I just booked a return flight to Seoul :-D I will try to visit all WHS and some tentatives. Tips and info are appreciated!

If you visit Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju, I highly recommend to go to Seokguram first and then walk back to Bulguksa, the trail is very nice passing lovely forest, and small river especially in early spring and late autumn. Also in gyeongju, visit Anapji pond at night is a must.

South Korea is an easy country to travel if you are stick in the main tourist route, Seoul - Daegu - Gyeongju - Busan, but if you planned to go somewhere else for example, to see Buyeo sites in SW of Korea or even Dolmen Sites in Ganghwa Island, plan carefully for transportation or you will end on an expensive taxi ride whole day.

I'm pretty sure the Haeinsa temple is closed all year in 2010 so I don't think you'll be able to make it there.

hmmm that's a bit dissappointing. but good to know in advance! thanks

Joycevs how much time will you have in Korea?

Just a word of advice, give yourself some time in Jeju, you need at least a couple days to enjoy this amazing island, and maybe some of the smaller islands around it.

Gongju and Buyeo are not too hard to reach from Seoul, just a bus or train ride for a couple hrs. Most people fly to Jeju from Seoul, though if you are heading in the Gwangju/Mokpo area it might be worth it to just take a ferry.

Spend enough time in Seoul as well, there is so much here. Offcourse you will want to visit Chandeokgung Palace and Jongmyo as they are Unesco sites, but its worth seeing Gyeongbokgung palace and Deoksugung as well. And offcourse there are numerous tomb clusters in and around Seoul. If you try to get up to Ganghwa Island to see the largest Dolmen, you will probably enjoy the trip but don't expect to see a whole lot of dolmens even if you spend alot of time on Ganghwa Island, the large groups of Dolmens are all in the South in Gochang particularly. The Ganghwa Dolmens are pretty spread out, but the largest one is immpressive.

Seoroksan is a tentative site, and will probably not get inscribed, but it is an amazing place worth visiting and is one of the most rewarding National Parks in Korea alongside Hallasan.

You will need some time in the Gyeongju area to visit Bulguksa/Seokguram, and the Historic areas. If you spend some time here, make sure to go to Busan and see Korea's 2nd city, alot to see and do here, even without any WHS.

Now ten Unesco World Heritage sites in South Korea! I am very pleased the Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong have been inscribed. Ten Unesco sites for such a small country is something worth noting, it only takes 5 hrs to drive across the entire country! Also the fact that the Korean T-list has been updated with an addition of seven new sites this year show their plan to have many more sites inscribed. The proposal of Gongju and Buyeo Historic Sites I believe will likely be inscribed in the coming years. It is an important site representing the Baekja kingdom.

The only other places I can think of outside Europe with such a high density of world heritage sites in one country are Sri Lanka, Cuba, and Isreal.

An Interesting program was aired on Arirang TV (Korea's Global TV Channel). The segment was called "UNESCO Embraces Korean Historic Villages". Some insight into the challenges of inscription and future prospects of preserving the sites are discussed in detail. A discussion on the villagers involvement, developing sustainable tourism, and also future Korean Unesco sites were all brought up in this panel interview. When discussing future inscriptions the only site discussed was the Baekja sites in Gongju, Buyeo and Iksan. Park, So-hyun discussed the prospect and goals of recognizing the Ancient Capitals of Korea. Gyeongju the Silla capital is already inscribed as well as the numerous Joseon sites in and around Seoul. The Goguryo capitals have been inscribed in North Korea & China. Now South Korea is pursuing inscription for the Baekja capital, which is likely to be the first site up for inscription in the coming years.

