Find Your Peak.
Practical travel guides, tips, and essentials for visiting Korea
Inwangsan (인왕산, 338.2 m) sits less than 30 minutes from central Seoul by subway, and most visitors to the capital never climb it. They walk the palace district below and glance up at the granite ridgeline — and keep moving. On an overcast or rainy day, that is the most wrong it gets. Light rain … Read more
Seoul has a mountain at its center that most visitors never set foot on. Not because it’s remote or difficult — but because Bugaksan (북악산, also known as Baegaksan/백악산) was sealed off as a military reservation for decades. The trail only reopened to the public in 2006, and the rules haven’t changed since: stay on … Read more
Saturday, 9:30 AM, Soesokkak (쇠소깍). A volunteer in a yellow vest is already at the trailhead, talking with the first arrivals. Free program. English-speaking guide. No agency, no booking fee — just Route 6 and someone who knows every bend of it. That’s Walking Mate. Most foreign visitors spend a week in Jeju and never … Read more
Itaewon (이태원) is where Seoul stacks its international bars and restaurants into a few dense blocks. Most British-themed places in Asia hedge — the visual lands but the food doesn’t. Rose & Crown (로즈앤크라운) doesn’t hedge. The pub occupies the 2nd and 3rd floors of a pink building off Exit 1, and from the bar … Read more
Seogwipo (서귀포), on Jeju Island’s south coast, sits at the foot of Hallasan’s southern slope where rainfall is heaviest on the island. The water drains off volcanic basalt and drops in three waterfalls within a few kilometers of each other. None of them require a car to reach. Seogwipo (서귀포) coast at sunrise Two of … Read more
Days 2 & 3 on Jeju — Udo Island, Seongsan, and a Family Trip 20 Years in the Making This continues from Day 1. Four of us — my parents included — making our first return to Jeju Island (제주도) together in two decades. I had an itinerary. They had opinions. We split the difference, … Read more
Twenty Years Between Jeju Trips Four of us — my parents, my younger sibling, and me — took an early flight to Jeju Island (제주도) on what turned out to be our first family trip there in roughly two decades. I put together the itinerary. The broad route runs west on Day 1, then east, … Read more
A February Long Weekend in Boryeong (보령) The Lunar New Year holiday meant crowded trains, relatives, and the particular tiredness that comes right after an international flight. Rather than sleep it off at home, we loaded into the car and headed south to the Yellow Sea coast. Boryeong (보령, Chungcheongnam-do) is about two hours from … Read more
The Hantangang River Geopark (한탄강 지질공원) is the kind of place that rewards slowing down. I’ve been to the Pocheon (포천) area more than once — the basalt columnar cave pools, the Bidulginang Falls (비둘기낭 폭포), and the Sky Bridge are each worth the trip on their own, but cramming all three into a rushed … Read more
Daejeon & Okcheon for Lunar New Year: Walk, Eat, Repeat Seollal (설날) — the Korean Lunar New Year — clears out the cities and fills the roads. We headed to Daejeon (대전), a major hub in central South Korea roughly 1.5 hours south of Seoul by KTX, with family in tow. One errand, two days, … Read more