One of the things that I like most about my time in Seoul was the ability to walk around the city without needing to rely on taxis or public transportation. Plan to stay in the Myeongdong area and the majority of the main attractions are within a 15-20 minute walk. Here’s my list of things to do in Seoul!
1. Jogyesa Temple.
This is one of my all time favorite temples. I love the beauty of the temple which is adorned with flowers. They uses the flowers to create various statues of a buddha, dog, fish, elephant, hand, bunny, tree, etc. I visited in November so I believe the flowers decorate the temple year round.
Planning Your visit: It is free to visit this temple. It is very popular with both tourists and locals so you may want to consider visiting first thing in the morning in order to get some good photos.
2. Rent a Traditional Hanbok.
When given this suggestion, I thought it might be a little disrespectful or that I would be the only one renting a costume. It turned out to be quite the opposite. When inside the palaces or even walking the streets of Seoul, I saw numerous people mainly Koreans dressed in the traditional Hanbok. They actually encourage you to rent the Handboks by giving you free entry to the Palaces if you are wearing the traditional Hanbok. I regret not renting one and would highly suggest it for your visit. Just think of the cool photos that you can get!
Planning ahead: The prices vary depending on the store, length of your rental, accessories, etc. On the conservative side, I would plan on spending 18,000 Won or ~16 USD for a 6 hour rental. That should be plenty of time to visit the palaces and Secret Garden wearing the costume.
3. Gyeongbokgung Palace
Now that you are all dressed up in your Hanbok, it’s time to visit a Palace! There are three Palaces in the heart of Seoul and this would be my top pick to visit. The small pond in the gardens was what really set this one apart for me. I believe it is the largest of the three as well.
Planning your visit: It cost 3,000 Won . There is an option to buy a ticket to the four Palaces (Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Gyeongbokgung, and Jongmyo Shrine) for 10,000 Won valid for k3 months after purchase. Of course, it is free if you are wearing your Hanbok. I would plan on spending around an hour walking around and taking photos.4
4. Changdeokgung Palace
Honestly you could show me a picture from inside Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung Palace and I would be hard-pressed to distinguish between the two palaces. The architecture looked identical to me. I walked through this Palace pretty quickly after visiting Changdeokgung. The one reason that I am glad that I visited is that there is a Secret Garden which can only be visited by entering Changdeokgung.
Planning your visit: It cost 3,000 Won . There is an option to buy a ticket to the four Palaces (Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Gyeongbokgung, and Jongmyo Shrine) for 10,000 Won valid for 3 months after purchase. Of course, it is free if you are wearing your Hanbok. I would plan on spending 30 minutes to an hour walking around and taking photos.
5. Secret Garden
This was one of the highlights from my time in Seoul. During my November visit, the Secret Garden was filled with trees with various yellow, red, and green leaves. I enjoyed just walking around and take photos in the beautiful autumn colors. I have no idea what the garden looks like in other seasons but it is totally worth the visit during the Autumn season.
Planning Your Visit: You have to walk through Changdeokgung to reach the entrance of the Secret Garden. It is an additional 8,000 Won or ~$7.80 USD for entry. They only let people in at the beginning of each hour. There is a cap of 100 people per hour. This wasn’t a problem when I visited in November but you will want to buy a ticket in advance if you visit during their peak travel season. I would plan on spending an hour walking around and taking photos. There is also an option for a guided tour.
6. Bukchon Hanok Village
This is a great glimpse into seeing the traditional houses of Korea. It is worth a walk around to see the architecture and take note of the elaborately decorated doorways.
Planning your visit: This is just a short 10 minute walk from the Palaces so I would walk through the Village after you visit the Palaces. Please note that people do still live in these homes so be respectful as possible and keep the noise to a minimum. I would plan on spending 15-30 minutes walking around this area.
7. Namdaemun Market
If you are in the mood for shopping, head to Namdaemun Market. You will find a wide variety of Korean products and souvenirs sold here.
8. Visit N Seoul Tower
The Tower provides 360 overview of the city. The best time to visit is either sunset or at nighttime to see the whole city all lit up. The best time of year to visit would be during Cherry Blossom season. Once you exit the cable car, you will need to take a few flights of stairs up to the Observation Tower. Along the way, you will see hundreds of love locks meant to signify everlasting love between two people.
