Annyeong Haseyo / 안녕하세요 my people! ☺️
I spent a total of 10 days exploring the lovely South Korean city named Seoul (inclusive of flight days to Seoul and back to Singapore & some days working). I enjoyed walking around the different areas whilst admiring the variety in architecture.
I was really lucky with the weather as despite it being rainy season, it only poured heavily once and rained on 1 other occasion but only lightly. Actually – no I’m not lucky I’m blessed 😌
A big part of my trip was food of course, but I have created a separate blog post showing what I ate, so head over to my food post for details on the Korean delicacies 🍽️
Without further ado, let’s explore sightseeing in Seoul…
Bukchon Hanok Village
This is a beautiful area in Seoul where you can see traditional architecture which displays the cultural beauty from the Joseon dynasty era.
I went to this area a few times to just soak in the architectural designs. It was also really nice seeing such a different vibe from the more modern areas/buildings across Seoul
There are also other Hanok villages such as Ikseon-dong, I visited this Hanok village for a cafe, so have included information about it in the Seoul Food Blog
War Memorial Museum
On a trip to Seoul, you definitely shouldn’t give this place a miss! I believe it’s very important to spend some time learning about the history of the places you visit. The Museum is free to enter (you only need to pay for any special exhibitions)
They have 7 indoor exhibition rooms and I really enjoyed learning about the history of South Korea through the different monumental events that occurred over time (e.g. World War II, the Korean War, attacks from other nations).
Unfortunately the 4D exhibitions weren’t working when I went 😢 but as they say, you get what you paid for … I paid nothing, so I should expect nothing haha. Hopefully, it works when you go 🤞🏾
The Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae)
Sounds oddly familiar right … 👀
The photos should hopefully also explain why it’s called the Blue House
So this was the official executive office and residence for the South Korean President, however, on 10 May 2022 the President opened up The Blue House to be a public park and moved to another location. This was the first time in its 74 year history that it’s been opened to the public.
The park has multiple buildings which you can walk around, but you can only enter certain rooms.
There is one room which shows each of the presidents since the existence of South Korea. It shows their photographs and an excerpt on their life and hobbies. I encourage you to Google what happened to each president as you explore this room, it’s very interesting! From dictators to assassinations to jail time … very interesting I tell you!
Seoul Forest
Seoul Forest is a public park that’s really nice for a quiet stroll. It’s meant to be really pretty during the cherry blossoms season (approx. mid-March to early-April).
As I went in July, there were no cherry blossoms in sight but to be honest, I wasn’t bothered haha. I came here because I just wanted some quiet time during my trip, so I spent time walking around with no music and it was bliss.
The park gives you the opportunity to be in nature whilst still being in the city which was ideal for me since I didn’t have enough time to travel further out and didn’t bring any hiking wear so couldn’t hike the mountain trail.
P.s. there is a deer park section but surprise surprise it was closed when I went. I paid nothing, so I should expect nothing 😅
P.p.s. There are some cute cafes around the area but that’ll be in the food blog, so head over to the Seoul Food Blog to see where I went.
Ihwa Mural Village
Who doesn’t like pretty street art?!
I went to this mural village one evening after work and it was a beautiful way to end my day. I loved walking up the steep stairs and seeing different pieces of art on the walls (there are a lot of steps so be ready!).
I recommend going just before sunset so you get to see the mural village with some daylight and then as night falls I recommend going to a cafe and the top of the hill called Cafe Gaeppul and grabbing a drink whilst you look over Seoul.
Of course the views won’t be similar to those you get in high rise buildings like Seoul Sky, but it’s definitely less crowded and peaceful. Great spot to chill after all those steps!
Cafe Gaeppul Address: 26 Naksanseonggwakseo 1-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Changdeokgung Palace
This is a place to go if you are interested in how the kings of the Joseon Dynasty lived. I walked around the palace grounds and also took a guided tour in The Secret Garden, which was a place for the royal family to relax as well as conduct outdoor activities.
To be honest, it definitely was not the highlight of my trip and I didn’t spend much time there at all (2 hours tops, including the 90 minute secret garden tour), but at least I can say I’ve seen one of the royal palaces and learnt more about the Joseon dynasty which was interesting 😅
Somethings to note:
- Palace is closed on Mondays (as are many museums in Seoul)
- Admission to palace grounds: ₩3000
- Secret garden admission (need to book the tour in advance as they have set times): ₩5000
Jogyesi Temple
After visiting the Changdeokgung Palace and grabbing dinner, my friends and I walked over to Jogyesi Temple to check it out. I was surprised with how large the Buddha statues were.
My friend explained to me how each statue did something different with their hand, and so depending on what the worshipper needed they would kneel before the relevant statue.
I’m a Christian so I don’t get involved in things like that, but it was interesting to see how the temple was decorated. The doors are wide open so you can view it without going inside.
