South Korea

Top 80 Things to do in Korea OUTSIDE of Seoul (2022)

Julio Moreno Korean Festivals, Korean Food, National Parks, South Korea, Top 10 Style Lists , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Top 80 Things to do in Korea OUTSIDE of Seoul (2022)

Korea has lots to offer outside of Seoul. Over the last decade, I’ve published, updated, and expanded this list many times. For 2022, here what I think are the “Top 80 Things to do in Korea OUTSIDE of Seoul.” This year, I’ve have added a Kakao Map with instructions at the bottom of this post to help you find these places. Let the countdown begin!

Things to do in Korea Countdown: #80-61

Skip Ahead: Top 61-80, Top 41-60, Top 21-40, Top 1-20

80) Chuja-do Island / 추자도

Chuja Rope Factory
Chuja’s main industry is fishing. It is supported by mini-factories like this one that makes fishing rope. I am kind of a sucker for industrial places and workshops.

Chuja Island is a set of twin islands between Jeju and the mainland. This small island doesn’t get many visitors outside of two daily boats. The best way to explore it is to hike Olle Trail 18-1 which does an 8 loop around the island. Many claim it is the most challenging of the 26 Jeju Olle Trails, so try it if you’re up to the challenge. Around the island are interesting mosaics, beautiful natural scenery, and plenty of friendly locals.

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Off the Beaten Path in Korea: Beyond Seoul and Busan

Julio Moreno South Korea, Top 10 Style Lists, Travel Itineraries, Travel Planning, Travel Tips , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Off the Beaten Path in Korea: Beyond Seoul and Busan

Look around any mock itinerary in Korea and what do you see? Travel in Korea: Four days in Seoul, two days in Busan. Some may get crafty and add Jeju. Boring! Seoul definitely has a TON to offer, so I wouldn’t really fault any traveler for being so capital-centric. Alas, the Busan bit will forever baffle me, but I’ll spare you my anti-Busan rant. Instead, I’d like to introduce five towns to get off the beaten path in Korea. It will definitely get you off the Seoul-> (train to) Busan bandwagon.

Gangneung

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The Definite Top 5 Olle Trails: Hiking on Jeju Island

Julio Moreno South Korea, Top 10 Style Lists, Travel Tips , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
The Definite Top 5 Olle Trails: Hiking on Jeju Island

Jeju Olle Trails have been the highlight of my last two years. With international travel being limited, I looked inwards to get my travel fix and was not disappointed. The Olle Trails quickly became hands down my favorite thing to do in Korea. Now having finished all 26 trails, I can finally compare them to each other and tell you which are the best. I’ll try to say enough to get you interested but not give away too much. And of course, this is just my opinion, and yours may differ. 

#5 – Olle Trail 2

Olle Trail 2 is really the one that set the tone to what I love about the Jeju Olle. You start in Gwangchigi Beach, one of the most crowded spots in all of Jeju. 10 minutes into your hike and you’re in an abandoned fish farm without a soul in sight. The calm lake reflects like a perfect mirror which leads to stunning pictures. There are plenty of surprises from view points to nice villages along the way. Make sure not to miss the fantastic Vietnamese restaurant “Tot Tot” at the end.

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Hiking in Jeju: The Ultimate Guide

Julio Moreno South Korea, Top 10 Style Lists , , 1 Comment

If Korea is known for something other than kpop, it is hiking. That begs the question, “Where is the best place to hike in Korea?” Sure, everyone may have their opinions, but if that opinion isn’t “Jeju,” they are just wrong. Jeju Island is the best place to hike, case closed. You may have heard of the Olle Trails, but Jeju has a ton more hikes to satisfy niche preferences. Here are 10 sets of trails ready to be explored.

1) The Oreums (제주오름)

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The Great Korean Road Trip

Julio Moreno South Korea, UNESCO World Heritage Site , 4 Comments
The Great Korean Road Trip

Finishing a road trip across the Korean peninsula was something I wanted to do for years. For the most part, everything went according to plan. I zig zagged back and forth, hit both coasts, and visited all the main places I wanted to visit. One thing you should keep in mind is that the goal here wasn’t to hit all of the highlights in Korea. I’ve lived here for 8 years and have visited pretty much everywhere of note in that time. If you’re interested in the best things to do in Seoul or best things to do outside of Seoul, hit those links! This trip, instead, was to visit those secondary, ‘off the beaten path’ spots that travelers usually skip because of time constraints.

This page is a navigating resource of that 3000km road trip. Click on whatever day you want to read about and look at the map below to see where it is. If you have any questions, by all means, feel free to ask!

The Trip

Day 0 – Intro

Day 1 – Kyodong Island

Day 2 – Ganghwa Dolmen Sites (UNESCO WHS)

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