How to enjoy Seoul

Best thing is to see what kind of traditions and life style we have. Since we have over 5000 years history, surely there are so many interesting traditions as well as food.

If you are staying for a few days, then visit one of the beautiful palaces in the city center, which is Kyungbok-kung(palace) and Duksu-Kung. And try to stroll around Insa-dong area where you can find many antique shops, traditional Korean food restaurants, souverier shops, tea houses, Hanbok (Korean traditional costume) boutiques and a lot more. This street is no-car street in Sundays and there are many small festivals over the weekend.

For the nightlife and fusion foods, visit Chungdam-dong and Apkujong-dong, so called 'Beverly Hills of Korea'. Lots of trendy bars and restaurants are in these areas.

For cheap shopping, visit Dongdaemun market. It is the shopping mecca of the Asia and you will shop almost 24 hours and quality and design of the clothes are very good.

Quick Tips:

If you have some time to explore other than Seoul in Korea, then I strongly recommend you go to one of the mountains in Korea. Mountains occupy more than 70% of our land and there are so many beautiful mountains. My favorite one is Solak-san(mountain) in Kangwon-do on the east coast of Korea. If you want nice relaxing holiday destinations, then go to Cheju Island, it is called the Hawaii of Korea. I have visited several times already but I never get tired of going there. It has fantastic beaches, highest mountain in South Korea in the middle, folk villages, camping grounds, many waterfalls and beautiful landscapes.

Best Way To Get Around:

Within Seoul, Subway is the best way of getting around without being caught in a traffic jam. And also the cheapest way.

Number 1 foreign visitor`s complaint is always about the taxi drivers. It is mainly because they cannot communicate with them. However some of the taxies have started to use the translation service recently, so if you want to be sure, you can find the taxi with `Foreign Language Service` sticker or the normal one.

However, don`t be surprised even if the taxi driver accepts another passenger after you sit in the back. It is still normal in Korea to share a taxi with the people having similar destinations. If you don`t like it then, find the black taxi with the yellow cab on. It is more expensive but it doesn't do cab sharings.

If you are in Korea, I would like to recommend you have Bulgogi (Marinated beef), Bibimbab (steamed rice mixed with many vegitables) and Kimchi (This is the favorite side dish of Korea. It has so much variety but it`s all nice if you can bear some hot food generally - there is white Kimchi as well which is not hot at all)

At Sokparang, it is all the set course menu starting from 28,000 won to 65,000. All food is traditional court food. I am sure that you can try many famous dishes of Korea. But I don`t think that you can taste Bibimbab in the course meal. You can try that at some other places. If you are flying with Korean Air, then try Bibimbab for the meal. It is very excellent compared to other plastic food!=)] Generally, I think it`s worth to try once the court course meal when you are in here.

This restaurant is located in the summer palace for Hungson-Daewon-Gun (King). So, you can have a look at what kind of building style noble society had in Chosun Dynasty.

Local Vendor snacks are excellent! You should try at least one or two. Most famous one is for Ddukbokggi which is the rice cake boiled in chilly paste and powder. Sounds hot, huh?
Menu is varied from Boiled Seafood cake with hot soup ('0deng'), Sizzled chicken sticks, roasted cuttle fish, baked bun in Goldfish shape ('Pulbbang.'), Fried Sweet Potato sticks, Rolled rice (Kimbab), Hot bread with sweet syrup inside ('Hodduk'), Sugar Candy (Popkki), Egg bread and so on. You can see that how many kind of snacks are selling in the street.
Visit one of crowded streets for young people such as Chongro-2-ga, Daehakro and Kangnamyuk, then you will see many of them. I will try to take photos of these snacks to show you how it looks, so wait for a while.

If you are with Kids, try to visit Lotte World. It has a amusement park and it is regarded as the best one in Seoul. It has famous Vikings, roller coasters, and many many others. Also it as many reataurants where you can eat.

It also has a little museum where you can have a look of old Korean way of life. It has a wonderful miniatures of Korean traditional buildings and palaces, too.

