights you glimpsed on arrival, now framed by the knowledge and memories gained over the past two weeks.

At the airport you will be assisted with check in for your onward flight. The modern terminals, with their artwork, shops and efficiency, offer a final glimpse of the balance between heritage and innovation that characterises South Korea.

As your aircraft climbs above the city and the Yellow Sea comes into view, you carry with you impressions of Confucian academies, royal tombs, fishing villages, tea fields and vibrant cities. These are the layers of South Korea that remain long after the journey ends.

Your two week exploration concludes, but the richness of South Korea’s history, landscapes and people will continue to resonate, inviting you to return and discover even more in the future.