Inspired by this post by eathb I thought I would share my experience from my 10 day trip to South Korea this month.
I spent eight days in Seoul and two days in Busan. Before I left I did up a loose itinerary and the only things set in stone were my hotel in Seoul as well as the hotel in Busan. In the end I did pretty much everything I wanted to but did move stuff around as I went along mainly due to fatigue on certain days.
Weather wise South Korea was wonderful with temps in the mid to high twenties and only one overcast day with no rain. It did feel hotter though as there is very little greenery unless you go to a park and although pretty much everywhere was airconditioned they set the temp to about 25 or 26 so it wasn't much cooler indoors.
As far as language goes I can only say "please," "thank you," "hello" and "one of those please" in Korean and I got by fine. In places frequented by tourists everyone spoke enough English to get things done including the shops and restaurants in and around Myeongdong. I only had to use my translation app (Papago) once to ask for really spicy instant noodles I picked up for a work colleague back home. People were friendly and try and help if you looked obviously lost or just a generally clueless tourist.
I am also early forties so I wasn't into going clubbing or flexing on my socials so that affected the places I went.
Hotels
In Seoul I stayed at the L7 Myeongdong as it is within walking distance to a lot of major attractions as well as Myeongdong being a big shopping district. A lot of chains had their Korean flagship stores in this area and there's stuff to do at night. Myeongdong is very popular with tourists so the night market is a bit dearer than other places but not ridiculously so. Staff in the shops could all speak enough English that it wasn't a problem if you can't speak Korean. Price was about $230/night and the room was smallish but not too bad. Japanese toilet in the bathroom as well. No view of anything interesting. To get to Myeongdong from Incheon you can take the AREX train and subway for a few bucks. You do need to change subway lines at Seoul Station but you will find there are no lifts to get down to the platform for Line 4 and you have to lug your suitcase down some stairs. You can also catch the 6015 airport limousine bus for about $20. The airport bus stops at exit 8 of Myeongdong station to go both to and from the airport.
In Busan I stayed at the Lotte Hotel in Seomyeon as the main attractions in Busan are located on both sides of town and Seomyeon is quite central. The hotel is easy to get to, just change to the subway at Busan station when you get off the KTX. You can also access the hotel directly from Seomyeon subway station by going through the Lotte department store. I paid about the same price per night as the hotel in Myeongdong but this hotel was much nicer if a little bit older and probably in need of an update to the decor. The room had a huge window overlooking the city which was great at night. The Lotte mall underneath was also full of luxury brands for those into that kind of thing.
Getting around
Google maps does not work well in Korea. Use Naver maps but it can be slightly fiddly to get used to. The biggest issue for me was even when you set it to English it won't show some places when you search for them. The easiest thing to do is type the place name + in Korean into Google and then copy and paste the Hangul into Naver's search bar. The directions and public transport stuff works great. When I went to Suwon it even told me how many seats were left on the bus before it arrived.
Tmoney is the card you need for everything. Subway, bus, taxi, airport limousine, some convenience stores all take Tmoney. Buy a card when you land (I got one free with my LG U+ eSim I bought at the airport) and add funds at one of the machines at the airport. They're hard to miss aas you have to walk past them to get down to the train. The recharge machines only take cash though, no credit/debit cards!
Buses are frequent and cheap but if you are not waving them down and standing n the edge of the gutter when they approach they won't stop for you. As soon as you get on, the doors are closing and the driver is gunning it to the next stop. Hold on as soon as you get through the door lol. Announcements and info screens with stops on blue (local buses) in Seoul and Busan were all in Korean, Mandarin, Japanese and English. When I caught a red (inter-urban) bus down to Suwon only some of the stops at Hwaesong Fortress were in English. Get on at the front and off at the back and tap your Tmoney card both times.
The Subway can be a bit overwhelming at first but you son get the hang of it. There is a lot of walking, especially if you're changing lines, and not every station has lines in both direction on the same platform so if you don't read the signage you will end up having to walk back up and around to the other platform. A minor inconvenience but it's annoying at the end of a long day lol.
Attractions in Seoul
Myeongdong: Recommended. Shopping, night market, restaurants. Do your shopping, grab some food at the night market or go to a restaurant. I went to Myeongdong Kyoja for their Michelin Bib Gourmand mandu and kalguksu. There were plenty of locals eating there as well and even though there's normally a line it moves really quickly. There's plenty of other small places in the area including a street full of chicken and beer places.
NANTA theatre: Skippable. I know it's Korea's longest running and most successful show but it just didn't do it for me. It's like Stomp but in a Korean kitchen and some traditional drums thrown in. It was OK but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it.
Gyeongbokgung palace: Highly recommended. The main palace complex in Seoul with the imposing Gwanghwamun gate. There is a changing of the guard ceremony twice a day which is free to watch. Entry to the main place complex is only ₩3000 or free if you wear a traditional hanbok. You'll see plenty of locals wearing hanboks and posing for photos around the grounds.
National Palace Museum of Korea: Recommended. Small museum next to Gyeongbokgung palace with a history of the Korean empire with royal artifacts as well as art and caligraphy. Not very big but worth stopping by. It's free to enter.
Gwanghwamun Square: Recommended. Just outside the palace this square is fairly new and replaced a multi laned road through the city center. At one end is Gwanghwamun gate and at the other with a statue of Admiral Yi Sun Shi. In the middle is a statue of King Sejong the Great. If you go in the doors at the back of the King Sejong statue their is an underground museum about him as well. You can get a photo from one end of the square lining up the statues with Gwanghwamun gate, Gyeongbokgung palace and Bugaksan mountain in the background.
