Seoul Stole My Heart ❤️: Top 8 favorite places in Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷

Bettertravel/ May 27, 2019/ Asia, Travel/ 5 comments

Top eight favorite places in Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷

 

There’s so much I love about this city. There’s just too much. I can list a hundred things I love – may it be about their food, their culture, their fashion, their parks, and of course, all things K-beauty. But that would take a long time because no one these days have time to read a novel about a city. Lucky you if you do! People like quick answers, just like me, just because life gets really hectic sometimes. Especially if they’ll be visiting Seoul for only a couple of days, you’ll want to know everything and anything FAST! Therefore, I’ll impart here my top eight favorite places to go and things to do in Seoul. 

I’ve been here three times. First time as a tourist only going to all the tourist spots. I was intrigued by the city and because I only spent 3 days in Seoul, it was not enough. Due to this, came back for the second time. I wanted to get to know the city even more.  I wanted to learn their culture (I even learned how to speak Korean! No joke 😆). Finally, my most recent trip (now, Spring 2019) is to revisit my favorites ones again and check out other spots I missed the last two visits. I really find myself going back to this city… it definitely stole a spot in my heart – top 5 of all the cities I’ve been! If you haven’t been, give it a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

 

Here they go… my top 8 places to visit in Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷 

1.) Hongdae (Metro Station: Hongik University)

Nutshell: Trendy cafes meet best Korean fashion shopping district

Because this area draws a younger crowd, being closer to a university, there are a lot of trendy cafes for an afternoon hangout.  I love shopping for clothes in this area as they sell the latest fashion finds for great prices. Most of the products are made in Korea and very current! Some gives you discounts while others don’t so don’t be afraid to ask. Don’t forget to bring your passport as you can shop tax free 💰 Saving every bit counts.. then you’ll have extra dollar for some coffee and dessert!

Shopping street I like is on Wausan-ro 27 Gil. That whole street is packed with the best retail shops for clothes. It’s not as overwhelming as the actual Hongdae Shopping Street as it gets super busy and the quality isn’t that great at the stores around that area.

One of my go to cafes is Dessert Lab. 🧪🍰

Cakes are randomly shaped into pots of flower, cactus, fruit, or whatever they made for the day. They have a great selection of coffee  and tea products that can complement the dessert of your choice. Click this link to access in Google Maps this cafe and shopping street in Hongdae: Wausan-ro 27 Gil

 

You can also check out Dessert Younguso or Ban Bossy Boutique, they’re equally fantastic dessert places around the same area. Both trendy and super cute! Ladies, you’ll love these places, I promise. Gents, just tag along 🙂

 

2.) Myeongdong Night Market

(Metro Stations: Myeong-Dong or Eul-jiro 3-Ga)

Nutshell: Street food lovers meet K-Beauty lovers.

 

If you are a K-beauty fan, or if you need a proper introduction to K-beauty, this is the place to be! They have ALL the stores from A-Z of Korean brands from low to high end.  You’ll definitely have glowing glass skin from all the samples they give out. Then at night, after all the shopping, you’ll definitely feel hungry. Don’t fret, starting between 5-6pm, all the food stalls start setting shop right in front of the beauty stores. This is one of the best street food night markets in Seoul. They have everything from fish cakes on a stick (odeng), fire-grilled crab legs, egg bread (my favorite has cheese, sesame seeds, and almonds), grilled skewered meats and vegetables, tempura breaded seafood and vegetables, grilled octopus, ice cream as tall as your head, I mean, it goes on and on.

I suggest you take your time and try a dish at a time and share with your friends (or whoever you’re traveling there with).  That way, you get to try more dishes from different stalls. Remember, sharing is caring 😊 

**Some K-Beauty stores you’ll enjoy: Innisfree, Olive Young, Aritaum, Holika Holika, and 3CE at Stylenanda. 

 

3.) Gwangjang Market (Metro Station: Jongno)

Nutshell: Traditional Korean market

This has a mix of the wet market, traditional clothing, grocery items, produce stalls, household goods, souvenirs, and a food market section. So it’s a one stop shop – all about Korean goods. The food stalls are fun. They have benches or seats in front of each stall where you can enjoy the dishes you ordered. They have bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables and/or meat), gimbaps (sushi roll but with cooked meat and pickled vegetables), sundae (blood sausage – not 🍦), rice noodles, soups, bindaetteoks (mung bean pancakes – delish), and a lot more traditional dishes. 

We come here early mornings because the food is still super fresh and not so much crowd yet. This market makes you feel like you’re one of the locals. If you don’t speak Korean, it’s alright, you can point at what you want and they’ll be happy to help you out with big smiles on their faces. 

 

4.) Haneul Park (Metro Station: World Cup Stadium)

Nutshell:  Korean drama vibes in this dreamy Eualalia field park

First of all, you get to this park by going through the World Cup Park entrance. There are two options to get here. Either you go on a short hike up the hill for about 20 – 30 minutes by foot or you can take a golf cart looking shuttle by the entrance and pay about $7 for a roundtrip ticket. These tall wheat-field like, Eulalias, give you a heavenly feel while also giving you great background on your insta feed. On top of this, there are swings overlooking the city skyline and Han River where you can also take a break (probably the most romantic park in Seoul). It’s hard to describe this place with words, so maybe my pictures can help you understand what I mean.

Totally K-drama vibes right? 

 

5.) Naskan Park (Metro Stations: Hansung University or Dongdaemun)

Nutshell: Historic walls meet mural village

Naksan Park is another beautiful park set on top of Mt Naksan. I know, I know. You’d probably say you’re done with top of the hill parks because your calves and glutes are burning from the last park you visited (if you didn’t take the shuttle route).  BUT I PROMISE this one shouldn’t be missed!  The old fortress wall runs through the park and behind the walls are the scenic view of Mount Namsan / N Seoul Tower and the whole city! It’s got the best view of Seoul. The walls were built during the Joseon Dynasty to protect their city against invaders.

