Top Things in Seoul 🇰🇷 — Family Vagabonders

The capital of South Korea; Seoul is a remarkable and vibrant city that was truly captivating to explore for a week. We stayed in Bukchon Hanok Village, a historical part of town that I recommend visiting for its beautiful and picturesque houses. Here are some equally interesting places to visit:

The inside of Gyeongbokgung Palace. So beautiful!

Gyeongbokgung Palace (cover picture): As large as its name suggests, this palace is incredible! Built-in 1394 by King Taejo, it was used as a residency for the country’s early kings and their families. The palace complex is massive, stretching for more than 400,000 square meters! The buildings are impressive, not only the size but the colors and architecture are stunning. Entry tickets are around $2.50 per adult and $1.20 for children 7-18. However, wearing a hanbok (the traditional Korean outfit) grants you free access. There are many shops near the palace where you can rent these outfits! And although we didn’t rent the outfits, it’s adorable to see locals and tourists dressing up. Definitely a must!

Seoul Tower: Situated on the top of a hill, Seoul Tower offers a great view of the surrounding city. There is a cable car to get to the top, but we walked, which was a pretty hike up. On the way, we stopped by an archery range and watched some of the old techniques they used, which was super cool! There are many trails leading up to the tower and great place for a hike. It was safe, clean and pretty.
National Museum of Korea: This museum was huge! With multiple floors, it had a wide variety of history. One of my personal favorites was the Buddhist section, which included a large collection of varying statues of Buddha and Buddhavistas. The other sections are pretty interesting as well, including a couple of different sections about the history of South Korea, going way back and exploring the history of the cavemen!

One of the Buddha statues on the National Museum of Korea!

Bongeunsa & Jogyesa Temples:
- Bongeunsa - Home to a massive Buddha statue, this temple is in the middle of the busy Gangnam district. It’s got a lot of different areas and buildings, as well as a lush garden.
- Jogyesa - One of my personal favorites! Not only is the main temple impressive with its amazingly vibrant colors and intricate carving, but they also have a beautiful display of hanging lanterns, stretching out like veins from a huge tree next to the temple. This is definitely worth a visit! They also have information for temple stays, where you can spend time at a temple and follow the monk traditions.

The Jogyesa Temple, with it’s beautiful carving and amazing lantern display!

Madeline holding up the Lotte World Tower!

Lotte World Tower: Being the world’s fifth tallest skyscraper, it’s a very busy spot. There’s a huge mall at the bottom, with fancy stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and more. Other than the tower, there’s also a vast garden and lake, which is fun to walk through.

Dongdaemun, Gyeongdong, Namdaemun, & Myeong Dong markets:
- Dongdaemun - A haven for shopping lovers, this market is full of fashion, clothing, and more.
- Gyeongdong - This is a really fun market! Very Korean and lots of locals selling a wide range of things, from bags of dried fish to spices, sugarcane, corn, and countless others.
- Namdaemun - This market is more narrowed down to clothing, but there is also quite a bit of street food that you can find here.
- Myeong Dong - A very very busy pedestrian-only avenue filled with typical Korean street food. There are a lot of stores, with tons of different things that they offer. It’s super fun though!
Myeongdong Kyoja Restaurant: Super popular Korean restaurant chain that has absolutely fantastic food! They only offer four dishes, but they’re all equally amazing. It’s always super busy and crowded, and you can expect a waiting line. But it is so worth it, as the food is delicious!

Ring Making: We had a wonderful experience with a Korean artisan, during which each of us crafted a unique and customized ring! The rings were made of silver, but the process was fascinating. We worked with a pliable substance that was mostly clay. Throughout the heating process, the clay was completely ‘burned out’, resulting in a pristine silver ring. We used THIS AirBnB experience, and it was a blast! I highly recommend this woman, as she was very kind, explanative, and knowledgeable in her work.

Reflexology Paths: Throughout most parks in Seoul, one of our favorite things was the reflexology paths. This is basically a short path with a variety of rocks scattered in the pavement, which allows for a very massaging walk through the path. It was frequently filled with old Koreans talking, walking, and massaging their feet, which was great. Even though it might not sound fun to walk on rocks, it was done in a way that never quite hurt but massaged just the right amount to leave your feet feeling wonderful after walking through it. You should definitely check it out!

Seoul was a super fun city to stay, with all of its twisting streets and its busy and bustling downtown. The flavors of typical Korean food were fantastic, and all of the great attractions make it a fun city to explore!