Seoul, South Korea’s capital 🇰🇷 is a huge business, cultural, and economical city. With a population over 25 million people to include the metropolitan area, Seoul can take weeks if not months and years to explore. Seoul offers everything imaginable from gigantic palaces and exciting food markets to a vibrant night life and stress free parks. If you simply have but a week or two to explore this huge city and are looking for things to do in Seoul or places to visit, I came up with a list of my top 12 recommended things to do in Seoul.
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Seoul, being the largest and most populated city in South Korea has something for everyone. Whether you are a night owl and like to party until the sun comes up or are like me and enjoy seeing cultural and historical sites, Seoul has plenty to offer. If you are a family looking for the best things to do in Seoul or a solo traveler interested in fun things to do I highly recommend Seoul as a destination. My first time visiting South Korea (2017), I spent two weeks in Seoul and recently went back (2023) for an extended weekend. These 12 things to do in Seoul are my recommendations that cover many attractions and activities throughout Seoul.
1. Bike Ride Along the Many Trails
If you are looking for fun things to do in Seoul and ways to get around this huge city, I recommend renting a bike🚴and exploring the city on two wheels. As busy and chaotic as Seoul might seem, I found Seoul to be very bike friendly with a great network of trails. In fact, my first time visiting South Korea, I rode a bike with Jill and her cousins from Seoul to Chuncheon entirely on paved bike trails.
There are public bike services throughout the city, where you can download an app, hop on a bike, and cruise around. Another option is to go to a bicycle shop that does rentals. They set you up with a decent bike more suited to your needs. We rented our bikes through a chain shop called Giant Bicycles.
Most trails in and around Seoul are designated for bikes and pedestrians. Many trails will have separate two lane bike roads, especially away from the dense city center.
2. Checkout a Book at Starfield Library
I’ll be honest, I am not big into reading books but I’ve always been fascinated by those beautiful libraries📖 you see throughout the internet. Most of the ornate and old libraries I’ve seen are located in Europe. But Seoul has a rather unique and modern library inside the Starfield Coex Mall. The library is called Starfield Library.
Starfield library is located in a mall. The library itself is located on two levels. The fascinating things about this library is that the bookshelves are several meters tall from the floor to the ceiling. There are approximately 70,000 books at Starfield Library. It is considered a public library, so anyone is welcome. Now a days, you’ll see more people walking around taking photos and videos before exiting the library then you do actually see people sitting down to read. Quite honestly, I feel it’s a terrible reading environment with the big open spaces and thousands of tourists walking around, including myself! Regardless, it’s a site to see and definitely one of the more impressive and unique libraries I’ve ever seen.
Side note, I have no idea how they manage to get the books off of the top shelves.
Although Starfield Library in Seoul is a fascinating library and book store, there are other book stores and libraries in Seoul that are well worth a visit. Here is an extensive list of must-visit book stores in Seoul that will surely interest any book lover.
3. Don't Miss Out on Delicious Korean Food
When I think of Korean food now a days, I think of flavor, spice, fermented vegetables like kimchi, and delicious meats. Korean food is complex and there are so many restaurants in cities like Seoul it can be difficult to choose where to eat🍲.
Usually, when visiting Seoul, I’ll think about what I am craving whether it be Bibimbap or Korean BBQ, and then do a quick online search for restaurants near me and generally go to the first or second option that appears. I find Seoul to be a bit complicated when it comes to finding restaurants because there can be multi level buildings with restaurants on different floors, so always look up and pay attention to signs on the building if looking for something specific.
I am a fan of Bibimbap and highly recommend trying this dish when visiting Seoul. Bibimbap is kind of a mix dish with rice, vegetables, and meat served in a hot bowl. You generally mix the ingredients in the bowl and let some of the rice at the bottom burn. It’s simple yet delicious.
The last time I went to Seoul, I tried Korean Fried Chicken and fell in love. The chicken is fried twice which gives it an airy and crunchy texture. Many chicken restaurants have a variety of different sauces it cooks in, I usually prefer either spicy or sweet.