This park can be visited both day or night. At night time, you can see all the city lights twinkle below the Seoul tower. However, during the day, you can take a short walk down the hill to Iwha-Dong Mural Village. There were various artists who got together and made super cool wall murals around this neighborhood. The crowds love to take selfies in front of these walls. It’s listed as one of the most instagrammable places in Seoul. Plenty of these wall arts you see on social media probably came from this neighborhood.

 

Seems like with every hike up the hill, we’re also working out. Hence, we can eat more goodies at the next spot I’m about to talk about. 

 

6.) Gangnam Station Area (Metro Station: Gangnam)

Nutshell: Restaurant haven

This area has the best selection of affordable, casual style Korean restaurants. Behind the Gangnam Station (Teheran-ro 1 Gil) is a street packed with different places to eat, mostly Korean cuisine. You can pick from spicy chicken fried rice, samgyetang (traditional ginseng chicken soup), pajeons (octopus and chive pancakes), and other most noteworthy Korean dishes! Also, whole bunch of cafes open almost 24 hours in this area. It’s where the workforce come out to eat after work hours. You’ll find them sitting outside the restaurant stalls and drinking after a long day.

Then there is Game Board Cafe. It’s a cafe / bar where you can play different kinds of game boards. They have a menu of game boards available for rent (monopoly, life, and a whole menu of other nostalgic games that reminded me of my childhood). So if you are just passing time, it’s a great place to hang out. You can order both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks here as well as some snacks.

 

7.) Cheonggyecheon Stream (Metro Station: Euljiro 1 (il)-ga)

Nutshell: Beautiful stream that cuts through downtown Seoul

It’s one of the most romantic walkways situated in the middle of downtown. At the end of the stream, there’s an art installment that changes every season. The stream is lit with lanterns at night and the walls are filled with beautifully groomed flowers during spring.

By the way, the end of the stream where the art installs are located is only a 15 minute walk from Myeongdong so if you are already in the area, and if you still have time, you can hit two spots in one day!

 

 

8.) Gyeongbokgung Palace (Metro Station: Gyeongbokgung / Government Complex Seoul)

Nutshell: Must see historic site in Seoul

A visit to Seoul isn’t complete if you don’t learn about their cultural history. Gyeongbokgung holds the main royal palace during the Joseon Dynasty. Due to this, it is the top historic site of Seoul. As a result, it’s also the most visited with hundreds of tourists every day. Want to enter the palace for free? Rent a traditional Korean formal attire (Hanbok) from one of the handful of Hanbok rental places around the palace. Similarly, you can actually go to any palaces around Seoul free of charge. It’s fun to play dress up for a day, and if you’re not into it, it’s still entertaining to watch tourists dressed up in these colorful and elaborate dresses. When we visited the palace, it was the middle of summer. We couldn’t bear to wear anything heavy or thick as we would build a pond of sweat in seconds.

It’s easy to get lost in this palace as it covers a large area. There are many palaces and houses, many gardens and temples you can visit, and if you’re like me who likes to take their time with every building, it can take you half to full day just wandering around here. There’s so much to learn.

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Although Seoul is a large, complex city, divided into different neighborhoods, most places are easy to get to. What’s the best transportation method in Seoul you might ask?  I love taking their metro system.  It’s a very reliable way to get from point A to B within the city. You can buy a T-Money Card from any convenience stores (7-eleven, C U, and other similar stores) for a little less than $3 and you can refill this anytime at the station or at the convenience stores.

T-Money is super handy because you can use this card to pay for metro, bus, and taxis. In addition, some cafes and restaurants accept this as a form of payment as well. It’s very handy to have one of these available especially if you’re staying within South Korea for 3 days or more. We used the same card in Busan and it worked!  Once you’re finally done with the card, don’t toss them away. You can also take it back to a convenience store and get your $3 deposit money back. I keep ours as we visit the city a lot.

Hope this got you prepared or helped you fill in the gaps with your Seoul itinerary.  There’s definitely more than 8 places or things to do in the city but these places I’ve listed above truly tickled my heart and certainly made me want to keep on coming back for more.

Maybe you’re tired after the top eight places we talked about. Maybe not? If you’re still up for more places to visit in the big city of Seoul, here’s another set of places you might like to check out:

• Bukchon Hanok Village (traditional Korean houses/buildings)
• Common Ground (the largest shopping store made out of shipping containers in the world.. so they say)
• Namsan Tower and Namsan Park (N Seoul Tower, you can ride a gondola to get to and from the top of the park)
• War Memorial of Korea (learn about the Korean War)

Best time to visit Seoul: End of March / Early April / Late November not only because of the lower airfare, but also due to less tourists. You can enjoy the city and take your selfies without 200 people photobombing you. 🙂

You can check out kayak.com and flyasiana.com for some cheap airfare rates. It’s best to book it about 4-6 weeks prior to your departure date for the best prices. Roundtrip airfare can be between $500-$600 during low season. There’s a possibility of lower airfare if you are fine with not having a direct flight. China Airlines offers great deals as well but there’s a layover either in China or Taiwan.

I love to see all your travel photos of Seoul. Tag me on some of your adventures on Instagram. You can find me @bettertravelwithme

Feel free to comment below for any questions or if you know any other cool places I must visit when I go back to Seoul. Please share them with me! I’d love to hear from you all.

Better travel with me… to Seoul!