I haven’t really touched upon Korean architecture, but I’m going to start by talking about a cool site that every tourist should go see. There are loads of temples in Korea, that’s for sure! However, there aren’t many temples as beautiful as bulguksa (불국사). Bulguksa (불국사) is considered a national treasure by the South Korean people and government. It’s located in the Gyungsang (경상) province of Korea. Bulguksa (불국사) means Temple of the Buddha Land. (Somehow Bulguksa sounds longer in English than in Korean lol.) It’s made of stone and wood, with many restorations over the years.
Before you reach the temple, you’ll have to walk a pair of bridges. Well, they aren’t bridges per say, but a staircase. (Sometimes, the names for things in Korean are exaggerated to make something sound grander than what it really is.) You have the option of taking the yunhwakyun (연화교) or the Lotus Flower Bridge and the chilbokyo (칠보교) or the Seven Treasure Bridge or you can take the chong-un-kyo (청운교) the Blue Cloud Bridge and the bek-un-kyo (백운교) or the White Cloud Bridge.
The temple consists of the four main halls that contain a gilded gold Buddha statue. (I guess back in the day big bellied Buddhas were the ‘in’ thing. What happened to Buddhas who aren’t morbidly obese? You know it’s not setting a good example for your followers. Lol.) De-ung-jun (대웅정) is the Hall of Great Enlightenment. Mu-sul-jun (무설전) is the Hall of No Words. (I want the Hall of No Words as my personal room for when my noisy cousins come to visit for the holidays). Bi-ro-jun (비로전) is the Vairocana Buddha Hall, and the kuk-rak-jun (극락전) is the Hall of Supreme Bliss. If I had a choice of where to go when I die I’d choose the last hall. Somehow Supreme Bliss seems more my style!
The exterior of the Bulguksa (불국사) temple is stunning, but don’t forget the exterior as well. Before you reach the temple you’ll see two stone pagodas. One of them will be the da-bo-dap (다보탑). The da-bo-dap (다보탑) is ornate and is supposed to represent earthly and material matters. The suk-ka-dap (석가탑) on the other hand, is the stone pagoda that is simple in design. It represents the spiritual world.
Want to know what it looks like in more detail? Here’s a youtube video on it:
Without further ado let me introduce you to the Namdemun (남대문) Market. Namdemun (남대문) is one of the oldest marketplaces in Korea. You’ll find clothes, souvenir items like figurines, hair pins, and jewelry. A lot of the items are cheaper than what you would find in a retail store. If you really want the best value for your money, go to the market between the hours of 12am to 4am. The streets of Namdemun (남대문) are less crowded at these hours; which means less customers and more sellers who are willing to lower their prices in a last bid attempt to sell their goods.
Next, let’s go to the Busan-kong-dong-o-shi-jang (부산공동어시장) which is the Busan Cooperative Fish Market. This market is the largest seafood market in Korea. They have all sorts of fish and seafood like seaweed, oysters, octupus, squid and eels. I gotta warn you though, the smell can be umm…how should I say…interesting. Well, simply put, the Busan (부산) fish market has a fishy, seawater sort of smell. For first time visitors, this may be a bit overwhelming. 
If you want a sweet deal on electronic goods, go to the Yongsan (용산) market. It has a variety of name brand computers, CD players, Ipods, video games and office equipement. While Youngsan (용산) is known to sell its products within a store rather than outside on the street sidewalk, you can still haggle over prices. In fact, some items do not have a price tag because it’s expected that the customer will haggle over it. Also, a lot of sellers at Yongsan (용산) will allow you to test out the machine before you buy it. The only thing is, just don’t break anything!
Maybe you’re more into antiques. Well then, let me guide you to Insadong (인사동) Market. Insadong (인사동) has all the traditional Korean ceramics, paintings and furniture you could possibly ever want. It’s really the place to go for anything traditional. A word of warning though, it can be a bit pricey. The goods are hand made, so some of them cost in the thousands while the most expensive can reach into the millions. If you want something more affordable, they have these miniature porcelain vases that you can get as souvenirs. Even if you don’t get to buy anything, just take a look around. So much of traditional Korean culture and art is alive in Insadong (인사동).
