South Korea

Overview

Positioned on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea is a country of dazzling scenic landscapes and a mixed representation of centuries-old traditions and contemporary society. It boasts a recorded history extending more than 5,000 years.

Unified Silla was replaced by the Goryeo Dynasty (고려, 高麗, also called Koryo ), from which the modern name "Korea" derives. One highlight of the Goryeo dynasty was that in 1234 the world's first metal movable type was invented by a Korean named Choe Yun-ui (200 years before Gutenberg's printing press). Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty (조선, 朝鮮, also called Chosun ), after a coup by one of its generals. The Joseon dynasty ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, being one of the longest actively ruling dynasties in world history. During the early part of the Joseon dynasty, Korean technological inventions such as the world's first water clock, ironclad ship, and other innovations took place. During the rule of King Sejong the Great, the world's first rain gauge was invented, and the Korean alphabet, known as hangul , was created.

Sights and landscapes

Asian tourists have long discovered South Korea as a prime shopping, culinary and sightseeing destination. It is a relatively new travel destination for the Western world, but has gained popularity fast. And for good reason, as South Korea offers a most pleasant combination of ancient Asian features and all the amenities you would expect from a modern, high-tech nation. Despite its compact size, it boasts a broad range of fine attractions, and excellent infrastructure makes getting around easy.

Experiences

Other popular sports include golf and basketball. Badminton, table tennis and bowling are also popular and facilities for the public are widely available in cities. Korean martial arts such as taekwondo (태권도) are also popular. Golf particularly has a strong following, with membership fees for Korea's top golf clubs being more expensive than those in neighboring Japan or the United States. Many of the world's top female golfers are from South Korea or of Korean descent. Archery is also a popular sport, with South Korea dominating the archery events at the Olympics.

Talchum is a traditional type of dance performed by people wearing masks, often accompanied with singing. It originated in Hwanghae province in what is now North Korea, though it has since spread around the country. Traditional Hwanghae-style talchum is also performed in the South, often by North Korean refugees and their descendants.

Pansori is a type of musical storytelling involving a lone female storyteller dressed in a hanbok and accompanied only by a single drummer, with the storyteller usually expected to use their voices and facial expressions for dramatic effect. Following contact with Western styles of drama, pansori evolved into changgeuk (창극) in the early 20th century, which is essentially Korean opera, with actors and an accompanying orchestra, and uses more elaborate sets in contrast to the minimalist staging of pansori.

Gisaeng (기생) or kisaeng are the Korean equivalent of the Japanese geisha (or more accurately, courtesans known as oiran ), and were historically sex workers trained in the arts of poetry, calligraphy and music, entertaining clients with their skills and conversation. While the tradition has largely died out in modern South Korea, gisaeng are often featured in Korean historical dramas, and many of their traditional arts are now being revived.

Culture and food

Korean cuisine is becoming increasingly popular outside of Korea, especially in other parts of East Asia and the U.S. It can be an acquired taste, with lots of spicy and fermented dishes, but it's addictive once you get used to it and Korean food is definitely in a class of its own, mixing spicy chilies and copious amounts of garlic with delicate ingredients like raw fish. Although Korean food is quite low in fat, a fact attested to by the observation that very few South Koreans are overweight, those with sodium-limited diets should beware, as Korean cuisine can be heavy in salt.

A Korean meal is centered around rice and soup and likely a fish or meat dish, invariably served with a vast assortment of small side dishes known as banchan (반찬). The humblest meal comes with three types while a royal banquet may well feature twenty types of banchan. In addition to kimchi, typical side dishes include bean sprouts (콩나물 kongnamul ), spinach (시금치 shigeumchi ), and small dried fish.

Planning your route

South Korea is fairly compact, and you can get almost anywhere very fast by train. The exception to this is Jeju; the Seoul-Jeju route being the busiest air route in the world. Subways are present in six cities, including metropolitan Seoul. Travel by bus or taxi is readily available, although bus services are far more economical.

As South Korean national security laws mandate that navigation processing be done only on local servers, Google Maps does not give driving or walking directions in South Korea and can also be not up to date for some regions, lacking information on recent infrastructure changes such as bridges. It is advisable to install Naver Map and KakaoMap on your mobile phone for English language searching and directions. Unfortunately, the desktop web sites are in Korean only. Note that while Naver Map has more English in its interface, KakaoMap generally has better detail and path finding. Both require a login for basics like saving points of interest.

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.