Destination: Goseong Dinosaur Museum (Goseong, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea)

And now for something a bit different — presenting a museum dedicated to those huge beasts from eons ago. The area claims some Real Dinosaur Footprints along the shore, which is conveniently within walking distance of the museum. The museum, however, remains a remote...

Destination: Geoje Shipbuilding Marine Museum (Geoje-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea)

As a peninsula, Korea has had plenty of reasons to develop industries that play nice with the water mostly surrounding it. Centuries before Korea became North and South, there was plenty of shipbuilding activities, though much of the rhetoric is more recent. Yes, it...

Destination: Munmyo Confucian Shrine and Seonggyungwan Academy (northeast Seoul, South Korea)

If you like exploring Seoul’s lesser-known corners, this one’s for you. The place goes by a few different names: Seoul Confucian Shrine, Munmyo Confucian Shrine, Seonggyungwan National Confucian Academy, and even Sungkyunkwan University’s Confucian Shrine. Whatever...

Destination: Guinsa — Buddhist high-rises and an elevator inside a temple (Chungcheongbuk-do, South…

You might call this ‘the Gangnam style of temples’. Located on the north side of Sobaeksan (Sobaek mountain), this temple squeezes dozens of buildings into a narrow valley. You’ll find a single path up the mountain as you approach the main building, with a few side...

Destination: Gwangyang Ornamental Knife Museum (Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do, South Korea)

It’s happened to every traveler — a place starts off sounding intriguing, but upon arriving seems more ‘meh’ then ‘hey, cool!’. The Gwangyang Ornamental Knife Museum (광양장도박물관) was one of those places for me — an interesting facet of Korean history, dulled...

Destination: Wonjong Jangneung – a less-traveled Joseon Dynasty tomb (Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do)

LIKE the other Joseon Dynasty tombs in and around Seoul, Wonjong Jangneung (김포 장릉) honors the royalty in a way that UNESCO considers a World Heritage Site. As usual, there’s more court intrigue and drama than the signs on site indicate — the man who we call King...

Destination: Yecheon Space Center — bounce on the moon and try the gyroscopic device (Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea)

In many ways, the Yecheon Space Center (예천천문우주과학공원) is a microcosm of many other Korean tourist destinations. They sound fancy, and it’s clear there was plenty of money available to make the thing come into existence. Arriving, however, becomes more than half of the...

Destination: Songgwangsa (Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, South Korea)

The monks were everywhere. One was beating his wooden moktok, another was laboriously carrying a load of plants, and a third was walking through the courtyard. A number were meditating behind one of the hall’s closed doors, while even more were seen walking in a...

Destination: Bugok Hawaii AKA Buddhist hell – where water park meets Buddhist hell (NSFW) (Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea

Opened in 1983, Bugok Hawaii is one part hot springs resort, one part amusement park, one part outdoor attractions, and one part a display of Buddhist hell. Wait, what? Don’t ask me how all of these parts came together, as I genuinely do not know. Broken down into its...

Revisited: Jongmyo – a permanent shrine for spirits of the past (Seoul, South Korea)

Author’s note: this is the start of a new series. ‘Revisited’ posts are intended to be a fresh look at a place I’ve visited before. In many cases, it will have been years between visits, and offers a chance to see a place with a fresh set of eyes (and more than...