South Korea Seoul in 1 week

I flew from Denpasar, Bali to Seoul, South Korea. I choose to stay at Ibis, because it’s a well known hotel chain all over the world. The other options didn’t look as good or were way to expensive. The breakfast buffet at Ibis was awesome, the rooms are very spacious, there is a gym and sauna. Also the location is right in the city center. I do recommend staying here. Avg: €60 a night (I did share my room with my boyfriend) * I also travel on a budget, so all the places mentioned are the cheap options. I did not go to any fancy restaurant, breakfast places etc.

After checking in and having a little nap from the early flight, it was time for dinner. A lot of places seemed to close early, but then we saw this place and it did not disappoint! You can choose from a few different options, chicken, squid etc. If you want it spicy or not and if you wanna add cheese. Then the next option is noodles and or rice. This was a delicious meal! I enjoyed it so much that later on my trip I went again.

Starting with the breakfast buffet in the hostel. Eggs, toast, cheese, bacon, rice, Korean cooked meats, juice, tea, coffee, they have it all! I loaded up because today I went for a long walk exploring the city.

Everywhere you can find the billboards, this really gives me big city vibes! They even look ore cool at night.

One of the four main gates of the fortress built to protect the capital (present-day Seoul) of Joseon, this gatehouse is better known by its another name Namdaemun (“Great South Gate”), given since it is located on the south of the walled capital. The gate began to be built in 1396

The plan was to walk towards the river and on our way we came across all these different buildings and streets

At the river there is a nice path to walk along the river. You will also have this awesome view over seeing both sides of the city. I was so amazed by how big Seoul is.

Before heading back to the hotel for some rest, I made a stop at 7/11 for a snack and a drink. They have different types of ice tea, fruit drinks and coffee. I do recommend trying them!

For dinner we went to the street food market in the city. We tried lots of different things. My favourite was the fresh made mochi. The prices varies between €2-€8

I wanted to try something els then the breakfast buffet and thought I would just go outside and see where I will get my breakfast today. I walked across this place and thought I would give it a go. They had many different rice and noodles options. Be careful if you cannot handle spice! Many options are spicy and spicy food for breakfast was new for me. It was very tasty and definitely filled me up for the day.

From the hotel you could see this big building sticking out. Today was the mission to get there. When I arrived you could choose to take the cable car up or walk. Since I walked a lot the day before, I decided to buy a ticket up and walk down again. If you are fit, I do recommend walking up since it a beautiful walk. On top you had an amazing 360 degree view over the city.

After walking down I saw on the map that I was close to the DDP building and decided to go there. This huge building is full with different expositions changing every now and then. Prices vary between €15-€30 I had a look in the meta vers expo.

After that the expo it was time for another snack and drink. These sushi rolls are not too bad at all, and definitely fill you up!

Insa dong is another street food market. I both some Korean candy here. Also a good place to buy souvenirs.

This is the coolest place at night with all these billboards.

I went to one of the many restaurants in this street. Most of them being Korean bbq, I of course had to try this. I do recommend trying Korean bbq! It’s very delicious, although it is not my thing.

After some spicy noodles for breakfast I was craving some bread the next time. Sadly they were sold out of most of their sandwiches, so this is what we got. The bread with olives was so delicious and came with jam and olive oil.

I felt like being fit in Korean was definitely a thing. This hike was full with local people. Young couples, friend and even older couples (that looked 60/70 years old to me) You can easily get her by metro and bus. Just use google maps. BE PREPARED THO! I had a water bottle and some snack with me. Thinking this would be a 2 hour hike up. In the end it took me 4 hours to get to the top🤦🏻‍♀️ * I do not have a really good cardio and wanted to stop multiple times. The view was so worth it tho! I walked down to the other side of the mountain, where I got the metro back to my hotel.

After such a long hike I was so hungry, so I decided to go back tot this place. This time with cheese!! So yummy

Nice place to have a quick breakfast. All their options are sweet tho, so if you more of a savoury person for breakfast I would not recommend this place. But for being on a budget this was awesome. Today we are going to an amusement park. I recommend booked online 48h before.

On my way to the amusement park I made a few stops. * you can also take the bus straight to the park, but since I booked my tickets to late I was still waiting to receive them. You live and you learn. This bookstore is worth a stop though. Just look at this.

Around the corner you can find this huge 3D billboards

After finally receive my tickets on my phone it was time go to the amusement park. I choose for a combo ticket for the park and aquarium. There is a huge indoor bit and outdoor. From rollercoaster to water slides and 4D attractions. I had a lots of fun.

10min walk from the amusement park you can find the aquarium.

Nearby I found this ramen place. I love love ramen and this place was amazing. They only had chicken ramen and you could choose out of 2 options. With only a few seat inside it was full. You come here to eat, water is free and then leave for the next person. I did really like this concept, because it all about the food.

This was an early morning. Online 48h before I booked a tour to the DMZ. This is the boarder between North and South Korea. They pick you up at your hotel. We had to leave this early, because they only let 800 people a day in. So we had to be first at the location.

The first stop is at the freedom bridge. The guide will explain all the monuments that are there and share a lot of history. This was sometimes pretty shocking.

Second stop is at the observatory. Here you can spy on North Korea. This felt weird but was also very funny. Trying to find people on the other side.

Last stop was at the third tunnel. After both Koreans thought they were at piece. North Korea made multiple tunnel to try and invade Seoul. This was pretty recently and actually a bit scary. We were allowed to go in the third tunnel they found. But you are not allowed to take your camera or phone with you. In the tunnel you will be 175m away from North Korea.

At night we had some noodles at this Michelin. They have multiple locations in the city. The portions are huge, if you are with the 2 of you and also wanna try the dumplings, I recommend sharing the noodles. Very delicious and tasteful.

Another budget breakfast spot was at Isaac. They have multiple locations in the city. You can choose out of many different sandwiches and fruit juices. I had a honey garlic, with eggs and ham. This was very greasy, but delicious and a strawberry juice that tasted more like a milkshake. Good, but wouldn’t eat this everyday.

Today I spend my day in the shopping mall. This is a huge mall with many floors. They also have a cinema. I often like checking out the cinemas in different countries.

Before leaving I had to try one for these squid game cookies of course. I did not have enough patience for this 🙄

This place I recommend you to go a 100%!! It’s a must if you like ramen. There are only 4 chair inside and you need to wait in a line outside until the chef tells you to come in. There are 2 noodles options and he will prepare it right there in front of you. You can’t buy any drinks, just free water. These ramen were one of the best ramen I ever had. BE EARLY. This place is very loved with huge lines outside.

For dessert I had some black ice cream in the city. Actually it is just coconut ice cream, delicious but not very special.