South Korea’s capital and largest city. Vibrant busy life, nightlife, and massive cultural immersion.
Seoul is Korea’s equivalent of Tokyo (Japan). Vibrant, busy, dynamic, full of people, and beautiful sites. Although Seoul isn’t as crowded and over-stimulated as Tokyo, it’s still quite a bit (for a Westerner). It’s a great entry point into your Korean cultural exploration. Get your bearings and learn how to use public transpo, and order/pay at restaurants, etc.
Most touristy main parts of Seoul can be covered in 3 days. But you might wanna stay longer to really enjoy the food, bars, nightlife, and soak in that Seoul vibe. 5-7 days is a better fit. But do feel free to move on to Busan or Jeju island if you had enough.
Where to stay:
- Hongdae – best area to stay for visitors IMO. There’s lots to do, and lots of people around to make for a nice vibrant vibe at almost all hours of the day. There are 4 general areas of Hondae:
- Hongdae street (SOUTH of Hongik Station) – basically anywhere near or south of Hongik Station exits #8 and #9. Most vibrant area and close to the action, with many food and shops nearby. And still some nice quiet streets with smaller buildings. The further south you are, the closer you are to the clubs (and further from metro station), which is probably not so ideal unless you want that.
- Gyeongui Line Forest Park (north of Hongik Station) – follow that green park strip up from Yanghwa-ro. feels like a nice local area with many awesome restaurants, cafes, bars and boutiques. Many cute side streets here. Feels like a great locals areas. You’re still super close to the main center of the action, but there’s also lots here on this quiet side. I feel the more you stay in Hongdae, the more you would prefer this area.
- NORTH of Yanghwa-ro – anywhere on or north of Yanghwa-ro street. Lots of restaurants and more super tall buildings. Great for eating and still close to the action, but feels more business commercial area.
- EAST of Hongik Station – boring and most residential. Also the longest walk to the action and the big street really divides the vibe. Go here if you want something cheaper and don’t mind an extra walk. When I stayed here, I totally missed being in the 1st two areas.
- Itaewon – famous for being the #1 most foreigner-friendly place. Lots of English spoken here, nice Western-style restaurants and boutiques. It used to have a thriving nightlife until the Itaewon Crowd Crush tragedy at Halloween 2022 where lack of crowd-control killed 158 people. Now, it’s a sad quiet deserted place where people avoid to keep away from the painful memories. Stay here if you still appreciate a foreigner-friendly place, with nice hilltop views of the city, and perhaps might even like that it’s not so busy.
- Gangnam – considered the bougie fancy neighborhood of Seoul, and famous in pop culture from Psy’s song “Gangnam Style”. Much more posh, high-end, fancy, super dressed, well-off people…and bars, restaurants, businesses catering to that. This is also known as the place for older people to party. As the clubs in Hongdae and Itaewon can be ageist, and will reject you at the door for being “too old” (probably anything mid-thirties and above).
These 3 areas are famous for being the busy areas, and main nightlife areas. It’s where most young people and foreigners like to go. Unlike most other cities, Seoul doesn’t have one central downtown. There are busy hubs everywhere. Of course, there are other good neighborhoods for living and visiting as well but these are the top 3 for visiting foreigners IMO.
Housing options:
- Hostels & guesthouses – highly recommended for meeting other foreigners who speak English. And for people to party with.
- AirBnB – lots of great options. Many of them are super small or located in a basement. Study the photos carefully, and compare the length of the bed to the rest of the room.
- ManGrove – cool co-living concept where you can rent places for days, weeks, months. Great for longterm stays, meeting people, making friends. Kinda like university dorm or hostel style living but for (younger) grown-ups. Has many amenities like gym, yoga studio, movie theater, rooftop, study rooms, community rooms, etc. There are probably other coliving brands, too. I only know this one.
I also noticed there are way more options, both nicer and cheaper options for females. Many places are “female only” and you’re more likely to find a last-minute place this way.
Neighborhoods & Walking areas:
- Hongik University Station & Hongdae – generally speaking, this is THE desirable area. Highest concentration of people, restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, nightlife and everyday fun stuff. If you’re staying anywhere else, it’s because you want to be…1) closer to tourist stuff, 2) want more space, or 3) want cheaper places.
- Itaewon – foreigner area, Western-style restaurants and boutiques. Kinda dead for nightlife since the Itaewon tragedy. Maybe it’ll recover but not anytime soon. I hear from many locals that they will never go there again. They feel especially guilty (or disrespectful) about partying and having fun in a place where people died.
