You wake up in a hotel room to the thrum of traffic and the sound of laughter on the streets below. You head downstairs and grab a coffee from Ediya, the blue-and-white coffee shop on the corner.

Ahead of you, there are vendors selling sweet eggy bread, tubs of spicy rice cakes, quirky glasses frames, and socks – lots of socks.

Along the way, you pass posters adorned with the pretty faces of K-pop idols, and in the distance, you hear a live performance from a group of boys hoping to have their faces upon these walls someday soon.

This is the one city, after all, where you can tour the streets with a handsome oppa. You couldn’t be anywhere else but Seoul. So let’s talk about where to stay in Seoul when you visit.

Where to Stay in Seoul, South Korea

Regardless of where you stay, there’s always this same unabashedly happy theme to Seoul’s streets. The people are smiling, music is playing, and coffee is being drunk.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good places to stay and bad places to stay in Seoul. In fact, there are five perfect districts that offer you the best Seoul experience you could ask for.

In this vast city of 10 million people, let’s take a look at the five coolest neighbourhoods and where to stay in Seoul when you visit.

Read More: 11 Unique and Interestings Hotels and Hostels in Seoul

Where to stay if you want a party: Hongdae or Itaewon

Check out Seoul’s best party districts and how to get home safely after.

Where to stay for culture lovers: Insadong

Visit the Jimjilbang for a cultural sauna experience.

Where to stay for the best shopping in Seoul: Gangnam

Here are some of Korea’s cutest cafes and some of their best tattoo artists.

Where to stay if it’s your first time in Seoul: Myeongdong

A Korean BBQ is a must – here’s how to enjoy BBQ like a local.

Itaewon Neighbourhood Guide

If you’re interested in being central when looking at where to stay in Seoul, Itaewon is the geographical heart of the capital, right in the centre of it all. Ironically, the heart of Seoul is the least quintessentially Korean district.

Itaewon used to be defined by its US military base, and so is still to this day the ‘foreign capital of Seoul’.

You’ll find as much English spoken here as Korean. Usually, that can be a turn-off for visitors looking to experience the real culture of a city, but not so much in Seoul. Koreans are friendly, international people, and many of them thrive in Itaewon.

It’s a lively place full of the city’s best bars and international restaurants. It has two great English-language bookstores: Itaewon Foreign Language Bookstore, as well as shops that sell bigger clothes for bigger foreigners.

It’s an easy way to ease into Korean life, but you don’t lose much of what makes Seoul what it is by staying there and exploring Itaewon to its fullest.

Where to stay in Itaewon

Enjoy the Views at Art Hotel:

Just outside of the craziness of Itaewon but close enough that you can enjoy all of the action, this lovely hotel has a rooftop garden where they grow organic vegetables.

Get colourful at Imperial Palace Boutique Hotel:

This brightly decorated hotel pushes the boundaries in contemporary hotel design and places you right in the heart of Itaewon.

Read More: The Ultimate 3-Day Seoul Itinerary

Myeongdong Neighbourhood Guide

For a taste of modern life when searching for where to stay in Seoul, Myeongdong is your best bet.

Myeongdong is the district that best encompasses the soul of Seoul. It blends the old and the new of Korean culture to make for an open and exciting place that’s full of charm, laughter, and dynamism.

On the weekends, buskers stake their claim to little sections of the promenade that have been carved out specifically for them.

Some of these buskers will be K-pop idol hopefuls, busting out choreographed dance moves to the whoops and cheers of enthusiastic onlookers. Others will be soulful crooners with acoustic guitars. Not too far from them are the street food stalls.

These vendors sell a selection of traditional Korean snacks, including these delicious bite-size sweet lumps of eggy bread called, funnily enough, gyeran bbang (egg bread).

You’ll also find chicken sticks, spicy rice cakes (tteokbokki), and sweet bread (hotteok). To finish it all off, this is the best place in Seoul to buy Korean beauty products, which is half the reason many people visit and want to stay in Seoul.

Where to stay in Myeongdong

Enjoy a Classy Stay at Sejong Hotel:

Named after Korea’s famous King, this elegant hotel is just five minutes walk from all the shopping action of Myeongdong. There’s also an on-site art gallery and a garden for a calm retreat once you’re done in the city.

Embrace the Colours at Sotetsu Hotels The Splaisir:

If you’re hoping to enjoy some of Seoul’s quirkiness while you’re there then this adorable hotel with rooms packed with Line themed toys is the ideal choice.

There’s also a roof garden with amazing views out onto the city making this one of the best places to stay in Seoul.

Hongdae Neighbourhood Guide

Hongdae gets its name from Hongkik University, so it’s unsurprising that the big student presence can be found here. If that’s what you’re after as you think about where to stay in Seoul, Hongdae is it.

Lots of students mean lots of bars, boutique shopping, cute independent cafés, and an electric atmosphere on the street level every day of the week. Hongdae is a fun kind of labyrinth; you can get lost easily, and that’s okay.

Go with the flow. Follow the other fish along the streams of pathways, duck into a café or a little boutique clothing store when you see an opening and enjoy the rush that Hongdae gives you.

Hongdae is also home to some adorable animal cafés, the coolest of which definitely being the Meerkat Café (don’t worry; they’re very very well looked after).

