Seoul. Seoul. Seoul. So Good I had to go Back Three Times!

Intro

I lived in South Korea for a year and a half. During this time I made three wonderful and very different trips to Seoul. Each time I was trying to soak up yet another exciting aspect of the city. I could visit another 100 times and not see everything. It’s enormous and vibrant and has so much to offer!

Trip One

The first time was a pretty classic trip. We saw all the main cultural sights. The Five Grand Palaces of Seoul, notably Gyeongbokgung Palace, the War Memorial of Korea, and Bukchon Hanok Village.

The Palaces are rather handsome, they could charm anyone with their sloping, salt and pepper roofs, ornate carvings, and leafy green painted patterns. The guards’ changing felt like opening night at the theatre as they glided past in vibrant costumes.

The secret garden at the grounds are charming, but we accidentally latched onto the Korean language tour, what everyone was “Oooohhhing” and “Ahhhhhing” about, I will never know!

The War Memorial of Korea exhibiting Korea’s military history, and the Korean war was sobering and thought-provoking. Quite a contrast to the glitz and glamour of the palaces.

Finally, Bukchon Hanbok village. A traditional Korean village lost in Seoul’s heart. preserved to show life as it was 600 years ago. The traditional houses (Hanoks) are delightful. I adore the style of them, particularly the magnificent rooftops. It’s easy to forget that traditional architecture and heritage like this, lies amongst the sprawling skyscrapers of Seoul.

Trip Two

Our second trip was to visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North and South Korea. This haunting no-mans-land is a scary world of barbed wire fences covered in prayer ribbons, undetonated land mines, and war tunnels. A fascinating place full of history. Book a tour, bring snacks and make sure that you double-check the dress code and behaviour expectations for the day before heading off.

The second highlight of this trip was, dare I say it? The poo café in Insadong.

When I heard that there was a poo themed café in Seoul, how could I resist? That’s too funny. My friends couldn’t resist either, when I told people about it, I ended up having to go two more times. They served coffee in toilet shaped mugs, so it looks like foamy diarrhoea, yum. There was cute poo themed things smiling at me and poo shaped bread/bagels. Trust Korea to make poo cute!

Trip Three

The third time in Seoul, our dream come true. We finally got to try on hanboks! Hanboks are beautiful, traditional two-piece Korean dress for formal occasions.

We found this little nook in Insadongs’ quirky shopping plaza that consisted of two photo booths, a rack of hanboks, and that’s about it. Snap! Peace sign, fingers. Snap! Korean girl pose. “Oh, so cute! Very cute!” exclaims the shop assistant. I felt like an excited twelve-year-old girl.

This square also features delights such as a shop dedicated to backpacks for dogs, matching watches for couples and the poo café, of course.

We also went to the ample photo opportunity that is the trick eye museum. Who knew you could have so much fun with optical illusions?!

A special mention

A special mention needs to be made to food in Seoul.

There are number of incredible places serving up hot, sour and spicy bowels of traditional Korean fare and a wonderfully high number of hoetoek stalls (brown sugar, pumpkin seed, pancake, pockets of deliciousness).

But the star of the show for us was the foreign food. After living abroad for so long, sometimes there’s no greater pleasure than having food that you’ve been craving but can’t get. Busan, I’ve heard, now has an excellent selection of cuisines, but back when I lived there, this wasn’t the case. And after a year, I was getting some serious cravings.

The Itaewon district fed us beauties like falafel and hummus, lime shrimp tacos, burritos, Thai green curry, Tikka Masala, Greek salad, South African BBQ, lasagne, soupy dim sum and big, hot, chocolate, American cookies. I was in foodie heaven!

Final Thoughts

So for an excellent mixture of culture, architecture, and good food, from the seriousness of a War Museum and the DMZ to the fun and silliness optical illusions and themed cafe’s look no further than Seoul!

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

This story was originally published on Medium

If you're interested in visiting and would like to read more, check out Lonely Planet's travel guide to Seoul (This is an affiliate link)

If you want to read more about life in South Korea then check out 👇

Georgina Nelson. Traveller. Writer. Photographer. Yoga teacher.

Sh*t Happens - because the things that go wrong make the funniest stories.