Jeollanam-do
Sandy walking trails wend through this bamboo grove, past pavilions and film locations for Korean dramas. It's one of the area's most popular attractions…
Must-see attractions in Jeollanam-do
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Mokpo
This is the only museum in Korea dedicated to the country’s maritime history. The highlights are two shipwrecks, one dating from the 11th century and the…
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Gwangju
Overlooking Gwangju, Mudeungsan National Park is a gorgeous green mountain range with a spiderweb of well-signed trails leading to the peak, Cheonwang…
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Jeollanam-do
Legend has it that Unju-sa originally housed 1000 Buddhas and 1000 pagodas, built because, according to traditional geomancy, the southwest of the country…
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Jeollanam-do
This is the most popular and beautiful of the islands west of Mokpo. Some 6km long and 2.5km wide, it rises precipitously from the sea and is bounded by…
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Gwangju
Opened in 1997, this is the final burial place for victims of the May 18 Democratic Uprising of 1980, one of the most tragic incidents in modern Korean…
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Jeollanam-do
Though it's just 42 sq km in size, Korea’s smallest national park has crags, spires and unusually shaped rocks around every corner, as well as an 8m…
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Jeollanam-do
South Korea may have developed at a breakneck speed, but it was also the first Asian country to sign on to the international cittaslow, or 'slow city'…
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Jeollanam-do
Among Korea’s many folk villages, Nagan is unique for its setting, surrounded by 1410m of Joseon-period fortress walls, built to protect the inhabitants…
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Jeollanam-do
A Buddhist hermitage with a 1350-year heritage, Hyangir-am has an enviable location perched halfway up a mountain at the tip of Dolsando, an island…
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Mokpo
Right on the coast, this park is filled with rocky cliffs and pavilions, with views across the island-scattered sea. Follow the main path for about 45…
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Jeollanam-do
Elsewhere traditional markets may be losing out to newer shopping centres, but the Jeongnamjin Saturday Market in Jangheung (장흥) is definitely a happening…
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Jeollanam-do
At this coastal estuary, inscribed on the Ramsar list of protected wetlands, you can follow walkways through rustling reeds up to an observation hut on a…
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Jeollanam-do
Songgwang-sa is considered one of the three jewels of Korean Buddhism (along with Tongdo-sa and Haein-sa, in Gyeongsangnam-do). Featured in the Little…
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Jeollanam-do
Views of scattered specks of land from the peaks of Heuksando show why Dadohae Haesang means ‘marine archipelago’. This island, on the way to Hongdo, is…
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Jeollanam-do
This major Zen temple is thought to date back a millenia, but it remained relatively unknown until it became associated with Seosan, a warrior monk who…
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Jeollanam-do
This small, craggy island, a favourite destination for locals, is covered in bamboo groves and camellia trees. Walking paths wend round the island in…
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Jeollanam-do
The exquisite 800-year-old examples of Goryeo-dynasty celadon on display here look startlingly contemporary. At the back are pottery workshops (Monday to…
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Jeollanam-do
Picturesque views of Korea's southern coastline reward hikers who scale the rocky path up to the peak, Duryun-bong (630m). The hike, which begins just…
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Mokpo
This area, 4km east of downtown, has a swathe of museums. Just past the museums are the riverside Gatbawi Rocks, which have been heavily eroded into…
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Jeollanam-do
In the centre of town stands this national treasure, Korea’s largest single-storey wooden structure (75m long and 14m high). The beautiful pavilion, first…
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Gwangju
This gallery displays landscape, flower and bird paintings by the famed Heo Baek-ryeon (1891–1977), whose pen name was Uijae. His rebuilt house is a short…
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Jeollanam-do
One of Korea's most iconic sights, the Boseong Daehan Dawon Tea Plantation is spectacularly set on a hillside covered with curvy row after row of…
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Jeollanam-do
The southern coast's best beach is a nearly 4km stretch of golden sand backed by a boardwalk and pine trees. There's a popular campground (20 June to 31…
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Gwangju
Managed by the same folks who put on the Gwangju Biennale, this art museum shows up-and-coming Korean artists along with more established local names,…
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Gwangju
Learn about traditional life in Jeollanam-do through the somewhat retro-looking dioramas and models here, which cover everything from kimchi and clothing…
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Jeollanam-do
Seonam-sa is a quiet hermitage dating back to AD 529, where the monks study and try to preserve the old ways. Below Seonam-sa is Seungseongyo, one of…
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Gwangju
The Gwangju National Museum’s collection traces the region’s cultural history, from its prehistorical beginnings through the Joseon period (1392–1897),…
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Gwangju
By the early 2000s, this traditional market in the city centre was nearly shuttered. As part of the 2008 Gwangju Biennale, artists added colourful murals,…
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Jeollanam-do
On Wando’s south coast is a tiny park that offers views of distant cliffs and offshore islands, a pebbly beach, and a 1km nature trail that runs through a…
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Mokpo
This museum is housed in the Mokpo branch of the Japanese Oriental Colonization Company, a building from the 1920s. It takes a hard look at the Japanese…
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Gwangju
This arts complex houses galleries, performance spaces, a library and plazas – all designed to boost Gwangju's capital in the art world. It's located on…
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Mokpo
This museum is aimed at children, with large dinosaur skeletons, live lizards and fish, and thousands of colourful-but-dead butterflies.
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Jeollanam-do
Here you can learn more than you ever thought you needed to know about tea, both in Korea and around the world, and also take part in a traditional tea…
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Mokpo
A grand four-floor atrium building that displays the work of local artists who work in all genres – from traditional ink to colourful modern splodges,…
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Mokpo Ceramic Livingware Museum
Mokpo
Traces the history and uses of Korean ceramics, from ancient pottery to biotechnology.
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Mokpo
This hall contains a collection of paintings by five generations of the Huh family, including work by Huh Gun, a master of Namjonghwa, a Korean art style…
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Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea Memorial Hall
Jeollanam-do
Originally the Korea Pavilion for Yeosu's 2012 World's Fair International Exposition, this museum showcases the latest in Korean maritime technology, such…
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Jeollanam-do
Lightweight and durable, bamboo can be made into pretty much anything – as you'll see at this museum, which is basically a showroom for bamboo products,…
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Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall
Gwangju
Located in the Jung-oe Park Culture Center, this 8100-sq-metre exhibition hall is the setting for the Gwangju Biennale (and in odd-numbered years, the…