Also, when you stay in Hongdae, make sure to check out the Trick Eye Museum. It’s an interactive museum of big displays and 3D paintings – along the walls, standing in the open, and even across the floor.

When you go in, you’ll use the WIFI to download a free camera app that interacts with the art and causes it to move and come to life, making for a laugh-out-loud experience from start to finish.

Read More: Best Things to Do in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square

Where to stay in Hongdae:

Embrace Your Inner BTS at Kpopstay:

This is a real gem, it’s a budget hotel with crisp, minimalist design and genuinely lovely bunks. Kpop pictures adorn the walls and TVs play Kpop in the common areas at all times.

Whether you like Korea’s biggest export or not, this is one of the best budget hotels in the city.

Enjoy the Photogenic Orbit Cafe & Guesthouse:

This adorable hotel is decorated in whites and pinks and serves a fantastic homemade breakfast each day. Excellently located near all the action of Hongdae, Orbit is honestly a pleasure to come back to.

Insadong Neighbourhood Guide

If you’re excited to explore the traditional culture and the history of Seoul, you need to pick Insadong when thinking about where to stay in Seoul.

Insadong is a living, breathing slice of Korean history. Its most famous area is the Bukchon Hanok Village, which is a maze of streets lined with traditional Korean homes with wooden walls and slate roofs.

In the village, you’ll find that some of these homes have been turned into cafés, bakeries, and artisan jewellery stores.

Delightfully, none of this destroys the aesthetic of the village itself. Make your stay in Seoul special by renting a Hanbok (traditional Korean dress) to wear as you explore the village and conduct your own personal photo shoot.

Beyond the Hanok Village, Insadong is also a quietly bustling district of traditional tea houses that serve a range of healthy, healing brews with vintage snacks, and even a few Buddhist vegetarian restaurants which serve the actual cuisines prepared and eaten by Buddhist monks in Korea’s temples.

Not too far from Insadong, you’ll also find Seoul’s most famous landmark: Gyeongbokgung Palace, and in front of that the statues of King Sejong (the genius who created the Korean Hangul alphabet) and the naval military legend Yi Sun-sin (who fought off the Japanese during the Joseon Dynasty).

Where to stay in Insadong:

Go Traditional at Anguk Guesthouse:

If you’re here to experience the history and culture of Seoul (a wonderful choice) then why not stay in a traditional building.

Anguk Guesthouse is artistic, memorable, and above all beautiful. Traditionally, Korean sleep on heated floors but you’ll also find standard sleeping options here.

For a Modern Stay Go For Grid Inn Hotel:

Found right in the heart of Insadong, you can enjoy a contemporary living space on a budget within easy reach of the temples and hanok village Seoul is so famous for.

Gangnam Neighbourhood Guide

There’s so much to say about Gangnam — one of the coolest districts to consider when thinking about where to stay in Seoul —but we’ll do our best.

Although not the most central district, it’s still perhaps Seoul’s most famous neighbourhood, thanks to a little known pop song that cheekily poked fun at the upper-middle-class atmosphere of the area.

Gangnam is Seoul’s most impressive area from an aesthetic standpoint, particularly if you’re looking for the big skyscrapers and modern side of Seoul as opposed to the more traditional spots.

This is the biggest party district outside of Hongdae, although does tend to attract the older partygoers and you’ll find no shortage (seriously they’re everywhere) of cosmetic surgery and general beauty enhancement spots. Whether you want cheap laser hair removal or a nose job, you’ll find it here.

Gangnam massively resembles Manhattan, with towering skyscrapers that are resplendent on a summer’s day, and wide avenues that stretch on into the distance.

Gangnam is an area of fancy restaurants, Seoul’s best nightclubs, and the highest quality cinemas, hotels, and bars around. If you’re looking to stay in the more luxurious part of Seoul, you can’t do better than Gangnam.

Don’t forget to go out for some Korean BBQ, wander the backstreets and go shopping in the nearby Lotte World Mall. It’s worth bearing in mind that this is the most expensive part of the city and finding a budget hotel isn’t easy.

Where to stay in Gangnam

Hang With the Girls at Cheongdam Guesthouse:

If you’re a female traveller and are looking for a budget spot to stay at in Seoul then you’re in luck! This gorgeously designed hostel is in the heart of Gangnam and only accepts female guests. It even attracts famous k-pop guests due to its ideal location.

Enjoy the sleek Hotel Newv:

New in name, this is one of the more recent additions to the Gangnam hotel scene, it’s sleek, elegant and in a perfect location. You’ll even find a sauna and yoga classes to embrace some good habits while in Korea.

Read These Seven Books Before You Visit South Korea

We hope this neighbourhood guide has given you some insight into where to stay in Seoul when you visit!

Read More: 11 Unique and Interestings Hotels and Hostels in Seoul

We might also think about Japanese tattoo art. But tattoo artists in South Korea represent some of the most creative in the tattoo industry today.

Just like with so much Korean literature and Korean cinema, tattoo artists in Korea are pushing the tattoo industry in exciting new directions. Korean tattoo artists are thinking outside the constraints of traditional tattooing to bring us work that is wholly new and dynamic.

Before we dive into the best tattoo artists in Korea, here’s a quick history lesson.

History of Tattoos in South Korea

Korea has had a turbulent history with its tattoo culture. Similar to the views amongst the older generation in the West and attitudes which persist in Japan, tattoos have been associated with crime and general ‘untrustworthy types’.

