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Land at Incheon International Airport and take the AREX all-stop train to Hongdae or Seoul Station (~£4, 45–60 min) or the airport limousine bus (~£10) to a hostel in the Insadong/Hongdae/Myeongdong area. Check in, grab a T-money transit card, and skip the operator's welcome dinner in favour of a self-guided night eating through Gwangjang Market — bindaetteok, mayak gimbap, yukhoe — for around £10. Optional: a GetYourGuide/Seoul Walking Tours evening palace-and-street-food walk if you want company on night one.

🚌AREX train from Incheon (~£4); T-money card for metro (~£1.20/ride)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse dorm in Insadong/Hongdae (£15–22/night)

• →AREX airport train to central Seoul
• →Self-guided Gwangjang Market food crawl
• →Optional night market walking tour

Do the classic Seoul day independently. Book the free English Changdeokgung Palace guided slot online in advance (palace entry ~£2, Secret Garden tour ~£5 and worth it). Walk 10 minutes to Jogyesa Temple (free), then wander Bukchon Hanok Village — go early, it's residential and crowded by 11am. The Blue House (former presidential residence) is bookable free online; combine with a Gwangjang Market lunch and the Hanbok rental add-on (~£12 for 2 hours) if you want the photos. Finish at Dongdaemun Design Plaza at dusk and Naksan Park for the city-wall sunset view. A Seoul City Pass or single metro fares cover it all.

🚌Metro day of rides (~£5)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse dorm in Insadong/Hongdae (£15–22/night)

• →Changdeokgung Palace + Secret Garden (book online)
• →Jogyesa Temple
• →Bukchon Hanok Village walk
• →Blue House (free timed ticket)
• →Dongdaemun Design Plaza
• →Naksan Park city-wall sunset

Take the ITX-Cheongchun train from Yongsan or Cheongnyangni to Chuncheon (~£5, 1h15), then a local bus or short taxi to Samaksan Cable Car (~£12 return) and the Uiamho Lake Skywalk (free). From Chuncheon, take an intercity bus to Sokcho (~£9, 2h). Base yourself near Sokcho intercity bus terminal or the beach. Local bus 1-1 heads north to Goseong Unification Observatory Tower (small entry fee, ID/passport required as it's a controlled border area) and the nearby DMZ Museum (free). Note: this is the east-coast DMZ observation point, not Panmunjom/JSA. Eat seafood at Sokcho's Abai Village or the tourist fish market.

🚌ITX train Seoul–Chuncheon (~£5); intercity bus Chuncheon–Sokcho (~£9); local bus to Goseong (~£3)

🛏Sokcho guesthouse or budget motel (£20–28/night)

• →Samaksan Cable Car and Uiamho Lake Skywalk
• →Goseong Unification Observation Tower (bring passport)
• →Goseong DMZ Museum
• →Sokcho Abai Village seafood dinner

Bus 7 or 7-1 from Sokcho to Seoraksan National Park entrance (~£2, 20 min). Hike the short steep trail to Gwongeumseong Fortress via the cable car (~£9 return, queues build fast — go at opening) and visit Sinheungsa Temple and its giant bronze Buddha (park entry ~£1.50). If you want the temple-stay experience the operator offers as optional, book directly with Sinheungsa's templestay programme (~£35–55 including meals and overnight). In the afternoon take a bus back to Sokcho, then intercity bus/express bus toward Danyang (often via Wonju or Jecheon, ~£13–16, 3.5–4h). Overnight in Danyang town near the river.

🚌Local bus to park (~£2); intercity buses Sokcho–Danyang (~£15)

🛏Danyang riverside motel or guesthouse (£22–30/night)

• →Seoraksan hike and Gwongeumseong Fortress cable car
• →Sinheungsa Temple
• →Optional Sinheungsa templestay (book direct)
• →Danyang river-town evening stroll

Walk the Danyanggang Jando Trail along the Namhangang River and take in the Mancheonha Skywalk (free; the riverside loop is ~1.2km but add the Jando path for a half-day). Then bus to Yeongju (~£4), where you can do a makgeolli brewing and tasting session — book direct with a small local brewery or through a Korean cooking-class platform; expect ~£20–30. Continue on to Andong by bus (~£4, 1h). Check into a guesthouse in Andong and have jjimdak, the town's signature chicken dish, on the chicken alley (~£10).

🚌Intercity buses Danyang–Yeongju–Andong (~£8 total)

🛏Andong hanok guesthouse or budget hotel (£25–35/night)

• →Danyanggang Jando Trail
• →Mancheonha Skywalk
• →Makgeolli brewing and tasting in Yeongju
• →Andong jjimdak dinner

Take local bus 1 or 4 to Byeongsanseowon Confucian Academy (free entry, beautiful riverside setting — allow 1–2 hours). Back in town, visit the Andong Folk Village / Hahoe Village (Hahoe is a UNESCO site about 40 minutes out by bus; entry ~£3, Hahoe mask museum extra). Return to Andong and take an intercity bus to Gyeongju (~£5, 1h30). Stay near Gyeongju's downtown or Bomun Lake. Evening: walk the Daereungwon tomb mounds area at golden hour — free after entry fees stop for the day.

