How to Spend 7 Days in Seoul

Seoul was our very first international holiday as a couple, back in November 2023. We chose South Korea because of budget/time restrains, and it seemed like a destination where we could dabble with adventure while we learnt how to travel together. The top of our must-do’s were visiting the De Militarised Zone, palace hopping, chicken wings and exploring the markets. While the culture shock was fun, did we find Seoul a romantic spot? Yes, the abundant cafes and hole in the wall restaurants radiate an atmosphere that feels like a never-ending date. This enormous city immediately found a place in our hearts, and is a must-do destination for everyone!

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OUR HOLIDAY IN A NUTSHELL
When: November 2023
Duration: 7 nights
Total Cost (exc. flights): $3,500AUD

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Things to Know When in Seoul

Arriving in Seoul

Seeing as we were arriving from Australia the immigration process was relatively quick, visas were issued on arrival. Going through immigration requires you to fill out an arrivals card. There is one big section with arrivals cards in different languages before getting to the immigration desk.

Note: Remember a pen, they were a scarce resource when we arrived.

All in all we were at baggage claim in less than half an hour. Our flight arrived late at around 9pm, and seeing as the journey from Incheon into Seoul is about an hour, we decided to stay at a hotel close to the airport for the night.

Catching a Taxi in South Korea

Finding the taxi rank at the airport is relitively easy, there are many signs throughout the terminals that point the direction. However, once at the taxi rank it becomes a little more complicated as the taxi’s are segregated into the travelers destination. We found this complicated, so if you are unsure of where to stand there are attendants who can offer aid.

Once away from the airport we found the taxi system in Korea difficult to operate. There are also no taxi ranks within the city as they only use the booking system. To book a cab you use a Korean app rather than calling, hotels were more than happy to book a taxi via the app for us though.

Majority of the taxi drivers we had spoke no English, so there was a strong language barrier if anything went wrong. For instance at one point the driver had to drop us off at a different stop due to traffic, and we only really got the hint after a few explanations in Korean and wild gestures.

In saying all this, the taxis we caught were VERY cheap. A trip to the airport was about $70AUD, for a journey that was over an hour. Around the city our journeys were always less than $10AUD. So this is a very affordable way to travel.

Navigating the Train System in Seoul

Seoul has an extensive rail network that operates as coloured lines to different destinations throughout the city. There are stations everywhere, and we were never more than a few minutes’ walk away from one. It took a few days, and a lot of confidence, to be able to navigate the system. However, once you figure it out it’s extremely easy to use, and was our preferred method of travel.

There is a complete map of the Seoul metro network in each station. It’s worth finding where you are and where your desired destination is on the map, and noting each coloured line you may need to travel on. Still stuck? Use Rome to Rio and enter your desired locations, it will tell you all the information you need to travel easily.

We opted to buy a single use ticket from the ticketing machines each time we travelled, it only cost ₩1500 ($1.66AUD), and reinserting your ticket in a machine at the end of your journey will give you a ₩500 ($0.55AUD) refund. The ticket machines are easy to use once you know your destination station.

The trains are very clean, comfortable, and sometimes crowded during peak times. We got a seat often, but if we had to stand, the journey was never really that far anyways.

The train stations were fairly clean, with a variety of small shops/eateries throughout. Warning the train station toilets were pretty average to downright gross, but there is a lack of public toilets around so sometimes it was the only option.

Note: the trains stop running at exactly midnight, factor this in for any late-night plans as you may become stranded before your final stop.

To look at the metro map go to http://www.seoulmetro.co.kr/en/cyberStation.do

Hotels

Nest Hotel Incheon

We got a standard double sea view room that cost ₩138,600 ($154AUD) for the night. It’s not often a hotel wows us so much that we will 100% book again, but this hotel did it. The rooms were huge and very modern with industrial chic touches. The staff were over the top friendly, which was such a lovely introduction to the warm people of Korea. The hotel grounds are so beautiful that it looked like wedding venue, the whole vibe was cool climate coastal cute. Do not forget the breakfast, which is a multi-tier seating area where everyone has a view over the water, and buffet delights from popular Korean and western breakfast dishes.

L’escape Seoul

We stayed 6 nights in a Secret King room, the early bird cost was ₩1,381,600 ($1535AUD) for our stay ($250AUD/night). This is a standard price in Australia, but it is one of the more upper-class hotels in the Myeongdong area. The room was enormous, with a king bed, living space, clawfoot bathtub, and a separate room to store suitcases. The decor is very 1920s French, and made us feel as if we were in a movie about a bohemian Parisian poet with a penchant for absinthe and courtesan muses. The only downside was that the onsite restaurants were very pricy and cost more than the room. However, being on the doorstep of the Night Market, this complaint didn’t really matter.

Language

We primarily stayed in the touristy areas in Seoul, so a venture into the countryside would yield a very different experience with navigating the language. As a whole, the local Korean population that we ran into spoke very good English. We didn’t really have any issues communicating in shops of cafes, unless we were asking for oat milk in our coffee, because that seemed to be the only thing lost in translation.

