Visas
Any foreign visitor wishing to enter the Republic of Korea must have a valid passport. Visitors with confirmed outbound tickets may stay in Korea up to 30 days without visas; exceptions to this apply to: Citizens from Cambodia, China, India, Iran, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Palestine,the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam in Asia-Nigeria and Ghana in Africa-Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Macedonia in Europe-Cuba in the Americas. However, visa-free, stopover entry is permitted for 30-day passengers who have been issued US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand or Japanese visas.

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Festivals

Holiday	Date
Lunar New Year	Lunar January 1
Jeongwol Daeboreum (Full Moon Day)	Lunar January 15
Independence Movement Day	March 1
Arbor Day	April 5
Children¡¦s Day	May 5
Buddha¡¦s Birthday	Lunar April 8
Memorial Day	June 6
Constitution Day	July 17
Liberation Day	August 15
Ch'usok-Thanksgiving Day	Lunar August 15
National Foundation Day	October 3

Lunar New Year's Day
This most significant holiday of the year lasts for three days. People wear traditional dress and and after first paying tribute first to their ancestors before breakfast, and wish their relatives and everyone they meet good luck in the new year. On this day, rice cake soup (Tok guk) is served for breakfast after which families gather and play various traditional games.

Jeongwol Daeboreum (Full Moon Day)
The first full moon day in the lunar calendar, is a traditional holiday for the people of Korea. Games played on this day include Bridge Walking, Treading on the Earth Spirits and Stone Fighting.

Independence Movement Day
It celebrates the independence movement which occurred in 1919 against the Japanese colonial rule.

Arbor Day
This is a day designated especially for planting trees at nearby mountains and parks. Government workers and citizens participate in the planting of trees.

Children's Day
This is the happiest day for children as they are filled with hope and dreams and enjoy receiving gifts.

Buddha's Birthday
This day celebrates the birth of Buddha. On the eve, a street parade with multi-colored lanterns is held while bright lanterns are lit in all the temples.

Memorial Day
This day pays tribute to and remembers those who sacrificed their lives for the country.

Constitution Day
This day remembers the establishment of our constitution which occurred in 1948.

Liberation Day
This day celebrates Korea's liberation from Japanese rule which lasted 36 years. Many events take place throughout the country including parades and fireworks.

Ch'usok-Thanksgiving Day
Together with the lunar New Year's Day, Ch'usok is one of the most important traditional holidays, and is also celebrated for three days. Traffic congestion should be expected on all the highways since everyone heads for their hometowns with gifts for their parents. On the other hand, Seoul is drained of its population, just as it is during the lunar New Year's holidays.

National Foundation Day
This is the day when Tangun founded this country in 2333 BC.

Top 5 Places
Seoul
Seoul is the capital city of Korea. The city lies at the center of the Korean peninsula. It is 605,522 square kilometers in size and covers 0.61% of South Korea. Seoul has a hidden history of centuries-old temples, palaces, pagodas and pleasure gardens. It also has cheap accommodation, excellent public transport and cultural experiences aplenty, and that's why most visitors to South Korea never get past its city limits. Seoul is justifiably famous for its palaces.

Busan
Busan is approximately 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Bordered with the blue sea of Pacific Ocean to the south and the estuary of Nakdonggang River to the west, Busan has a number of exquisite beaches and hot springs along its coastlines, attracting millions of tourists every year.

Gyeongju
Gyeongju contains some of the most precious treasures from the Korea's 5000-year history. A historic city with a population of 291,000 as of January 2001, Gyeongju is located 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul on an area of 1,323 square kilometers. The city belongs to Gyeongsangbuk-do administratively and is composed of 4 towns (eup), 8 townships (myeon) and 13 districts (dong). The offices of the city hall are located at Nodong-dong and Dongcheon-dong.

Jeju
Located on the southwest seas off the Korean peninsula, Jeju Island is Korea's largest island,With its unspoiled natural beauty, unique cultural traditions, mild climate and well-developed infrastructure such as world-class hotels, Jeju Island has become one of Korea's most cherished tourist destinations. The island has recently hosted many important international meetings including Korean-Japanese and Korean-American summit talks.