Are you a fan of K-Drama, K-pop or South Korea in general ? This little guide is made for you!
Here are a few advices to prepare well for your trip to the capital city of South Korea.
Step 1 : Book your flight tickets
It’s not easy to save some money for a trip in a country you don’t know much about. What budget is needed? How much is the plane? How to find a room? Many questions we will try to give answers to in this article.
South Korea is, for most of us, a far country and it is preferable, considering the numerous hours that separate us from the country of the morning calm, to go at least for 2 weeks, so you can enjoy the travel and get used to the jetlag. Of course, the final duration of your stay is entirely up to you.
After thinking about your ideal duration of your stay, time will come to think about the period you want to go to South Korea. Even if the seasons are mostly the same than in Europe, remember that winter is very cold and dry and summer is hot and heavy due to humidity, especially since it rains a lot. During spring, you would be able to enjoy the cherry blossom trees while, during fall, you could enjoy the wonderful and astonishing colors of autumn.
You need to know that the price of the flights tickets will always evolve, including the period you will go. July and August will be the most expensive months when February and March will have the lowest prices. During summer, prices are about 1000€ to 1200€ rather than 700€ in general for the “less attractive” months.
Step 2 : Choose your room
Here again, you have many possibilities waiting for you. When you can just book a room in a hotel, you can also rent an apartment, a room at a host’s place, a bed in a dormitory or even find a friend who can be your host. There are a lot of websites which will bring you all the answers you need to find : price, place, duration…
Most know of those websites are, of course, BOOKING or even AIRBNB. There are a lot of other websites available, such as EXPEDIA, ABRITEL, etc. Your room will entirely depend on the budget you will want to spend on it and the place where you will want to stay.
For example, if you like to party at night and stay in a place where you can do that (subway stops quite early), it is preferable to choose a livingful place such as Hongdae, for example, which is know for late night parties. Whether they are korean or foreigner, people know that this is where you can party at night, in Seoul. If you prefer a central position, you’d better find a room in places such as Myeongdong.
Step 3 : Prepare your activities and visits
There are a lot of websites and blogs where you can follow the path of some people who visited South Korea. Making research on the internet or buying books such as travel guides, which will help you to organize your trip in advance, seems to be a good idea. For example, do you wish to only stay in Seoul? This question really depends on the duration of your trip. Those numerous websites will be able to give you some help to prepare your journey.
Regarding the activities, you can find a lot of those that you can book in advance on websites such as TRAZY or KLOOK, which are specialised in South Korean activities for TRAZY or are a bit more global for KLOOK that offers worldwide activities. If you anticipate your activities, it will be easier for you to deal with your final budget in Korea. Think about not overbooking your planning so you can keep some time for unexected surprising activities.
Step 4 : Money
How much should you keep for transports and food ?
It’s fresh new and we love it : from 2024 January 27th, theCLIMATE CARD will be launched in Seoul : it’s a transportation card that will allow its owner to take, unlimitedly, subway, bus and even bikes for an amount between 62000KRW and 65000 KRW for a month, which is about 43€ to 45€. It’s a very good news for people who will stay more than 2 weeks in the capital City. We are waiting for more informations.
https://twitter.com/encoreedusud/status/1737269369410109594
A regular use for the subway (less than 10km) currently costs 1250KRW which is about 0.87€. It’s better, then, to calculate the rentability or not to buy the card.
Then comes the question about food : which budget is necessary? It’s very easy and useful to eat at the restaurant or in the streets of Seoul. The price for a “regular” restaurant is way cheaper than here. For example, to eat in a fastgood is a bit less than 5€ and to eat in a “regular” restaurant is about 10€ to 15€, in general. Regarding streetfood, you can find food for 1~2€ so it will mostly depends on your apetite. To expect a budget of 15€ per day, for food, seems to be quite correct.
Step 5 : Things you can’t miss
This list of “do not miss” places is not exhaustive and absolutely subjective : there is not all the things you must see in Korea and it mostly depends of what you expect from your travel.
- Visit the Great Palace wearing a Hanbok
If there’s a memory you should not miss, it’s the one visiting the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the biggest one of the 5 palaces, wearing a traditionnal korean outfit. Outside the fact that you would show your respect for the country’s culture (and the fact that you can visit any palace without entrance fees), there’s no greater satisfaction than waendering in those aisles full with history wearing a historical outfit. If I should visit only one palace, I would choose this one.
=> Think about checking the hours for the changing of the Guard so you don’t miss the ceremony.
- Visit the Namsan Tower
One of the most touristical place of Seoul, the Namsan Tower (N Seoul Tower) shows off a 360° panorama of Seoul, one of the biggest cities of the world. You will start with a bridge where you will see hundreds (thousands!) of lockers sealing young couple’s love before going up to the highest observatory of the city (479 meters!) to realize the immensity of the capital city that extends everywhere out of sight. Good to know: everyday (except for Monday) at 3pm you can see a demonstration of traditionnal martial arts I recommend you to see. Little annecdote : go to the restroom when you’re up there!
