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3-Day Busan, Gyeongju Tour from Seoul by KTX
Travel to Busan, Korea's second largest city, and Gyeongju, a city with a thousand-year history, on the high-speed KTX traveling at 300 km per hour. You will arrive at Busan Station in 2 hours and 30 minutes. After meeting your guide at Busan Station, you will travel around Busan, Yangsan and Gyeongju in your guide's comfortable vehicle for 3 days. Known as 'Dynamic Busan, the City of Tomorrow', Busan is famous for its beautiful beaches, fresh seafood, Asia's largest film festival, and its location as an attractive new urban hub. What is noteworthy is that during the Korean War, Busan was a rare area that was not occupied by North Korea, so many refugee villages were formed in the surrounding hills. The village remains today as it ever was.
After enjoying an exciting tour of Busan, you can stop by Tongdosa Temple, where Buddha's relics are enshrined, and check out the historical Korean Buddhist tradition. Your next stop is Gyeongju, the capital of Silla (57 BC – 935 BC), the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla, for nearly a thousand years. Gyeongju is home to a wealth of historic sites and artifacts that demonstrate remarkable cultural achievements. Our guides will help you discover and experience traditional arts and culture firsthand, helping you fully appreciate Korea's rich history. On the afternoon of the third day, after enjoying the historical wonders of Gyeongju, you will take the KTX from Gyeongju Station back to Seoul. In Seoul, our driver will meet you and take you to your destination comfortably.
Tour description
DAY 1 Seoul - Busan by KTX train
Jagalchi fish market
Choi Min-Shik Gallery
Choi Min-Shik is the first-generation documentary photographer who photographed ordinary people with tough lives emanating from war and poverty. He aroused sympathy from the world by photographing ordinary people's tough lives and underprivileged people during the modernization of Busan with a theme 'Human'.
His black/white photos capture the moments of people in a very vivid way. Every single one of his photographs is portraits that are Koreans in Busan streets.
Amidong Tombstone Culture Village
The stairs and the walls in this village are different from what you normally see. They are all tombstones. That's why the village is called Tombstone culture village. People began living here in tents since 1951 during the Korean War. When it became more settled, the tents became too small, so people began building on top of Japanese graves. This Village is right next to Gamchon culture village. From this village, the entire city of Busan can be seen.
Gamcheon Mural village
Gamcheon was a refuge to many people fleeing to Busan during the Korean War. The creative urban regeneration project started in 2010 and the success of the project attracts 1,400,000 Korean and foreign tourists to the village annually. It's earning this village the nickname of "Machu Picchu of Busan."
Jagalchi fish market
Jagalchi fish market mainly deals with live and freshly caught seafood. Fish and shellfish are caught daily and sold fresh to consumers, almost right off the boat. The area is lined with tanks containing all sorts of fish, eels, squid, shellfish, and mollusks. Some areas have workers preparing the seafood for long term storage. You can watch as the fish get scaled, beheaded, chopped up, and dumped in a box of ice, all in record time.
Gukje market
Among one of the traditional markets in Korea, Gukje market was first formed when refugees who fled to Busan sat up stalls in order to make a living after the Korean War. There is a wide variety of goods, so you can walk around and also check some food stalls.
UN Memorial Park
The UN Memorial Cemetery is a well-administered, beautifully maintained final resting place for many Allied soldiers who died during the Korean War. If you have time during your visit to Busan, drop in for a couple of hours and walk around this solemn but magnificent place.
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is situated on the coast of the north-eastern portion of Busan. This superb attraction offers visitors the rare find of a temple along the shore line; most temples in Korea are located in the mountains.
DAY 2 Busan - Yangsan - Gyeongju
Haeundae Beach
Haeundae Beach is the most popular beach in South Korea, with 1 million visitors a day during the summer season. Offering various water sports activities, festivals, concerts, and parties, Haeundae Beach is a destination worth visiting for an exciting getaway!
Dongbaek Island
There is Dongbaek Island at the western end of Haeundae beach. Dongbaek is translated into Camellia which is growing in islands of southern provinces and southern coastal area of Korea blossoming around March., of which the leaves are thick and glossy maintaining dark green color through 4 seasons. There is Nurimaru APEC house, around three-story building exclusively built for the final summit meeting for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in the island.
Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan
Tongdosa temple is one of Korea's five "Palace of the Jewel of Nirvana" temples, where the relics of the Buddha substitute for a statue.
Noted for the enshrined sari from Buddha (Buddha’s relics), Tongdosa Temple is one of the most recognized temples in South Korea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage temple and is located within a distance of a day trip from Busan.