No matter what you decide to go with, I guarantee you it will be a delicious dish. Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone and try Korean BBQ or a local seafood restaurant. Some of the best restaurants I have visited in Seoul have been spontaneous!
4. Experience the Nightlife
Out of all the countries I’ve visited, I feel South Korea has the craziest night life scenes🎉and I swear people here do not sleep. You could go out in Korea whether it be 19:00 or 3:00 am and people will be flooding the streets and restaurants are generally full.
If staying in the Hongdae area, this is a great place to experience night life with a younger crowd. Typically bars and restaurants are open very late in Korea catering to the late night crowd. I like to just walk around the streets, people watch, and grab a snack at one of the many night markets.
5. Explore Local Craft Beer
Craft Beer🍻is becoming more popular in South Korea. Of course it’s nowhere near as popular as Europe or the United States, but it’s a growing scene and I hope it continues to become more popular and evolve.
That being said, there are some decent breweries in Seoul and some great taprooms.
When I first visited Seoul, I was near a brewery called Craft Hans in the Hongdae area. It was a multi storied brewery with surprisingly good beer and food. My last visit to Seoul (2023), I made an effort to find more breweries and taprooms which wasn’t hard to do. Most breweries seemed to open past 17:00 but I did find a few taprooms that opened earlier which makes for a perfect midday break!
Most taprooms and breweries I found were through the Untappd app. While walking to Bukchon Hanok Village from Gyeongbokgung Palace, I found a new brewery that wasn’t listed on either Untappd or Google Maps. It was called MYBL Homebrew Haus. At this brewery, you get a bracelet and can pour your own beer. I’ve always wanted to try one of these breweries out, so it was nice to have finally had the opportunity. Beer wise MYBL Homebrew Haus brewed some decent ones. Their Session IPA was my favorite.
Later in the day, I found a brewery called The Table. Within the brewery, there was a huge table in the center of the building, hence the name. This brewery had a huge menu with a lot of delicious beers to choose from. The SH Yuja Ale or Seoul Train Double IPA were probably my favorites.
One more recommendation for craft beer lovers is to visit the convenience stores. They generally carry quite a few selections of local and international beers at a cheap price!
6. Go For a Hike at Bukhansan National Park
There are some great hiking areas 🥾 just outside the city of Seoul. If you are looking for places to go hiking in Seoul or day trips from Seoul, I highly recommend heading to Bukhansan National Park for a spectacular hike that is somewhat challenging but the views are every bit worth the hike.
For visitors without a car, Bukhansan National Park can be reached by bus. I recommend planning for a half day to full day hike, so bring decent hiking shoes, water, and any other hiking accessories used to protect against the elements or help with the hike.
There are several hiking trails throughout Bukhansan National Park. The trails are mostly marked and well maintained. Jill and I did get lost on our way down from the peak, but we managed to find our way to the correct trail after about an hour. Our goal was to hike to the top of Bukhansan Mountain, we made it but there were some adventures trails leading to the top. In general, the trail was easy and safe, but toward the top there are a lot of rocks but there are railings and ropes to assist. Once at the top, we saw a few stray cats that call the mountain summit home. Thankfully the cats all appeared to be healthy.
7. Play with Dogs and Cats at a Café
Who doesn’t love cats and dogs? When traveling, sometimes us pet lovers miss our furry friends at home. Thankfully in Seoul there are both cat🐈and dog 🐕cafés.
Generally how these cafés work is that you pay for a certain amount of time, grab a drink, and then pet or play with the cats or dogs. Many of the animals are up for adoption, but that is not always the case, sometimes the cat or dog cafes have lifers who are not up for adoption but are taken care of by the café.
In Seoul there are several cat and dog cafes. We went to Yeonnamdong Cat Café and got to play with the cute cats for about an hour. The dog café, I can’t recall the name of the one we visited, but they do exist. The dog café had several types of dogs and in all sizes.
