Before school started, I took a quick trip to Seoul, Korea
with one of my best friends. It was a short stay, crammed between the ending of
our internships and the beginning of school. In just three days and two nights,
we tried to see as much as we could.
Where We Stayed
We booked an Airbnb for our trip, located in Jongno. The
location was pretty central to a lot of the things we wanted to see. We were able
to walk to Myeongdong and Gyeongbokgung Palace quite easily, and there were
many shops and restaurants around the Airbnb itself. It was also located right
by a little river which was super nice to walk along.
How We Got Around
To get from and to the airport, we took the airport bus.
Tickets can be purchased at the counter inside the airport and the employees
are very accommodating. It was definitely not a short ride, but the bus into
the city was extremely fancy. Going back to the airport, though, was more of
your standard tour bus.
Once in Seoul, we relied mostly on walking and taking the
metro. Only once did we take a taxi because it was late at night, but we found
that the taxi driver couldn’t speak English nor Mandarin. The metro was very
affordable, but the taxi was actually quite reasonably priced as well.
What We Did
Myeongdong
To be quite honest, neither of us were there for the
shopping. I personally felt like most of the things there I could get in
Taiwan, so the shops weren’t a huge priority for me. But Myeongdong was very
busy when we went on a Sunday afternoon, and in the evenings, there is a night
market filled with amazing street food. You’ll see a lot of shop employees
standing in the streets trying to give you a free face mask to lure you into
their store. But if you take it, and don’t buy anything, they’ll take it back.
Fair warning, they can be quite aggressive as you walk by.
One of the most interesting things about walking through
Myeongdong was the sheer amount of BTS I saw. I am personally not a huge K-pop
fan, but I have friends who are. I can imagine if you love K-pop how exciting
this environment would be. The only item of clothing of bought in Korea: a set
of BTS socks for my friend.
Gyeongbokgung
The highlight of our Seoul trip would have to be our photo
shoot at Gyeongbokgung. We booked an Airbnb experience that
included a three-hour photo shoot in the palace and discounted prices at a
hanbok rental store. The photographers (there were two!) met us at a nearby
cafe and brought us to the hanbok rental store. The employees help you pick out
a beautiful hanbok and do your hair. Then, we headed over to the palace for
photos!
The photos turned out amazing, and honestly, some of them
look like stock photos in the best way possible. The photographers help you
pose, so you don’t have to worry about looking awkward. They were both super
friendly and made the entire experience very fun. They edit ten of the photos
for you, but send you all the ones they took, so we ended up with over 300
photos!
N Seoul Tower
N Seoul Tower was... N Seoul Tower. One of those places you
go once and feel like it’s enough. There was a pretty amazing 360 view of the
city from the top, but it was quite crowded especially at sunset. I would say
the highlight, for me, was the Hello Kitty Museum inside of it. You get to walk
through rooms of what would be Hello Kitty’s house and take cute pictures,
perfect for Hello Kitty fans of any age.
To get there from Myeongdong, we took a free shuttle to the cable
car and rode it up to the top. But since we were leaving slightly later, after
sunset, the shuttle service after the cable car stopped running. We saw a huge
line of taxis waiting to take people down the mountain, but when we asked the
cost to Myeongdong, which is literally less than a five minute ride, they said
it would cost $20. Clearly, they knew we didn’t have much of a choice and were
jacking up the prices so DEFINITELY be careful. We were not about to pay that
much for such a short ride, so we walked down which wasn’t bad either. It only
took around 15-20 minutes.
Dragon Hill Spa (Jjimjilbang)
Everyone had said one of the must-dos in Korea was a korean
spa, or a jjimjilbang, so we went to what is supposedly the biggest and best in
Seoul. We had a great time testing out all of the different baths and saunas that
had different mineral compositions and *healing powers*. Of course, at a jjimjilbang,
you also have to eat. We weren’t hungry (like at all), so we just tried the
famous eggs and sikhye rice drink.
I was a little disappointed because I forgot to check the
times for the scrubbing massage. I was totally looking forward to having my
dead skin ferociously scrubbed off by an ahjumma, but it was closed when we
went at night. Maybe it’ll give me another reason to come to Seoul.
Bukchon Hanok Village
By the time we made it to Bukchon Hanok Village, we were
pretty tired. It’s a steep climb, arguably a hike, with different paths that
you can take to reach photo spots. We took a shortcut and just visited one
photo spot instead of doing a full route. Once we got there, though, it was
really quite beautiful. You can see all of the traditional Korean houses and
neighborhoods, but do remember that those are actually people’s homes! Be
courteous and respectful if you decide to pay the village a visit.
Conclusion
Three days was not enough time to see Seoul in its fullness,
but it did leave me wanting to go back and discover more! If I do go back, I’ll
probably put more effort into learning Korean beforehand, so that I can
communicate better and travel beyond the major tourist hubs.
