DMZ Tour and Day Trips from Seoul

Seoul's subway and trains reach a long way, and one or two of these trips round out a longer stay. Only the DMZ needs a tour; the rest you can do on your own. With time for just one, choose by interest: the DMZ for the Korea of the last seventy years, Suwon for Joseon architecture at your own pace.

The DMZ

The Demilitarised Zone, the strip of land dividing the two Koreas since the 1953 armistice, is about an hour north of Seoul. You can only enter the civilian control area on an organised tour, and you must carry your passport. A standard tour covers Imjingak, a park by the Freedom Bridge where fences are hung with ribbons and messages for families in the North; the Third Tunnel, dug by North Korea and discovered in 1978, which you walk down into wearing a hard hat; and the Dora Observatory, where on clear days you look across into North Korea. Book with an established operator a few days ahead, and expect the itinerary to change if the military closes a site at short notice.

The JSA at Panmunjom, where soldiers face each other across the border line, is a different matter. Tours there have been suspended and restarted several times since 2023, and under the UN Command's revised format, visitors no longer step inside the famous blue conference huts. Treat any JSA booking as provisional until the operator confirms it.

Suwon Hwaseong

King Jeongjo built this fortress in the 1790s around the new city of Suwon, and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The walls run for 5.7 kilometres over a hill and across a stream, with gates, watchtowers and a floodgate of seven arches. Walking the full circuit takes two to three hours. Hwaseong Haenggung, the king's temporary palace, stands in the town below. Suwon is about an hour on subway line 1, or faster by train from Seoul Station. Stay for Suwon galbi, marinated beef ribs, a local speciality.

Nami Island and Gapyeong

An island in a river reservoir, famous for the tree-lined avenues filmed in the 2002 drama Winter Sonata. The ITX-Cheongchun train from Yongsan or Cheongnyangni reaches Gapyeong in about an hour, then a short ferry crosses to the island. It is pretty in autumn and snow, but it is very crowded and quite commercial, so we'd only go for the drama connection or the foliage.

Bukhansan

No need to leave the city for mountains. Bukhansan National Park has granite peaks, fortress walls and temples, reached by subway and bus. The climb to Baegundae, the highest point at 836 metres, involves steep rock with fixed cables and takes most of a day. Go on a weekday, bring water and wear proper shoes, as the granite is slippery after rain.