Seoul
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Seoul is the capital of South Korea and is home to more than 10 million residents, making it a megacity like Tokyo. You can find something new to experience every day in Seoul, which makes it difficult to narrow down what to do if your time is limited. No matter what you choose, you won’t be disappointed: South Korea is enchanting and a wonderful place to explore solo or with companions.
Travel tip #1: South Korea is well known for its impressive high-speed Internet. You can order a SIM card online prior to arriving in Seoul through trazy.com. Or, you can buy one upon arrival at the airport.
Places of Interest
Gyeongbokgung Palace: Also known as the Grand Palace, Gyeongbokgung literally means “brilliance and fortune.” Honestly, this palace is stunning and I highly recommend visiting. There are guided tours throughout the day, and even different performances. Gyeongbokgung is easily accessible from the subway, making it a convenient point on your itinerary. More information can be found on the website.
Bukchon Hanok Village: This is a traditional Korean village tucked in Seoul. There are tons of cafes, shops, and restaurants lining the main street around the village area. The traditional houses are on the side streets and blend into the modern day shops and cafes, so you can do your fair share of poking around. However, while some areas are open to the public and act as small museum-like sites, others are private property and cannot be freely explored. Use your best instinct and be respectful!
Ikseon-dong Hanok Village: Modern meets traditional in the 100-year-old village. It’s an old neighborhood, but has recently become a space filled with artsy touches as the narrow, maze-like streets are lined with cafes, restaurants, and shops. Weekends are incredibly busy, and weekday evenings are also quite bustling. Most shops don’t open until 11:00 am or noon, so plan accordingly.
Ssamzigil: Located in the Insadong area of the city, Ssamzigil is a colorful and artsy shopping center filled with cute shops, quirky cafes, and unique art pieces. The stairwells, walls, and floors are lined with paintings and murals. It’s the perfect place for photoshoots and shopping!
Myeongdong: Seoul’s famous shopping district is filled with clothes, shoes, and beauty products. Of course, there are more expensive stores, but many places have pretty good deals. This is a great place to go if you love to shop or if you want to browse Korean beauty stores in one location.
Hongik University Street: A lively area where many college students reside. This area is known for its youthful vibe and creative expression. You can find street performances any day of the week, as well as lots of street vendors. It has positive energy and an artistic feel—a fantastic place for nightlife that’s toned down from Itaewon.
Seoul Forest: Seoul Forest mimics Central Park in New York, acting as a natural break from the concrete and tall buildings. It was beautiful when I visited in the fall with the foliage lining the walkways, and the cherry blossoms in spring are supposed to be another good time to visit.
Seongsu: This area around Seoul Forest has earned the reputation of being the “Brooklyn of Seoul”, with cafes such as Daelim Warehouse and Cafe Onion being prime hangout spots. Some of the cafes and restaurants are more expensive than others, but the aesthetics, drinks, and food are incredible. A cool place to explore and cafe hop while in Seoul.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza: Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) has the meaning of “Dream, Design, and Play”. The architecturally-savvy space is home to various exhibitions, fashion shows, forums, conferences, and events. There are shops and cafes throughout the buildings, with Fessonia being a nice place to stop for coffee.
Coex Mall Starfield Library: Located in the Gangnam district of Seoul, the Coex Mall has tons of stores and food options. One huge highlight is the library on the first floor—its high ceilings and curvy shelves give the space an artistic vibe. It definitely redefines what a library can look like.
National Museum of Korea: This museum is enormous and the building’s architecture is stunning. You could spend an entire day here exploring the various exhibits and rooms while learning about Korean history. Admission is free, which is really nice, and it’s close to a subway station.
Travel tip #2: An M-Pass (transportation pass) can be purchased from the tourist information booth at Incheon Airport. This will allow tapping in and out of the subway system with ease. An unlimited two-day pass is 23,000 KRW (about $20 USD) and the 4,500 KRW deposit is refundable upon returning the pass. Note that the M-Pass cannot be used for the airport train in and out of Seoul. Alternatively, individual subway tickets can be purchased whenever you use the subway, but a pass reduces the hassle of figuring out fare.
