Things to do in South Korea

South Korea covers about 100,000 square kilometres, and roughly half its people live around Seoul. Mountains fill most of the rest. The country is small enough that the choice is about themes, not distance.

How the map divides

• Seoul. The capital since 1394, with palaces, hanok lanes and markets on both sides of the Han River.
• Incheon and the DMZ. The main airport lies about 50 kilometres west of Seoul. The demilitarised zone to the north runs some 250 kilometres, and is 4 kilometres wide.
• Sokcho and Seoraksan. A port on the east coast, around two and a half hours from Seoul by road. Seoraksan's peaks rise to 1,708 metres behind it.
• Gyeongju. The old capital of the Silla kingdom, about two hours from Seoul by fast train.
• Busan. The second city, on the south coast, about two and a half hours by fast train.
• Jeju. A volcanic island, an hour by air from Seoul.

Layovers, drivers and small walks

Everything starts in Seoul or at its ports. Layover tours leave from Incheon airport, Incheon port and Sokcho port, and a DMZ run leaves from the airport. Full days with an English-speaking driver follow a route you set.

In town the choices are lighter. There is a hanbok photo session at a palace, a market and tea walk, a K-pop dance class and phone-guided games. Nothing here reaches Busan, Gyeongju or Jeju.

The DMZ from a layover

The minimum layover is six to eight hours. The trip visits the Third Infiltration Tunnel and the Dora Observatory, which looks across the border. Passports are checked, and traffic delays cannot be made up.

Practical

• Weather. Seoul has January highs near 1C and nights near -6C. August highs reach 31C, and most of the 1,400 millimetres of yearly rain falls from June to August. April, May, September and October are the easy months.
• Getting around. A T-money card works on subways and buses across the country. Google Maps gives limited directions here, so Naver Map or Kakao Map is the better choice.
• Money. Cards are accepted almost everywhere. Tipping is not customary.
• Holidays. Lunar New Year and Chuseok empty the capital and crowd intercity trains and buses.