Matt Kelley, Author at Discovering Korea

The Lock Museum in Seoul

The Lock Museum in Seoul is an aesthetically beautiful six-story building dedicated to the collection, preservation and display of handmade metal work.

Seodaemun Prison History Hall and Independence Park

The Seodaemun Prison History Hall and Independence Park teaches guests about a site once used to detain, torture and execute Korea’s independence activists.

Buam-dong’s Tranquil Pocket in Seoul

A woman in a room looking up with white and blue tea mugs behind her, a sink and tap in the background and postcards clipped to a line across the top of the frame.

Buam-dong’s tranquil pocket in Seoul can feel far away from the big city. Indeed, this is one of the neighborhood’s greatest charms.

Seoul’s Best Bakeries

A pastry tart, cut into eight slices, each slice being different, as though made into a collage, on a white plate and a pink and white checked background.

Seoul’s best bakeries have borrowed the best recipes and techniques from Europe and America, without losing their distinctly Korean flavor.

Insa-dong’s Tradition and Modernity in Seoul

Wooden shelves containing ceramic items, some bowls, a tea pot, serving dishes against a yellow background.

Seoul’s Insa-dong starts modestly, but as the main road continues, the neighborhood’s charming tea shops, restaurants and galleries are revealed.

Gwangnaru Pedestrian Bridge in Seoul

View across a river from a bridge with a glass and metal railing, towards the city of Seoul, in evening light.

The Gwangnaru Pedestrian Bridge in Seoul began as a citizen’s suggestion and became a park-like pathway across the mighty Hangang river.

Celebrating Seollal in Seoul

Traditional Korean dancers, in pink with black waistcoats perform a traditional Seollal dance outside a building.

Seollal, or the lunar New Year, is among the traditional Korean calendar’s most important holidays. Here are some of the events taking place in Seoul and elsewhere around Korea.

Nagan Fortress Folk Village in Korea

Entrance to Nagan Fortress Folk Village, a large stone wall, with flags in front of a traditional building of red wooden pillars, turquoise paintings and a dark roof. In front is a stone courtyard with small stone statues and a woman sweeping the ground.

Korea’s Nagan Fortress Folk Village is notable for the 1,400-meter-long wall that was built in the late 14th century to ward against foreign invasions.

Touring Korea’s DMZ

A Korean soldier stands against a blue wall, with a soft focus close up of another soldier's shoulder in the foreground.

DMZ tours are a popular way to explore the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily militarized border just one hour from Seoul that separates South and North Korea.

National Folk Museum of Korea in Seoul

Wooden carvings of men dancing displayed at the National Folk Museum of Seoul.

The National Folk Museum of Korea holds a collection of 4,000 items that explain the daily lives of Koreans from the prehistoric age until the present.

Bosingak Belfry in Seoul

To the right of the frame, a traditional wooden house, with curved roof and ornate carving in the eaves, with a tree in front of it, in the background are tall modern buildings and blue sky in bright sunshine.

The Bosingak Belfry in Seoul was erected in 1396 to notify the citizens of Seoul of the opening and closing times of the city gates and emergencies.

Boramae Park in Southern Seoul

Spring flowers in pink, red, white, and purple with a low white building in the background and trees, with a blue sky and bright sunshine at Boramae Park Seoul.

Boramae Park is one of southern Seoul’s most prominent green spaces and includes a large track, a 9,000-sqm. lotus pond and other recreational facilities.