- Gangnam – the rich “Beverly Hills” area where everything is expensive and bougie. I found it boring. Maybe good for a fancy brunch or dinner hangout. Visit clubs here if you want something fancy/expensive or because you’re older and got rejected from clubs elsewhere for your age. You can find big name luxury shops like Gucci, Chanel, Prada, etc.
- Insa-dong – right by the 2 main palaces and historic village (Bukchon Hanok). There’s a crowded walking area with many narrow walkways, little restaurants and shops all packed together.
- Dongdaemun – I feel lots of students and young people are here as well, since many universities nearby. Some of my friends also referred to it as the “tourist district” since it’s nearby historic things. It’s also a good option if you’re looking for cheap places to stay.
Activities to do:
- Visit neighborhoods & walking areas – Hongdae for everyday life, Insa-dong for historic stuff, Itaewon and Gangnam for highend stuff, Dondaemun if you got time.
- Palaces – there are 5 palaces but I’ll cover only the main three. They are right next to each other and easy to cover. The two main ones can be 1.5 to 2hrs to see everything. The 3rd feels like a 30min pitstop for me.
- Gyeongbokgung – the main one, perhaps biggest, most pretty and also most touristy (has the most people). I personally don’t mind the crowds as many of them are wearing the traditional Hanbok outfits (which makes for nice photos). Nice (seemingly) freshly-painted green buildings across various backdrops & landscapes (has water). And you’ll see much less people if you wander inside further. So plenty of good photo ops.
- Changdeokgung – the 2nd most important one, but was the first rebuilt after the Japanese destruction, so was more recently lived in by the royal family. Many people say this is their favorite (and they like it over the Gyeongbokgung). It’s a much quieter, chiller vibe, less tourists, you can also see 2 different kinds of buildings (I’m guessing green for the higher status, and brown/white for the lower status.) There’s more structures that you can go inside or look inside, whereas the main palace feels like you can only view things from outside. There’s many corners to hang around.
- Deoksugung – this feels like a nice little park oasis in the middle of an urban city. Cheap and chill. More like a local place to relax than a tourist destination. It’s an easy stop if you just want to see a palace and don’t want to spend much time.
- Arts & museums:
- National Museum of Korea – is the main cultural museum (big and nice). If you’re short on time, I’d rather focus on the palaces.
- National Folk Museum of Korea – I found it boring, or too much with the usual caveman to modern life human evolution found in anthropology musuems all around the world.
- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul (I heard nice things about it).
- Dongdaemun Design Plaza (aka DDP) – something between a musuem and mall. Cool architecture and design, also shops and stuff. Hard to explain. Come see it for yourself and take fun photos.
- Alloc Seoul – painting studio (art cafe). They have some basic drinks but no alcohol. You’re welcome to bring your own alcohol and snacks if you wish.
- Bukchon Hanok Village – the old historic village. It’s a residential neighborhood of old houses/buildings with architecture from 600 years ago. It’s really just one street and not much to do or see. And the architecture looks similar to what you already saw at the palaces. Go here if you’re already nearby visiting the palaces or Insa-dong area. But don’t make a trip just for this. It’s totally skippable.
- Buildings & architecture
- Seoul Tower – popular park with a tower and commercial area at the top. Enjoy panoramic views of the city, shop for souvenirs, play arcade or carnival games, see an art museum, have coffee, take photos.
- Paradise City Hotel – area around here has some nice modern architecture if you wanted to do a photoshoot.
- Parks, gardens, green spaces – you can check Google Maps for nearby parks. But also, you can find next relaxing green spaces at palaces, temples. Also the Seoul Tower area.
- Seoul Grand Park
- What is this? Hahaha, lots to explain. It’s a big park area with several activities within it. Some things are out in the open and free, others are closed off and require paid entry. The main entrance to the entire park looks like it’s closed off and that you have to buy tickets to enter but no, entering the park is free! It’s just some of the things within the park cost money.
- Theme Garden (PAID) – this is the theme park. Basically for kids, IMO.
- Zoo (PAID) – I hear it’s a nice zoo but I’ve never been.
- Sky Lift (PAID) – it’s the typical ski lift chair that carries you over the park and gives you great views from above. They have 2 lines, one from park entrance to the zoo and the other from bottom end of the zoo to the top end. So unless you’re going to the zoo, you would only be interested in line 1.
