Seoul is a journey vacation spot the place the previous and new coexist. Touring right here brings you up near century-old palaces, conventional cafes, and superbly preserved pure landscapes. However on the similar time, you get additionally high-tech fashionable points of interest, bustling buying districts, and all of the creature comforts of a cosmopolitan metropolis, which you’ll be able to simply navigate with the environment friendly prepare community.
For many who want nature spots and historic websites, I beforehand shared some traditional locations and experiences in Seoul for first-timers together with hanbok leases on the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Nami Island, Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway, Haneul Sky Park, Cheonggyecheon Stream, in addition to conventional Korean delicacies you need to strive. The locations with historic and cultural significance will attraction to the entire household, together with seniors.
Under are a few of the extra fashionable points of interest that households with youthful children and vacationers who received hooked on Okay-dramas and Okay-culture through the pandemic may go to throughout their journey to Seoul.
If you happen to’re a fan of Okay-dramas, you is perhaps accustomed to the Starfield Library, a large library with 13-meter-tall bookshelves situated inside the heart of the elegant Starfield COEX Mall.
Fashionable Okay-dramas filmed on this Insta-famous library embody File of Youth, Lovestruck within the Metropolis, and Kkondae Intern, to call just a few. On this public house, which opened in Could 2017, anybody can simply sit down and skim books free of charge.
The 2-storied library has hundreds of books in varied genres, together with home and overseas magazines accessible for looking. Alongside conventional books, the library additionally has iPads that anybody can use to learn e-books and tables with electrical plugs for these with laptops, who must make amends for emails.
The advanced additionally homes the COEX Aquarium, film theaters, fashionable eating places, and low retailers. Outdoors the constructing, you will discover an interactive sculpture, which pays homage to the 2012 mega-hit tune Gangnam Fashion by PSY. When you get on the stage beneath the arms, the tune immediately performs, so anybody can dance and take video clips.
For the previous 4 many years, Namsan Seoul Tower or N Seoul Tower has served as one essentially the most iconic landmarks of South Korea. Stated to be the primary multipurpose tower established within the nation, N Seoul Tower incorporates a sightseeing observatory that overlooks town from the highest of Namsan Mountain.
Identified primarily as a romantic spot for {couples}, one space permits guests to place colourful love locks to seal their romantic guarantees as made widespread by exhibits like Boys Over Flowers, My Love From One other Star, and Rooftop Prince, to call just a few.
Whereas energetic {couples} can take an extended scenic route up the tower by way of stairs, it may be fairly tiring for these with younger children. Fortunately, the entire household can simply go up by using the Namsan Cable Automotive proper as much as the observatory.
On prime of being a prime vacationer landmark within the metropolis, the tower provides a spectacular sight to behold at evening even from afar. Utilizing the most recent in LED expertise, the tower is lit up in an array of colours and patterns. The protected space round N Seoul Tower additionally exemplifies how nature and expertise can exist in concord.
Basic automotive visitors is reportedly restricted to maintain the encircling space of Namsan Mountain space clear and inexperienced.
When touring with children, amusement parks will inevitably be a part of the agenda. And if you’re in Seoul, probably the most widespread theme parks to go to is Everland. Referred to as South Korea’s largest theme park, Everland receives round 6 million guests yearly and incorporates many fashionable amusement park rides alongside wildlife points of interest.
This theme park owned and operated by the Samsung Group of firms is made up of 5 distinct themed zones, particularly International Truthful, Zootopia, European Journey, Magic Land, and American Journey.
Whereas ready to get a experience might simply take up the entire day, a few of the finest points of interest right here embody the T Specific, one of many world’s quickest wood rollercoasters, and Panda World, which is dwelling to a pair of big pandas gifted to South Korea by Chinese language President Xi Jinping as an indication of friendship. Panda World additionally incorporates interactive installations the place visitors can study extra
concerning the bear species.
To maximise your time, attempt to e-book an categorical ticket forward of your go to so that you could skip lining up for a few of the rides and make use of the theme park’s app to get up to date info on queues and points of interest. In case you’re in an enormous group, I’d additionally counsel that seniors provide you with a separate itinerary whereas households with children go to the amusement park, to maximise everybody’s enjoyment.
If you happen to’re a fan of the e-book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry or desire a style of Europe whereas in South Korea, one web site you possibly can go to is Petite France. This French-style cultural village set within the Korean countryside of Gyeonggi Province was constructed in July 2008.
Designed with the theme idea, “Flowers, stars, and the Little Prince,” the village provides expertise applications, coaching amenities, and lodging with a French aptitude. It’s a colourful, family-friendly attraction amid the inexperienced and blue mountainside.
