Stamp Collecting in South Korea

Did you know that you can get free tourist commemorative stamps at different places in South Korea? They call it a “stamp tour” or a “stamp trail,” and they have tons of them! I managed to find some stamps when I visited South Korea last year, and did some internet research to figure out where the rest are.

That said, there isn’t much info online about all the different stamps you can get in South Korea. This post pulls together all the info I’ve been able to find. There’s not a whole lot of official English info on some of these stamp tours, so I’m super grateful for other bloggers and stamp collectors who’ve provided info. I’ve linked to their websites when possible.

Okay, onward!

Interested in collecting commemorative tourist stamps in Japan? Learn how to get started and where to find them here.

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Where to Find Tourist Stamps in South Korea

Mostly stamps seem to be at big tourist sites like palaces and historical places, hiking trails, and national parks. All the stamps I personally found were sitting out on a table, but you might have to ask for their specific location if you’re wandering around a big building. It’s not always obvious where the stamp tables are– one museum had them on the second floor, in the middle of an exhibit, instead of by the entrance/exit like you might expect.

Tip: When searching for info online, do PLACE NAME + “stamp trail” or “stamp tour.” You should be able to pull up info for specific cities or regions not covered in my post.

National Korean Stamp Tours

Korean Heritage Passport Tour

This is a program for tourists where you go to historical places and stamp a special rubber stamp into a passport booklet. It’s totally free, though you might have to pay for entry into a location.

Here’s more info about the Korean Heritage Passport Tour for tourists, including how to order a stamp passport.

The booklets can be found next to the stamping location, though the ones I saw in Seoul were always empty. I highly recommend applying for a stamp passport BEFORE your trip to Korea and have it mailed to you, or try picking it up at Incheon Airport when you arrive. You should be able to get them at the Korean Heritage Campaign PR Center, in T1 (Traveler Center).

There are 10 routes and 75 total locations: tons of stamps to get all over the country!

Cross-Country Cycling Road Tour Passport

This is a program for people bicycling across the country on nationwide routes. There are stamps at each certification center! The passport itself costs 4,000 won and a vinyl cover and map are an additional 500 won. For more info about this program, including pictures of the available stamps, click here.

National Park Stamp Tour Passport

This stamp tour is hosted by the Korean National Park Service. There are 22 national parks listed in the challenge booklet, and each one has a different stamp. You can pick up a booklet for free from any park office! The Green Eyed Explorer has all the info you need for this stamp tour (in English!).

Busan Stamps

Gamcheon Village has a stamp trail. Pick up a map at the Haneul Maru Tourist Information Centre and Observatory near the entrance for 2,000 won. Follow the trail to visit important places in the village– plus get stamps of course! At the end of the trail, if you collect all 12 stamps you’ll get a free postcard.

For more info on this stamp trail, click here.

The Busan Citizens Park History Museum has 3 stamps you can put onto a postcard as you walk through the exhibits. It’s free to enter, and the stamps and postcard are free as well.

Jeju Island Stamps

The Olle Trail has stamp stations at the beginning, middle, and end of each trail. If you’re hiking the trails you can stamp into your Olle Passport to show you completed them! Otherwise just do like me and stamp a random notebook whenever you stumble across a stamp box. 😉

Here’s the official English guide to the Olle Trails, including info on the stamps along it.

Seoul Stamps

COEX Mall Aquarium has stamps for visitors. You’ll have to buy an entry ticket to get them and the corresponding map.

The Seoul Dulle-gil hiking trail is 157km long, circling the entirety of Seoul. It’s broken up into eight smaller courses, and each course has a series of stamps you can collect onto a map. Once you complete the passport, you get a certificate and a badge as a prize!

More about the Seoul Dulle-gil hiking trail here (English), and here’s a blogger’s experience collecting the stamps.

The Seoul City Wall (Hanyangdoseong/Hansung Wall Fortress) trail goes around the original location of, well, the Seoul City Wall. It has stamps at each of its four gates (and maybe more?). If you complete the whole trail and get all the stamps, you get a certificate and a badge. Here’s more info about the Hanyangdoseong Trail (English).

(Turns out I accidentally went along a bit of the Namsan (Mongmyeoksan) Mountain Trail, which is a section of the City Wall trail, when I visited N. Seoul Tower last year! It was NOT easy, even though I was going downwards the whole time.)

Dorasan Station at the DMZ has a stamp (or maybe two?) for visitors as well. It’s the closest South Korean railway station to North Korea. The stamp is free!

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Do you know of any more stamp tours in South Korea? Leave a comment and I’ll add them to the list!