=> A bit more : Think about visiting the Namsangol Hanok Village, which is right next to there and which keeps the Time Capsule !
- Visit a palace at the end of the day
Once again, I’m litteraly biased but I’ve loved the lights when I have visited a palace at nightfall. The entire palace changes face and shows a new beauty in the artificial lights. Here are a few pictures of the Deoksugung Palace when the night was approaching.
- (Re)Discover DMZ’s history
DMZ is the demilitarized zone, the korean no man’s land between South and North. It has been created in 1953 during the Panmunjeom armistice (Panmunjeom is a village inside the zone). On a full day or half-day program, go to discover the country’s history with a guide (mandatory) spécialized that will take you, from afar of course, to see the southest frontiers of North Korea. This visit can be made in English and there will be places you can take a photo of.
=> Did you know? The war between South Korea and North Korea is not over.
- Visit the President’s house
President’s house, most commonly called the BLUE HOUSE, is (was) the official house and office of the President of South Korean Republic. It’s historical fact : it has been opened, for the first time, to public in 2022. It’s a house you won’t see again, with its achitecture remembering the palaces in blue tones and its blue roofs. It is considered, by the actual President, as a symbol of power. Thus, he decided to “give it back to the people” and moved the presidence in the Ministry of Defence.
- Go to Lotte World
If you like attraction parks, you definitely need to go ! It’s one of the biggest indoor attraction park of the world, even when it also has an outdoor space. It’s recommended to avoid National Days and weekends because it gets easily crowded.
- Visit a Temple
Christianism and Buddhism are the 2 widest religions in South Korea. Buddhist temples are as amazing and beautiful as palaces you will get the chance to visit. Here are a few pictures of the Bongeunsa Temple, located in Gangnam, next to the COEX.
- Wandering in the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village
Thee Bukchon Hanok Village is the most known among all Seoul’s Hanok Villages. 600 years old, it’s built up with old traditionnal korean houses that have been renovated and that are where the aristocracy was living back in Kings era. Check the opening time before you go !
- Go shopping in Myeongdong
Myeongdong is one of the most famous places for shopping and streetfood. You also can change your € to KRW there, which is, very often, the cheapest one in Seoul.
- List of random places to visit
*Go see Buskings! Buskings are amateur shows in the street. You’ll find some in Hongdae, or even Yeouido, in the evening up to 22pm. You will find singers, dancers and sometimes even fire eaters, who’s shows will be enthusiatic.
*Go to coffees! There are litteraly everywhere. Some of them are even uniques, with special themes such as KORIKO Café which offers you a theme based on Ghibli’s studios, the KING’S CROSS Café based on Harry Potter’s theme, the GREEM Café with its 2D’s style decoration or even the LOL’S Café with its different parts inside the same coffee (Ghibli, Anime, Kpop…), etc.
*If you like KPOP, participate to THE SHOW or another show, maybe even prices shows! Even if you don’t speak korean, the atmosphere is amazing! And you will see the other side of your favorite shows.
*Still if you like KPOP, go to your favorite artists’s company buildings!
Step 6 : More advices (non exhaustive list)
*Think about having a credit card that allows international payments with very low fees. Indeed, on the websites but also in Korea, you will pay in a different currency and this can generate extra fees if you don’t get the information before. You should call your bank or open an account on one of those free online banks that have no fees for international currencies (there are many available : Revolut, N26, Boursorama, etc…). It is also preferable to have Mastercard rather than Visa as, sometimes, Visa don’t accept payments.
*Think about buying a simcard (physical or e-sim) or wifi router so you can enjoy free unlimited internet connexion. You can easily find all-included simcards on the internet (ChinguMobile, for example) with useful pickup points (at the airport, for example). Or you can also contact your provider and ask for international communications during your stay. Even where there is wifi connexions mostly everywhere in Seoul, it’s practical to have your own so you don’t get constantly disconnected and risk extra fees.
*If you make big buys, think about showing your passeport so you won’t pay tax.
*Make currency change when you arrive : go straight to Myeongdong so you can change money with the lowest fees of Seoul. You can also start your shopping there.
*If you don’t get the CLIMATE CARD, buy your T-MONEY CARD directly at the airport. Beware that you can only charge with cash so think about withdrawing money at the airport.
*To go from the airport to Seoul, there are limousine buses or subway. If you want to take a cab, there is no need to book it before, in general.
Step 7 : MOST OF ALL Enjoy your holidays !
Hoping that this little guide helped/gave you some ideas, have good holidays.
Journalist : Natacha
Translation : Natacha
Photos : Natacha
