2 Best Sights in Side Trips from Seoul, South Korea

The best known and first Chinatown in Korea, Incheon's Chinatown is well over a century old. Its historic streets are lined with Chinese restaurants, Chinese-style townhouses, and a temple or garden or two hidden in the alleyways. Seek out the landmark flight of steps marking the boundary between the old Chinese and Japanese settlements, the stone lanterns that flank the steps representing the architectural styles of the respective nations.

Built in perfect harmony with the surrounding wetlands, Paju Book City is a collection of publishing companies, bookshops, museums, and cafes, established in the 2000s as Korea's answer to Hay-on-Wye on the border of England and Wales. The tranquil community adheres to strict architectural guidelines, resulting in a town of real beauty. The centerpiece is the Asia Publication Culture & Information Center, home of the Forest of Wisdom, a network of 3.1 km (1.9 miles) of bookshelves containing more than 200,000 volumes donated by local publishing companies and individuals. One particular architectural gem is the Mimesis Art Museum, a flowing concrete mass designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Álvaro Siza. Another recommended stop is the Youlhwadang Book Museum, a collection of 40,000 historic and contemporary volumes operated by art book publisher Youlhwadang. Parents, meanwhile, will love MilkBook Cafe, a book cafe that also serves as a learning space where children can learn the beauty and power of the written word.