Quick Travel Guide

여러분! 안녕하세요! 잘 지내죠?
Everyone! Hello! You are all doing fine right?

Here is a quick travel guide post which I had given to my friend while he was away to Korea. I hope it may come handy :)

Here are the list of places you can visit and tips when you are in Korea.

 

There are 2 airport in Korea - Incheon and Gimpo. Flights from Singapore will land at Incheon Airport.

 

From Incheon Airport you can go to your destination via 3 ways.

1) BUS

2) AREX (Airport Rail Express Train)

3) Taxi

 

Places you can travel to in Korea

1) Seoul (Capital city of Korea, the largest city)

2) Busan (2nd largest city of korea, one of the busiest port in the world)

3) Daegu

4) Ulsan

5) Jeju (an island, self-governing, a romantic getaway). A small island so it is convenient only when you drive and knows how to speak Korean.

 

Since I have been to Busan and Seoul, I can share some places which you might want to visit.

 

BUSAN

1) Centum City --> the biggest shopping mall in Korea. It appears on the world book of record. Consist of 2 Korea big shopping mall which is Lotte and Shinsegae. Busan Subway Line 2 (Green)

 

2) Jalgachi/ Gukje/ BFF --> you can find fresh fish at Jalgachi market. Gukje and BFF are shopping street. Busan Subway Line 1 (Orange)

 

3) Nampo-dong --> a lively street with shopping at Gwangbrok-ro Street. There is a Lotte departmental store nearby. You can also visit Yongdusan Park. Subway Line 1 (Orange)

 

4) Somyeon --> another shopping street. Good for shopping too. It is just like Myeongdong in Seoul. If in Busan, do visit Somyeon! Subway Line 2 (Green)

 

5) Haeundae --> A famous beach in Busan! There's a lot of drama filmed at that beach. I haven't got the chance to go there though :( Subway Line 2 (Green)

 

6) Taejongdae --> a very very nice place on a small island off Busan. Accessible by city tour bus. You can see one of Japan island for this place.

 

 

SEOUL

 

1) Myeongdong --> shopping area! I personally really love this area! A lot of cosmetic shops available! Side by side! You can find accessories here. Uniqlo is also here. Some international brands can also be found here. There is Lotte Departmental Store and Lotte Young Plaza across the street, and further up, Shinsegae departmental store. You can find various KPOP souvenirs at the Myeongdong Underground Shopping Street. KTO Korea is also located in Myeongdong. And also you can locate official kpop product under SM Entertainment at SPAO/Everysing. N Seoul Tower is also located in Myeongdong. Seoul Subway Line 4 (424) or Line 2 (202)

 

2) Dongdaemun --> Another shopping area. Various shopping mall available here. You can find clothes, shoes here. There is night market selling those branded product replicas. Seoul Subway Line 2 or 4

 

3) Namdaemun --> Whole sale market. Seoul Subway Line 4 (425)

 

4) Insadong --> a historical place. You can locate the hanok village here. Booking of Nami Island tour is also located in Insadong. Do visit Ssamzegil. It is an open concept shopping mall. One of the highlight of the place is Jungno Tower. Seoul Subway Line 1 (131) or Line 3 (328)

 

5) Itaewon --> foreign market. You can find many foreigners here. Many halal food here. Kebab stores, indian food. The only mosque in Seoul is also located in Itaewon. Seoul Subway Line 6 (630)

 

6) Sinchon/ Ewha/ Hongdae --> These are universities areas. Filled with youngsters. So there is a lot of shopping that can be done here. Ladies clothings/shoes can be found at Ewha. Seoul Subway Line 2 (241/ 240)

 

7) Yeouido --> an island in Seoul. Yeouido park is used for filming of City Hunter! You can run/cycle at the park. The main Korean channels are here in Yeouido - SBS/KBS/MBC :) It is also one of the port for Hangang River Cruise. Seoul Subway Line 9

 

8) Apgujeong/Gangnam --> Oh oh oh! Oppa gangnam style! The top niche area of Seoul. Totally a different feeling from other parts of Seoul. Do visit COEX mall! Seoul Subway Line 3 (336) for Apgujeong, Line 2 (219) for COEX

 

9) Gwanghwamun --> You can visit the main palace Gyeongbokgung palace. There is entry fee. It is one of the 5 palaces in Seoul. This palace is used for many Korea drama filming as it is the biggest. You can visit the National Palace Museum of Korea which is free upon entrance to palace. Seoul Subway Line 5 (533)

 

Another province you can travel out to beside Seoul, is Gyeonggi. There is bus to Gyeonggi.

 

You can visit Paju English Village for Running Man fans. There's a few episodes shot here. There is also Paju Premium outlet, Hyerri Art Village and DMZ Odusan Observatory all located in Gyeonggi, Paju. Nami Island is also located in Gyeonggi.

 

Some travel tips to Korea:

1) Do buy the T-Money (its like our ez-link card). This is used in Busan, Gyeonggi and Seoul. You can buy it at convenient store and top-up at the subway station.

 

2) There is Busan City Tour and also Seoul City Tour bus. You can consider taking it. It will visit many tourist spot. But just to let you know, IT IS CROWDED

 

3) Although there is a lot of free WIFI almost everywhere in Korea, you can consider renting WIFI modem. It is only available at Incheon Airport. The one I rent was from Olleh, at around 5000WON per day. You can search online and see the pricing. I feel getting this is cheaper than SIM card IF you do need to make any home calls.

 

4) People there are always in a rush, banging people. So don't be surprised and don't be offended if they just hit you and never say sorry. Hehehehe

 

5) For going back wise, do check with your hotel if there is any Airport Limousine Bus nearby. With luggages, it will be hard to travel back to airport via train.

 

Hope this tips help.

 

Love,

Shah