¡¡¡¡The Koreanpeninsula extends southward from the northeastern edge of the Asian continent.
The land area of the Republic of Korea is about 99,200km(248,800acre) and its population is around 44million.
Over 70% of the peninsula is mountainous, endowing the country with beautiful scenery.

¡¡¡¡While Koreans belong to the Mongolian race, they have maintained a distinctive language, culture, and customs.
Korean society has always been family-oriented and, although modified to some extent nowadays, the basic pattens and manners of family life remain the same.
The most endearing national characteristic is the sincere warm-heartedness of the Korea people.

¡¡¡¡The Korean language is the though to be a member of the Ural-Altaic family, which includes such languages as Mongolian, Finnish, and Hungarian.
It has ten vowel and fourteen consonant sounds, and is written in a native phonetic alphabet, han-gul, which was created in 1443.
Although the alphabet appears complicated, it is actually very easy to learn.

¡¡¡¡Like other countries in the temperate zone, Korea has four distinct seasons. In spring and autumn the weather is glorious: cleaar, blue skies and warm, gentle sunshine. Summer main rainfall occurring during this monsoon season. Winter is cold and dry, with occasional snow. However, these cold spells alternate with periods of milder weather.

¡¡¡¡Most visitors with confirmed out-bound tickets may stay up to fifteen days without visas, although this does not apply to certain nation alities. Those who plan to stay in Korea for longer than fifteen days must obtain visas before coming to Korea.
Special visa exemptions exist between Korea and the countries listed to the right. It is important to check with a Korean embassy or counsulate regarding visas well in advance of a trip.

¡¡¡¡For a stay of up to 3 months(or 90 days): Austria,Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bulgaris, Colombia, Commonwealth of Dominica, Costa Rica,

¡¡¡¡Many international airlines maintain regula flight services betwwen Seoul and major cities worldwide.
There are three international airports in Korea-Kimpo, on the outskirts of Seoul, Kimhae, near Pusan, and Cheju, on Chejudo Island, wto domestic airlines link 14 major cities within the nation.
Taxis are plentiful and relatively inexpensive in Korea, and rental cars are readily available.
The train service is reliable and moderately priced, and an extensive railway network covers most parts of the country.
The express bus service is even more extensive, and extremely frequent. However, bus routes and schedules are not printed in English, making it confusing for visitors not familiar with Korea. There are excellent, well-developed subway system in both Seoul and Pusan. All signs in the subway stations are clearly marked in English as well as Korean.
Car ferries and hydrofoils provide services to many islands.

¡¡¡¡Guided tours around Seoul and its vicinity as well as longer trips into the Korean countryside are offered by travel agents. Licensed tour guides are also available through travel agents. The leading travel agents maintain information booths in the major hotel lobbies. The Korea Tourist Association, of which most Korean travel agents are members, is located on the 11th F1.,

Sam An Bldg.,945, Taech'i-dong, Kangnam-gu
Seoul; Tel.82-2-556-2356
Fax : 82-2-556-3818

¡¡¡¡Korean holidays are occasions for family gatherings and outings. Many of them are centered on religious or folk festivals. Some, however, commemorate national events. Although the Gregorian calendar is used for everyday events, the old lunar calender still determines some holidays and religious events.

¡¡¡¡Deluxe and first-class hotels offer a variety of restaurants and other facilities. Budget-watchers can check into inns known as yogwan.
Western-style rooms are available, but many visitors enjoy the experience of sleeping on the heated floor of a traditional Korean-style ondol room.

¡¡¡¡Government office hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, although from
November through February they close at 5 p.m. On saturdays they open at 9 a.m. and close at 1 p.m.
Banks are open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on saturdays.
Major department stores are open from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., including sundays, but smaller shops tend to be open from early morning till late evening.

¡¡¡¡In tourist hotels, a 10% value added tax(VAT) is charged on the price of rooms, mmeals, and other services. Tipping is not a custom in Korea, although Koreans do sometimestip when they are especially pleased with thw service they receive or when a taxi driver, for example, goes out of his way to help them. At tourist hotels a 10% service charge is added to your bill, so tipping is not expected.

¡¡¡¡Dial 112 for the police and 119 for the fire ans ambulance. The hotel front desk or hotel manager can arrange for a doctor or ambulance. In the event of a medical emergency on the street, ask a policeman or passing pedistrian for assistance.
Police boxes can be found on every major street. Tourists would be well advised to keep the phone number of their consulate or embassy with them. The Lost and Found Center is run by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Bureau.
(Tel.82-2-298-1282/299-1282)

¡¡¡¡There are four Koreans TV networks: KBS, MBC, SBS, and EBS. AFKN,an English- language station operated by the U.S. Armed Forces, can be received in most areas.Thirty cable TV channels began broadcasting in March 1995.
Two English daily newspapers, The Korea Herald and The Korea Times, are available at most newsstands in downtown Seoul and in many hotel gift shops.