Food
Gwangjang Market: This traditional market is one of the oldest and largest in South Korea. You can find a variety of goods being sold, but it’s a great place to grab affordable and authentic Korean food from the vendors. Mornings are the best time to visit for smaller crowds.
Mungbean Pancake: Mungbean pancakes are known as “bindaetteok” in Korean. Gwangjang Market is the perfect place to sample one of these hot and oily savory pancakes, as there are plenty of vendors selling them. There are two types to try: the classic mungbean pancake with chopped kimchi and mungbean sprouts and a pancake with minced pork.
Tosokchon Samgyetang: Tosokchon Samgyetang is a beautiful traditional restaurant that is known for their ginseng chicken soup soup. Here, a whole roasted chicken is included in the soup. There’s rice in the broth that mixes with the chicken skin fat and oils, while the ginseng and other aromatic flavors add to the soup’s wonderful taste. Like most Korean restaurants, you’re given kimchi and other banchan before ordering. This is the perfect meal to warm your soul during the bitter winter months.
Hadongkwan: This Michelin-recognized, family-owned restaurant is located on a side street in Myeongdong. Since 1939, it has been serving bowls of beef bone soup. The soup is served in brass bowls and includes generous servings of both beef and rice. Spring onion, salt, and pepper are on the table, so you can alter the soup to your liking. Hadongkwan opens at seven in the morning and closes when there’s no more soup for the day, so getting there early is best! Read about my experience here.
Gogung (고궁): Famous for their Jeonju style bibimbap, which features a variety of veggies and rice cooked in beef broth. Although a common dish throughout South Korea, Jeonju Bibimbap is known for being quite nutritious. Gogung is a beautiful restaurant to try this traditional food.
Innisfree Green Cafe: One of South Korea’s leading skincare companies, Innisfree, has a cute and spacious cafe above one of their Myeongdong stores. Try delicious teas and pretty cafe dishes, like lattes and pancakes, while admiring the plant-lined walls and hip wooden interior.
Cafe Onion: Cafe Onion seems a tad out of place upon first glance, as the streets are lined with factories and auto-repair shops near a highway underpass. This space was originally a metal factory that was later converted to a supermarket and restaurant in the 1970s. Now, the cafe’s long communal tables, huge windows, concrete walls, comfy nooks, and garden make for a hip spot to enjoy coffee, desserts, and company. Their Italian-style “Pandoro” bread (5,000 Won, about $4.50 USD) is covered in and topped with a crown of powdered sugar; it’s one of the most popular food items, but everything here is worth trying!
Seoul Coffee 1945: This Hanok-themed cafe in Ikseon-dong has a gorgeous minimalistic wooden interior with dark tones. Not only aesthetically pleasing, Seoul Coffee 1945 serves tasty breads, coffee, tea, and ice cream, as well. Their butter-bread (literally butter stuffed in bread) is a must-try item, but I personally loved their cube ice cream affogato.
Arirang Hotdog: A popular place in Myeongdong, you can get various deep-fried foods on sticks. The most popular are the hot dogs and cheese dogs! The cheese dog is wrapped in diced potatoes then deep-fried and coated in sugar. Prices start at around $4 USD.
Korean fried chicken: Korean fried chicken is world famous, and rightly so—it’s insanely delicious. KyoChon Chicken’s spicy wings and honey wings are phenomenal: super crunchy and perfectly glazed in flavorful sauce. Even though it is a chain, I totally recommend going here. The price is decent, too: $23 worth of food is enough for two people.
Korean barbecue: Hongdae features some of the best Korean barbecue for your money, which is fitting because hoards of young people frequent this area. It’s really delicious and much cheaper than what I usually pay in America, especially for the quality and quantity. The hardest part will be deciding which restaurant to eat at.
Tteokbokki: Korean spicy rice cakes. Get these in generous portions from street vendors. Dished out on a plastic-covered plate and eaten with a toothpick, tteokbokki is the ideal street food with it’s spicy sauce and chewy texture. For only 2,500 KRW, this meal is a complete steal. Eat it standing near the stall or get it to-go. Beware, tteokbokki is spicy!
