Seoul Travel Hacks

Hello fellow travelers and readers, I wrote this travel hack back in 2016. I am posting this officially today January 18, 2019. Guess it is better late than never.

Here are my personal travel hacks for anyone who plans on traveling to Seoul.

1. Internet Connectivity is a must . You can get a pocket wifi at the airport. You can snag this right next to the baggage claim area. The person-in-charge will ask for traveler’s passport and credit card details. Debit CARD NOR CASH is not accepted. I highly recommend this internet company as the wifi and customer service are both reliable

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It cost us 34,100 won for the wifi rental fee with tax. The pocket wifi can provide internet service to three or four devices [smartphone or tablet] only. We rented the wifi device for 5 days.

2. Bring a 16,000-20,000 mAH power bank. Not only will you be charging your phones but also the pocket wifi device. The battery life of portable wifi device is only good for 7 hours.

3. Buy the T-Money card at a convenience store inside the airport. T money card is like Manila’s local LRT card. However, the great difference is that the T-Money card can be utilized in many different ways from paying train ride, taxi and bus fare. The T-Money card costs 4,000 won. Now, if you run out of T-Money credit, you can load up your card at any convenience store.  I spent about 15,000 won for the train and bus rides.  A single journey train ride will cost 1250 won. The very first train ride will begin at Incheon airport to Seoul Station Line 4 and will cost roughly about 3500 won.

4. Ride the Train. Try to avoid riding taxis or uber. One of the things you must keep in mind when riding the train is that every station has different exit / access ports. You must always remember your exit number.

So my friend and I rode the train first time, we kind of forgot where our exit was and we ended up going for a long walk back to our hotel just cause the exit number slipped our minds and boy… it was a very dreadful moment for the both of us.

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• Eg. Myeongdong Station. You will notice myeong dong has 10 exit points which will lead to different areas:
  • Exit 1 – Shopping Center
  • Exit 2- Namsan Elementary school
  • Exit 3 – To City Hall

• Note: if ever you will be riding a taxi, base fare is 3000 won ( that’s for a regular taxi ride; if you get to see a black taxi, that is a higher end kind of taxi, base fare for that is 5000 won)

5. Make an itinerary ahead of time. Trust me on this. Make the most out of your stay.

My friend and I stayed in Seoul for 5 days. Here is a sample itinerary:

Day 1 Insadong (6pm – 730pm), Cable Car to Namsan Tower, Namsan Tower (8:00pm – 11:30pm)

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Day 2 Tuesday: Gyeongbukgong Palace (9:00am – 12pm); Bokchon Village (1- 5:30pm); Myeong Dong

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• We rented out Hanboks as we explored Bokchon Village. Bonchok Village in my personal opinion is the most ideal location for tourists to wear the traditional Hanbok due to the magnificent archaic architecture and ambiance of the village. For an hour rental, the cost is 10,000 won per person.  The rental shops normally have the outfit rented out for two hours but since we didn’t have ample time (and we really did accentuate our short trip), they allowed us to have them rented for just an hour.

Day 3 Lotte World Amusement Park (10am – 4pm) ; Lotte Mart (grocery shopping); Hong Dae

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Day4:  Nami Island(10am – 2pm); Petite France (2-430pm); Myeong Dong (shopping and street food experience)

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• I highly suggest you go for a package tour to Nami. Inquire with the front desk staff of your hotel if they can arrange Nami Island package tour. We spent 40,000 won per person. The package includes:
  •  Nami Island Tour
  • Petite France tour

We met our Tour Guide, David, at Myeong Dong Station at 7am. From there, a local tour bus picked us up. The bus travel from Myeongdong to Nami Island port took us about 2 hours.

From the port, you will ride a ferry boat to Nami Island. The ferry ride is tad short, about 5 to 7 minute boat ride. We were given about 4 hours to explore Nami Island.  After our Nami Island tour, our tour guide took us to Petite France. David gave us about 1 hour and 45 minutes to explore the place. Petite France is a 25 minute drive from Nami Island port.

HERE IS A GROUP SHOT OF EVERYONE

You can reach K Tour Story via Viber or Whatsapp: KTOURSTORY CS +8210-576-08-389

• When Korean locals do grocery shopping, we noticed they bring a big luggage and fill it with their grocery stuff. Very clever hack. I think it is more convenient to drag a luggage than to carry grocery bags. If you are buying pasalubongs for family and friends, buy them [pasalubongs] at a grocery store instead. WHY? Goods are cheaper and the variety of options you have is way better. I had fun doing grocery shopping coz of the complimentary food and beverage tasting side by side

Day 5: Check out

6. Bring your most comfortable walking shoes. Tons of leg work – tons of walking and tons of stair climbing. With that said, you are ought to prepare yourself physically speaking.

7. Not everyone can converse in English. Download a Korean-English translator app

8. Download the Korean subway application (either on App store for Iphone or Play store for any Android phones).  This app will guide you significantly—it provides real-time transit info, timetable, transfer info, station/area guide, and so on; route finder that allows you to find the easiest and quickest transfer route; area guide helps to find nearby stations from your location.

9. Myeong Dong is the shopping HEAVEN for clothes and make up. Too, if you are on a search for new gastronomic experience, Myeong Dong is the right place to visit.

10. If you plan on visiting Namsan tower, there are two ways to get there. 1 – via cable car and 2- via bus ride. 

According to a local tourist information person, local taxis are not allowed to enter the Namsan tower. Only local buses (Bus line #2, 3, and 5). Getting there via 1 (cable car) or 2 (bus) is absolutely acceptable. My personal recommendation though is the cable car ride from Namsan Cable Car to Namsan Tower. Why? Travel is more efficient and less of a hassle. After our Namsan tower visit, we took a bus ride home.

Fee Breakdown:

• Entrance fee to the observation deck of Namsan tower is 10,000 won.
• Cable car fee: Single ride is 6,000 won; roundtrip is 8,500
• Bus Ride is 950 won (using T-Money)

Note: Tourist information people are everywhere. They wear red clothing (red top, red bottoms or skirt). They are reliable source of information. My korean friend told me that if ever you lost your wallet and have no way of getting back to your hotel, go to the nearest police station or approach a policeman and they will give you a free ride to your hotel.

11. Ditch the fancy restaurants. Street food and local restaurants are everywhere. You’ll probably spend about 6,000-8000 won per meal. Ask a local for a recommended restaurant. Budget your meal wisely.

OYSTER WITH MELTED BUTTER & CHEESE

Note: If you are in Myeongdong area, looking for an authentic local food experience, try to find MYEONG DONG KOJA. I will not disappoint you. Myeong dong KOJA is pretty popular among the locals. This restaurant serves only four genuine Korean local dishes.

12. If you are seriously considering the Pojangmacha experience, let me give you a heads up on this: the food is more expensive—costs about 20 TO 30% more than the regular food chains we’ve encountered. We tried Pojangmacha in Myeongdong.

• POINTERS: Only cash payment is accepted. Too, in case you need to use a restroom, look for the nearest public restroom.

13. Keep a business card of your hotel in your wallet. You never know.

14. Bring a local map with you.

15. Keep the traveling spirit alive!

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These are my travel hacks for anyone who plans on visiting Seoul! If you think this article will and could help a fellow traveler, friend, or family, you are more than welcome to share this!

Kamsahamnida
감사합니다

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Isabelle Segui / turistangdentista