Planning your visit: For once, you will need to hop in a cab to make your way to Namsan where you can catch a Cable Car up to the N Seoul Tower. The cable car costs 9,500 won or ~ $8.50 USD. If you are feeling adventurous, there is an option to walk to the top which takes about an hour. The ticket to the Observatory costs another 10,000 Won or ~$ 9 USD.
9. Visit Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market
This is one of the most unique dining experiences of my entire life. I don’t know if I would have been brave enough to try all the food without my personal Seoul tour guide, Honey. Honey and I roomed together back when I studied abroad in Australia and this is the first time I had seen her since then. It was really great to reminisce and catch up with her!
Back to the fish market, you take a stroll around the market to get a feel for what you would like to eat. They have about any type of seafood that you could possibly want including fish, giant crabs, sea slugs, octopus, sea urchins, scallops, mussel, etc. Once you have decided what you want to eat, start negotiating the price with the vendors. I would take to a few vendors to get an idea of the right price. Do negotiate as they will come down on price.
When you have picked your items, they will give you the live items in plastic bags. You can then head upstairs and hand them to the restaurant which will prepare them for you.
By far the strangest thing, I have ever eaten is the live octopus. They cut up the octopus into small bites and it still moves on the plate for about 15 minutes. They put some oil and seasoning on them to spice it up. This is a huge delicacy in Korea. I was weirded out by the fact that it could move within my mouth so I picked a very small piece to try.
Honey, my friend and tour guide, on the other hand loved the big pieces. She likes to feel it squirming in her mouth and said the larger pieces had more flavor. I did think it tasted just like calamari but I would rather have the dead and fried version then the live thing.
While eating your seafood, you should grab a drink as well. They sell beer and Soju. Soju is similar to vodka and they actually mix Soju and beer into one drink. I thought it would be really strong and hard to drink but it went down surprisingly smooth.
10. Cheonggyecheon Stream
It’s a tiny stream running in the middle of the city. Depending on the time of year that you visit, it will have different decorations or lights. It is worth the quick walk over to it to take a look and some photos.
11. Tour to DMZ – combine with JSA tour if possible
Word of caution: I didn’t love this tour. I felt like I spent the majority of the time on the bus or seeing a site within 2 minutes and just standing around to get back on the bus. Am I bitter because I fell which resulted in a scrapped up knee and ruining my only pair of jeans that I brought on the trip? Did I mention I brought those jeans because they happen to be my favorite pair? That probably has something to do with why I disliked the tour if I am being honest. When I visited in October 2018, the JSA was closed due to ongoing talks between North and South Korea being held in the JSA so I only got a chance to visit the DMZ sites. The part I enjoyed most from the tour was getting to see the tunnel that North Korea had built to gain access to South Korea. South Korea heard rumors of the tunnel and flooded the area to find the tunnel.
I have heard that the JSA portion of the tour is much more informative and interesting. So given a chance, sign up for a DMZ/JSA tour. Maybe pick a tour with a North Korea defector where you are given a chance to ask him questions as well.
12 Insadong
Invading is a neighborhood that I suggest visiting. It has plenty of shops selling traditional Korean goods. It is also a great area to eat with plenty of restaurants tea houses to choose from. Located within the area is the Insadong Ssamjigil shopping center.
What to eat:
Try Traditional Korean Barbecue at Yuk Tong Ryeong. Would a trip to Korea be complete with trying Korean BBQ??? Yuk Tong Ryeong is located two blocks from the Aloft Seoul Myeongdong. You can tell it is a local’s favorite due to the lines outside. There is a clip board hanging by the door. Make sure to write you name down to hold your place in line. They only will call your name once before giving your table away if you aren’t there so make sure that you stay near the door. I liked it so much that I ate there twice!
Where to stay:
Stay at Aloft Seoul Myeongdong – I absolutely loved this hotel. The location was perfect so that I could easily walk to all of the tourist sites. It was updated and clean. A bonus for me was the self-service laundry which is a bonus when you are traveling for long periods of time. I cashed in some of Marriott points to stay for free.
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