South Korea Trip - 29 May - 9 June 2025
Matt and I planned a short trip to South Korea where we mainly focused on Seoul and Busan.
The trip was broken into historical and culture, shopping and beauty and seaside.
We managed to get a really good deal with Jetstar where our returns were free and we only had to pay 110,000 points $300 for 2 return tickets however, with Jetstar we didn't get food and entertainment which was fine. I had my tablet with my Netflix videos saved and we brought our own food on the plane. We had to do a short stop in Brisbane so the flight was not direct but overall it was not a long flight .
By the time we arrived in Seoul it was already late. We stayed in the tourist area Myeongdong as it was the most central location in Seoul to everywhere we wanted to visit. The night market was still on when we got there so we went for a quick walk along the night market. This was a well known tourist trap but since it was so convenient and we were hungry we bought some snacks there which were overly priced but we were hungry! After being ripped off by the food vendors we went back to our hotel to rest and prepare the biggest day on trip.
Day 1 - Historical and Cultural day
Our first day I wanted to do all the historical and tourism attractions first to be get a good understanding the culture and history of the city. I feel by doing that I get a better sense how the city and people came to be. People and cities are shaped by the past and experiences they had. You can really see that with Korean culture where they came from and how far they have come. We started the morning at a popular cafe Onion Cafe which they are known for their pastries. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine while enjoying our pastry and coffee. We managed to beat the rush by the time we left there was a long line.
After eating, I wanted hire a hanbok to wear around palace grounds. I paid extra to have accessories in my hair. I think this was one of my favourite experiences dressing up and taking photos at the palaces. We visited two palaces: Gyeongbokgung and Changgyonggung Palaces. They were both walking distance from each other. Both palaces you were only allowed to walk outside the buidlings and look through windows and gates. The palaces had similarities to Chinesse and Japanese architecture.
We later visited Bukchon Hanok and Ikseondong villages which was were locals lived in traditional style homes in Seoul. These villages were in or near the area Insadong which was my favourite place I visited on the trip. The whole area was a historical site all the shops and restaurants were in traditonal style building which had been repurposed for modern businesses. We had a lunch at Soha Salt Pond also a popular cafe known for their salt bread. Matt really enjoyed their salt bread. We spent the rest of the day wondering around the area.
We headed back to our hotel to freshen up and rest before dinner. I was pretty tired being out all day so we ate dinner near our hotel at a popular and cheap restaurant called Myeongdong Kyoja. they had only 5 items on their menu and we pretty much ordered everything on their menu; dumpling hand cut noodle soup, spicy cold noodles and dumplings. It was really good value I would definitely go back. We went for an evening stroll around Myeongdong shopping district everything there was more expensive than another where else in Seoul except for branded store where prices remained the same across all their stores. I didn't shop in Myeongdon just did more window shopping and browsing.