World Heritage Sites in South Korea: Complete list in 2023

When most people (myself included) think of Korean history, they think of the past century. The Japanese occupation, the Korean War, the separation of North and South – these are all parts of the story that we are more familiar with.

Not surprisingly, though, none of South Korea’s World Heritage Sites are related to this period or these events. In fact, they almost seem carefully curated to showcase the long proud history of the peninsula that came before the recent and undignified events.

And there’s a lot of heritage to talk about – from the states that ruled the land in ancient times, to the three main kingdoms that dominated in the first millennium, the rise of Buddhism in a united peninsula, and then the period of kings that have left the biggest mark on modern Korea.

When it comes to the World Heritage Sites of South Korea, there’s not much emphasis on nature (despite the country having some impressive national parks). Of its 15 sites on the World Heritage List, only two of them are natural, and one of those is not even particularly spectacular to look at.

Travelling around South Korea, the World Heritage Sites are actually a really good way to learn about the country’s history and I would recommend visiting quite a few of them.

Some of the World Heritage Sites in South Korea are also the country’s biggest landmarks, so you’ll likely visit some of them on any sightseeing trip. But others that may appear to be a little off the tourist trail are among the most interesting, in my opinion.

I’ve marked the locations of the South Korean World Heritage Sites on the map below. Something to note, though, is that quite a few of the sites are made up of multiple locations, so the map looks quite confusing at first. (You can select and deselect those ones in the menu.)

As you can see, there are lot of World Heritage Sites in Seoul, so even if all you’re doing is the capital city, you’ll be able to easily tick a few off the list.

In case you’re travelling even further throughout the country, let me give you a bit more background about all the World Heritage Sites in South Korea so you can consider which ones might be worth visiting yourself.