South Korea: Seoul, Jeju Island and Busan, tailor-made including beach holiday

South Korea, a fascinating Far Eastern country with its roots in the dawn of humanity, but also one of the most advanced and avant-garde nations on the planet. A prime example is Seoul, its magnificent capital, where you'll get to see all the modernity and tradition of South Korea. Thanks to its efficient underground system, it's easy to whizz across town and visit attractions such as the City Hall, shaped like a tsunami; Deoksugung, a walled compound of palaces; the wonderful Changdeokgung Palace Complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Gyeongbokgung Palace, with six hundred years of history under its belt; and the Lotte World Tower, a jaw-dropping 555-metre skyscraper. The Myeong-dong (which means bright tunnel) neighbourhood is the largest shopping and residential area in South Korea, while Bukchon Hanok Village is the traditional historic district dotted with pocket-sized dwellings. A must-visit is the War Memorial, a museum that documents the conflicts in the region over the course of history, such as various Chinese and Japanese invasions and the twentieth-century Korean War. Meanwhile, Jeju Island, perched in the Korea Strait, is an authentic paradise home to breathtaking wild landscapes and which was chosen in 2011 as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in its own right. It's a volcanic island dominated by Mount Halla, which soars 1,950 metres (the highest mountain in the country), and its capital is Jeju City. Due to its isolation it's like nowhere else in the world, a matriarchal society that reveres its ancestors through the 'harubang' (grandfathers made of stone), which are sculptures carved out of lava. Quite an experience! The last stop of the trip is in Busan, South Korea's ultramodern second city. It's home to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, where people of diverse origins are buried.Meanwhile, at the Doosan Haeundae complex you can admire its 300-metre-plus skyscrapers and its glitzy marina. Don't miss the largest fish market in the country, next to the port of Nampo, or Yongdusan Park, where there's a huge pagoda towering 120 metres high. A simply fascinating ten-day adventure through the Far East.