Hwangridan-gil in Gyeongju
Hwangnidan Street is the new hangout in Gyeongju that has been rising in popularity. Originally one of the many alleyways in the Hwangnam-dong area known as “Hwangnam Keungil” (Big Street in Hwangnam), the alley became a hipster hangout with restaurants, cafes, and photo studios housed in renovated hanok (traditional Korean house) buildings. It is also near UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Cheomseongdae Observatory and Cheonmachong Tomb, as well as Gyeongju Jungang Market, which offers plenty of things to eat.
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
Gyeongju Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond was a secondary palace used by the crown prince of the Silla Kingdom. It also served as a banquet site for important national events and important visitors. The pond was created in 674, during the reign of King Munmu. The pond features three small islands and a landscape of 12 small hills to the northeast. After the fall of Silla, the site was abandoned and forgotten. The pond was referred to as "Anapji" from the Goryeo and Joseon periods and onwards. In the 1980s, a pottery fragment with the letters “Wolji” (a pond that reflects the moon) carved onto it was found, revealing the true name of the pond. After the discovery, the site was renamed to the current Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond.
DAY 3 Gyeongju - Seoul by KTX
Tumuli park
Visit the Tumuli park. It has more than 20 large and small tombs from the Shilla period. The tombs are presumed to be those of kings and court officials. Most of them are earthen and mound-shaped. Some double gourd-shaped ones are for the joint burial of a husband and wife. As those excavated were all found to be stone-pilled wood-lined chamber type, most of the tombs here are presumed to be of the same type. During the excavations of chenmachong and Hwangnamchong , numerous artifacts (including a gold crown, gold girdles, gold and silver personal ornaments, horse fittings, and weapons) were uncovered.
Wolseong Place Site
This was the location of the palace-fortress during the Silla dynasty (57 BC ~ AD 935). The fortress takes after its name, which, literally translates to mean a crescent moon shape on top of a hill.
Although the magnificent grandeur of the palace is now just an empty lot, it has been told that this area was filled with imperial buildings during the Silla dynasty. Currently, the region of Wolseong has a freezer made out of rocks called Seokbinggo, an archery range, a horse-riding field, and a traditional playground, which resembles the grounds of the Joseon Period (the dynasty that ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392-1910).
Bulguksa Temple
Declared a World Cultural Asset by UNESCO, the temple holds many national treasures that it accumulated throughout its long history. Bulguksa Temple, or the Temple of Buddha’s Kingdom, has so many meanings in every structure and every arrangement. According to the Buddhist point of view, each section of the temple represents the world of enlightenment; Daewoongjeon represents the World of Enlightenment where the Sakyamuni Buddha dwells, the Geukrakjeon area represents the Land of Happiness, and the Birojeon area the World of Lotus Sanctuary where the Vairocana Buddha dwells.
Seokguram Grotto
Established in the 8th century on the slopes of Mount Toham, the Seokguram Grotto contains a monumental statue of the Buddha looking at the sea in the bhumisparsha mudra position. Inside the round-shaped main hall are the Bonjon Statue, Bodhi-sattva, and his disciples. The Bonjon figure wearing a generous smile is seated on the stage engraved with a lotus flower design. As the sunrise from this spot is quite beautiful, many people climb the mountain at daybreak. With the surrounding 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 Temple of Bulguksa (built in 774) and the Seokguram Grotto form a religious architectural complex of exceptional significance.
Tour itinerary
Day 1 Seoul - Busan
* Choi Minsik Gellary /Tombstons Village
* Gamcheon Cultural Village
* Jagalchi Market / Gukje Market
* Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Day 2 Busan - Yangsan - Gyeongju
* Haeundae Beach
* Dongbaekseom Island
* Tongdosa Temple
* Hwangridan gil
* Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
Day 3 Gyeongju - Seoul
* Tumuli Park
* Wolseong Palace Site
* Bulguksa Temple
* Seokgulam Grotto
Pricing information
Tour rate
Number of Guest / Price per Person
- 2Persons / USD1,084
- 3Persons / USD816
- 4Persons / USD772
- 5Persons / USD683
- 6Persons / USD653
- 7Persons / Inquiry
Inclusions
- 3 days Private tour
- All admission fees to tourists sites
- Local English or Chinese-speaking tour guide
- Door-to-door private transportation with a private minivan
- Accommodations (3 or 4-star hotel) -2 Nights
- KTX express round-trip fare (Economy class)
- Lunch
Exclusions
- Personal expenses
- Dinner
Note
- Accommodation : 3 or 4-star hotel, Twin, Triple sharing room base
- Extra bedroom: US$40 per day