8. Sample Food at the Local Markets
One of the best things to do in Seoul is visiting the street and night markets around the city 🍡. You don’t have to venture to far to find some type of market in South Korea. I love the night markets and highly recommend going to at least one while visiting Seoul.
Don’t know where to start? Check out my post on Best Street Markets in Seoul.
Myeongdong Night Market is probably my favorite market for food. I always say, take a quick browse through the many vendors to get an idea of what you want to try. Then go back through and start trying all the delicious food. There is so much food varities at the markets as well. Whether you are vegetarian or have little kids, there is something for everyone.
9. Start Your Morning Off at Paris Baguette or Ediya Coffee
The perfect travel day to me always starts off with a good coffee☕️and pastry 🥐. Thankfully, there are quite a few bakeries around Seoul that offer just that. I prefer Paris Baguette or Ediya Coffee to satisfy my coffee and sweet treat cravings.
Paris Baguette is your typical bakery that has both sweet and savory baked goods. Ediya Coffee is more about the coffee then the food but they offer pastries and other breakfast treats.
10. Take a Stroll on Seoullo 7017
If you are looking for free things to do in Seoul, then I suggest taking a stroll on Seoullo 7017🚶♂️. Seoullo 7017 is a elevated walkway or “Sky Garden.”
Seoullo 7017 used to be a highway overpass but was converted to a pedestrian walkway in 2017. The name 7017 is broken down as “70” derives from the year 1970 and “17” comes from the year 2017 and the amount of walkways that connect to Seoullo 7017.
Now a days there are various locations to access Seoullo 7017. The walkway is lined with vegetation and places for people to relax. There are even shelters scattered throughout the walkway in case you need a break from the intense heat.
I find Seoullo 7017 to be a great idea. It benefits the city because the healthy vegetation provides cleaner air, limits the urban heat island affects, and provides a somewhat nature escape in the heart of the city!
11. Visit the Must See Palaces and Shrines
My number one recommendation when visiting Seoul is to visit the temples and palaces 🛕. If you are looking for things to do in Seoul, look no further and visit these magnificent palaces.
In the Jonno District of Seoul there are a cluster of the 5 Grand Palaces of Seoul. Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeongung, Gyeonghuigung, and Deoksugung Palace, are the 5 grand palaces worth visiting. If you only have time to visit one of these palaces, I recommend Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbokgung was the main and largest palace. The grounds here are massive. Within Gyeongbokgung visitors can explore the palace grounds and see the Gyeonghoeru (Palace Pavilion), Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, Jibokjae (library), and visit the National Folk Museum of Korea (for an additional fee).
Don’t miss out on visiting the Jongmyo Shrine. Jongmyo Shrine is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just south of Changdeokgung and Changgyeongung Palaces. The forests surrounding the shrine are beautiful and the shrine itself is an impressive structure. Unfortunately, when I visited (2023) the main shrine was under renovation.
12. Walk the Historic Alleyways at Bukchon Hanok Village
Another free thing to do in Seoul, is walk around the historic alleyways of Bukchon Hanok Village 🌇. Situated between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace is Bukchon Hanok Village. This traditional village is made up of hundreds of homes and narrow alleyways. Of course, there are cute shops located throughout the village and a few places where you can sit down and have a drink or bite to eat. Jill and I found a traditional tea house that provided a great break to sit down, drink tea, and escape the heat of the day.
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Plan Your Trip: 🗺 ✈️ 🇰🇷
Booking Accommodations ⛺️ 🛖
For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out Agoda or Booking.com
Activities and Tours 🏖 🚁
Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor. If you are looking for tours and day trips, Viator and Get Your Guide have a lot of great options.
In need of a car rental? 🚗 🚘
I recommend checking with Rental Cars.
Comments (2)
I’ve only passed through Seoul on my way from Incheon to Busan, but would love to go back and explore. Bukhansan National Park looks amazing. Great photos as always, keep up the good work!
Steve,
Thanks! Hiking Bukhansan NP is one of my favorite things to do around Seoul. The nature there is beautiful!