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Hello my fellow TLers!
Tomorrow I'll pop in Seoul for a few days and in true TL tradition I decided to write a blog to ask about stuff to do and things to see. I'll land on Friday night with some friends and we'll be staying in Itaewon area. In broad sense we're going to visit some of the old palaces, dedicate a one night for KBBQ and possibly another for a night out as it apparently is the first week of uni semester in Korea so nightlife should be fun!
My pals are out for a DMZ tour on Saturday morning, I didn't sign up for one as I planned to go to Pyeongchang in the meanwhile but that plan changed. So I'm on my own for the Saturday morning until early afternoon and would love to hear suggestions for what to do then. I'm likely going to take the time for just wandering about the city and breathing the air and enjoying the atmosphere, but if there are specific recommendations I am more than happy to hear them!
So for those of you with in-depth knowledge and experiences, are there things to do/see/eat/drink that you very much recommend to a bunch of students (UK/US/AUS/FIN) to do in Seoul? The trip is very short, as in some of us fly back already early Tuesday morning, I myself get back Tuesday night so I have Tuesday to spend there too! I'm also up to meeting fellow TLers over drinks or something if someone is keen to, would be fun to see another TL user in real life, sort of makes everyone to seem a bit more like real people  I can even wear my Hungrybox t-shirt so we can take a TL picture to upload here!
Apart from that I'll try to post some pics if I remember to take them and they look alright (or I'll ask if I can use my friends', I'm not the best at photography.
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I lived in Incheon for a year and went to Seoul about a dozen times. Here's what I'd do if I ever go back. Get drunk and go to a Noraebang. Check out New Village Restaurant (새마을식당), there's one in Hongdae if you get a chance to make it over there. I only went to Itaewon once and my takeaway was that it was very touristy and full of foreigners. Tons of shops and stuff to do, though. There's a Taco Bell there, I think. I enjoyed Hongdae much more, way more down to earth and hip since it's a university town. Utilize taxis and the subway, you can get all over the city very cheaply and quickly. If you get any downtime and want to game just look around for a PC Bang, they are everywhere. Enjoy! I miss Korea.
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Man I wish had the opportunity to visit the Korean. I really never had this pleasure in my opinion. Probably owing to the fact that was unavailable. I'm not sure what the deal was or whaat prevented but I was pretty cool with Midian and the guys Rekrul etc. Really disapoiinting I never got to enjoy the aspect of Korean and the language not to mention the food. I hope you enjoy your time there and meet a lot of interesting people. I know Owen Wilson was there recently. He's great.
I'd really like to try some authentic Korean BBQ but there's rarely anything like that anywhere near me.
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It depends a lot on what you want to do... there are lots of options. Personally, DMZ is not interesting, so I wouldn't feel too bad about not going. Honestly, just walking around is a great idea. Good wandering places... again it depends, but Gangnam station or Myeongdong are very busy with lots of things for pedestrians to stop and look and look at / do pretty cheap. Insadong sells a lot of traditional/folk souvenirs and treats. HongDae is also popular, it's an arts university area and famous for younger people. Namsan is the mountain tower, it's very touristy/romantic but that can be fun too.
If you go to Gyeongbokgung (the main palace) you will be just down the street from Seoul's large urban temple, Jogyesa, which is one of the central temples of the Jogye Order (the seon/zen school of Buddhism, and by far Korea's largest order). You'll also be close to the cheonggyecheon, the little creek in the middle of Seoul, and not far from Jongmyo, the main Confucian shrine. You're also near KyoboMungo, a large bookstore. Choose what you want to do and try to plan your days around areas with lots of interesting things to explore, rather than shuttling from site to site. In my opinion, just walking around and seeing as much as possible without getting too caught up in anything is the best way to see a country in a short period of time.
If you are a fan of Korea television, Yeoido is where all the main station headquarters are located and a lot of Korean television scenes are set there. If you like Muhandojeon for instance, you'll be familiar with a lot of sites around Yeoido. You can also see the Hangang and the parks that run along it from there. (Also a very famous Belgian waffle shop there run by a Belgian guy... it's amazing... but be ready to wait in line...)
If you want to see an amusement park, check out LotteWorld.. but there's not much else in that area that I'm aware of (Jamsil...) unless you're interested in Technomart (a tower that sells cheap electronics and games etc...) or duty free shopping. There's also Lotte World Tower there, which looks like the headquarters of an evil genius or Lex Luthor or something.
If you decide to check out Jogyesa, look at pictures first - it's not a traditional looking temple. They have elevators and its squeezed into a very small place, relative to some of the big ones. But Jogyesa is a whole district, in a sense - all of the shops in the area sell Buddhist trinkets, souvenirs, and paraphernalia like calligraphy brushes, statues, little bracelets etc... etc... But if you want to visit a temple I'd actually recommend Bongeunsa instead - which is across the street from COEX, a large mall close to Gangnam station (too far to walk probably, but just a few subway stops away).
So... it depends a lot on what you want to do. Enjoy it!
My favourite thing to do.... is to kibitz Janggi games... I can't keep up the with ajushi's at all... but it's still fun to watch.
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EPT
