South Korea... the Miracle country

• Namsan Tower and Namsan park:

If you come to Seoul, you will notice that you can see the Namsan Tower from almost all places especially at night when it glows. The observatory deck of N-Seoul Tower gives a wonferful view of the town, but the weather must be clear. The entrance to the observatory costs 10.000 won (10$ approx.) Namsan park, which surrounds the Namsan tower, has a free entrance and you can take pictures with people wearing korean costumes and wear yourself a costume for free (depends on your luck). All around the N-seoul tower there are thousands of padlocks of love, where you can write down your name and your lover's name with a message.

• Banpo bridge and floating islands:

Banpo bridge is the rainbow musical dancing brige of Seoul.  Check the article here

Around the rainbow bridge are 3 floating manmade islands. Check the article here

• DMZ and JSA 

Check the article here

• Seoul City Skyline

Check the article here

• Myeong Dong 

Check the article here

• Deoksugung
• Changdeokgung palace and SECRET GARDEN 

Check the article here

• Gyeongbokgung

• Bukchon hanok village

• Namdeamun Market
• Insadong Market
• COEX MALL and aquarium
• Gangnam-gu district
• The garden of morning calm
• Shinsagae, Lotte mall
• Yeouido Park and I SEOUL YOU 
• War memorial museum
• Dongdaemun Design Plaza
• Iteawon
• Gwanghwamun 
• Musée national de Corée
• Kiobo bookstore

If you are a shopaholic, Seoul is your place. There are a lot of Duty free malls like LOTTE MALL, SHINSAGAE...etc. Almost all malls exceed 8 floors, and each floor has its specific item category. 

• Most malls are located at: Myeongdong, Gangnam, and Dongdaemun districts

1. Lotte mall : Opening Hours [Daily 10:30 – 20:00] Address [81, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul]
2. Coex mall : Opening Hours: Daily 10:30 - 22:00 Address: 159, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
3. D-Cube City Mall : Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 11:00 – 21:30, Sat - Sun 11:00 – 22:00 Address: 662, Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul
   
4. Lotte Young Plaza : Opening Hours: Daily 11:30 - 21:30 Address: 15 Sail-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
   
5. Times Square Mall : Opening Hours: Daily 10:30 - 22:00 Address: 15, Yeongjung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
6. Migliore: Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10:30 – 05:00 Address: 18-145 Euljiro 6-ga, Dongdaemun, Seoul
   

We booked at a hotel the DMZ tour (demilitirized zone  between South Korea and North Korea). If you are in Seoul you should not miss this special experience since Seoul is near the border. We also got inside the 3rd inflitration tunnel and saw North Korea from the observatory deck.

• For DMZ tour, you need to book one day in advance. For JSA tour, you have to book at least 3 days in advance.
• Almost all hotels and guesthouses offer to book both DMZ and JSA, so you really don't have to book online.
• All tours meet at the LOTTE HOTEL SEOUL, where tours can also be booked.
• Don't forget to bring with you your passport, you won't be able to see anything if you don't bring it with you. Your passport will be checked at least once by the military before accessing to the joint area.

We had the chance to visit Seoul Skyline, the third  highest observation deck in the world, which opened a few days after our arrival to Seoul. The observatory is located on the upper floors (117-123F) and it offers a wonderful view of the city especially at night. The deck has a transparent glass FLOOR you can walk on and see what's going under your feet!! isn't that amazing?

It is recommanded to go there on clear days (not foggy) to enjoy the best views of the city. 

• How to get there: Jamsil Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, 8), Exit 2. Walk approx. 5min.
• Operating hours: 09:30-23:00
• Admission: Adults 27,000 won / Children 24,000 won

Seoul's Metro stations contain many original stairs. One of them is the PIANO STAIRS which is a real piano where you can play music only by walking on it! 

• Where  to find piano stairs : EULJIRO SUBWAY STATION

Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain was a splendid experience for me. I call it "the bridge of happiness" since it sends out dancing, rainbow coloured jets of water synchronized with great music. It brings joy to its visitors. 

Operating Hours 
[April-June, September-October]
Weekdays: 12:00, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00 
Weekends: 12:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00 

[July-August]
Weekdays: 12:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00 
Weekends: 12:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00, 21:30 

You won't miss the chance to see the colourful floating islands at night because the landscape is just amazing! These beautiful bling buildings are located in the southern end of Banpo Bridge.

