The Korean Folk Village near Seoul offers a good introduction to the country with traditional craftspeople plying their trade, music and dance performances, and 260 traditional houses from around the country. (PHOTO COURTESY KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION)

Nine musts in South Korea

Most visitors begin in Seoul -- the bustling capital -- with its centuries-old palaces and modern skyscrapers, then move on to the beautiful holiday island of Jeju or the historic city of Gyeongju, filled with cultural treasures and Buddhist shrines.

Here are some things worth checking out:

N Seoul Tower

For a bird's eye view of the capital city, take a trip to the N Seoul Tower's observatory. Surrounded by a dense cluster of pine trees on the summit of Namsan, the tower offers a panoramic view of this bustling metropolis -- home to a quarter of Korea's population. You can also see mountains in North Korea from here. Check out the tower's revolving restaurant, media play zone and Teddy Bear Museum.

Palaces

Seoul has no fewer than five palaces including Changdeok Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The best preserved of the five royal Joseon-dynasty palaces, it dates to the early 15th century, and was built according to traditional design principles with a palace in front, a market at the back, three gates and three courts (administrative court, royal residence court and official audience court). The royal secret garden covers 31 hectares and includes pavilions, ponds and wooded areas with 100 types of indigenous trees.

The palace had a huge influence on the development of Korean architecture, and garden and landscape design for many centuries.

Korean Folk Village

If you don't have time to travel around the entire country, pay a visit to the Korean Folk Village near Seoul. The open-air attraction contains 260 traditional houses with 30,000 household goods from different regions of the country, and offers a good introduction to Korean life and culture.

While wandering the grounds, which cover 98 hectares, visitors can watch potters, weavers, blacksmiths and other artisans practice their trades in the traditional manner. There's also a market place, regular music and dance performances, and a folk museum that illustrates the way of life of a 4th-generation family in the late Joseon period through various customs, rites of passage, and various festivities.

Namdaemun Market

Just a few minutes walk from Seoul's ancient South Gate is one of Korea's largest markets. More than 1,250 shops and stalls make up Namdaemun Market -- said to have the best selection of merchandise (and some of the best prices) in the country. Whether you're looking for clothing, housewares, gifts, electronics, crafts, flowers, or food, you'll find it at this popular market near downtown Seoul -- conveniently located near several major hotels.

Gyeongju City

To properly see all that this city has to offer would take at least a few days. As the former capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), Gyeongju is Korea's tourist mecca and often called the "Museum without Walls."

Among the sites worth a visit: Bulguksa Temple, a masterpiece of a thousand-year-old Silla culture; the Seokguram Grotto -- one of Asia's greatest Buddhist shrines; Tumuli Park with its collection of royal Silla tombs (one of which is open); and the 7th-century Cheomseongdae Observatory -- said to be the oldest existing astronomical observatory in the Orient. At the Gyeongju National Museum, on the outskirts of the city, see the great bronze bell that was cast in A.D. 771.

Jeju Island

Lava tubes, waterfalls and mountains are just some of what you'll find on Korea's scenic holiday and honeymoon island, which is also one of 28 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of Nature. But Jeju is perhaps most famous for its women divers (the "haenyo"), who are able to hold their breath for several minutes at a time while collecting sea urchins, shellfish and octopus from the ocean floor.

One of the island's enduring symbols is the "tolharubang" -- black lava statues of a kindly old man. In the old days these were considered guardian deities and you can see them almost everywhere.

Cuisine

You haven't been to Korea if you haven't tried kimchi -- a fermented vegetable side dish (the classic uses cabbage) that is a staple at most meals. Some favourite main dishes include p'ajon -- seafood and green onion pancakes; pulgogi -- charbroiled marinated beef; and bibimbap -- a colourful rice, vegetable and meat dish. A typical meal may include rice, soup and several side dishes, which are shared.

Cookin' Nanta

One of the top tourist attractions in Seoul, Cookin' Nanta is a non-verbal musical performance, which has been wowing crowds since it first burst on the scene in 1997. The action on stage takes place in a kitchen setting, where four capricious cooks prepare a wedding banquet, turning pots, pans, dishes, knives, even brooms into percussive instruments drawing on Korea's Samulnori rhythms in this wildly entertaining comedy.

DMZ tour

For something completely different, visit the 249-km-long demilitarized zone (DMZ), which separates democratic South Korea from communist North Korea. Among the options: A visit to Panmunjeom, where the armistice agreement ending the Korean War was signed in 1953; a walking tour through part of the 1,635-metre long tunnel that North Korea built to infiltrate South Korean territory; or a glimpse of life across the border at the Dora Observatory. From a powerful telephoto lens you can see citizens in Gaeseong -- the second largest city in North Korea -- going about their daily lives and elementary school students receiving military training.

writer@interlog.com

IF YOU GO TO KOREA

TOURISM INFORMATION

For details on travel to South Korea, contact the Korea Tourism Organization at 1-800-TOURKOREA or visitkorea.or.kr.