Inside this village in Gapyeong, you will discover memento retailers, cafes, eating places, and particular galleries all styled after conventional French homes. There’s a memorial corridor devoted to Saint-Exupery, the creator of the French novel, Le Petit Prince (1943), an Vintage store, a Doll Home, and Orgel Home the place you possibly can hearken to a 200-year-old music field. There’s additionally a gallery of various puppets and puppet present performances.
Apart from the hyperlink to the French novel and IG-worthy backdrops, Petite France is widespread with Okay-drama followers because it’s served because the filming location for some traditional Korean dramas together with Beethoven Virus (2008), Secret Backyard (2011), and My Love from the Stars (2014).
If you happen to’re on the lookout for a spot to immerse your self on the earth of contemporary Korean popular culture and Okay-dramas, you’ll want to move by HiKR Floor. HiKR, which mixes “Hello” and “Korea” with the idea of a playground (”Floor”) is a comparatively new interactive museum-like exhibition corridor in Seoul.
This promotional corridor takes a brand new method to sharing various Korean content material, together with the areas of Hallyu, arts, and extra by integrating Prolonged Actuality (XR) and good expertise aimed on the youthful era.
On the primary ground is an extra-large media wall showcasing the Panorama of the New Metropolis, together with prime vacationer points of interest, locations featured in Okay-pop, Okay-drama, and extra. On the second ground, Hallyu followers can stay out their Okay-Pop desires through the use of XR expertise to make their very own music movies by selecting from over 100 completely different backgrounds, and music, all shareable on social media.
The third ground contains a Korean Artwork Museum the place consultant Korean content material is reinterpreted by Korea’s fashionable artists. An entire part additionally gives detailed info on filming places from Hallyu media content material and newer Okay-dramas like Hometown Cha-Cha and Netflix originals just like the historic zombie collection Kingdom and All of Us Are Useless.
The fourth ground provides a multi-experience zone the place guests can expertise varied themed points of interest utilizing all 5 senses, whereas a lounge on the fifth ground provides guests an opportunity to do a journey mission.
Situated within the neighborhood of Sangam-dong, Digital Media Metropolis, or DMC was constructed to accommodate Korea’s media, leisure, and IT industries to turn into the brand new epicenter for Hallyu content material and manufacturing.
It’s right here the place you will discover the principle studios and workplaces of KBS, MBC, and SBS, three of Korea’s main broadcasting firms. The primary MBC constructing homes Korea’s first Hallyu Broadcasting Theme Park the place guests can stay out their Okay-drama fantasies, expertise digital actuality content material, study dance strikes from holographic Okay-pop stars, and extra in guided excursions.
In entrance of MBC’s new constructing is a well-liked artwork set up generally known as “Sq. M-Communication” which options two standing males in a purple body virtually touching fingers. The sculpture was famously featured in Marvel Studios Avengers: The Age of Ultron film filmed in 2015.
The close by Star Park incorporates hand imprints of Korean celebrities, together with Kim Woo Bin (Black Knight), Park Shin Hye (#Alive), Ha Ji Received, Hyung Sik Park (Secret Backyard), Nam Joo Hyuk (Begin Up), in addition to worldwide celebrities.
The realm can be identified for having a number of nice eating places, so the entire household can get pleasure from a superb meal earlier than or after their digital media tour.
The bustling Myeongdong district is one in all Seoul’s major buying districts, and it’s the place you will discover the whole lot from mid-to-high priced retail shops and worldwide model shops.
The colourful neighborhood is a superb place to remain and eat. If you happen to’re not into buying, you may also simply get pleasure from eating, visiting cat cafes, searching down craft beer spots on this space, and making an attempt completely different road meals.
A few of the finest road eats in Myeongdong embody:
- Tteokbokki: Spicy stir-fried rice desserts in a candy and spicy gochujang (purple chili pepper paste) sauce.
- Gimbap: Korean-style seaweed rice rolls full of varied components like greens, meat, and pickles.
- Mandu: Korean dumplings full of a combination of meat and greens, normally steamed or fried.
- Bungeoppang: Fish-shaped pastries full of candy purple bean paste, a preferred Korean road dessert.
- Twister Potatoes: Spiraled potatoes on a stick.
- Octopus Skewers
- Grilled shrimp
- Roasted Lobster topped with cheese
- Grilled scallops with cheese
Myeongdon can be an excellent place to drink. We tried out just a few craft beer bars within the space.
Seoul is a superb journey vacation spot to expertise an unbelievable mixture of the previous and current. Whilst you get a style of the normal tradition with the temples and palaces all through town and superbly adorned gardens, you may also get pleasure from fashionable museums, hi-tech points of interest, and immerse your self within the newest tendencies in Okay-entertainment, music, and tradition, and luxuriate in fashionable meals.
NOTE: A model of this text was first printed in Enrich Journal.