Any actors and performers visiting and working in Korea have often had to, in the past, cover up tattoos while on stage to avoid offending anyone.

While having tattoos in Korea isn’t illegal, there’s still the issue of the law stating that actually getting a tattoo illegal if not performed by a licensed medical practitioner (this law is the same the same in Japan, though on the verge of changing).

Obviously, this makes it very difficult for talented artists to become licensed tattoo artists in South Korea (though far from impossible, as this list demonstrates).

The history of tattoos in Korea actually goes back to the 4th century when fishermen would get tattoos to ward off evil spirits. During the 19th century, however, things took a more negative turn when criminals were branded with tattoos.

Later, in the 20th century, tattoos in South Korea became associated with organised crime, much like how they still are in neighbouring Japan.

Additionally, there’s the issue that it goes against traditional Confucian values, which is similar to the religious argument in other countries, that you shouldn’t change the body your parents (or God) gave you.

Thankfully, tattoos are very quickly becoming de-stigmatised in Korea (compared to how they’re seen in neighbouring countries) and it’s not unusual to see young people on the Seoul subway with tattoos these days.

During our time living in Seoul, having tattoos ourselves has led to many conversations with curious locals that we just wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Check out our lists of other outstanding tattoo artists in Tokyo , Osaka, and Taiwan.

The Best Tattoo Artists in South Korea

Here are some of the best tattoo studios and tattoo artists currently working, and thriving, in South Korea. Scroll to the bottom for tips about getting a tattoo in South Korea.

85tattooer

The artist known as 85tattooer is one of the most unique tattoo artists in South Korea. They have a very specific style that makes their work instantly recognisable.

Almost every tattoo they do depicts either a grinning tiger (a modern take on an icon of Korean culture and mythology) or a grinning red devil with a gold tooth.

The devil can take many forms, from impersonations of recognisable characters from comic books and anime to dressing up as certain people or in certain roles, poses, and uniforms.

Cartoonish and bright, these wonderfully bold and inventive tattoos make 85tattooer one of the most exciting and original tattoo artists in South Korea today.

Dokhwa

Based in Seoul, Dokhwa is easily one of the most stand-out tattoo artists in South Korea working today. Her art is both hyper-realistic and adorable. This is because she mostly focusses on pets.

Not entirely, however. Dokhwa occasionally tattoos portraits and even characters from pop culture. But the majority of her tattoos are of dogs and cats looking both irresistibly cute and hypnotically realistic.

In spite of the realism on display here, Dokhwa still injects a unique sense of personality into her tattoos, through a recognisable and consistent colour palette.

This means you can spot one of Dokhwa’s tattoos easily, but also gasp at the sheer photorealism of them. She’s an incredible Korean tattoo artist.

Roha

Roha is a sensational Busan-based tattoo artist who specialises in a unique approach to portraiture (mostly women).

While her tattoos have a realistic quality to them, she almost always cleverly overlays the busts or entire bodies of women with natural imagery (ocean waves, sunsets, etc).

The end result is a piece that feels ethereal, calming, and yet also entirely captivating. Her line work also has a scrawling quality that sets it apart from other tattoo artists in South Korea.

Her approach to human form through her art is a breath of fresh air, and she has captured many hearts through her technique.

Krystal tattooer (크리스탈)

For more than ten years, the most popular growing trend and style in the world of tattooing is that of neotrad tattoos.

Neotrad is a style that takes old school traditional tattoo art and beefs it up with modern quality standards and, often, a more imaginative and playful approach.

Of all the tattoo artists in South Korea, it’s Krystal who represents the best neotrad tattoo art of the bunch. Her art is a consistent wave of beauty. Her colour palette leans heavily on shades of red and deep blacks, greys, and yellows.

Taking cues from traditional tattoo designs of old — skulls, ships, anchors, copasses, and other nautical tropes — Krystal not only imbues this style with new energy, she also does so with jaw-dropping skill and techniue.

If you like your tattoos bursting with colour, popping with depth and texture, and inspired by histories most iconic tattoo themes, Krystal represents the best of South Korea’s tattoo artists.

피타 – Pitta

Here is a Korean tattoo artist who really shows what it means to bring originality and style to your work as an artist. While, at the same time, drawing on your own heritage and local artistic traditions.

Pitta uses gorgeous traditional colours from Korean paintings, including classic reds, greens, pinks, and golds (the gold is stunning), to create scenes from Korea, Korean-inspired art, bold animals, and even Japanese anime-themed tattoos.

He often works in block shapes so his tattoos are instantly recognisable, without much background shading or even thick black line work.

Pitta is one of the best tattoo artists in South Korea if you want a traditional design in a uniquely modern style.

For tourists and travellers looking to get a uniquely Korean tattoo, Pitta is the artist you’re looking for.

Read More: Best Fine Line Tattoo Artists Around the World

시온 – Sion

Another one of the great tattoo artists in South Korea whose use of colour will blow you away. From natural florals and birds to beautiful fans and talismans.

Sion leans heavily on shades of pink with soft, delicate black line work to make their art quietly pop.

These are the perfect kinds of tattoos for someone looking for an understated, soft, yet infinitely stunning piece.

These are not loud, proud, intimidating tattoos. They are silky, soft, serene works of art that take their cues from classic crafts and natural elements.