Gimbap: A Korean staple, gimbap is a healthy combination of veggies, pickled foods, meat, and rice wrapped in roasted seaweed (“gim”/kim”) and flavored with sesame oil. You can enjoy a filling meal of gimbap, soup, and kimchi for as little as 3,500 KRW! I found a shop in Hongdae that was quite busy even at 8:30 am, as people buy in bulk for the day ahead. The woman who made the kimbab was super sweet and knew her stuff. You can find gimbap almost everywhere in Korea—definitely try it if you can.
Sweet Potato Latte: These can be found in a variety of coffee shops throughout the city. There’s a pretty eclectic shop called Deep Coffee in Hongdae that makes some awesome drinks for good prices.
Waffles: A very popular street food in many parts of Asia. Definitely the perfect treat while shopping or just exploring. I recommend getting a waffle from the stand with the longest line, as the locals have their favorite for a reason.
Little Victory: A tiny dessert café owned and managed by a sweet, cheerful young couple who speak perfect English. They make everything in small batches, and have several different desserts to choose from. The chocolate matcha canele was my personal favorite, but the macarons came in a close second.
Sulbing (설빙) Korean Dessert Cafe: Sulbing is a famous dessert cafe which originated in Busan. In recent years, hundreds of these shops have popped up throughout South Korea. Bingsu is their most popular menu item due to the milky flavor and thinly-shaved, fluffy ice. One bingsu is enough for two or three people to share.
Lotte Department Store: The place to go for higher end shopping, but their food floor is amazing. A fantastic place to go to purchase Korean snacks and treats for people back home, as well as a good spot to get a glimpse of typical Korean favorites.
Travel tip #3: Street food is the best way to enjoy eating in Seoul, especially if you’re on a budget. Street vendors can be spotted opening shop as early as 7:00 am, and they stay open until late hours of the night in more crowded locations.
Transportation & Accommodation
If you’re planning on being in Seoul and traveling around South Korea for several days, purchasing a T-Money card would be best. It’s easy to reload the card using the station machines and makes it even easier to use public transportation. Plus, you can use your card to pay at select stores.
Seoul is very easy to navigate with its stellar and incredibly inexpensive subway system that connects the entire city with ease. The trains arrive within relatively short intervals of one another, making wait times nothing when transferring lines. More popular stops–like Hongdae and Myeondgong–have lots of exits, so make sure to read the signs and maps (in many languages) before exiting stations.
Hostel: BB Hongdae Line is a small hostel located on the side streets of Hongdae. Check-in is fast and easy, the staff is very helpful, the space is comfortable, and the dorm room is clean—what’s more to ask for? For only $10 a night, this place was an amazing deal in a superb location. It’s really close to the subway station, too.
Hotels: Savoy Hotel in the heart of Myeongdong is a great place if you want to be in the center of all the chaos. It’s conveniently located near the Myeongdong Subway Exit #6 with street food, shops, and cafes literally right outside the hotel’s doors. Nothing beats its location, and the staff are incredibly friendly! Top Hotel & Residence Insadong is a modern choice in the quieter area of Insadong. It’s located right outside of Ikseon-dong Hanok Village and there are tons of eateries and restaurants nearby. Plus, the hotel has access to multiple subway stops.
Airbnb: Although I did not use Airbnb in Seoul, I can imagine there are some amazing options in this beautiful megacity. Booking.com lists thousands of great places and is a good place to begin your search.
Climate
South Korea has four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Spring can be windy, but is the best time to visit due to the mild weather. Autumn is also a good time to visit, as the weather is cooler compared to summer, which is quite hot, humid, and rainy. However, typhoons sometimes hit the country during late summer and early autumn. South Korean winters are notoriously harsh with average temperatures hovering around o degrees Celsius in most parts with cold, dry winds wafting through most of the country. I visited Seoul in late November, and it was already quite chilly and it had lightly snowed during my visit, but it was generally nice weather.