Korea for the complete novice

Only adding briefly.
For DMZ tour, for a fuller picture of the situation, combine it with the JSA tour.
Some companies do both as a combined tour.

We'll be going with the USO tour... I hope that works out fine.

1) Itinerary is not too bad, but I personally think you need more time at Seoraksan, at least one complete full day, so 2 nights. If anything, I would skip Busan.
3) Agree to spend more time in Gyeongju than Busan
5) Yes, spend at least one complete full day in Seoraksan
7) No need for excessive winter clothing, the time of year you are going is ideal, if you are lucky you will see the autumn leaves change colour which is one of the highlights of Korea.

For your DMZ tour you need to make sure you go fully into the JSA/Panmunjom area and the tunnels.

9 days in Korea, decisions decisions.....

What do you like to do? hiking? photography?

I'd say 90% of these types of questions about where to go involve Seoul, Busan and Seoraksan, and believe or not, there are other places to go which are as if not more rewarding IMHO.

I live in Busan, and in terms of livability, it's maybe the best Korean city, but as a tourist, I'd give it a miss, especially around that time of year when the beach scene is basically over.

Five days in and around Seoul is a lot. October is the best time of year, it's great being in Korea's national parks.

If you must go to Busan, get the KTX from Seoul to Busan, run around looking at the tourist sites, get the bus to Gyeongju (frequently run from north bus terminal), couple of days there, then bus it up the coast (maybe spend a night like somewhere such as Gangneung) or basically spend the day on the bus getting to Sokcho (gateway to Seoraksan), at least 3 days there, then bus across to Seoul from Sokcho.

Only been to Seoraksan once so I can't remember if there is a minbak village (most parks do) or you can make day trips from nearby Sokcho which I'm sure will have better dining options.

When in doubt, hit up a tourist information centre, if they can't speak English, they'll still do their best to help you.

Learn some basic Korean like "do you have a room" and learn the Korean alphabet, it really comes in handy.

My friend is more inclined towards photography, so I think we'll be focusing on that. We only have a half-day for our last day though, we're catching our return flight in the afternoon.

Thanks so much for the advice so far, guys. :)

It's unsolicited advice, but: I'd spend more time in Gyeongju and less in Seoul. There's a lot to see and do in Gyeongju and IMO Seoul is a lot less inviting. I'd say at least two full days in Gyeongju - although I know you're getting the same advice about Seoraksan.

As for lodging around Seoraksan - there are a bunch of hostels and hotels within walking distance of the park entrance. You can do a bus or cab from Sokcho to get there. Sokcho has a neat little night market on the outskirts of town (as you come in from the park), but otherwise there's not too much to see there.

Have a fun trip!

I'd say a couple of days in Gyeongju is enough - it's a fairly small place. You can get round all the stuff in the town itself in a day, and then another day for Bulguksa and Seokguram. From the other posts, it's clear this is all very subjective, but personally, I thikn there's loads to see and do in Seoul, and I think it's a great city.

Personally, I'd cut Busan out entirely. I suppose it's interesting as a port city, but I don't find it to be much different than Incheon or Seoul as far as tourist attractions are concerned. If you must go to Busan, I second the recommendation to take the KTX down from Seoul, and then the bus to Gyeongju.

Gyeongju's main attractions can be seen in a two-day period. Be sure to check out Namsan if you have the chance, it's a nice hike with a lot of Silla-era Buddhist artifacts along the trails. Aside from the Bulguksa and Seokgulam areas of Gyeongju, most of the tourist sites are within the central area of the city, which allows for it to be seen in a rather short period of time. Also, don't miss the Gyeongju National Museum!

Seoraksan should just be starting to change colors around that time, so it should provide for some excellent pictures.

Seoul has plenty of sites and points of interest. It's also possible to take a day trip out from the city, depending on what you would be interested in seeing: DMZ tours, going off to Incheon/Wolmido, the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, or maybe Bukhansan National Park. Five days in Seoul is a good allotment, in my opinion.

(And October has my favorite weather in Korea. You shouldn't need "excessive cold-weather clothing".)

yes, october in korea is wonderful, just bring a thin jacket for the evenings