Attraction

Top 10 Sights & Attractions Places to Visit in Seoul [Part II]

Visit Seoul

Jun 22, 2023 — 6 min read

Top pick 6 – Hongdae & Yeonnam 홍대 & 연남동

Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong are by far the top spots that Seoul citizens and tourists visit the most. Young generations at here can be seen in this place, so much so that it is called the street of youth.
It is a very common lifestyle for korean young people to set up a meeting place with their friends and stop by a fancy bar or coffee shop after eating lunch or dinner.

Originally, this place was famous for art and music, but now it has developed into a unique area with its own character. It is called that all the pretty fancy cafes and restaurant including shops in Seoul are located here.

The restaurants, which serve ordinary korean food as well as internernational food that cannot be easily eaten anywhere else, are attracting not only tourists but also Seoulites to this place. As soon as you arrive hongdae or Yeonnam, you’ll understand why this neighborhood has such a vibrant and unique characters. If you want Nightlife this is the best choice. It is famous as a place where busking often takes place as well.

Yeonnam-dong is located about 10 minutes away by walk from Hongik University, and many cafes and restaurants are emerging as a hot place recently.

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Top pick 7 – Bukchon Hanok Village & Insadong 북촌 한옥 마을 & 인사동

Insadong is a great place to buy souvenirs from your trip to Korea. There are many restaurants here where you can taste typical korean cusine. There are also many Cafes where you can drink korean traditional tea.

Art galleries, traditional craft shops, antique art shops, traditional teahouses, traditional restaurants, and cafes are concentrated here. You can buy some nice Korean landscape paintings or oriental paintings here. This is an area where the congestion of the past is stronger than the present, so time passes relatively slowly here.

Bukchon Hanok Village is a tourist attraction located not far from Insa-dong and is a living space where residents actually live.
Hanok Village is a small village with about 250 residential hanoks, and is a popular spot for foreigners. It is a popular spot with an average of 10,000 tourists visiting per day. It is a must-visit spot where you can see the beauty of Hanok, a traditional Korean architectural style, with your own eyes.

As soon as you arrive this place where time flows very slowly you are going to have a special feeling and experience through the contrast with the high buildings and Hanok. Getting lost in Bukchon might be rather lucky because you will have more mystical experiences that way.
A visit to the Blue House on the way to Bukchon can also be a good tour itinerary.

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Top pick 8 – Gangnam & COEX Shopping Mall 강남 & 코엑스 쇼핑몰

Gangnam is famous for its skyscrapers and wide roads. Gangnam is an affluent neighborhood with many large stores and high-end restaurants. Many major company’s headquarters are located here, therefore you can easily see office workers neatly dressed in suits here and there.

Gangnam’s sophisticated buildings and well-maintained roads are enough to attract tourists. COEX Mall, located in Gangnam, Samseong-dong is large, and you can enjoy shopping, watching movies, and an aquarium regardless of the weather.

There is a special bookstore, Byeolmadang Library inside the mall worth stopping by. You can take a break while reading a book there. Even if you don’t understand Korean well, pick up a Korean book and take a selfie.

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A visit to Bongeunsa Temple located in Gangnam is also recommended.

Top pick 9 – Gwangjang Market 광장 시장

Gwangjang Market is a traditional market in Seoul that is as famous as Namdaemun Market. This Market is also a permanent market open 365 days a year.

Compared to Namdaemun market Gwangjang market for for rather gourmets than shoppers, this place can be described as a market lined with small restaurants. A variety of traditional Korean dishes that you can order from street food to reasonable prices will seduce your taste buds.

The specialty here is beef yukhoe(beef tartare)
You can taste it at a cheaper price than other regions, and I recommend you to order the mung bean bindaetteok when ordering this. Don’t eat too full. because there are still more to eat after beef.
After a light meal, I hope you will experience tteokbokki and mini gimbap at a very small restaurant that stands out.

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Top pick 10 – Jongno & Cheonggyecheon Stream 종로 & 청계천

Jongno is densely populated with financial companies and is lined with tall buildings, and Cheonggyecheon, nestled secretly between them, offers a magical break. Who would have thought that there would be a river like this between these buildings? This place is also famous as a promenade for Seoulites, although office workers who work nearby take a walk after lunch. When you sit here and dip your bare feet in the water, you forget you are in the city.