🇰🇷South Korea
Joseon palaces between glass towers, the best subway system on earth, mountains at the end of the line, and a volcanic island with its own language. Easier than Japan to travel and cheaper than it to eat in.
Cities
Korea's port city and second capital — beaches at the end of the metro line, a hillside village painted every colour, and the country's best raw fish. Slower and warmer than Seoul in every sense.
A volcanic island south of the peninsula with its own dialect, its own myths and a dormant peak in the middle of it. Korea's holiday island — hiking, lava tubes, black rock coastline and women who free-dive into their eighties.
Six-hundred-year-old palaces between glass towers, mountains at the end of the subway line, and a city that genuinely does not sleep. The easiest big Asian city for a first-timer, and cheaper than Tokyo.
At a glance
How South Korea’s cities compare. Rough 2026 figures.
Head to head
Two cities side by side — costs, best months and what you'd do in each.