Experience the best of Yongin

Yongin lies south-east of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, a wide stretch of hills, reservoirs and growing suburbs some forty kilometres from the capital. Its best-known cultural sight is the Korean Folk Village, an open-air museum of traditional thatched and tiled houses, workshops and a market street that re-create daily life in the Joseon period.

One of South Korea's best-known theme parks, with a zoo and a water park, sits on the south-east side of the city. Wooded slopes such as Mount Gwanggyo, on the Suwon boundary, and many golf courses fill the hills. Suwon's fortress and Seoul are close, and the pottery towns of Icheon and Yeoju lie to the east.

Meals here follow the Gyeonggi pattern of grilled pork and beef, stews and rice, often eaten in roadside restaurants among the hills, and the Folk Village market street sells rice cakes and traditional snacks. Cherry blossom in April and the colour of the maples in late October are the seasons to look for.