Favorite Corners - Seoul

Seoul is a beautiful city. From modern sky-soaring architecture to beautiful historical palaces, from the dizzying energy and lights of eating and shopping streets to the peaceful green of parks and riversides, from foodie havens to book lover corners. We found it all here, and more.

First up (literally) is the Lotte World Tower which is the sixth tallest building in the world. 123 stories, 555 meters tall.

For free views from Lotte World Tower, head up to the 79th floor lounge of the Sentiel Hotel which is a little over half way up (the official observation deck area is on floors 117-123). Still, amazing panoramas at this height.

Wander (quietly) around Bukchon Hanok Village, an area that has been around for 600 years.

There are around 900 of these wooden houses making the largest neighborhood of traditional homes in Seoul and most are still residential.

Some homes have been remodeled into shops and cafes which gives a glimpse of the insides. On a side note, exploring café culture in Seoul is a must-try.

The houses in Bukchon are actually situated on an uphill slope from the main road which means if you wander high enough, there are some really good views too. This was our view from a café where we rested, recharged (literally, cellphones were dying), and ruminated.

Cheonggyecheon is a restored-stream-turned-park area that was originally buried and had a highway paved over it. Because it’s below street level and the later areas are stocked with greenery, sometimes you could almost forget that you’re in the middle of a 10 million population city.

We’re starting to learn that anything with a cable car will take longer than expected. While lines for this cable car were very long when we went, we just spent so much time enjoying the nighttime views and exploring the tower base.

The cable car only took us to the base of the 239 m tower, but even from here, the views up are gorgeous and there are viewing platforms all around the tower for that 360 degree view.

This is also the place where rails and rails are covered in by love locks. Bring your own or buy one at the vending machine. I mean, you could spend money doing that or…Inside, there are Bodyfriend massage chairs and an arcade with private karaoke booths.

Parts of old city walls still exist to this day. We started at the old east great gate (Heunginjimun) which is the largest one and hiked upwards. We did most of the trail, but little did we know it was going up towards a mountain.

This futuristic curving mass of cement and aluminum is Dongdaemun Design Plaza, designed by Zaha Hadid. Loved the exterior, but there wasn’t as much to do inside as we thought, maybe due to timing.

The National Museum of Korea is a free museum and has wonderful, well-displayed national treasues and collections from multiple time periods (Silla, Goryeo, Joseon), a world art area, and a large donated Collection area. On the map is a room called “Immersive Digital Gallery 1” which is a not very descriptive way of saying a large room with a 180 degree screen which shows rotating short films. Worth checking out. Speaking of checking, there is a bag check and lockers to keep larger bags.

Tip: they are open late Wednesday nights and when we went, we practically had the museum to ourselves, also, there are light shows during this time where the Ten-Story Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple is lit up.

This is the Room of Quiet Contemplation, my favorite corner inside the Korean National Museum. These are the Pensive Bodhisattvas. This museum probably should’ve had it’s own post. We loved it so much, we had to go back the next day.

Myeongdong is a hyper-saturation of lights, shopping, k-pop music, and food. I’m pretty sure this area doesn’t really sleep.

HIKR Ground is a free modern Korean entertainment experience. Its second floor is home to K-pop Ground which is a multi-media K-pop experience zone holds sets from a few iconic MV’s where you can actually go into and take photos and film.

Those who where this set is from know, know (borahae!). Other floors hold rotating special exhbition halls showcasing modern Korean artists and have little missions which can land you free swag if you successfully complete them (good free souvenirs to bring back).

The Seoullo 7017 is a raised freeway turned walkway. It has great views of Seoul station, is home to many plants, and goes across the train tracks, which is very helpful.

We ended one of our days in Seoul with a bike ride along the Han River. The bike paths are clearly marked and separate from pedestrians. We started at Ichon Hangang Park. And bike rentals were only $3 an hour.

Speaking of favorite corners, how about favorite mirrors to look around those corners. We found these along the Han River walking paths.