So I'm off to Korea at the end of the month.
Are there any things I should especially see or do? Or eat?
Also in the OzBargain spirit, is there anything I should buy while I'm over there?
Cheers!
I'm off to Korea - best things to eat/see/do/buy?
LPratty on 11/06/2013 - 09:00
Comments
Do you mean northern part of south korea…
All you can eat buffet for about 6,000 - 8,000 won. You should be able to find a meat buffet, good when going with a group of friends. You pay a little extra for drinks but it is minimal. Although they do charge you more if you waste the food.
Buses and trains are cheap and go everywhere at anytime (apart from late at night). Taxis are also pretty cheap compared to here.
I loved eating at the little cheap restraunts. You can get a nice meal for 4,000 won.
Public bath house is a pretty strange but cool experience.
You can get business cards made there super cheap.
if you go close to the north border you might be able to witness a missile launch.
if you are lucky you might even see this fellow looking back at you http://i.imgur.com/7QKasJj.jpg
Cloths are cheaper. Prices for electronics are no different than what you can get off the internet
Thank you all for the responses so far!
And I of course will be in South Korea. I can see me and Kim Jong getting along but still, not gonna risk it.
Any amazing things I should see? Things that you wouldn't want to miss?
Do a trip to the DMZ (border of North Korea). It's really interesting to see and learn some of the history. You also get to go underground to view one of the tunnels dug by the North Koreans to infiltrate the South.
Great dumplings at Kaesong Mandu although it's a little hard to find. You can say you have eaten North Korean cuisine as Kaesong is one of their cities (the restaurant itself is in Seoul).
I tried some dog meat hot pot on my first trip to Korea. It's a unique experience and although it didn't taste bad, it wasn't that great either, pretty similar to beef.
The lower floors of department stores are also great places to eat for cheap. Paris Baguette/Croissant is also pretty good and cheap and is located everywhere. It's a bread shop a bit like BreadTop.
If you are planning on going outside of Seoul you can try booking the free bus run by the government for tourists. I wasn't able to use it because I didn't book in advance but it seems like a great deal to visit some of the other cities. That same website has lots of other good information and some coupons for tourists too.
If you download the Visit Korea App you can get a free sim card when you arrive at the airport. It has only a tiny amount of sms/data/calls included but it's handy as you will have a phone number people can contact you on.
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me all that. I'm a complete Korea novice so it's invaluable info. How good is the free SIM!
If you're looking for a accommodation in Seoul, I suggest BangRang. Around 20/night but very clean and the owner is lovely. Also located about a 20 second walk from the closest subway stop and is within 5 stops of places such as Dongdaemun, Hongdae and Seoul Station. Also on the green that loops through Seoul so it's very convenient. I can message the owner directly to see if rooms are available.
If you're going to travel to Busan as well, get a KR Pass. Costs about $50 and only takes about 2-3 hours. There's also multiday passes. Though I think the free bus might also go there. I recommend INDY House for acc.
Some areas you should check out for shopping would probably be Hongdae, Edae (Ehwa Womens Uni), Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Insadong, Itaewon and Gangnam. Other places you might want to visit are Everland, Han River, Lotte World.. Oh, and I also second the DMZ.
Foodwise I think KBBQ and Street food are a must have. And they also have great desserts. Eat everything!
I've was also told it's better to exchange in Korea. Not at the airport though. I got pretty good rates when I went and you can even exchange at convenience stores.
Oh and, go nuts with shopping and ship things back. I bought a phone case from Korea and it cost less than $2 to ship here by plane. My friend and I shipped four boxes back by boat. Took a month but was damn cheap.
Wow I definitely will be. $2 shipping… Incredible. Thanks so much.
While you're there enjoy South Korea's non-asbestos-riddled superfast broadband…
Oh, and be very, very, very thankful that you're not in North Korea… www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRTjHJ93UYg + www.youtube.com/watch?v=SllAhbkMCiYMUST BUY - Make up,beauty products and the snail mask . Very cheap. Laneige is more than half price of what you pay in Australia.
"and the snail mask"
?? would that be for the ~ Lone Escargot? :-)
I went to Seoul for about 5 days last year.
Transport - at the airport, we bought one of those "unlimited" travel tourist passes. After the first day, we realised we were pretty much walking to most places and it was heaps cheaper just to pay for most trips. So if you like walking to explore a place, I don't recommend getting the pass.
Places we went to:
- walked up Namsan Park to see N Seoul Tower. The walk up is quite nice (good for those who like keeping active during a holiday), and we didn't go up the tower, so saved money there.
- saw Cheonggyecheon (the stream that runs through the City) a few times whilst just walking around. It's really beautiful and I wish we had something similar in Sydney.
- went to one of the major palaces (Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung). You probably only need to see one, since they're massive and kinda look similar to each other. Check beforehand opening days, as they're not open every day.
- went to see the Jongmyo Royal Shrine
- walked around Cheongwadae (president's house). There's a lot of security around the area and I think you can get actual tours to go inside. Near this place is also a small museum (can't remember the name), which we stumbled on and which was great.If you ever wanted an interesting experience in Korea, pop down to a barber shop. They have the spinning barber shop candy poles out the front and are usually hidden away in corridors.
Once you get there - it'll be a barber experience like no other!
Well, I'm off on Sunday! Any last hints, tips, or advice?
Thanks again to all contributors so far. Massively appreciated.
If you are going to use a taxi (quite cheap and easier than the subway generally), make sure you write down instructions (i.e. name of the destination) in korean! We had to take 3 taxis because they didn't know what we were on about. Finally we found some wifi and loaded a picture of seoul tower and the third taxi took us there!
Food and other such stuff is quite cheap. I'm going to assume you'll be in seoul mainly, so if you see this message, try the following:
Lotte world - great fun and many hours of entertainment, not too bad wait times either. Make sure you see the museum inside as well, and the lovely lady in the gift shop who is trying to learn english!
N Seoul Tower (namsan tower) - must see view
Namdaemun Markets - I found them much better than the dongdaemun markets.I won't write too much in case you don't see this, as it's sunday and you have probably left! Hopefully you see it on some of the wifi in korea :p
Best places to visit in Seoul during weekdays:
1. Royal Palace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongbokgung
2. Itaewon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaewon
3. Myeong-dong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myeong-dongIn Friday evening, visit a local pub or BBQ restaurant in Gang-nam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangnam_District) or Sin-chon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinchon_Station) and feel how may people can be in. Grab a beer or soju with marinated fried chicken or Korean BBQ.
Thanks so much guys.
I'm currently on my way back to Busan (where I'm based) after spending the weekend in Seoul. Absolutely loved it, and saw nearly everything recommended here, including the things posted by brezzo and mirheeob!
Such a cool country. And I'm enjoying the super fast free WiFi on KTX right now!
All 20mb of it! Hahaha.
If you have some time to kill I fondly remember going to a DVD Bang and watching Haeundae after visiting Busan
It was cool as I had actually been to the place!
about the movie:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_Wave_(film)About DVD Bangs (although they can have a "seedy" reputation)
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=309414
I hear the north is quite lovely and friendly