South Korea

Seoul: 600 years of history with a neon glow

Start at Gyeongbokgung Palace at 10am for the changing of the guard, full Joseon-dynasty costume, drums, the lot, then look up and clock the skyscrapers behind it. That's Seoul in one frame. Rent a hanbok and you skip the palace entry fee, which is the most Korean deal going. Wander the hanok rooftops of Bukchon, eat tteokbokki straight from a street cart, then do the thing you actually came for: film your own K-pop video in a proper studio, choreography and all. Cringe for ten minutes, brag about it forever.

Climb Bukhansan, a national park inside the city

Seoul is the only capital going with a legit granite mountain range inside its city limits. Bukhansan National Park is a subway ride from your hostel, and the push up to Baegundae Peak (836m) takes around three hours return, steel cables on the last scramble, then the whole city sprawled out below you in every direction. You'll be overtaken by Korean grandparents in head-to-toe hiking gear. Let it happen. Too easy? N Seoul Tower on Namsan does the skyline at sunset with a cable car and zero sweat.

The DMZ: the strangest day trip on Earth

About an hour north of Seoul, the Demilitarised Zone splits the Korean peninsula in two, and yes, you can visit on a guided tour (it's the only way in). Stare into North Korea from the Dora Observatory, walk down the Third Infiltration Tunnel that the North dug under the border, and stand in a train station built for a reunification that hasn't come. It's heavy, weird and genuinely unforgettable, history that's still happening, not behind glass. Book ahead and bring your passport; they check.

Soju, street food and singing until sunrise

Korean nights have a rhythm: round one is dinner, bibimbap or a bubbling tofu stew, banchan covering every inch of table. Round two is soju and somaek (soju bombed into beer, pace yourself, it's sneakier than it tastes). Round three is a noraebang, your own private karaoke room, until your voice gives out. Hongdae is the backpacker heartland, university crowd, street buskers, bars that don't blink at 4am. On our group trips, this is the night nobody shuts up about.

Busan: the beach city at the end of the fast train

Seoul to Busan on the KTX takes around two and a half hours, and you step off in a different country: Korea's second city is a port wrapped around hills and beaches. Haeundae Beach is the famous one, about a kilometre and a half of white sand backed by high-rises, with the beach-train and sky-capsule line running along the cliffs to the east. Gamcheon Culture Village stacks pastel-painted houses up a hillside, built by Korean War refugees and now covered in murals, cafés and staircases that all lead to a better view. Haedong Yonggungsa is the temple that breaks Korea's rules: instead of a mountain it sits on the rocks above the sea on the city's north-east coast, best at sunrise before the tour buses. Finish at the bars behind Gwangalli Beach, where the Gwangan Bridge lights up across the bay.

Temple stay and Gyeongju: the quiet half of Korea

The Templestay programme lets you sleep in a working Buddhist temple: grey robes, a 108-bow prostration, meditation with a monk, a bell before dawn and a silent vegetarian meal served in the traditional wooden bowls. It's the single best reset on a party-heavy trip and the night everyone talks about afterwards; our 10-day trip builds one in on day seven. From there it's a short hop to Gyeongju, capital of the Silla kingdom for almost a thousand years and known as the museum without walls: grassy royal burial mounds right in town, the Bulguksa temple and Seokguram grotto on the hill above it (both UNESCO-listed), and a hanok village where you sleep on a heated floor. Day eight of the South Korea Adventure, 10 Days is spent here.

Getting to South Korea and getting around

Fly into Incheon International Airport, Seoul's main hub, with direct flights from Sydney and Brisbane of roughly ten and a half hours and one-stop options from every other capital. The AREX express train runs from Incheon Terminal 1 to Seoul Station in about 43 minutes. Check Korea's current entry requirements for your passport before you fly; they change, and the K-ETA electronic travel authorisation is the thing to search for.

In Seoul, buy a T-money card at any convenience store: it works on the subway, buses and taxis nationwide, and the base subway fare for the first 10 kilometres is 1,550 won. Between cities, the KTX high-speed train is the move (Seoul to Busan in around two and a half hours), with intercity buses as the cheaper, slower backup. Two things to download before you land: Naver Map, because Google Maps barely works in Korea, and Papago for translation. Our group trips include all in-country transport, so the only logistics you handle are the ones you choose to.

Ten days in South Korea: a sample plan

Days 1 to 3, Seoul: Gyeongbokgung and the Bukchon hanoks on day one, Hongdae that night; the DMZ on day two (guided tour, booked ahead, passport in hand); Bukhansan or N Seoul Tower and a K-pop video shoot on day three. Day 4: KTX out of the capital for a cooking class and a rice wine tasting in the countryside. Day 5: the coast, and a Korean dinner night with the group. Day 6: a taekwondo class, because when else. Day 7: temple stay, early bells, total silence. Day 8: Gyeongju's royal tombs and hanok village. Days 9 to 10: back to Seoul for the markets, the bathhouse and one last noraebang. That is, stop for stop, how the South Korea Adventure, 10 Days runs, from $3,089, with the beds, transport and every activity already booked and a leader meeting you at the airport. Got three weeks? The 22-day version, from $7,689, flies on to Tokyo on day ten and keeps going through Mt Fuji, Osaka and Kyoto.

What South Korea costs

Korea costs less than Australia and less than Japan. Subway rides start at 1,550 won with a T-money card, street food and convenience-store meals are a few dollars, and Seoul's hostels are good value by Australian standards. The expensive line items are the ones our trips bundle: the KTX, the temple stay, the DMZ tour, the K-pop studio and the coastal nights. The South Korea Adventure, 10 Days, from $3,089, covers nine nights of accommodation, many meals, all in-country transport, a group leader from airport pickup and every activity on the itinerary, with no pay-on-arrival extras. The South Korea + Japan Adventure, 22 Days, from $7,689, does the same for both countries, including the flight between them. Bring spending money for nights out, shopping and the meals that aren't included.