When it rains

The summer rains in Korea last for weeks and arrive more often than the forecast suggests. These are not courses you survive with an umbrella — they are mostly indoors from the start. Some are entirely under a roof, others have enough indoor space that rain does not end the day.

Indoors does not include the walk between stops. On a wet day, a course with one long stop beats a course with three short ones.

15 courses

Half day

Songpa, Seoul

Jamsil Skyline Half-Day

Up to the 123rd floor, then down to the lake to look back up at it. Half a day is enough.

2 stops2h 40m

Half day

Yongsan, Seoul

National Museum & Hangeul Museum

Two museums five minutes apart on the same grounds, both with free permanent galleries. Don't try to see everything — pick a floor and do it properly.

2 stops4h 5m

Half day

Yongsan, Seoul

War Memorial Half-Day

A big exhibition centred on the Korean War. Indoors is free, and there are real aircraft and tanks in the yard outside.

1 stops2h 30m

Full day

Jamsil, Seoul

Lotte World All Day

Inside Seoul, with a big indoor section that ignores the weather. The best rainy-day option.

1 stops8h

Half day

Gangnam, Seoul

Gangnam & COEX Half-Day

A thousand-year-old temple between glass towers, a giant library inside a mall, royal tombs in an office district. What's worth seeing in Gangnam is older than you'd expect.

3 stops2h 42m

Half day

Gangseo, Seoul

Seoul Botanic Park Half-Day

The outdoor grounds are free and only the glass conservatory is ticketed. One of the few courses that survives rain and midwinter.

1 stops2h 30m

Half day

Gwangmyeong

Gwangmyeong Cave Half-Day

A disused mine turned into a lit, curated attraction. It sits at 12°C year-round — a serious summer escape, and rainproof.

1 stops2h 30m

Half day

Jongno, Seoul

Samcheong Museums Half-Day

A contemporary art museum, a folk museum and a craft museum strung along one road. All three are within a ten-minute walk of each other, so bad weather does not break it.

3 stops3h 44m

Half day

Yongsan, Seoul

Leeum, Hannam Half-Day

Traditional and contemporary art on one site, in three buildings by three different architects. People come for the buildings as much as the shows.

1 stops2h

Full 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

Full day

Gangseo, Seoul

Aviation Museum & Seoul Botanic Park

Starts in a round building packed with real aircraft and ends in a glass conservatory. Both have indoor halls, so weather matters less — and the airport line reaches both straight from Incheon.

2 stops4h 45m

Full day

Gwangju

Asia Culture Center and Yangnim-dong

See a vast cultural centre buried underground, then walk a hillside of red-brick missionary houses. The 1980 uprising is layered into both.

2 stops4h 50m

Full day

East Jeju

Seopjikoji & Bijarim Forest

Start on a grassland headland running into the sea and finish inside a forest of five-hundred-year-old trees. On Jeju's east side these two are as different as it gets.

2 stops3h 50m