Ten cities in South Korea have been selected as fields for the coming World Cup, which opens on May 31.

Although the final match will not be played in the country but in Japan's Yokohama, the opening ceremony and 32 matches will be held here, which has made the country a hot tour destination.

Each of the 10 cities has its unique flavour, best for sightseeing after watching fiercely competitive matches.

However, you'd better reserve hotels and inns by the end of March - after that prices will rocket.

Seoul

The opening ceremony and starting match, France vs. Senegal, will be staged in the city on May 31.

Visitors who set foot in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, are often surprised at the glittering modernity of the city.

It has risen from the ashes of the Korean War and emerged as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

Since the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392, Seoul has been capital of the nation, serving as the focal point of Korea's politics, economy and education.

Thanks to its long history, the city houses a wealth of cultural assets ranging from stone tools of the Stone Age to ancient tombs, royal palaces, fortresses and temples.

Visitors marvel at the ancient architecture, and time-honoured cultural vestiges are well preserved in the myriad alleys behind skyscrapers.

Built in the fourth year of King Taejo's reign in 1395, Gyeongbokgung is the most representative palace of the Joseon Dynasty.

The grandeur and imposing beauty of the palace is well represented by Geunjeongjeon, the main hall, Gyeongheoru, an impressive two-story pavilion where the king held a banquet for his subjects, and Jeongjeon, the king's office where he addressed national affairs.

Jogyesa is the headquarters of the Korean Buddhist Order Jogye, the largest Buddhist sect in Korea, and houses the Order's central administrative organizations.

Buddhist shrines including Daeungjeon and Deokwangjeon are beautifully blended with a 500-year-old pine tree and a 400-year-old pagoda tree in the vicinity.

Amsa Prehistoric Settlement Site is the largest Neolithic habitation site ever found in the country.

It features the Prehistoric Lifestyle Exhibition Hall and "Dugout Huts" where visitors are allowed to get inside and get a glimpse of the lifestyle during the Neolithic Age.

Insa-dong is an ideal place to relish Korean arts and craftsmanship.

Large and small galleries, curio shops, traditional Korean paper shops, paper hanger shops, handicraft shops, ceramics shops and shops selling art-related items pack both sides of the streets and numerous side alleys.

Along the street are various traditional restaurants and fascinating Korean teahouses.

Daegu

Daegu is a leading fashion city in a wonderful environment that is known as "Korean Milan". It has the largest World Cup stadium in the country where the visitors can watch the match for third place on June 29.

Daegu Hyanggyo, a public Confucian educational institution established during the Joseon period, preserves the memorial tablets of renowned Confucian scholars including Confucius himself.

This site was used not only as an institution for teaching Confucianism, but also as a centre for scholarly research for local Confucian scholars.

At present, Hyanggyo is a tourist attraction, especially for foreign visitors, providing various educational events including classes on Chinese characters and Korean traditional manners.

It also hosts a reenactment of the traditional wedding ceremony in order to preserve the traditional culture of Korea.

With the 1,192-metre-high Birobong Peak at its centre, the guardian mountain of Daegu Mount Palgongsan stretches over 20 kilometres from east to west. Nestled between the valleys of Palgongsan are scenic Buddhist temples such as Donghwasa, Pagyesa and Eunhaesa.

These sites represent a thousand-year-old tradition of preserving Buddhist cultural assets, making the mountain a sacred place for Buddhist culture.

A total of 211 ancient tombs built around the fifth to sixth centuries are concentrated in Bulrodong Tumulus.

Located at Mount Palgongsan, it is designated as Historic Site No. 262 by the government.

This assemblage of old tombs from the Gaya Kingdom and Three-Kingdoms are presumed to have been a collective cemetery for upper-class citizens of the period.

( Shanghai Star March 7, 2002)