¡¡¡¡Two electrical currents, 110volts and 220volts, are in use in Korea, and both are available in tourist hotels. It is always safest, however, to check the voltage before plugging in electrical equipment.

¡¡¡¡The unit of currency in Korea is the "won", which is indicated by the symbol Coins are in denominations of 1,5,10,50,100, and 500. Bank notes of 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 are in circulation. The rate of exchange was approximately 790 to one U.S.dollar as of February 1995. Major credit cards such as VISA, American Express, Diners Club, Mastercard, and JCB are widely used in hotels, large restaurants, department stores, and some shops.

¡¡¡¡Unboiled water should not be drunk except at the better hotels. Boiled barley tea will always be served at restaurants and tearooms. Bottled water and mineral water are sold at all grocery stores.

¡¡¡¡There are three types of public telephones in Korea: blue telehpones, and grey telephones, and card telephones.
Grey or blue telephones can be used for both local and long distance calls(DDD) A local call costs W40 for the three minutes.(Long distance calls cost considerably more) Time can be extended by depositing take \10, \50, and \100 coins.
Card telephones can be used to make international calls as well as local and long distance calls. Telephone cards come in \2,000, \3,000, \5,000 and \10,000 units and are on sale in shops close to telephone boxes as well as in banks, telephone offices, and post offices.

¡¡¡¡If overseas visitors to Korea experience any inconvenience or simply wish to offer some advice on how to improve tourist services, they should call or

• write to KNTC's Tourist Complaint Center£®
• Tel : 82-2-735-0101
• Fax : 82-2-757-5997
• K.P.O.Box 1879,Seoul 110-618

in addition, the provincial governments have administrative sections which deal with tourist difficulties.

¡¡¡¡Information for tourists is readily available at the Korea National Tourism Corporation's Tourist Information Center.
staffed by multilingual guides and equipped with maps, videos, an information desk and a small theater, the center is the ideal place to start a tour of Korea. Domestic air and train tickets are also available. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.(November-February:5p.m.) everyday.
The center also welcomes telephone queries and requests for information and hotel reservations from people abroad who are planning to visit korea.

Tourist information Center (TIC)

KNTC Bldg., 10 Ta-dong, Chung-gu, Seoul, 100-180, Korea
Tel: 82-2-757-0086
Fax: 82-2-757-5997

KNTC operates information desks at Kimpo, Kimhae, and Cheju International Airports.
Kimpo: 82-2-665-0086/0986
Kimhae: 82-51-973-1100
Cheju: 82-64-42-0032

* Country code = 82

Name	Place	Tel
The Embassy of Chile The Embassy of Israel The Embassy of Philippines The Embassy of Russian Federation The Embassy of Zaire The Embassy of France The Embassy of Indonesia The Consulate of Egypt The Embassy of Algeria The Embassy of Argentina The Embassy of Bangladesh The Embassy of Belgium The Embassy of Brunei The Embassy of Bulgaria The Embassy of Ecuador The Embassy of Ethiopia The Embassy of Gabon The Embassy of Hungary The Embassy of India The Embassy of Iran The Embassy of Italy The Embassy of Kuwait The Embassy of Lebanon The Embassy of Libya The Embassy of Malaysia The Embassy of Mexico The Embassy of Mongolia The Embassy of Morocco The Embassy of Myanmar The Embassy of Nigeria The Embassy of Norway The Embassy of Oman The Embassy of Pakistan The Embassy of Papua New Guinea The Embassy of Peru The Embassy of Poland The Embassy of Qatar The Embassy of Romania The Embassy of Slovak Republic The Embassy of South Africa The Embassy of Spain The Embassy of Sudan The Embassy of Thailand The Embassy of Tunisia The Embassy of Turkey The Embassy of U.A.E The Embassy of Yemen	Yongsan-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chongno-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Chung-gu, Seoul Tong-gu, Pusan Tong-gu, Pusan Tong-gu, Pusan Chung-gu, Pusan Chung-gu, Pusan Chung-gu, Pusan Cheju-shi, Cheju Kangnam-gu, Seoul Kangnam-gu, Seoul Kangnam-gu, Seoul Kangnam-gu, Seoul Kangnam-gu, Seoul	2-790-0803 2-730-6490 2-732-9071/2 02-742-7170 2-720-1369 2-720-6453 2-744-1803 2-741-7527 2-732-6737 2-765-3265 2-736-5725 2-744-7563 2-733-5626 2-737-9514/6 2-730-7794 2-745-4163 2-742-2190 2-738-2078/9 2-739-0631/5 2-722-0442/5 2-735-2966/7 2-744-0263/4 2-738-0846 2-739-9511/4 2-397-4114 2-741-0036/7 2-738-2318 2-756-3170 2-753-2605/8 2-773-0214 2-726-7114 2-729-1401 2-774-7563 2-735-7341/3 2-753-7893 51-465-5101 51-441-8749 51- 441-3121 51-441-9904 51-246-7791/2 51-441-2757 64-51-2501/8 2-549-1654/6 2-564-3448 2-568-6141 2-552-7094/6 2-554-7411