Travel Guide: Seoul

{About}

Seoul has been at the top of my Asia travel list since a layover at the Incheon airport nearly eight years ago. When it came time to plan our next trip to Asia, I’m so glad that we prioritized a stop here. I was completely blown away by the city, the people, the culture… all of it! Despite bitterly cold weather we tried to make the most of our time here and can’t wait to return.

{Get There/Get Around}

First, I am not sure I completely recognized the scale of the city, but Seoul is enormous, and the river effectively cuts the city in two, so figuring out transit is a must.

The metro in Seoul is extremely clean and efficient. It is also quite easy to navigate, and it has very good English signage. I’m sure there is an app that locals use to pay for their rides, but as a tourist, I’d recommend getting a physical T-Money card (available at most 711s and convenience stores) and adding money to it at a kiosk in the metro station. I also saw a few shops in the arrivals hall at the airport that had signs to purchase the cards there. In the winter, the seats on the metro are heated, which is lovely. I’m not sure about the AC in the summer, but given the typically hot and sticky weather, I am sure it is kept pretty comfortable.

The metro stations themselves are a fun cultural experience. They are chock full of shops and eateries and often stretch for blocks and blocks underground/

Taxis are also common and didn't seem prohibitively expensive, but the traffic is pretty intense, and I wouldn't recommend this as your default.

You can also walk between many places on your itinerary, depending on the weather. Just download the Naver app for directions, as Google Maps doesn't have great coverage.

There are two main airports that serve Seoul, Incheon and Gimpo. Gimpo is the older airport and now mostly has intra-Asia flights and carriers, and most international carriers and flights from outside of Asia arrive in Incheon. Incheon is quite far from the city center, around an hour, but it is very easy to get a taxi. Gimpo is closer distance-wise but can take almost as long due to traffic.

{Stay}

Many of the major international hotel brands have amazing properties in Seoul, but the local brands are equally, if not more, impressive, so I would encourage you to check them out. Here are a few properties that we either stayed in, walked by, or read significant reviews on.

{See & Do}

Here is the list of sights and activities we prioritized in Seoul. We managed to make it to all of them, save for a few outdoor ones due to the cold weather during our visit.

Palaces: Seoul has five royal palaces. Gyeongbokgung Palace is the largest and probably the most famous, but they are all incredible and worth seeing, depending on your itinerary and time.

  • Gyeongbokgung Palace

    • Changing of the guard @ 10am & 2pm @ Gwanghwamun Gate

    • The National Folk Museum of Korea (adjacent to the palace)

  • Changdeokgung Palace

Hanok Villages: Hanoks are a type of traditional Korean home and can be found across the country. In modern Seoul, there are several “villages” of these types of homes that can be explored. Many are still used as residences, but many others have been turned into shops and cafes. This site has more background on the characteristics of a Hanok structure.

  • Bukchon Hanok Village

  • Ikseon-dong Hanok Village

Shopping: The shopping in Seoul is truly next-level. It is probably best that I didn't have as much time to indulge in this particular area as I might have liked! Here are a few areas and stores that I did get to check out, and I highly recommend!

  • Gangnam area for shopping. This is also the mecca for beauty treatments.

    • I did not have the chance to check out any beauty treatments this time, but here are a few spots that I researched and have bookmarked for my next trip: Sulwhasoo SPA Flagship Store, ME SEOUL CLINIC, SHANGPREE Spa, Banyan Tree Club & Spa, LIENJANG Dermatology and Skin Care Clinic.

  • Starfield Library at COEX Mall: this is the most fantastic library that is open to the mall. You can pick out your books, grab a coffee, and sit in the open mall to read!

    • Attached is the Hyundai Department Store, which is definitely worth a visit! A small museum and rooftop terrace at the department store make for a cool side stop.

  • Myeongdong Street - This is a bustling pedestrian shopping area

  • Gwangjang Market Food Alley (closed Sun/Mon)

  • Ssamzigil Shopping Mall- This open-air mall has lots of smaller boutiques and artisans)

  • Insadong area - This area has some nice shops and lots of restaurants down the side streets

Kids:

  • Lotte World (indoor/outdoor amusement park)

    • Book tickets via Klook for a discount.

    • Dongdaemun Design Plaza - This is a super futuristic plaza in central Seoul that is often home to markets and other exhibitions. There is a large mall and transit center underneath and the Diki Diki Playground.

    • COEX Aquarium - You can easily pair this with a trip to the library/mall

Outdoors:

  • N Seoul Tower and Namsan Park

  • City Wall walk (map)

{Eat & Drink}

As a vegetarian, I found eating in Seoul to be a bit challenging. The traditional cuisine is very meat-heavy, and restaurants were where we often encountered the largest language barrier: either not understanding how the menu worked (i.e., some places have a requirement of how many dishes you have to order per person) or not understanding how something was prepared, or having to pull out the translation app to try and communicate with the staff.

If you have serious dietary restrictions or allergies or very picky young ones, I would definitely turn to your hotel concierge (or a local friend if you are lucky enough to have one!) for help.

Now, as I was, you may be thinking that the obvious route around this is to prepare easy meals where you’re staying and/or eat at fast-casual spots where you can pick the food out yourself (cafes, sandwich shops, etc.). Unfortunately, there are very few what we would consider “grocery stores” in Seoul. Or at least that we saw. There are 711s and G25 convenience stores all over the city, but their food options are limited depending on the store size. The large department stores (Lotte, Hyundai, etc.) have food halls, but they are quite high-end, and I did not have a lot of prepared or easy-to-prepare options.

All of that said, here are a few spots that we truly enjoyed:

  • Osulloc Tea House (tea house, several locations)

  • Thanks, Oat (brunch)

  • Cafe Onion Anguk (cafe)

  • KOTTON.SEOUL (coffee)

  • Alto (coffee)

  • Jayeondo Salt Bread & Jayeondoga (salt bread is an absolute MUST!!)

  • Cheongsudang Café (cafe)

  • Woo Lae Oak (BBQ beef and cold noodles)

  • LOWIDE COFFEE BAKERY (cafe)

  • Fritz Coffee Company Wonseo (coffee)

{Shop}

  • GRANHAND Bukchon

  • SHANGPREE STORAGE BUKCHON

  • Kakao Friends Gangnam Flagship Store

  • Nonfiction

  • Tamburins

  • Laneige

  • Olive Young - this is the Korean version of Sephora. Check out this reel with all my picks.

{Things to Know}

  • Download the Papago app for translations

  • Download Naver for directions

  • Purchase a refillable T-Money Card to pay for taxis, subways, and buses

  • 711s are very common & great for quick snacks etc.

  • Just a note: Kids are definitely treasured in Korea, and when traveling with young kids, you will attract a fair amount of warm curiosity and attention.

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