🚌Local buses in Andong (~£3); intercity bus Andong–Gyeongju (~£5)

🛏Gyeongju guesthouse or budget hotel (£22–32/night)

• →Byeongsanseowon Confucian Academy
• →Hahoe / Andong Folk Village (UNESCO)
• →Evening walk through Daereungwon tombs

Rent a bike (~£8/day) and do the classic Gyeongju loop: Daereungwon Tomb Complex and Cheonmachong (~£2), Cheomseongdae Observatory (free), then the city bus or a 30-min ride to Bulguksa Temple (~£3 entry) and Seokguram Grotto if time allows. In the evening, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond is lit up (~£2) — go about half an hour before sunset. Squeeze in a hands-on pottery class in Gyeongju's ceramics quarter (book direct, ~£25–40) if you want the operator's ceramic workshop — otherwise skip it and spend longer at Bulguksa.

🚌Bike hire and local buses (~£10)

🛏Gyeongju guesthouse or budget hotel (£22–32/night)

• →Daereungwon Tomb Complex and Cheonmachong
• →Cheomseongdae Observatory
• →Bulguksa Temple
• →Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond at dusk
• →Optional pottery workshop

Take the KTX from Singyeongju station to Busan (~£12, 30 min) or the cheaper intercity bus from Gyeongju terminal (~£4.50, 1h). Drop bags at a Haeundae or Gwangalli hostel. Free day, indepently planned: Gamcheon Culture Village (free), Jagalchi Fish Market for lunch (~£10), Gukje and Bupyeong markets, then sunset at Gwangalli Beach with the Diamond Bridge skyline. Optional GetYourGuide Busan night food tour or a Blue Line Sky Capsule ride on the coast (~£10).

🚌KTX Singyeongju–Busan (~£12) or intercity bus (~£4.50); Busan metro (~£5)

🛏Busan hostel or guesthouse, Haeundae/Gwangalli (£20–28/night)

• →Gamcheon Culture Village
• →Jagalchi Fish Market lunch
• →Gwangalli Beach sunset
• →Optional Blue Line Sky Capsule

Bus from Busan's Sasang terminal to Namhae (~£6, 1h45). Local buses run to Geumsan Boriam Hermitage — one of Korea's most dramatically sited temples on Geumsan's cliffs, with a 30–40 min climb; walk back down the same path or catch a bus. Stop at the Seolli Skywalk glass platform en route (~£2). Then bus to Suncheon via Yeosu or direct from Namhae (~£7–10, 2h). Stay in Suncheon near the bus terminal or by Suncheon Bay.

🚌Intercity buses Busan–Namhae–Suncheon (~£15)

🛏Suncheon guesthouse or budget motel (£20–28/night)

• →Geumsan Boriam Hermitage
• →Seolli Skywalk
• →Suncheon evening by the river

Optional early stop at Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve or Suncheonman National Garden (~£6 entry) before heading west. Bus to Gangjin (~£5) for Wolnamsaji temple and the Baekunok Traditional Tea Museum, where you can do a self-booked tea ceremony and green-tea tasting (~£10–15). Continue to Sunchang (~£4) — Korea's gochujang capital — where the Traditional Gochujang Village runs short hands-on making and tasting sessions (~£12–20; the Sunchang Jangnyu Museum is free). Then bus to Jeonju (~£5, 1h). Check into a hanok guesthouse in the Hanok Village (worth the splurge, ~£30–45) and eat Jeonju bibimbap (~£9).

🚌Intercity buses Suncheon–Gangjin–Sunchang–Jeonju (~£14)

🛏Jeonju hanok guesthouse (£30–45/night)

• →Optional Suncheon Bay wetlands
• →Baekunok Tea Museum ceremony/tasting
• →Gochujang making in Sunchang
• →Jeonju Hanok Village evening

Morning in the Hanok Village: Omokdae pavilion viewpoint (free), Gyeonggijeon Shrine (~£2), and the street-food lanes. Bus to Maisan Mountain (~£5, 1h) to see the strange stone Tapsa pagoda towers (entry ~£2) and hike the short ridge trail. Then bus to Daejeon (~£7). Evening wander Daejeon's Sung Sim Dang bakery area for dinner (~£9) or take a cheap public foot spa if you find one — otherwise just rest.

🚌Intercity buses Jeonju–Maisan–Daejeon (~£12)

🛏Daejeon budget hotel or guesthouse (£22–30/night)

• →Omokdae viewpoint and Gyeonggijeon Shrine
• →Jeonju Hanok Village street food
• →Maisan Mountain and Tapsa pagoda
• →Daejeon evening

Bus from Daejeon to Gongju (~£4, 40 min). Visit Gongju National Museum (free), Gongsanseong Fortress (~£2, easy 1-hour loop walk) and the Royal Tomb of King Muryeong (~£2). Back to Daejeon and take the KTX to Seoul (~£15, 1h) or the cheaper express bus (~£10, 2h). If you're flying out the same day, allow 3 hours from central Seoul to Incheon via AREX (~£4); otherwise add a final night in Seoul and book a cheap airport hotel if your flight is early.

🚌Buses Gongju (~£4); KTX/express bus to Seoul (~£10–15); AREX to Incheon (~£4)

🛏Last night in Seoul hostel or airport hotel (£20–35, optional)

• →Gongju National Museum
• →Gongsanseong Fortress
• →Royal Tomb of King Muryeong
• →AREX to Incheon Airport