Cheonggyecheon Stream
To see the beautiful stream at night check out my tik tok: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLqPYwwe/
I absolutely love walking by streams! I just find walking by slow moving water to be so therapeutic and calming. The stream is actually quite long (over 10km in length) and what I love is you have people playing instruments as you walk along the stream.
If you’re looking for a nice peaceful walk I would recommend walking beside the stream at night, you will feel like you’re in your very own movie.
National Museum of Korea
This is the place to go if you want to learn about the different dynasties of South Korea. My highlight was seeing the different Korean paintings across the different rooms. I love looking at the different colours used and trying to understand what the story is behind the painting.
Entry to the museum is free of charge (woo!) and it’s a great way to spend a few hours if you want to get away from the scorching sun (or rain or cold, guess it depends on when you visit).
Gyeongbokgung Palace & King Sejong Statue
I passed this palace many times as I would walk from Myeongdong to the Hanok village and this is the route Naver map would take me, but they had a lot of road works surrounding the palace walls so I only noticed the top of one of the buildings on the palace ground.
There’s also a big statue of one of the most loved kings (specifically King Sejong) outside of the grounds that I walked past many times as well as the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
Fun fact: King Sejong created the Korean alphabet
To be completely honest, after seeing the Changdeokgung Palace I wasn’t bothered to go to these palace grounds. So my friend told me about a spot where I can see the palace from above.
We went to the top floor of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History (free entry!) and he wasn’t lying, you can see the palace grounds, the two statues and the surrounding roads. Was a great way for me to see the palace without going inside!
Additional Sights From Exploring The Streets of Seoul
Exploring Myeongdong
The main thing I did in Myeongdong was eat haha. So besides eating I just walked around the area and stumbled upon the night market (see food blog) and a street with lots of shops selling skincare products.
Everyone knows that Korean’s don’t play with their skincare so I had to stop off and buy some products to take home. I must say it was considerably cheaper! I’m not much of a shopper so I literally went into one shop, bought the products I wanted and I was done with my shopping for the trip.
Exploring Han River
The cooking class I went to was near Han River so my new friends and I decided to go for a stroll by the river. It was very peaceful with not many people around but it’s probably because we went during the day on a Tuesday haha.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet gotten into the K-Drama hype so I don’t think I truly appreciated the iconic river I was walking by. I heard that in K-Dramas, the characters often go by the river to cry or they eat ramen by the river.
Note to self: watch some K-Drama before visiting Korea again
*See the Seoul Food Blog for information on the cooking class
Exploring Hongdae
So as I mentioned previously, I’m not into shopping and apparently that’s the purpose of going to Hongdae.
So for me Hongdae was kinda boring. I saw some of the street performers, walked around the streets and then left unimpressed. However, if you’re into shopping and nightlife then feel free to check out Hongdae and let me know how you find it! (See Contact page for how to get in touch 😉)
Dongdaemun Area
Check out my night time stroll with the amazing musician playing in the background on Tik Tok: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLV1Qofp/
I walked around this area after I visited some other areas and my highlight was seeing a guy busking on a quiet street. It was absolutely beautiful!
I literally felt like I was in a romantic movie strolling down a beautiful street with background music playing as something amazing was about to happen.
I’m not sure if it’s a usual thing that happens on that street but I hope so! If you walk around the city walls, you should stumble upon this street.
I also saw the dongdaemun plaza which had a futuristic look to it, but after seeing it for 5 seconds I felt like okay I’m good, so not something you need to go out of your way to see haha.
Insadong
Similar to Hongdae, this area wasn’t really for me since it was mainly for shopping. If you’re into antique shops, tea shops & art galleries then it may be for you! However, I dropped by just to see the area since it was quite close to Dongdaemun.
Heads up!
- Be prepared for the many stairs! Great thing is that you’ll get your steps in easily🚶🏾♀️
- Download Naver Map to help you get around, Google Map doesn’t work so well in S.Korea
- For Taxis download Tada & Kakao (you can pay with card or cash in the taxi even when you book through the app)
- Download the Korean language on your translation app so you can use it even if you have no internet connection
- Download Airalo for data – provides you with different eSim packages so you can have data on the go
- Make sure you have cash for the food markets
- Add the Korean keyboard on your phone, so if you need help from someone they can type places out for you or so you can type out the name of certain places (many places are named with Korean characters)
- Most museums are closed on a Monday, so make sure you check before going!
A few places I’d visit / things I would do if I go back…
- Take a flight to Jeju and explore
- Visit the Lotte department store
- Have ramen by Han River
- Spend some time in arcades
- See the Banpo Bridge show
- Explore Itaewon’s streets & bars (I went to one restaurant in the evening and one bar during the day in Itaewon but I didn’t have a chance to properly explore Itaewan at night)