<aside> 💡 This page is created for foreign friends who are interested in visiting Korea and may not be familiar with the country. [made by K]
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What do you think when you hear the country "Korea"? These days, people may think about K-pop (BTS, PSY, Blackpink, Fifty-Fifty, etc.), K-contents (Squid Game), or tech giant companies (Samsung, Hyundai). All of these are true, but there is much more than that. Korean people started settling in Korea 700,000 years ago and we had numerous kingdoms that lasted 500 to 1000 years. Korea has its own culture - language, clothes, foods, etc. Some people may think it would be similar among East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China), but they have totally different cultures. Especially, we have our own awesome culture and style.
Our language (Hangul) was invented in 1492 by King Sejong the Great, making it the sole writing system in the world whose founder is known. The advent of Hangul was a great accomplishment in Korean cultural history as it resulted in one of the highest levels of literacy in the world. Also, our traditional clothes (Hanbok) have been beloved for over 2,000 years. (You can also experience Hanbok in Korea.) Korea is also famous for its best food and its diversity (seafood, meat, vegetables, temple food for vegans, rice, drinks, etc.)
Usually, people start to explore Korea from Seoul, the capital of Korea. It’s a mega-city, with more than 10 million people. If you arrive in Seoul, you can easily go anywhere using a bus, subway, or taxi since we have a wonderful public transportation system. You can experience everything from old palaces that were built 500 years ago to lots of skyscrapers. There is a big river (Han River), stream (Cheonggyecheon), and mountain (Nam-san or Bukhansan). Besides Seoul, you can also visit Busan, the second-largest city in Korea. It’s located near the South Sea of Korea, so you can experience lots of beaches and seafood. You can easily get there using the high-speed train (KTX) in just 2.5 hours.
Like this, Korea has numerous attractive places to visit and also fascinating food to try. Are you interested in learning more about this? You can use this document as a guideline and make your own travel plan! Hope you have a wonderful time in Korea :)
<aside> 💡 We have included information about Seoul, the capital, and Busan, a second-largest city also known for its coastal location. Typically, we recommend spending at least 10 days to fully explore these destinations and experience their numerous attractions. We plan to update this document in the future to include information about other cities and places to visit in Korea.
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