Panels
- Uhm Seung-yong (Director General, Cultural Heritage Policy Bureau, Cultural Heritage Administration)
- Park So-hyun (Professor, Department of Architecture, Seoul National University)

(You can only watch the video if you sign up, it's in english)
http://www.arirang.co.kr/Tv2/INFocus_WhatsOn.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0104&sys_lang=Eng

These are the two Baekja nominations on the Korean T-list. I don't think Iksan can be inscribed alone. I expect a joint inscription will be the outcome, as all sites are not too far from each other. Perhaps two inscriptions are being pursued because Gongju and Buyeo are located in Chungcheongnam-do province, while Iksan is just across the border in Jeollabuk-do Province?

Gongju and Buyeo Historic Sites
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5489/

Iksan Historic Areas
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5490/

I saw this article on KBS, it provides some insight into how the Korean sites are included on their tentative list. North Jeolla province sought to include 5 sites on the Korean T list, however only Iksan Historic Areas was added early this year.

http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Po_detail.htm?No=62630&id=Cu

From Arirang TV -

"And more of Korea's cultural properties are in line waiting to be designated by UNESCO.
Ten properties such as Namhansanseong and the Gongju and Buyeo Historic Sites are enlisted on the UNESCO Tentative List.
In order to be considered for nomination as a World Heritage site a property must be on the Tentative List for at least one year.
And local governments in Korea are actively working towards their nominations with Gyeonggi Province proposing a three-step business plan in October to add Namhansanseong on the World Heritage List by 2014 and South Chungcheong Province saying it will have Gongju and Buyeo designated as World Heritage sites by 2013.
The country will definitely welcome having more of its cultural properties nominated by UNESCO as such distinction will definitely help Korea with introducing its culture, tradition and history."

Planned submissions to the WHC

Gongju and Buyeo Historic Sites (2013)
Namhansanseong (2014)

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=110534&code=Ne2&category=2

Upo Wetland has just been added to South Korea's Tentative list.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kr

Thanks for putting all this information on here guys, it has proved useful in planning my trip.

In terms of Seoul can anyone recommend a good area to be based?

Initial thoughts are Insadong, based mostly on the fact that it turns up first in most guidebook listings and there are 2 WHS on the doorstep. But if anyone has any tips for other useful locations or recommendations on a great little place to stay then that would be welcome.

I don't know your plans, but if you plan on taking some buses across the country it might be wise to base yourself in the Gangnam area (South Seoul). This is useful because the Gangnam bus terminal is a fast and easy way to reach many destinations without costing too much. Furthermore, unlike some of the other bus terminals it is located not far from the outskirts of Seoul, therefore largely bypassing traffic. The Gangnam area is also a nice area. Insa-dong is certainly a pleasant area to explore and is close to Changdeokgung and Jongmyo. Nevertheless, Insa-dong is toursity, not neccesarily in a bad way, but something to keep in mind.

A couple great sites that are close to Gangnam

*Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
- Seolleung Cluster (very easy to reach, right in the middle of the city)
- Heolleung Cluster (one of the most impressive and largest tombs, King Taejong, 3rd King of the Joseon Dynasty. Also you can walk all the way up to the tomb, unlike many others)

*Namhansanseong Fortress is around 30 minutes away using the subway.

An additional plus to being based in southern Seoul, it is more convenient to reach Suwon Fortress, Oeam Village (though still somewhat difficult to reach), Gongju/Buyeo Historic Areas, and some of the Fortresses in Central Korea (Sangdangsanseong) or (Samnyeonsanseong).

Both locations are good though, so it is really preference. Being based in north Seoul is more convenient if you want to visit Ganghwa island and see the largest single dolmen in Korea. (Though there are not a large amount of other dolmens on the island)

Thanks for that.

Seoul is going to be the end of the trip so I don't think I will be taking that many trips to the South (except Suwon but that is on the Metro).

I had a feeling that Insadong maybe a little touristy, but I will have a think about whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing by that stage.

Was going to ask about the Tomb clusters, Seolleung Cluster was always going to be on there as it is close to the Olympic Stadium (another list I keep). But was trying to work out which others were easily accessible and worth a trip to.