If you’re looking for lush, dynamic, natural beauty then Sion is the artist for you.

시류타투 – Shiryu Tattoo

While Sion is an artist who opts for the soft and quiet approach, Shiryu is an artist who revels in the bold, the loud, and the extreme.

Excelling at enormous torso pieces, inspired by demons and Japanese elements like the phoenix and the peony flower, there is no artist like Shiryu.

One of the most exciting and abrasive tattoo artists in South Korea, Shiryu is all about that intense blast of bold colour, covering ever inch of skin with deep blacks, red, and golds.

These tattoos are metal; they are intense and loud; they are like nothing else you’ll find in South Korea.

홍담 – Hongdam

If you’re s fan of fine line tattoo art, Hongdam is for you. These are some of the most captivating, outstanding examples of fine line tattoo art you’ll ever find.

Hongdam creates fine-lined and whimsical watercolour tattoos and has made a huge name for themselves in the South Korean tattoo scene in recent years.

If you’ve been looking for a floral design or some delicate script tattoos then turning to Hongdam for your tattoo is an excellent choice. Their tiger designs are particularly inspired and, in turn, inspiring.

Sol Tattoo

Delicate fine art, watercolour tattoos. They create highly detailed pictures in the smallest of sizes. Sol tattoo is not only one of the finest artists of fine line tattoos in the world, but one of the best tattoo artists in South Korea.

타투이스트 나나  – Tattooer Nana

Nana specialises in the ever-growing in popularity neo-trad tattoo designs, while also managing to lean a little harder on the old school tattoo side of things.

Beautiful ,bold colours and thick black lines abound. For a striking tattoo in South Korea, this could be the one for you, especially if you’re a fan of the traditional and the real American old school style of tattooing.

타투이스트 바늘 – Tattooist Banul

This is one for delicate, small tattoos that make a statement. Thin lines, high detail, and majestic watercolours make Tattooist Banul’s style so distinctive.

Watercolour has become an increasingly popular style of tattooing in recent years, but quite often it can seem almost too pastel and quiet.

Banul manages to toe that line between bold colour and watercolour just perfectly.

Nobody

One of the best ways to make a name for yourself as an artist in any medium, and especially in the world of tattooing, is to have a specific personal brand or a recognisable style.

Nobody is one of the tattoo artists in South Korea who absolutely nails this.

Almostvery tattoo that Nobody designs is incorporated into a heart shape, regardless of what the content and design of the tattoo actually is. This is a genius move that is as unique as it is memorable.

Ridiculously cute, small heart and cartoon-inspired tattoos with bold lines. Totally unique and fun to simply admire, we absolutely love Nobody’s work!

호리타츠패밀리 – Horitatsu Family Kyu

Based in Busan, this Korean tattoo studio specialises in traditional Japanese designs and tattoo sleeves. Beautiful dragons, waves, and cranes are their signature styles and they do it so very, very well.

How to Get a Tattoo in South Korea

If you’re considering getting a tattoo in Korea I wouldn’t hesitate. The standards are equal to what you’d expect and with some of the most incredible tattoo artists in South Korea are below for you to choose from. You’re bound to come out with something special.

Most Korean tattoo artists have an Instagram page so if these aren’t your thing, that’s the best way to find someone who is. Find the best way to message them and fire over your ideas or visit the store and have a chat.

Most of these tattoo artists are based in Seoul but many of them do guest posts at tattoo conventions and studios around the world. If you need help with booking or want to find more artists, this Facebook page is a huge help.

Have fun getting a tattoo in South Korea, some of the very best artists to date are based there so don’t miss out.

If you like this then you might like: South Korean Films That Aren’t Oldboy, Books to Read Before Visiting Korea or find out Where to Stay in Seoul. For foodies, take a culinary trip around South Korea with us.

Myeongdong shopping is the best shopping in Seoul; and there’s no hotel like a Myeongdong hotel.

This central district is a place of wonderful boutique shops, delectable street food, and exciting live music. Myeongdong is where you go to both feel the electric atmosphere of Seoul properly and taste the wonderful authentic Korean street food for yourself.

You can easily spend more than 24 hours in Myeongdong, but one day is certainly enough to really get a feel for the exhilarating ebb and flow of this modern delight of a district.

Let’s set out on a Myeongdong shopping guide, find the best hotel in Myeongdong, find out how to get to Myeongdong Station, and sample the very best Korean street food.

Read More: The Best Day Trips from Seoul

Myeongdong Shopping Guide

The first thing you need to know is that there isn’t one single Myeongdong shopping street. Instead, there are many. As you exit Myeongdong Station, you’ll find yourself surrounded by waves of people excitedly darting from street food stall to boutique shop and back again.

This is what makes Myeongdong one of the most exciting places to be in Seoul, especially on a weekend. So, don’t go looking for one Myeongdong shopping street. Instead, allow yourself to get a bit lost in this labyrinth of Myeongdong shopping and Korean street food. But what is there to shop for, exactly?

Boutique Shopping

While there are a lot of places to go shopping in Seoul (malls are still a big deal here, like Lotte World Mall in Jamsil), Myeongdong shopping is the best for boutique fashion. If you’d rather go for big high street brands like H&M, Zara, Nike, and Adidas, they’re here, too.

