• 📍 Gyeongsangbuk-do
• 🌊 East Sea coast
• 👥 Population ~490,000
• 🎓 Home to POSTECH & POSCO

Pohang is a lively harbor city built around Yeongil Bay, where the Hyeongsan River meets the East Sea. It's best known as the home of POSCO, one of the world's largest steelmakers, and of POSTECH — the conference venue — but it's just as loved for its beaches, seafood, and some of Korea's finest sunrise views.

Landmarks

Homigot Sunrise Square

The easternmost point of mainland Korea — the "tiger's tail" of the peninsula. Famous for New Year sunrises, the bronze "Hand of Harmony" sculpture rising from the sea, and the country's tallest lighthouse.

Space Walk

A stainless-steel walkable sculpture in Hwanho Park with a 333-metre track and 717 steps, rising 25 metres above the park. Opened in 2021 and lit up dramatically at night.

Pohang Canal

A restored waterway winding through downtown, with canal-boat rides by day and a popular walking and dining strip after dark.

Yeongildae Beach

Pohang's signature city beach, with a lit-up pier pavilion over the water — a favorite evening spot for a walk right in the city center.

Local Food

Gwamegi

Herring or saury, half-dried outdoors through Pohang's winter freeze-and-thaw cycles. A beloved local delicacy, traditionally wrapped in seaweed or lettuce with garlic and chili.

Mulhoe

Raw fish in a chilled, tangy-spicy broth over ice — a refreshing East Coast classic, best tried fresh at Jukdo Market, the largest traditional market on Korea's east coast.

• 🚌 ~1 hr from Pohang
• 👑 Capital of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD)
• 🏛️ UNESCO World Heritage

For nearly a thousand years, Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla Kingdom, and today it's often called "the museum without walls" — royal tombs, temples, and ancient observatories sit right in the middle of everyday city life. It's a highlight excursion for conference attendees, easily reached from Pohang.

Landmarks

Bulguksa Temple

A UNESCO World Heritage temple first built in the 8th century, considered a masterpiece of Silla Buddhist architecture. Home to six National Treasures, including the Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas.

Seokguram Grotto

A granite hermitage above Bulguksa enshrining a serene seated Buddha, widely regarded as a masterpiece of East Asian Buddhist art. UNESCO-listed together with Bulguksa.

Cheomseongdae Observatory

Built around the 7th century, this is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in East Asia — a National Treasure whose stonework quietly encodes the days of the year.

Donggung Palace & Wolji Pond

A Silla-era royal palace and pond built in 674 AD. By day it's a quiet garden; after dark, the lit pavilions and their reflections make it one of Korea's most photographed night views.

Daereungwon Tomb Complex

A park of more than twenty grass-covered royal burial mounds right in the city center, including Cheonmachong, the "Heavenly Horse Tomb," which visitors can enter.

Hwangnidan-gil

A trendy little street of cafés, hanbok rental shops, and boutiques winding between the royal tombs — Gyeongju's most photographed street today.

Local Food

Hwangnam-ppang

A small pastry generously filled with sweet red bean paste, baked in Gyeongju since 1939. Now the city's signature treat and most popular souvenir.

Hanwoo (Korean Beef)

Gyeongsangbuk-do is well known hanwoo country, and Gyeongju has no shortage of restaurants grilling it tableside — a great option for a conference group dinner.

Also worth trying: Gyeongju ssambap, a lettuce-wrap rice course served with many side dishes, and Gyodong beopju, a clear traditional rice wine brewed in Gyeongju's Gyo-dong neighborhood for centuries and designated a national Intangible Cultural Property.