Day One Korea

Day trips from Seoul

Spend several days inside Seoul and the city starts to look like itself everywhere. Gyeonggi is 40 minutes to two hours away by public transport; Gangneung, Andong and Gyeongju are about two hours by KTX. They have what Seoul does not — a fortress wall, the sea, royal tombs.

Check the one-way time first. People do go somewhere two hours out, stay two hours, and come straight back. For the KTX legs, book the seat in advance.

17 courses

Everland All DayFull day

Yongin

Everland All Day

Over two hours of travel round trip. Treat it as a whole day out — leave in the morning, back in the evening.

1 stops8h
Seoul Land & Zoo All DayFull day

Gwacheon

Seoul Land & Zoo All Day

A theme park and a zoo on the same grounds. The closest to Seoul of the three, and the least crowded.

2 stops8h 15m
Suwon Hwaseong in a DayFull day

Suwon

Suwon Hwaseong in a Day

A UNESCO fortress whose walls you can walk along the top of. An hour from Seoul, with the wall and the palace on one line.

2 stops4h 20m
Paju: The Border and the Art VillageFull day

Paju

Paju: The Border and the Art Village

The furthest north you can go without a permit, and a village built by architects. Two places with nothing in common, in one day.

2 stops4h 50m
Gapyeong: Garden and IslandFull day

Gapyeong

Gapyeong: Garden and Island

A hillside garden and an island in the river — the easiest nature day you can reach from Seoul by train.

2 stops6h 10m
Dumulmeori, YangpyeongFull day

Yangpyeong

Dumulmeori, Yangpyeong

Where the two branches of the Han River meet, known for a 400-year-old tree and the morning mist — which only shows up early.

1 stops2h
Half day

Paju

Majang Lake, Paju

Cross a 220m suspension bridge over the lake, then loop the shoreline trail. The bridge genuinely sways.

1 stops2h
Pocheon Art ValleyFull day

Pocheon

Pocheon Art Valley

An abandoned granite quarry that filled with water. Cliffs beside emerald water is not a combination you find often in Korea.

1 stops3h
Gwacheon Science Museum & ZooFull day

Gwacheon

Gwacheon Science Museum & Zoo

Half a day of hands-on exhibits, half a day at the zoo across the way. Both from the same station, and the indoor halls are big enough that rain does not ruin it.

2 stops6h 12m
Korean Folk Village DayFull day

Yongin

Korean Folk Village Day

A whole Joseon-era village, with tightrope walking and horseback martial arts a few times a day. The performers stay in character, so you can talk to them.

1 stops4h
Gangneung: Ojukheon and the BeachFull day

Gangneung

Gangneung: Ojukheon and the Beach

Two hours from Seoul by KTX and you are on the east coast. One very old house, then a 1.8km beach — one of the few sea days you can actually do and return the same day.

2 stops3h 20m
Gongju: Gongsanseong FortressHalf day

Gongju

Gongju: Gongsanseong Fortress

The royal fortress from Baekje's Ungjin capital period. The 2.6km wall above the Geum River takes a little over an hour to walk round.

1 stops1h 30m
Danyang: Dodam SambongHalf day

Danyang

Danyang: Dodam Sambong

Three rock peaks standing in the middle of the river. There is not much to do beyond looking, but the shape is the one you have seen in photographs.

1 stops1h
Bulguksa, GyeongjuHalf day

Gyeongju

Bulguksa, Gyeongju

An eighth-century Silla temple. Wooden halls sit on stone terraces, and two very different pagodas stand side by side in the main courtyard.

2 stops2h 55m
Hahoe Folk Village, AndongFull day

Andong

Hahoe Folk Village, Andong

A Joseon-era clan village inside a bend of the river. Not a reconstruction — most of the houses are lived in.

1 stops2h 30m
Namhansanseong FortressFull day

Gwangju, Gyeonggi

Namhansanseong Fortress

A UNESCO World Heritage site where twelve kilometres of wall follow the ridgeline. A village still lives inside it, so it reads less as a fortress than as a town on a mountain.

1 stops3h
Gongju: The Royal Tomb & Its MuseumHalf day

Gongju

Gongju: The Royal Tomb & Its Museum

A Baekje royal tomb found unlooted, and the museum holding what came out of it. The empty chamber you see at one gets filled in at the other.

2 stops2h 40m

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