KBO baseball game: Highly recommended. The fans are nuts. They have cheerleaders and hype man for each team and the fans chant team songs which creates a great atmosphere. Even if you don't reeally care for baseball it's worth going to a game. You can get tickets at Jamsil stadium before the game (~$20 along the first base line is with the home fans and good seats) and the home team merch store will be open. There's plenty of food and drinks including beer outside the stadium before the game and inside theirs even more. Stuff like pizza hut and KFC as well as local chains like BHC Chicken, Mom's Touch etc. Prices inside the stadium are the same as a normal store anywhere else. No ridiuclously priced stadium food here.
Namsan: Highly recommended. A short walk from Myeongdong and then catch the cable car to the top. You can go up to the observation deck in N Seoul Tower but I didn't bother as I was going up Lotte World Tower later in my trip. Great view of the city from the top of the mountain and it was about ten degrees cooler with plenty of shade. You can skip the cable car and walk up but it is a long way with a million stairs. I actually missed the cable car station on the way down and was buggered when I got to the bottom.
National Museum: Recommended. Covers Korea's history from ancient to modern times. Plenty to look at and very well laid out. Almost all items had English info.
War Memorial of Korea: Highly recommended. This place is huge and has a heap of equipment including tanks, artillery, planes and helicopters on static display outside. The museum itself is more focused on the Korean War but covers all wars on the Korean peninsula. There's a small display about Australia's participation and when an older gentleman come up to me to ask where I was from and I said Australia he thanked our country and pointed me in the direction of the display. Was quite a nice moment as my grandfather served in the Korean War with the navy.
Bukchon Hanok Village: Skippable. This is an older part of Seoul with traditional style housing. I reckon it's skippable purely because there are are million Instagram thots all taking selfies in their Hanboks and you can't get a decent pitcure of the place without them. There's plenty of little art galleries and cafe's but the whole neighbourhood feels like everyone is there to take a fewInsta pics and move on to the next place.
Gangnam: Skippable. There's COEX Mall with Starfield Library but how many malls do you need? You can take a picture with the Gangnam Style statue and play the song at the kiosk beside it as well. For those into clubbing plenty of places don't let foreigners in and if you look too old you're out of luck as well lol.
Lotte World Tower or Busan X The Sky: Recommended depending on where you are going. If you're staying in Seoul Lotte World Tower is a better choice than going up N Seoul Tower but if you're headed to Busan during your trip I recommend Busan X The Sky instead. Lotte World Tower gives a great view of the city but it's pretty sameish in every direction. Busan X The Sky looks over the beach, out to sea and over the city. It's not as high but it is my preference. It also has the world's highest Starbucks if that's your thing.
Seoul Forest: Highly recommended. An old racetrack converted into a huge park. Plenty of shade and a quite place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul.
Changdeokgung Palace + secret garden: Highly recommended. There are five palaces in Seoul but how many palaces can you see before they all blend into one? Changdeokgung stands out for the Secret Garden. You have to book for this part of the tour but it is worth the extra ₩5000 on top of the ₩3000 palace entrance fee. The garden is wonderful and cool with heaps of trees. Like Seoul Forest it is an oasis of peace in a very busy city.
Hangang Yueido park: Recommended. Come here at night and see the city lit up across the Han RIver. Plenty of food stalls or you can order chicken and beer direct to the park with the help of the ajumma's near the entrance.
Cheonggyecheon stream: Highly recommended. An old highway convereted into a sub street level stream and walkway in the middle of the city. Really nice during the day and awesome at night. Plenty of couples wandering along the stream so if you're feeling lonely I'd probably skip it lol.
Hwaesong Fortress: Highly recommended. Located in Suwon it takes about an hour to get to from Seoul. I went at night and the place is all lit up. You can walk along the entire fortress wall in a leisurely few hours (about 7.5Km). there's various gates and other structures as well as some souvenir shops during the day.
Attractions in Busan
Busan X The Sky: Highly recommended. See above with Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
Igidae Coastal Walk: Highly recommended. This 5km walk is supposed to be cruisy. It is not. there are a heap of stairs as well as uneven ground. If you aren't reasonably fit you won't be doing the whole walk. Saying that though the scenery is awesome as you walk along the cliffs and look towards the city.
Haeundae Beach: Recommended. No waves but a nice place for a stroll along the spacious walkway with the highrises of Busan right behind you.
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple: Skippable. Beautiful temple but it is overcrowded and over commercialised. It's also miles away and a bit of a hassle to get to.
Jagalchi market: Skippable. Plenty of live fish and other seafood like any other fish markt. You can buy your seafood at the market and have it cooked upstairs but the prices were way too high and the stall holders were pushy. This is a tourist trap I would avoid.
Gamchon Cultural Village: Recommended. Plenty of history and a colourful neighbourhood. If you're into arts and crafts and murals and stuff you'll like all the little shops. It is another place over run with people all taking pics from the same few spots though.
U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Korea: Highly recommended. This place surprised me. The gardens are lovely and the place is really peaceful. All the nations that fought during the Korean War have their own section and most have a small monument. Seeing the seemingly endless list of names on the Wall of Rememberance makes you realise what a waste of life wars can be.
Conclusion
South Korea was great and is really under rated. Everyone I told I was going or had been were surprised I picked it as a destination. It seems like not many people even have Korea on their list of possible places to visit. This is great for those who do go as it means there's less western tourists than other places and combined with Chinese tourism not bouncing back yet it is an awesome time to travel to this amazing country. There's also so many more places you could go besides Seoul and Busan and I feel like you could spend a month in Korea without issue.
I highly recommend South Korea as a destination.
You haven't mentioned food / dining out; how did you find it?