But it’s the boutique shops that really take the cake. Most of the boutique fashion shops are found crammed down the smaller streets and alleyways. Just follow the crowds. There, you’ll find vintage clothing stores and off-brand boutique fashion galore!

You’ll also find that a lot of what catches your eye is independent stalls. There are a lot of stalls in Myeongdong; so many, in fact, that you could comfortably call the area Myeongdong market.

And in this Myeongdong market, you’ll find stalls selling bags and purses, trinkets related to K-pop boys (not my forte, sorry), cute and cuddly Pokémon plushies (very much my forte), bright and cheerful character socks (so many socks) and a lot of darling accessories.

High Street Shopping

Like I said, Myeongdong shopping is also about those big high street brands. And you’ll find a lot of them at the Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center and the Lotte Department Store.

If you’d rather stick to the Myeongdong shopping street, you’ll still find along the way a Zara, a big H&M, a Nike store, and more big brand names to sink your teeth into for some good ol’ retail therapy.

K-Beauty

Korean beauty products are what women and men the world over swear by these days, and of course you can find their specialist stores all over Seoul. But since you’re in Myeongdong, why not stock up on an overwhelming number of K-beauty products.

While you’re out Myeongdong shopping, you’ll notice a constant slew of people working outside the various K-beauty shops (Innisfree, Skin Food, Etude House, Tony Moly) offering free samples of single-use face masks to tempt you in.

They’ll hand you a small basket for your convenience, and before you know it, you’re stocking up on skincare products, makeup, and whatever else you didn’t realise you needed! Myeongdong market isn’t just about that K-pop fashion; it’s also about that K-pop beauty (I think – again, not my forte, but I do like their skincare products).

Like I said, you’ll find multiple branches of the big K-beauty stores on your Myeongdong shopping trip: Innosfree, Skin Food, Etude House, Tony Moly, and some boutique shops selling makeup, skincare products, face masks, and everything else you could ask for!

Read More: The Ultimate 3-Day Seoul Itinerary

Where to eat in Myeongdong

There’s a lot more to this district than just following a Myeongdong shopping guide. There’s also at least one coffee chain on every street corner, including the staple Korean coffee shops. You’ll also find some great restaurants, which we’ll talk about in a second. But first thing is also the best thing: Korean street food.

Korean Street Food

Myeongdong is a great place to go for breakfast, lunch, or dinner because you can simply walk by the street food stalls (which can be found right outside Myeongdong Station) and sample the delightful and delicious delicacies they have to offer you.

In fact, you’ll be almost too tempted to simply step right out of Myeongdong Station and just feast on the Korean street food that’s on offer. But what exactly is Korean street food?

Well, if it’s still morning and you’ve got a sweet tooth, we recommend the hotteok sweet breads and sweet gyeran-bbang (literally meaning egg-bread). Both of these are sugary, soft, bready yumminess.

They’re the most harmless of the street foods (and, again, they’re right outside Myeongdong Station). If your sweet tooth is demanding something more familiar, you’ll also find crepes of all styles with all kinds of toppings for you to wrap up and heave down your throat!

If you’re rather try a local favourite Korean street food with a bit more of a kick to it, track down and try some tteokbokki. These are a pile of thumb-sized squidgy rice cakes slathered in a traditional orangey-red Korean spicy sauce.

They’re an absolute favourite amongst young people in Korea, especially children who crave spicy foods and they really do pack a punch! You’ve been warned.

But they’re filling, soothing, and they definitely do a good job of waking you up! When we were living in Seoul, I had no interest in them during the summer months but come winter they were more of a Christmas favourite than mulled wine or yule log!

If you’d rather sit yourself down after a long morning strolling Myeongdong shopping street and the Myeongdong market, here are some restaurant recommendations!

Myeongdong Restaurants

Isaac Toast

Korea is expert at combining traditional Korean food with foods from other cultures or even just a few simple cheap snacks. Korea will take a thousand-year-old recipe and slather it with cheese or add some slabs of spam to it for fun.

Isaac Toast epitomises this attitude by taking the traditional Korean staples of fried chicken, eggs, and rice cakes and mixing them with Western toast to get some truly original results. Isaac Toast represents Korean culture in a rather unexpected way.

It’s not traditional food but, honestly, Korea isn’t entirely about tradition these days, or at least it’s very good at modernising tradition to keep it relevant. It’s about innovation, fun, and creativity. That’s what makes it such an enticing place. In short, get your lunch at Isaac Toast.

Din Tai Fung

If it’s dinner you’re looking for after your day of Myeongdong shopping, can I interest you in some authentic and mouth-watering Chinese food at Din Tai Fung?

This chain of Chinese restaurants was started by a Chinese migrant to Taiwan decades back, and now you can find it in the UK, US, and all across East Asia. And this branch in Myeongdong captures the authentic feel of a high-class Chinese restaurant.

We ate here more times than we could afford, just because its options and flavours are hard to resist. After a morning of Korean street food, a hearty Chinese dinner goes down very nicely.

Read More: How to Spend 24 Hours in Hongdae, Seoul

Where to Stay in Myeongdong

So, you’ve had your fill of Myeongdong shopping and chowing down on Korean street food, and now it’s time to relax. Let’s take a look at both the best hotel in Myeongdong and a good alternative to the dense and busy Myeongdong accommodation: a great hotel near Myeongdong.

