When visiting Seoul there are places you can’t miss to visit. We would like to present you with a few places worth seeing while in Seoul.
Myeong-dong is Seoul’s shopping mecca and is a must-see for tourists, but it is not just a shopping destination; Myeong-dong is also a center of commerce, banking and culture with a daytime population of 1.5-2 million. For shoppers there is a mixture of street stalls and retail outlets selling everything from high fashion to casual attire as well as many Korean cosmetics stores offering high-quality products at competitive prices. You will not only find big-name stores and beauty shops but also street food stalls selling typical Korean dishes and Korea’s first catholic church, the Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral.
If you are more interested in a more traditional Seoul Insadong, a quaint neighborhood in the center of Seoul that transports visitors back to a time when women wore hanbok and men rode horses, will be the right place for you to visit. With its wooden tea houses, boutique galleries and street vendors selling traditional snacks, Insadong becomes traffic free and alive with street performances and buskers on Sundays. This neighborhood is one of the best places in Seoul to purchase traditional Korean art, products, and other souvenirs, as it is filled with antique shops, art galleries, traditional stationery shops, handicraft shops, pottery and porcelain shops, bookstores, and art supply stores.
Kimchi is a huge part of Korea’s every day menu and at the Kimchi Academy House, you can learn Korean history and culture through kimchi! It offers kimchi-making classes guided by a professional kimchi instructor. Participants can taste the kimchi they make, have it packed up, and take it home with them. People may also choose the option of learning how to make tteokbokki along with kimchi.
If you want to visit a different kind of museum you should go to the Lock Museum which was founded in 2003 in Daehak-ro and houses traditional Korean locks, keys, key-rings and lockable cabinets, as well as locks from other countries. The Korean words “soe dae” mean “lock”. The lock is the main motif of this reddish brown building designed by Korean architect, Seung Hyosang. This five story building consists of an art shop, galleries and a café. This unique museum displays more than 4,000 different kinds of locks collected by Choe Honggue, the Director-General of the museum.
Another a little different museum is the Trick Eye Museum which is located in the lively Hongdae district at the second basement floor of the Homi-hwabang building and has proven to be a popular destination for tourists. It specializes in providing amusements that trick the eyes into seeing something else. In addition to various trompe l’oeil installations, the museum also houses a Greek-style cafe, an educational room for learning Greek mythology as well as exhibit halls featuring contemporary artists.
The Seoul Grand Park is the first and largest theme park in Korea with a zoo and a botanical garden. It’s located at the foot of Cheonggye mountain in the city of Gwacheon. In 1984, the park was opened after all the animals were transferred from the Changgyeong Palace. Along with the main attraction, Seoul Zoo, there’s also a rose garden, children’s zoo, Seoul Land (a theme park), and the National Museum of Contemporary Art with a large lake in the middle of everything. Along the 7.4km trail at Cheongye mountain lies the forest path and the nature camp.
This is just a very small selection of all the great things you can do while visiting Seoul. There are many historical sites to explore, museums, royal palaces, theme parks, sports and recreational facilities and much more, so just come to Seoul and discover what this great city has to offer.
