Yeongju travel info

Yeongju is a small city in northern Gyeongbuk, tucked into the foothills of Sobaeksan. Stand in the forecourt of Muryangsujeon at Buseoksa and the ridges roll away below you like waves, shifting from blue to grey as the sun goes down. Down the valley, Sosu Seowon and Seonbichon are lanes of tiled-roof houses where you can play at being a Joseon scholar for a day, or sleep in a hanok.

One village here is nearly an island. Museom sits inside a loop of river, and the only way out used to be a single-log bridge. Around Punggi the ginseng market runs, and it's easy to walk with a bowl of samgyetang or a ginger doughnut in hand. In Sunheung you eat buckwheat jelly rice and gijitteok rice cakes.

From Seoul's Cheongnyangni, a KTX-Eum train gets you here in under two hours. Buseoksa, Sosu Seowon and Museom are spread out, though, and local buses run infrequently. Plan one or two places a day; a car helps a lot.

From Seoul (KTX)

From Busan or Daegu (BUS)

From town to Buseoksa (BUS)