When you’re looking for where to stay in Myeongdong whether it’s a Myeongdong hotel near Myeongdong Station or something a little more out of the way, these two Myeongdong accommodation options should satisfy your needs.

Sejong Hotel

This very classy Myeongdong hotel is, as you probably already know, named after Korea’s famous King: the legendary King Sejong, creator of the Hangeul alphabet.

This elegant Myeongdong hotel is just five minutes’ walk from all the great Myeongdong shopping and is also the perfect hotel near Myeongdong Station — not too close and not too far.

There’s also an on-site art gallery and a garden for a calm retreat once you’re exhausted by all the great street food and wandering the Myeongdong market and Myeongdong shopping street.

Sejong Hotel, for its name and for its classy décor, its art gallery, and its garden, could confidently be called the best hotel in Myeongdong, certainly if you’re looking for a classy affair.

Sosetsu Hotels The Splasair

If you’re looking for a hotel near Myeongdong rather than one directly at the heart of it all (a hotel near Myeongdong Station isn’t to everyone’s tastes, after all), then embrace the colours at Sotetsu Hotels The Splaisir!

This is a hotel near Myeongdong but also one that’s in a more artsy and calming neighbourhood, away from all the hustle and bustle.

If you’re hoping to enjoy some of Seoul’s quirkiness while you’re in the city, this adorable hotel with rooms packed with Line (the Korean phone brand that has its own selection of plushies and adorable characters) toys is the ideal choice.

There’s also a roof garden offering incredible views of the cityscape which make this – while not the best hotel in Myeongdong – certainly the best hotel near Myeongdong.

The Best Day Trips from Seoul

Take a look at this list of seven awesome Seoul day trips so that you can easily explore even more of beautiful Korea while you’re in Seoul.

Nami Island

Nami Island is a serene and tranquil crescent moon of an island; a pristine slice of nature covered in ginkgo trees and surrounded by dense forest and flowing river waters. It’s a little paradise just to the east of Seoul, and one of the best day trips from Seoul.

Nami Island was named for the legendary General Nami of the Joseon Dynasty, who is said to have died on the island. It’s also famous as the setting for the 2003 Korean drama Winter Sonata. In fact, you’ll even find a sculpture to the film at the centre of the island.

The fun of visiting Nami Island starts before you even arrive, as you can choose to enter the island via ferry, or pay extra to enter dramatically across the water via a zipline!

Once you’re there, you’ve got a cool afternoon of exploring, taking in the clean air, and photographing to your heart’s content. Nami Island is certainly at its prettiest in the spring and autumn months (with autumn winning out if you have to pick one).

Pro Tip: If you visit Nami Island, the Garden of the Morning Calm and Petite France are both in the same area, so you can tackle all three in a single one of your day trips from Seoul.

How to Get to Nami Island from Seoul

This most magical of Seoul day trips takes a little time but it’s still easy to do in a day. Your journey from Seoul to Nami Island starts online.

Book a ticket here via Korail for whatever day you want. On that day, take subway line 1 to Yongsan Station and hop on the ITX train heading for Gapyeong Station.

This train journey takes roughly an hour. From there to Nami Island is still a bit of a distance, so it’s best to finish your journey with a quick 5-minute taxi ride. And there you have one of the best day trips from Seoul!

Read More: The Ultimate 3-Day Seoul Itinerary

Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ Tour)

The Korean DMZ is the dividing line between North and South Korea. There’s 4km of no-man’s-land across the DMZ, and the entire demilitarized zone spans the entire breadth of the two nations, 250km from sea to sea.

The DMZ is the only one of our day trips from Seoul which can’t be accessed solo. To get there, you must take a DMZ tour. While we’re on the subject, many people consider a DMZ tour to be unethical: turning the forced divide of Korea into a tourist attraction is certainly not a kind thing.

But the other side of the argument is that a DMZ tour is a chance to learn first-hand the dark history and state of Korean separation.

The best part of the DMZ tour is visiting an abandoned but pristine subway station which could someday allow passengers to hop on a train to Pyongyang if the two nations are ever reunified. It’s a haunting place, but also a symbol of hope for reunification.

How to Take a DMZ Tour from Seoul

If you want to learn more about the political history of North and South Korea, a DMZ tour can be booked on a number of websites. These DMZ tours offer pick-up and drop-off and are an incredible full-day experience.

Read More: 11 Unique and Interesting Hotels and Hostels in Seoul

Jeonju

Jeonju is one of the most rewarding day trips from Seoul you can take. It’s a gorgeous little city, full of charm, historical beauty, and culinary wonders. Jeonju is most famous for two things: the creation of bibimbap and its perfectly preserved hanok village.

Jeonju is often called the Kyoto of Korea, and while that comparison makes perfect sense it’s also a place that should be recognised in its own right. Jeonju is where the queen of all Korean meals, bibimbap, comes from.

Bibimbap is a rice bowl, traditionally cooked in a clay pot that causes the rice at the bottom to crisp deliciously.

On top of the rice is a selection of fresh, raw vegetables, beef strips, a raw egg, and a chilli pepper sauce. If you love bibimbap, you owe it to yourself to spend a day trip from Seoul to Jeonju. And also check our culinary journey around South Korea which includes Jeonju bibimbap and lots more!