- Elephant train (PAID) – very cheap. Little train that does a loop around the entire park, allowing you to glance at everything quickly. Might be fun for a kid but as an adult, you’ll probably prefer walking so you can enjoy the view. The walk would only be 30 mins anyway, and it’s a nice picturesque walk.
- Botanical garden (PAID) – beautiful and worth it for the tiny price you pay. Walk around in nature for an hour and take some pictures or relax.
- Forest (FREE) – this is the general park area that you can just walk around in nature and enjoy the views.
- Seoul Grand Park
- Markets:
- Gwangjang is the main touristy one, Namdaemun is the largest traditional one. They sell everything at these markets. But as a foreigner, you’re going here for sightseeing and street food. I ate a raw octopus (still squirming and moving) and it was really good. There’s also the famous dumpling lady at Gwangjang.
- Myeongdong Walking Street – busy shopping area with tons of shops and markets.
- Photobooths – this is a fun and also very Korean/Japanese thing. Many young people messing around in photo booths and wearing funny props. I also recommend cartoon sketches or the laser wood printing service.
- Spa
- Paradise City Hotel (Cimer Spa) – big modern spa with many fancy rooms, lounges, heated pools, restaurant, cafes, and even water slides. Architecture inside is a mix of European and Korean. The area outside is nice just to walk and look around. Interesting architecture and photo ops.
- Sunset views – usually in a terrace restaurant or from a park. Itaewon is also a hilly area.
- Karaoke – although many Asian countries love doing karaoke bars, in Korea it’s more like you rent a karaoke room…and can order food and drinks in your private room. If the place isn’t busy, they might give you free extra time.
- PC Cafe – fun to play some games or just get some work done on a nice big monitor. In case you don’t know how it works, simply purchase your time from the machine upfront. Then enter that code into the screen (you may have to click the “guest” tab first). Probably easier if you ask the staff to log you in the first time.
Restaurants & Cafes:
- Chicken restaurants – there are many good ones. The big chain is BBQ Chicken & Beer. BHC is also good. Do check reviews before visiting a smaller chain or independent restaurant. Some of them taste horrible!
- Gwangjang market – eat the raw octopus (it’s cut up and served with sauce and seaweed salad). Famous dumpling lady is here as well.
- there are many many awesome restaurants! you should explore. the ones I listed are more iconic.
- Kakao Friends (Hongdae) – awesome cafe on 3rd floor with baked goods and pastries. Many delicious and picturesque things to eat.
- Mukyoku – Japanese restaurant at Incheon Airport that my flight stewardess friend highly recommends.
There is good food everywhere! I wouldn’t even know where to begin telling you what to try first. There are indeed some iconic common spots.
Bars & Clubs:
- Club Evans (jazz club) – nice vibe and ambiance. I didn’t totally enjoy the group that was playing when I went, but I enjoyed everything else. Still a nice experience overall.
- Wine bars – many nice ones.
- Zen bar – trashy place to go for trashy things. Lots of sleezy guys, I think some of them are shirtless as well.
- Latin dance clubs (salsa, bachata, kizomba) – Club Bonita, Sol. Their latin scene is underratedly good and depending on who you talk to…some would even say Korean salsa is the best in the world.
- Argentine tango – Tango O Nada, Ocho, La Ventana.
I wish I remembered more places. But I can’t because I was drunk and the locals took me everywhere. I wasn’t cognizant of anything.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Quick travel tips for Korea.
- Public transportation – it’s really good! Use KakaoMap or Naver (in case KakaoMap doesn’t find something). Take note of subway (called “trains”) line colors and their exit numbers.
- Metro – go to any convenience store and buy a “T money card”. Fill it up with cash at any convenience store or also the metro station and scan (in & out) to use it.
- Buses – Express Bus or Txbus should be able to take you around to other cities. Book reservations ahead of time online so you have more choices.
- Rideshare apps – Kakao Taxi is the biggest one but most people really just don’t use rideshare or even the scooters. They just walk or take metro. Even in big groups. They just prefer to walk around.
- Air quality – in case you care, Seoul is known to have horrible air quality. The locals have an app they use to check the air quality each day. So even if you’re not worried about COVID, you might still want to wear a high-grade mask to avoid breathing in the toxic air.
Nearby towns:
- Busan* (2.5hr train) – smaller (but still a big city and growing fast), nice, more chill and friendly than Seoul. Busan has mountains, rivers, and beaches (what many people come for). And basically much more nature than Seoul.
Unfiltered notes:
- The Five Grand Palaces of Seoul: A Very Extra + Comprehensive Guide – there she goes again