Seoul, Gyeongju & Busan

 Busan, a large port city in South Korea, is known for its beaches, mountains and temples. A few highlights you’ll see on this guided sightseeing tour are the Yongdusan Park, Busan Tower, Jagalchi fish market and Kukje market.

Visitors interested in South Korea’s cultural heritage flock to Gyeongju. It is home to 31 National Treasures—a designation given to an artifact, site, building, etc. by the South Korean government. These include gilded Buddha statues, towering stone pagodas and many artifacts found in the Gyeongju National Museum. On your guided sightseeing tour you’ll visit: Tumuli Park, where three royal tombs and the ornate decorations upon them have been preserved; Cheomseongdae astrological observatory, the oldest surviving observatory in the world; and Anapji Pond, which was constructed by order of King Munmu in 674 CE.

 On the slopes of Mount Toham, the Seokguram Grotto contains a monumental statue of the Buddha looking at the sea. Surrounded portrayals of gods, Bodhisattvas and disciples, all realistically and delicately sculpted in high and low relief, it is considered a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Far East.

 The Paper Museum, also called the Jeonju Hanji Museum, was Korea’s first museum specializing in paper and has an extensive collection of 3,000 artifacts and a data-base documenting the long history and superiority of Hanji (Korean paper).

 Learn to cook traditional Korean dishes with an experienced instructor! You’ll be introduced to the dishes like Kimchi, Bibimbap and Bulgogi and taught how to make them so you can have a taste of Korea anywhere you go.

 Try on a hanbok, the Korean traditional costume, while learning more about Seoul’s history and culture.

The capital of South Korea is a huge metropolis where modern skyscrapers, high-tech subways and colorful pop culture meet Buddhist temples, richly adorned palaces and vibrant street markets. On your guided sightseeing tour of the city you’ll spend some time walking along Cheonggyecheon, an 11 km long modern stream that runs through downtown Seoul. The modern canal is a restoration of the stream that was once there during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Insadong Street is one of the most memorable attractions in Seoul and offers a wide variety of goods that can only be purchased or appreciated in Korea: hanbok (traditional clothing), hanji (traditional paper), traditional teas, pottery and folk crafts. And you’ll get one of the most spectacular, 360 degree views of the city from the Seoul Tower and Observatory.

Spend some time walking along Cheonggyecheon, an 11km-long modern stream that runs through downtown Seoul. The modern canal is a restoration of the stream that was once there during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

The DMZ separates North and South Korea and was created by an agreement between North Korea, China and the United Nations in 1953. It is 250 kilometers (160 miles) long, and about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide. On this excursion, you’ll see the infamous barrier first-hand as well as visit Imjingak Park, which boasts many statues and monuments memorializing the Korean War; the Dora Observatory, which looks out over the demilitarized zone and is the closest you can get to North Korean from below the 38th parallel; and the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, one of four known tunnels under the border between North Korea and South Korea, extending south of Panmunjom.