Jeonju’s hanok village – a labyrinth of traditional Korean streets and houses made from wood and slate – is a wildly beautiful piece of Korean history frozen in time, and easily the best hanok village in all of Korea. It makes for one of the most magnificent and romantic day trips from Seoul.

How to Get to Jeonju from Seoul

Jeonju looks like one of the longer day trips from Seoul, but it doesn’t take long thanks to Korea’s high-speed train network. Simply hop on a KTX train at Seoul’s Yongsan station. The journey there takes around ninety minutes, making for one of the longer but easily doable day trips from Seoul.

Read More: Complete Seoul Neighbourhood Guide

Pocheon Art Valley

What was once a mining quarry is now a natural spectacle. Situated halfway between Seoul and the DMZ, Pocheon Art Valley is one of the most fabulous escapes and truly rewarding day trips from Seoul.

Many people take Seoul day trips to get away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, and Pocheon is the best of those Seoul day trips for that exact reason.

When you arrive, you’ll make your way up a steep hill and, at the top, you’ll be greeted by high cliffs, a serene reservoir of turquoise waters, and scattered stone monuments and sculptures.

Pocheon Art Valley is a sculpture park, a tranquil garden, a serene hilltop, and a dramatic landscape of craggy cliffs. To top it off, you get a seemingly endless view of the surrounding lowlands and mountains. You won’t find a more perfect escape from the city than Pocheon Art Valley, one of the absolute best day trips from Seoul.

How to Get to Pocheon Art Valley from Seoul

To get from Seoul to Pocheon Art Valley, you’ll need to take two buses. First, get yourself to Nowon Subway Station via subway line 4. Walk north out of exit 3 and hop on the 3200 bus to Eoryong 2-tong (45 mins).

Switch to the 138 bus and ride for 10 more mins. Get off at the Agricultural Technology Center and walk east for 15 mins to arrive at Pocheon Art Valley, the most tranquil of day trips from Seoul.

Read More: 10 Cute Cafes around South Korea

Bukhansan

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about visiting Seoul is being in a city that shares the same space as a national park.

Bukhansan National Park is an expansive landscape of rugged mountains and hills that spread out from the northern edge of Seoul, and makes for the best hiking spot in the Seoul area, and thus one of the most exhilarating of Seoul day trips.

As day trips from Seoul go, a hike up a truly epic mountain like Bukhansan is pretty special. Bukhansan National Park can be seen from many of Seoul’s streets and spreads far to the north until it touches Uijeongbu, a city of American soldiers.

Spending a Sunday hiking up Bukhansan is a pretty common pastime in Seoul, even for its elderly residents, and definitely one of the day trips from Seoul you should not pass up! If you’re looking for more natural escapes and wellness spots in South Korea, you’ll love this South Korea wellness guide.

How to Get to Bukhansan from Seoul

Hop on Seoul subway line 3 and get off at Gupabal Station. Head out exit 1 and hop on the 704 bus headed for Bukhansanseong Fortress. Get off when it reaches the entrance to Bukhansan National Park, one of the most unmissable Seoul day trips.

Suwon

Surrounding Seoul are several impressive ‘satellite cities’. Satellite cities are exactly what they sound like: smaller cities at the edge of Seoul metropolis which are very much their own place but easily accessed for simple Seoul day trips. Perhaps the best of these is Suwon.

Suwon is to the south of Seoul, and easily accessible via subway. When you get to Suwon you’ll find one of the most impressive monuments of Korea’s ancient world: Hwaseong Fortress. Hwaseong Fortress is a colossal beast of a structure built in the late 18^th century and is today designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It’s one of the most impressive sights in the entire Seoul metropolitan area and easily reason enough to head out on one of your day trips from Seoul.

But if you do need a few more reasons, Suwon also has a lively restaurant scene, and the delightful Manseok Park and Baegun Lake to explore, making for a lovely escape from the business of central Seoul.

How to Get to Suwon from Seoul

This is what makes Suwon one of the most chill day trips from Seoul. To get from Seoul to Suwon, simply hop on subway line 1 and ride it south until you hit Suwon Station. From Yongsan Station, the journey to Suwon should take around 45 mins.

Read More: Best Things to Do in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square

Incheon

Incheon is most famous for being the home of Incheon International Airport. If you’re flying into Seoul, there’s a good chance you’ll arrive in Incheon. But Incheon is in fact one of Seoul’s satellite cities, and another one of the freshest and simple day trips from Seoul.

Incheon is unique for its Chinatown. In fact, Incheon Chinatown is, officially, the only Chinatown in all of South Korea, despite the close cultural ties between the two nations.

Incheon Chinatown is a wonderful experience with some truly traditional Chinese restaurants where you can enjoy foods like bao, Beijing duck, and the breadth of Sichuan and Xi’an cuisine.

Beyond Chinatown, Incheon also has a fantastic hub of shopping, dining, bars, and cafes with the delightful name of Bupyeong. While not that far removed from the shopping districts of Seoul, it still makes for a nice change of scenery.

How to Get to Incheon from Seoul

This is another one of the easy Seoul day trips. Getting from Seoul to Incheon simply involves taking subway line 1 west until you arrive at Incheon Station, where you’ll find Incheon Chinatown. Bupyeong is a few stops earlier.

