To the west of Gyeongbokgung lies the neighborhood of Seochon. Along with Bukchon to the palace’s north, it is one of the few places in Seoul that still embodies the city’s old soul. Low-slung hanok rooftops, framed by Inwangsan, line its alleys. Tucked between them are a terrace bistro, a vintage photo booth, a niche perfumer, fashion flagships, a jewelry workshop and a cafe facing the palace wall. The neighborhood has long drawn artists. From the Joseon era to the modern period, poets, novelis

SEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — Every window in the classroom is open. A group of visitors lies on yoga mats with their eyes closed as a cricket starts up outside, then a bird, then the steady drone of cicadas. A singing bowl rings once, and the room goes quiet. The exercise is the final stage of "Forest Sound Demon Hunters," a soundscape program set to run this fall at Gayasan National Park Nature Center. The center is one of 10 nature centers the Korea National Park Service runs nationwid

CHUNCHEON, Gangwon Province — In the 1960s, when beef and pork were hard to come by, people in Chuncheon, a Gangwon city 80 kilometers west of Seoul, sliced chicken, the cheaper option, and grilled it over charcoal. By the 1970s, the dish had moved onto a wide iron griddle. Marinated chicken was stir-fried with cabbage, sweet potato and rice cakes, so a small amount of meat could feed a whole table. The filling, inexpensive meal became a favorite of the many soldiers stationed around the city an

Seven giraffes gather in a plaza at the center of Lost Valley. For years, visitors to the savanna-themed safari at Everland have only seen them through the windows of a vehicle. This fall, they can walk in. After sunset, another corner of the park fills with zombies who — taller than 2 meters —tower over survivors racing to catch the last train out of a doomed city. The fall festival at South Korea's largest theme park, Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, opened Sept. 12 and runs through Nov.

Many know Hannam-dong as one of Seoul's wealthiest neighborhoods, a hilly pocket of Yongsan-gu lined with embassies and diplomatic residences. Designer flagships, art spaces and boutiques share the same slope, drawing the fashion-conscious to explore its alleys and enjoy one of the capital's quieter shopping experiences. The elbow room is what matters for travelers weighing Hannam against Seongsu-dong. Seongsu now absorbs a large portion of Seoul's shopping tourism and pop-ups, and weekends ther

Once an industrial district of flour mills and workshops for handmade shoes, eastern Seoul's Seongsu-dong has become one of the city's most closely watched neighborhoods for fashion and beauty. Factory buildings that once turned out footwear now house design studios and flagship stores, and the area draws a steady mix of foreign visitors and young locals. The shift picked up in the 2010s, when repurposed warehouses such as Daelim Changgo were reborn as cafes and cultural spaces. It accelerated a

Seoul's most authentic local food spots aren't in Seongsu or Hongdae. They're hidden beneath apartment blocks. The restaurants that have defined everyday Korean dining aren't always the ones making headlines. Many have quietly thrived inside "sangga" — commercial arcades built for Korea's large apartment complexes. Here, regulars outnumber tourists by far, and reputations are built over decades, not social media. One of the best-known examples is Eunma Apartment. Nearly half a century old, it re

GANGJIN, HAENAM, MOKPO, SOUTH JEOLLA PROVINCE — Have you walked any of the Korea Dulle Trail, the 4,500-kilometer route that rings the country's coastline and border? The trail strings together four routes: the Haeparang Trail along the east coast, the Namparang Trail across the south, the Seohaerang Trail up the west coast and the DMZ Peace Trail near the northern border. At 5.7 times the length of Spain's Camino de Santiago, it would take about eight months to finish at a pace of 20 kilometers