Seoul is known as the Shopping Mecca in the Asian Countries. Dongdaemun is especially famous for its specialty for apparel. It nearly opens 24 hours and buyers are coming from near countries such as Japan, China, Hong Kong and Russia. It is cheap in price and very good in quality. I often shop there and most famous shopping mall is Milliore and Doota in Dongdaemun. Kwanghee market is specialized in leather clothes. Try to shop there while you are in Seoul. You will be more than satisfied. In many shops you can pay with your credit cards, however, still cash is most welcome in here. Try to bargain when you buy, but bargain isn't deep here.

Nameaemun is also another huge local market in Seoul and it sells all items you want to buy. This market has several specialized sectors as well as shopping malls. So, it is a good fun to stroll around the huge crowd in here. There are sectors for leather goods, baby clothes, travel bags, decoration items, flowers, imported goods, gift items including Korean traditional stuff, clocks, accessories, and so on.

Dangdaemun means East Gate of ancient Seoul and Namdaemun means South Gate. So, you can see the beautiful Korean gates. Namdaemun is also close to Myungdong which is another retail shopping streets and is located in the center of Seoul. From there you can reach famous palaces such as Kyungbok gung & Unhyun gung, Piwon (secret garden) and Insa-dong within 10 minutes bus or taxi ride.

1) Don`t be mad when people touch you and never say `I am sorry.` You know if you are living in a crowded city like Seoul, it is hardly impossible to be somewhere without bumping into someone. But in that case, we Koreans usually don`t say `I am sorry.` since it`s happening all the time. But I know that foreigners think that Koreans are rude because of that. So, please understand this if you are facing it. *^ ^*
2) I think you would be better to know some basic Koreans.
Hello! = `An-nyung-ha-se-yo! or An-nyung.`
Thank you! = `Gam-sa-hab-ni-da.`
How much? = `Earl-ma-ye-yoh?`
Where is...? = `.... o-di-ye-yo?`
Subway = `Jun-Cheol`

Recently, Seoul Metropolitan Government started to operate a Seoul City Tour Bus. It covers major touristic attractions. So, if you are here in Seoul for a short visit, try to hop in this bus line.
You can buy the tickets in Hotels, DFS, and even inside the bus. Fee is varied depends on the purpose and the ticket. And you can get the bus every 25 minutes.
Introdutions are played in 4 languages, Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese)

Fees
One time ticket Adult : 1,200 won (About 1US$) Student : 1,000 won Children : 800 won
Day Course Ticket (Runs from 8:00a.m. to 18:00 p.m.) 5,000 won for all ages
Night Course Ticket (from 18:00 p.m. to 24:00 p.m.) 5,000 won for all ages
All Day Ticket 8,000 won for all ages

Itinenaries
For Daytime : Kwangjwamun(DFS), Duksu-gung(Palace), Lotte Hotel, Pukchang-dong, Seoul station, Naedaemun Market, Itaewon, Crown Hotel, Myungdong (Shopping Mecca), Namsangol Hanok(Korean Traditional House) Maul(town), Sofitel Ambassador Hotel, National Theatre, Namsam Seoul tower, Hyatt Hotel, Tower Hotel, Shilla Hotel, Dongdaemun Market (Biggest Shopping Mecca which runs 24 hours), Daehak-ro (Many theatres and restaurants are there), Changkyong-gung (Palace), Changduk-gung, Unhyun-gung, Insa-dong, Chogye-sa(temple), Chongwadae (President's residence), National Folk Museum(Kyungbok-gung), Police Museum, Sejong Cultural Center, Kwanghwa-mun
For Night Time : Kwanghwamun(DFS), Duksu-gung, Lotte Hotel, Pukchang-dong, Seoul Station, Namdaemun Market, Itaewon, Crown Hotel, Myungdong, Namsan Hanok Maul, Sofitel Ambassador Hotel, National Theatre, Namsan Seoul Tower, Hyatt Hotel, Tower Hotel, Shilla Hotel, Dongdaemun Market, Daehak-ro, Insa-dong, Sejong Cultural Center, Kwanghwamun
For more detailed information, please check http://tourism.metro.seoul.kr