Photo location game · Asia

South Korea landmarks quiz: guess where 11 photos were taken

11 places in South Korea, each with a photo, a fact and a spot on the map. Play five of them here, then study the rest below.

11 places·1 easy, 7 medium, 3 hard·Free

Play the daily in the app

4.7 on Google Play· 60 ratings· 500+ downloads· Free

Quick round · 5 photos

Five places from the 11 below, in a random order. Your pin against the real spot, five times.

Where they are

11 on the map
Hover or tap a dot to name the place.

All 11 places

by id
Busan, South Korea
Busanmedium

South Korea's port city, with a hillside village of pastel houses.

Photo: by lwy / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bulguksa, South Korea
Bulguksamedium

An 8th-century Silla temple with stone pagodas and bridges to enlightenment.

Photo: Bernard Gagnon / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ulleungdo, South Korea
Ulleungdohard

A volcanic island in the Sea of Japan with no beaches, only cliffs and pumpkin taffy.

Photo: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Changdeokgung, South Korea
Changdeokgungmedium

The Joseon palace best loved by its kings, with a Secret Garden.

Photo: Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hwaseong Fortress, South Korea
Hwaseong Fortressmedium

A late 18th-century fortress wall of 5.7 km with gates and watchtowers around Suwon.

Photo: Lance Vanlewen / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gyeongbokgung, South Korea
Gyeongbokgungmedium

The main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, with a pavilion on a lotus pond.

Photo: Frank Schulenburg / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Seokguram, South Korea
Seokgurammedium

An 8th-century granite grotto with a serene seated Buddha facing the sea.

Photo: Bernard Gagnon / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lotte World Tower, South Korea
Lotte World Towerhard

Seoul's 555-metre tower, the tallest building in South Korea.

Photo: kallerna / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, South Korea
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynastymedium

Forty tombs of Korea's Joseon kings and queens, guarded by stone animals.

Photo: The user's homepage / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Namhansanseong, South Korea
Namhansanseonghard

A mountain fortress where the Joseon king took refuge from the Manchu invasion of 1636.

Photo: Khitai (a flickr user) / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Seoul, South Korea
Seouleasy

The South Korean capital, where royal palaces sit among skyscrapers on the Han River.

Photo: 라성민 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to place them

South Korea's 11 places spread 340 km across the country, Gyeongbokgung at the western end and Ulleungdo at the eastern. Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Gyeongbokgung, Lotte World Tower and two more keep close company in the north-west, 45 km end to end. Ulleungdo is the one that punishes a lazy pin: Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, the closest other place, is 220 km away.

Between Seoul at one end and Ulleungdo and Lotte World Tower at the other sit seven medium photos. Bulguksa is an 8th-century Silla temple with stone pagodas and bridges to enlightenment.

South Korea is one country. The daily draws from all 167.

Play the daily in the app

Questions & answers

How many places in South Korea are in the game?

11, from Gyeongbokgung in the north to Busan in the south. A round here plays five of them.

Which photo from South Korea is the hardest?

Ulleungdo, Lotte World Tower and Namhansanseong are rated hard. On hard photos the score halves every 451 km beyond the accuracy radius.

Which one is easiest to score full points on?

Ulleungdo: its accuracy radius is 60 km, so any pin inside that circle scores 5,000.

More to play