• How to get there : Express Bus Terminal Station (Seoul Subway Line 3, 7, 9), Exit 8-1

1. People are friendly:

What I have noticed is that People in Seoul are really friendly. In fact, if they see you in trouble they ask "are you okay ? can I help ?..." if they speak English. If they don't, they simply do signs that they can't communicate in your language politly. Sometimes, I just stand in the metro station with my map and someone comes and offers to help me out finding my way. Also, people there are very polite and they respect foreigners.

2. English is not their thing:

If you don't understand Korean, you may have difficulties communicate there. In fact, not many koreans speak english fluently. And even if they do, their prounounciation is sometimes difficult to understand since they do pronounce some letters differently (H becomes CH, B becomes P...etc.) but it's just a matter of time to get accustomed to that. However, young people in general speak enough english to communicate with. 

3. Life is quite expensive:

South Korea and especially Seoul is not a destination for low budget travellers. However, if you are a group, there are multiple guest houses and hostels that offer a quite moderate price to the customers (CHECK : NAMSAN GUESTHOUSES!!). I noticed that fruits are amongst the most expensive things in Korea...

4. Cosmetics... cosmetics... and then Cosmetics:

You can be surprised by the importance of cosmetics in South Korea lifestyle. Cosmetic shops are everywhere! There are many brands like: THE FACE SHOP, HOLIKA, ETUDE HOUSE, NATURE REPUBLIC... and even in Namdeamun Makert, whish is a traditionnal market, cosmetic shops are there and have great offers.Even men take good care of their skin. I would say that Seoul is definetly a Cosmetic paradise! I have bought myself a lot of face masks at relatively cheap price (1$ to 2$ per mask) and all shops offer packages, and gift boxes.

5. Koreans love their culture:

I have noticed that koreans are very proud of their cultural heritage. They have many museums, palaces that are open to public, excursions and festivals that show the aspects of the korean curlture to the tourists, some entries are free and sometimes you can wear costumes and get pictures for free as well. 

6. Organised and safe:

Seoul is a well organised and clean city. If you are a smoker, you should pay attention that in many public places it is not allowed to smoke. There are special areas to do so.Also it's very safe since there are cameras everywhere. You can walk alone after midnight and fear nothing. 

We have visited Coex Aquarium in Coex Mall the second day of our trip in Korea. It was amazing! 

• How to get there:  Samseong  station EXIT 5 and 6  (Line n° 2)

The korean handmade items are everywhere in South Korea. These items are kind of pricy but so beautiful. Wooden boxes, lamps, art and statues are one of the most gorgeous hand made items in my opinion. You can add to your shopping cart hand bags, jewelery, some cute key holders and other accessories that are very nice too.

Korean hand made sellers are really kind, talkative and inviting.

• Famous places: Namdaemun Market and Insadong
• How to get there:

                                     -Namdaemun:   

                                     -Insadong:  Anguk Station (안국역), line 3, exit 6 or  Jonggak Station (종각역), line 5, exit 3

 By chance, we got a guest house just near Seoul's best place for shopping! Myeong Dong is very known for its numerous beauty shops, clothes shops, international fashion brands... etc. "Myeong Dong" litterally means "the bright town" and it is located between Chungmuro and Euljiro. It offers you a huuuuuuge range of shops where you can find all that you need to make yourself fashionably presentable. It is one of the main shopping districts in Seoul and in the world. 

You can't believe the number of cosmetic shops that are in there! And the ladies in front of each shop invite you with a small present to enter. "The face shop", "Etude house" , "Skin food", "Missha", ''Too cool for school" and other korean brands are very inviting, and their products are given in cute packages.  

• How to get there: Myeong Dong Station (명동역), line 4, exit 6 or Euljiro 1-ga Station (을지로입구역)  line 2, exit 5

While googling on the internet, we thought it was a good idea to visit korean flea markets, and we found that there's one huge flea market not far from the place we live in.

If you look for great and cheap items, if you are a treasure hunting, you should try Seocho fleamarket in Sadang. It is opened on Saturdays, from 9 am to 3 pm and it is one of the best flea markets in Seoul. You will be impressed. A lot of pretty clothes are in there at a very low price. For example, I bought a black vest with its matching pants for only 3000 Won (~3$). And they are clean and look new. You can also find ancient decorative items and antiques, bags, accessories, shoes, tools...etc.

You just have to be patient!

• How to get there: Sadang Station, Lines 2 and 4, Exit n°11