A Sole Weekend in Seoul
My friends at KAIST and I departed Daejeon by boarding the 7:55 AM Mugunghwa train to Seoul. We arrived at Seoul Station at around 10:00 AM. Although the KTX is much faster, takes only an hour, it is much more expensive ranging from 17,000 - 23,000 KRW from Daejeon to Seoul. The Mugunghwa takes 2 hours costing 11,800 KRW.
Below, I've listed the areas we visited and provided some tips I've learned during this trip. Hopefully they come in handy for you as well. Video on the bottom!
DAY 1 | 09.15.17: Cultured and Touristy
1. Gwanghwamun Square (광화문광장)
It a long vertical plaza with many events occurring. There was a Sewol Ferry memorial, remnants of what seemed to be a protest, and local artists drawing on the ground with chalk. Along the walk, you will see the Admiral Yi Sun-sin Statue (충무공 이순신 동상) (revolutionary naval commander) and the King Sejong the Great Statue (세종대왕 동상) (creator of Hangul).
edited with VSCO
edited with VSCO
2. Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁)
This palace is located right behind Gwanghwamun Square. Entrance tickets costs 5,000 KRW but it is free if you dress in hanboks, which was what we chose to do (something I recommend doing once). Our hanbok rentals were definitely a bit of a splurge although they are visually really beautiful to look at. However, it was really hot so we were sweating in them and I kept stepping on the dress whenever I was climbing stairs. The female hanboks costed 24,000 KRW and the male hanboks costed 20,000 KRW for 2 hours. The shop staff are all very friendly and helpful, they also speak English and Mandarin Chinese!
Tip: Make sure to scope around multiple shops to see their prices because after we left the palace, we found cheaper hanbok rental shops as we were walking to the Bukchon Hanok Village.
The palace is really big so make sure to pace yourself if you are renting hanboks for a certain amount of time. I would say 2 hours is sufficient to see the palace because we got to cover most of it.
3. Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을)
It is a very picturesque and instagram worthy place with traditional architecture and many cute coffee shops with plants!
Tip: Make sure you are quiet because some of these hanoks are private residential properties.
Tip: To find the one popular photo spot that shows N Seoul Tower, look for signs that say "photo zone". However, once you're there, there is no sign (none that I saw) that announces "this is the photo zone". There was a really big hill and that was where the photo spot was (sorry this is so vague but I'm sure you will find it!). Make sure to look back for an amazing view. There are also small cute alleyways that are surprisingly photo worthy.
photo spot at Bukchon Hanok Village | edited with VSCO
There are also restaurants and small boutique shops in the village. It's really awesome to see traditional architecture being used in a modern way. If you're into cultural and traditional vibes, I definitely recommend going here. A store I've been wanting to visit was Granhand, a handmade fragrance shop that sells perfume, scented sachets, oils, candles. They also have workshops to make your own scents and products. The interior of the store is minimal and very aesthetically pleasing. There are only two locations and both are in the Bukchon Hanok Village.
4. Ssamji-gil (쌈지길)
Lastly, we explored Insa-dong. There are a lot of shops and restaurants in that area and can seem similar to any other popular neighborhood in Korea (similar to Myeong-dong, Hongdae, Itaewon, etc.). We went to Ssamji-gil, which is a 4-story mall with many small shops selling small trinkets, clothes, souvenirs, and food.
Tip: Great place to find interesting souvenirs.
tiny succulents from Emotipot
4. Cheonggyecheon Stream
At some point on our way to Insadong we passed by these cool light up steps. It was close to Cheonggyecheon Plaza.
DAY 2 | 09.16.17: Modern and Touristy
1. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)
Futuristic and minimal plaza designed by Zaha Hadid. This building surprisingly was about a 10 minute walk from our airbnb (insert link)
edited with VSCO
edited with VSCO
This space is often used for events such as Seoul Fashion Week, fashion events, farmer's market, design exhibitions, etc.
