Any "Musts" is South Korea?

[younghoon Kil]

I live in Incheon city, which is close to Seoul city. (Here in Incheon, there is also Incheon International Airport.)
In Seoul city, N Seoul Tower(Namsan Tower), Itaewon-dong, Cheonggyecheon, and Lotte World Tower's 'Seoul Sky' observatory are also recommended. Night time is good, too.
These are the places that Koreans and foreigners alike want to visit.
I hope you have a nice trip.

p.s. Koreans do not like to speak loudly when using public transportation such as buses or subways.
p.s.2. Most places do not prohibit taking pictures. If you have any concerns, please ask the staff.
p.s.3. By mid-June, there will probably be no mosquitoes. It may be a little humid, but it will be cool in the evening and in the morning.

[John Olsen]

Just for fun try the statues on the ground of the Folk Art Museum in Seoul. They're kind of goofy and fun.

[Graeme Hamilton]

Thanks so much to everybody!

Younghoon Kil I have been warned that it will be hot and humid, but it was 104 (40c) in Dallas yesterday, so how bad could it be!

I am getting on a plane Friday, and will update if I get any worthwhile shots.

[Fred L]

friends have taught there, and I've never been, but this is one place I would have to visit. cheesy maybe but still...lol

https://thereshegoesagain.org/dreamy-camera-cafe/

[younghoon Kil]

Koreans love coffee very much.
According to the report, annual coffee consumption is about 2.7 times higher than the global average.

Also, Koreans love coffee shops.
One of the most popular stores in South Korea is a coffee shop.

- https://www.facebook.com/cafedreamy (Dreamy Camera Cafe)

[pjd]

I wonder how this trip went / is going. It's 35° today, and mosquito activity is "extreme" (that's according to a website I looked at, and my experience here on the ground in NW Seoul).

[Graeme Hamilton]

It was really fantastic!

I would recommend any of the below to those who may be traveling there:

I stayed at Shilla Stay Yeoksam, and think it was a great balance of comfort and cost. I would stay there again.

Day one: I arrived in the late afternoon and had dinner at Lotteria (think Korean Burger King), both the bulgogi burger and the mozzarella burger are a fun spin. Staying up for 24hrs straight really helped with the jet lag when arriving. My tip for those traveling from the Americas: When heading to Korea don't sleep on the plane, when heading back, do.

Day two: I grabbed a delicious spicy beef stew and lettuce wraps (with lots of yummy garlic!) for brunch. I wish I remembered the place, but my light khaki pants have a permanent red spot now. Then went to see the Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Lots of good signage and a small on site museum. It was hot, so we went to get the sesame snowflake at the Jungsik cafe. The associated restaurant is Michelin starred, and has to be reserved far in advance, the cafe is walk in and very nice. Overall, I was impressed with the ambience of every restaurant from cheap to expensive. For dinner I ate with my friends family, if you are ever traveling to Korea, and someone's mom offers to feed you, SAY YES.

Day three: Visited a Diaso, a Japan based dollar store but nicer and a fun slice of local life. Brunch at the Lotte department store food court. The sweet cheese croffles (croissant waffles) and mandu were really delicious. From there I took my first subway to the SRT high speed train station. The subways in Seoul are fantastic. They are full of shops and the trains run often. I would recommend to everyone to take a day trip to Gyeongju by SRT. The journey is about 2 hours and you get such a wonderful view of the beautiful Korean countryside. So many ephemeral vignettes as you go from mountain tunnel to valley and quickly into the mountain again. Truly a beautiful country. Once there definitely try the kimbap and the coin bread, the place is famous for it. While there you gotta see the Daereungwon Tomb Complex of course! So many mounds, and very interesting ancient freezer and the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia. There is also a really good history museum that is full of artifacts from the history of the country. There are many good restaurants here, it seems to be a local tourist spot. Poseok-ro between Taejong-ro and Cheomseong-ro was full of places to eat and small gift shops. At night, they light up the nearby Donggung Palace and Wolji pond complex. The traditional buildings make a very pretty reflection in the pond. Highly recommend taxis, as some areas are farther than others and the transportation is not quite as dense as Seoul.

Day four: Ate delicious soondae, fried foods beer and liver at Sag (삭) a tiny bar near Ewha Women's University where my friend did her undergrad. We visited the campus and the campus museum was great. It would be a good compromise visit of you couldn't make it to the big history museum in Gyeongju. Lots of cafes and bars around this area, make sure to visit some.

Day five: Ate Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes, you haven't been to Korea if you don't have any) near the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Speaking of which, go see the palace! The main throne room burned down in a war with Japan in the 1500's, but it was rebuilt in the 1800's and is a beautiful complex, full of traditional housing of the upper class and royalty. Did you know that traditional Korean fireplaces are under the floor? In floor heating hundreds of years ago!! Part of the complex is The National Folk Museum of Korea. This place is really amazing. Super interactive and very insightful into the cultural side of history I spent hours reading every sign and would go back. Now is as good as a time as any to tell you to go to a rice wine bar. We did and it was delicious and refreshing after seeing the out door palace complex in the heat.

Day six: I can confirm that malls all over the world have that same mall smell. The mall at Lotte World tower did at least! The tower is 5th tallest in the world, but it was envelpoed in clouds this day, so we did not go up it. Such a nice mall. So much shopping. If you like shopping visit here. The ice cream shop on the kids floor has a delicious cream flavor soft serve. On the fancy side of the mall, there is a really good bakery with a view of the city.

Day seven: Raw fish galore. Another must try in my opinion. And anyone who visits needs to try the cooked toothfish. So buttery.. This was the last day and we spent the rest of it at Nansam Tower. It was nice, if touristy, place to relax before the long flight home the following morning.

I have added a few images to the smaller formats image sharing here

[Leszek Vogt]

Glad you had a great time. I'm not much a rice wine connoisseur, but I'd make up for it gorging myself with kim-chee. Good that you discovered the subway....it's a fab way of getting around this sprawl out city. Looking forward to seeing more images. Oh, and thanks for all the info.

[pjd]

Thanks for the follow up post, glad to read that you had a good time - and I like the photos you posted in the other thread!

[Jim Andrada]

It's interesting. Lotte Holdings is actually a Japanese company that was founded in Japan by a Korean gentleman financed by mainly Japanese investors. The Korean "subsidiary" accounts for about 80% of total revenue/profit, but there are a lot of Lotte's in Japan. The name "Lotte" itself is short for the character Charlotte in the German novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Goethe. Quite an international hash.