South Korea has been on our travel wishlist for the longest time, finally an opportunity came along: a week with three public holidays in it, can’t pass that up! And perfect timing too, end of April in the middle of spring, not too cold and not too hot. With only a week available to us choices had to be made and Seoul and Busan were chosen. Jeju was high on the list too but having to fly rather than just take a train made us pause. Our wonderful German neighbours Bennes and Sabine joined us for the week. Thank you for a fab trip!! Was super fun, memorable and very special.
We were really looking forward to super organised cities, public transport, outdoor spaces, and clean air. Indeed, it was all that, however Incheon Airport left us wanting more and did not leave a good first impression of the country. Surprisingly Incheon airport is not that well sign posted. It took ages to work out where to get a sim card, how to get cash (none of the ATMs were not working so we had to exchange USD), where and how to get a T Money public transport card, how to get a bus into the city. Some sign posting would be really helpful! When we did work it out, the limousine bus into the city was great and took us straight to the accommodation. We purchased separate tickets but you can use a T Money card also. Highly recommend.
In Seoul we rented a full apartment and were very happy with the choice, it was very comfortable and convenient, and the owner was very kind and hospitable and made some great restaurant suggestions. That first day was low key after a short and not very restful overnight flight. We kept it local with brunch at what would become a favourite cafe, a walk in the nearby park to see some royal tombs, a walk to the huge Bongeunsa Temple complex (famous for its location on prime real estate in Gangnam District), and a walk through the underground CoEx Mall to find the Starfield Library (somewhat disappointing). The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at the apartment sharing our favourite tunes.
Royal Tombs in the nearby historical park
Starfield Library at the underground Coex Mall
The first day of sight seeing was reserved for the royal palaces in the city. There are 5 and we aimed to visit two plus the Bukchon Hanok Village connecting the two. First up on that Sunday was the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest of the five palaces in Seoul. Gyeongbok means ‘the new dynasty shall have good fortunes and prosper’ and this palace was built in 1395 as the primary residence for the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. We didn’t realise it was Korean Cultural week starting the weekend we arrived and EVERYONE was wearing a traditional hanbok lol. Even though the palaces were much fuller than we were expecting, it was not over crowded.
After lunch we walked through the traditional Bukchon Hanok Village to the Changdeokgung Palace. Built by King Taejong in 1405 as a secondary palace to Geongbokgung, the palace is known for its Secret Garden taking up ~60% of the palace grounds. Sadly we missed the Secret Garden as available tickets for the day were already sold out. However, we did experience some traditional music and dancing thanks to cultural week.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
In the streets of the traditional Bukchon Hanok Village
The next day started at Gwanghwamun Square with the statue of King Sejong the Great and of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and then a walk along Cheonggyecheon Stream. Cheonggyecheon is a restored urban river incorporating a public park running through the heart of downtown Seoul. This celebrated green space includes 22 bridges, waterfalls, stepping stones, lush pedestrian walkways, and often hosts seasonal events. We loved walking here! What a breath of fresh air in a busy city. So many locals had come out to eat lunch, have a coffee meeting, read, relax, and break up the work day. Clearly a beloved space in the city and it’s easy to see why. We wish we had something like this in our city!
We passed by the well-known cultural area of Insadong on our meanderings and also went to find the Gwanjang market but it was not what we expected so we didn’t stay long. The last stop of the day was the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). Several prominent architects were invited to participate in a design competition to rebuild Dongdaemun stadium into a public park, Zaha Hadid won with her design of the world’s largest atypical 3D building. The futuristic complex features a giant mushroom-like structure made from over 40 000 aluminium panels above ground, underground spaces, a history park, a culture park, and rooftop garden spaces. The DDP opened in 2014 and hosts fashion shows, exhibitions, and design events.
Gwanghwamun Square with the statue of King Sejong the Great and of Admiral Yi Sun-sin
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Streets of Insadong
The day ended with one of the most memorable meals of the trip. Our host Jay recommended a local Korean restaurant that only serves a seasonal set menu, advanced booking required. We had no idea what we were in for, but wow, it was amazing! They kindly accommodated Bron’s vegetarian and no garlic, onion, chilli request with many tofu substitutions lol. The menu included grilled fish, a seasonal seafood platter, savoury pancakes platter, steamed pork, oxtail soup, and a raw crab dish with raw egg and rice (it looked gooey but was very nice apparently but also probably a one off experience lol). A very enjoyable evening! Thank you Jay for the suggestion!
A fantastic set menu dinner, one of the bets meals of the trip
The next day was museum day! First up: the gigantic Korean National Museum. Housing over 42 000 artifacts over three floors, it is the sixth largest museum in the world by floor space. Each floor has several rooms with different themes. Even though the museum is big, it wasn’t overwhelming. Each room is carefully curated and not overcrowded with items. Even though there were a lot of people present, it never felt overly full due to the large amount of floor space. We limited ourselves to 90 minutes in the museum and it was the perfect amount of time to have a walk through of each room. Allow more time or multiple visits to investigate areas of interest more closely.
The most impressive permanent feature is the digital Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great, a memorial stone erected by his son in 414. The original stele is carved out of a single mass of granite and stands at 6.39 m tall with a girth of ~4 m. It is engraved with the military conquests of the king amongst other things. It is the largest engraved stele in the world and is a major primary source of history for the area. It’s really interesting and obviously close to the hearts of Koreans as there is also a full replica in the garden of the War Memorial and we also saw one further south near Busan. Rubbed copies have been made of the original and the classical Chinese has been analysed.
It was spring and the whole city was in bloom, it was really lovely
Our last day in Seoul arrived and since it was a beautiful sunny day, we headed to the section of the Seoul Wall near the DDP. The 18.6 km fortress wall encircling the original capital was built in 1396, still stands, and today is a scenic restored hiking trail along the ridges of the four main inner mountains and includes eight gates. It is quite up and down lol, but we enjoyed a lovely morning stroll with a coffee break at one of the many cafes overlooking the city along the way. We really wanted to visit the Wall Museum but only realised where it was when we were already up a steep hill and didn’t feel like going back down and up again lol. Highly recommend a walk along one of the sections of the wall if you visit Seoul!
And then it was the last night in Seoul! Thank you Seoul for a fab time!
The next day we took the high speed train to Busan. See you next time for more fun in Busan!
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