When is the Best Weather in Seoul

The weather in Seoul varies incredibly through the seasons. There are very hot typhoon conditions during summer, and enough snow to fill the surrounding ski fields in winter. Because of these two weather extremes the best time of year to visit is the milder spring and autumn.

We holidayed here in autumn, and the weather was cool-cold with a high of about 11°C and a low of -7°C. It only rained once while we were there, but the downfall was pretty intense and we got very wet. During our trip to the DMZ we got to see snow fall, but there was no snow on the ground. As Seoul is subject to the wrath of all four seasons autumn turns the city into a burnt orange wonderland. True autumn is a myth in Queensland, so seeing the trees turn colour was truly something special.

Here is a general table of what the weather is like in Seoul based on historical reports.

Month	Temperature	Rainy Days	Snowfall	Humidity
January	-3.5°C	3	13.2cm	58%
February	-0.8°C	3	8.4cm	58%
March	4.2°C	4	4.2cm	61%
April	10.7°C	5	1.2cm	65%
May	16.5°C	6	0cm	69%
June	21.5°C	7	0cm	73%
July	24.2°C	12	0cm	83%
August	24.8°C	11	0cm	81%
September	20.3°C	6	0cm	75%
October	13.6°C	4	3.6cm	70%
November	5.8°C	5	5.1cm	69%
December	-1.5°C	4	12cm	60%

Cost Breakdown of a Holiday in Seoul

The main takeaway from our cost breakdown is that we came back with money, and we did not budget on anything while we were there. We did pick South Korea mainly because we had time restraints, but also, we wanted to indulge without spending too much. The comparisons we give are based on the cost of things in Australia.

Accommodation – slightly below average. We stayed in a very nice hotel and it was roughly $250SAUD/night, there are some cheaper options which we will most likely stay in next time we go.

Transport – very cheap on a global standard. Other than airport transport, taxis and trains are so cheap they don’t really need to be factored into a budget.

Food – Average. Meals at normal restaurants were about $15-20AUD/meal, the markets were cheaper, and some high-end restaurants were extortionate.

Alcohol – Below average. Drinks were around $5-10AUD/drink.

Clothing – Slightly above average. Most clothing stores were >$100AUD/item, even in markets like Hongdae. The quality of the clothing is very good, so it is worth the higher price tag.

Activities – Below average. The palaces are so cheap they are basically free, our walking tour and DMZ tour were very affordable for the experience you got.

Why are there no public bins in Seoul?

So you’re walking around Seoul taking in the scenery and snacking on some delicious local fare, and you want to put your rubbish in the bin because you are a good person. But you keep walking and walking, and no matter where you look there isn’t a bin in site. Are you imagining this? No. Bins in Seoul are few and far between, whether you are in a shopping center, train station, or going to see the historical landmarks.

We picked up on it very quickly, and we asked our guide about it on the first night during our Ghost Tour. Back in the mid 90’s the government implemented a fee per weight of rubbish removed from your house, in an effort to reduce landfill and get people to start recycling. To monitor this, garbage bags are distributed by the government with a link to the user. The people of Seoul decided to protest this by using public bins to dispose of their rubbish. The government then retaliated by removing essentially every public bin.

You’d think that with a lack of bins around the city Seoul would be a dump, but it is the cleanest city we have travelled to, even more than Singapore! Everyone seems to take their rubbish with them as they go, and this is what we did often disposing in the hotel bin. While eating in the Myeongdong Night Market and in the Hongdae Night District, we kindly asked the food cart operators if they could dispose of the rubbish in their bin after we ate.

Gas Masks in the Train Stations

It seems like something out of a dystopian apocalypse movie. But yes, they are there for the reason you’d think, just incase if there is a fire/gas attack in the metro system in Seoul. In 2003 there was an arson attack on the northern line in Seoul, which resulted in 192 casualties. With that and the treat from the active war zone only 50km away, the South Korean government has taken extra precautions for the safety of their passengers.

Should you be worried? No, there are threats regardless of where you are in the world, and it is good that the government prioritizes safety. We never felt unsafe while in Seoul. There was comfort in knowing that incase there was an accidental fire, the stations are well equipped with gas masks, which I have never seen anywhere else.

Are the public Alert texts a concern?

If connected to the mobile network in Seoul you may notice that your phone is occasionally getting messages in Korean. These aren’t any normal text’s, they come with a siren/alarm sound and they start flashing red on the screen. One we received even had the title in English “Extreme Threat”.

Now being very close to an active war zone, these can be pretty scary at first. Is the world collapsing? Are we being attacked? Well, not to completely rule out any future threats, the text’s we got were rather benign. We put them through a translating app, and most were weather warnings or missing people in Seoul. So although this is still very useful information, the delivery is a little dramatic.