Tip: Don't just walk around the building. There is so much more inside. There is a design museum that was free entrance. Certain areas, assuming special exhibitions, were ticket exclusive which you can purchase inside.
When I was there, the CONFLUENCE. 20+ exhibition was occurring. This exhibition showcased "the co-evolving and interdependent communities in Hong Kong's creative industries" (from the pamphlet). We were super lucky to see this exhibition as it was the last day of showing.
2. Myeong-dong
This area of Seoul is a popular hip and touristy for people who like to shop for clothes, cosmetics and souvenirs. There are also street food stalls available when you get hungry during your shopping spree. It's a great area to spend a good amount of your day in.
Tip: This area can get super crowded and all the alleys and streets can start to look the same so don't get lost!
3. Namdaemun Market (남대문시장)
From Myeong-dong, we decided to walked to Namsan but got sidetracked as we saw a big crowded market area and decided to stop by. It was the famous Namdaemun Market! You can find a lot of typical Korean street food (spicy rice cakes, pancakes, kimbap, etc.) and vendors selling really cheap clothes. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to try food and explore the market.
4. Namsan and N Seoul Tower (AKA Namsan Tower)
After getting sidetracked, we finally got to Namsan. To get to the tower, there is an elevator that takes you to the cable cars and buses. Unfortunately for us, the wait for the cable cars was 1 hour so my group considered hiking. We read through some blogs that described the hike being short (about 20-30 minutes) but tiring because of the steep hills and numerous steps. Since we didn't want to wait long, we decided to just suck it up and hike.
Taking the scenic route was actually really nice but since it was also hot, we were very sweaty.
Tickets costed 10,000 KRW for the observatory.
Tip: I recommend going to Namsan an hour or two before sunset. You'll be able to catch the skyline in daylight and in nighttime when all the lights turn on.
Tip: Hiking up the mountain wasn't actually that bad. It was short but tiring. However, you'll be able to catch your breath while stopping to capture the moment and the beautiful view.
I actually had footage of our journey in Namdaemun market, hiking Namsan, and a timelapse of Seoul while in Namsan Tower, but I accidentally deleted them when I was transferring the files to my laptop. I've tried recovery programs and managed to recover them through Photorec but they are damaged and have no sound or image.
5. Itaewon
Brief dinner, lots of foreigners and non-Korean restaurants. Some places seemed pretty authentic. It is definitely a very populated area
DAY 3 | 09.17.17: Lazy Sunday and Cats
1. Gangnam
My group stored our luggage in a locker right outside Gangnam station. Then, we strolled and shopped around.
Tip: If the locker only receives payment through card (like the one we had), make sure you have a Korean credit card. We didn't have and thought we could pay through phone but we couldn't figure out how to do it. Eventually we seeked help from the information center right next door and the lady helped us call the help number. We were allowed to wire money from a Korean bank account.
Tip: Just go to the lockers inside the station. They accept cash which is so much easier and faster to deal with.
Then, WE SAW EDWARD AVILA (a makeup artist/vlogger currently residing in South Korea) as we were outside Daiso and he was walking in.
Tip: I heard Gangnam is where many celebrities hang around.
2. Cat Cafe near Gangnam Station and Daiso
Entrance fee was 9,000 KRW which gives you a free drink and no limit on time. The cafe is decently spacious with a good number of cats. All the cats' profile is on the wall. Most of them don't pay any attention to you unless you have food. However, I was lucky. I sat down cross-legged (pretzel style) and eventually a cat just sat on my legs and slept. For a really long. My legs were super numb and eventually I had to lift him off me since I was leaving.
Tip: If you really want to have interactions with the cat, you can purchase cat food at the cafe. However, if you're frugal, just be patient and perhaps a cat will you come to you instead!
If you were to follow our activities, it is possible to see the main essence of Seoul in just 3 days.
Until next time, happy travels!
All photos (unless otherwise stated) and videos are taken by Kaity Chen. Please credit if using.