Most of Korea’s most famous foods come from all over the country, with most towns and cities having their own proudly local dish. Taking a culinary trip around South Korea to learn the origins of these dishes, and to sample the best local Korean foods, is one of the best ways to explore South Korea.

While travelling to South Korea isn’t possible for many of us at the moment, this culinary journey will give you some ideas for a food themed road or train trip once travel gets back to normal. South Korea is such a diverse and beautiful country that we had the pleasure to call home for a year and we can’t wait to show you why a visit to South Korea should be your next trip.

Read More: Best Korean Ramen (Ramyeon)

A Culinary Guide to South Korea: What to Eat and Where

Here is your full and complete culinary guide to South Korea: what to eat and where to find it. We’ll explore the country’s biggest and best culinary locations and what each place has to offer in terms of local cuisine.

Incheon: Jajangmyeon

We begin our culinary journey around South Korea in the town of Incheon. Perhaps most famously known as the Seoul satellite city where the nation’s international airport is found, Incheon has a long and fascinating history as a port town, and so the airport only continues that trade and travel tradition.

Because of its history as a port town, Incheon is home to a thriving Chinatown – the most famous and thriving Chinatown in South Korea. And it’s in this Chinatown that many Chinese-inspired Korean dishes first originated. The most popular and celebrated of these is, without a doubt, jajangmyeon.

Jajangmyeon is a filling and satisfying dish of Chinese style noodles, diced pork, and a thick black sauce known in Korea as chunjang and in China as tianmian. The sauce is made from sweet bean paste and has a very mild flavour. While the dish was first brought to Korea by a Chinese chef living and working in Incheon, it can now be ordered at any local restaurant in Seoul, but Incheon Chinatown is still the best place to try this fantastic dish.

Seoul: Bulgogi, Bbudae jjigae, & Dakgangjeong

Seoul is a city that needs no introduction. The capital city of Korea is also the largest and most populous city in the Korean peninsula. Being the capital city, Seoul naturally has a wealth of its own local dishes. What’s surprising, however, is how many of these dishes are either fairly modern inventions, or have very unique origins.

A little history is needed to appreciate some of the dishes we’ll talk about here. After the Korean War ended in 1953, Seoul was heavily occupied by American military forces (it still is to this day, in fact), and those soldiers had a considerable impact on the local cuisine.

On top of this, Seoul’s proximity to the new and dramatic border between North and South Korea means that it is a refuge for many escapees from North Korea. What is considered by many to be Korea’s most famous dish – bulgogi – actually originated in North Korea (or, rather, the northern parts of Korea from back when it was still one complete nation).

Refugees from North Korea helped to popularise the dish and, today, it is a celebrated and dish in South Korea.

Bulgogi is a dish of barbecued strips of beef or pork (the name literally translates to “cooked meat”) similar to Japanese yakiniku. Various cuts of beef can be used, and it is often served with leafy vegetables that can be used to handle the meat. Rice can also be served as a side, and bulgogi is best enjoyed with a few cold beers.

As for how the American military, and western cuisine in general, has influenced Seoul’s local cuisine, look no further than dakgangjeong. This is a dish of sweet, crispy fried chicken. The young people of Seoul wholeheartedly adore fried chicken, and it’s in Seoul that you’ll find the biggest variety of fried chicken in the whole world.

It’s hard to overstate just how delicious, and how popular, dakgangjeong is in Seoul. There are countless dakgangjeong restaurants in Seoul alone, and all of them offer a huge variety of dakgangjeong dishes.

You have fried chicken on or off the bone, and the sauces/toppings range from cheese to sweet or spicy sauces, soy, garlic, and more. Seoul is the true home of fried chicken.

Finally, Seoul is also where you can find the origins of bbudae jigae (army stew). The stew perfectly combines Korea’s most popular food — kimchi — with American pork staples like spam and sausages. Bbudae jigae was created after the Korean War by mixing surplus army rations with locally sourced foods.

To this day, spam is considered a kind of strange delicacy in Korea and is given by bosses to workers as a thank-you gift.

Read More: Enjoy the street food of Myeongdong in Seoul

Sokcho: Fresh Seafood

Sokcho is a port city that has its ancient roots in a fishing village. Today, it’s a natural tourist spot in South Korea thanks to its close proximity to Seoraksan National Park. Seoraksan is home to South Korea’s tallest peak, and is an endless, rugged wilderness of wild, craggy peaks and lush vegetation: a hiker’s paradise.

Sokcho itself is famous for its fresh seafood, caught by local fishermen just offshore. In fact, Sokcho offers visitors a colossal seafood market known as Sokcho Jungang Market. This heaving marketplace has more than four hundred seafood stalls, each serving up enormous, freshly-caught squid, crabs, shrimp, and so much more.

If you’re looking to get a vivid image of Sokcho before visiting, definitely read Winter in Sokcho by French author Elisa Shua Dusapin, one of the best books to read before visiting South Korea.

Andong: Soju & Jjimdak

Andong is a beautiful, peaceful town on the east side of central South Korea. If you’re looking for a place in Korea that really celebrates its folk traditions, Andong should be at the top of your list. Andong Folk Festival, for example, is a yearly tradition, held during October, that celebrates the local art history of the region. The local university even specialises in Korean folk history.

One of the coolest culinary aspects of Andong is its soju. While soju is the staple alcohol of South Korea (like sake in Japan and baijiu in China), the Andong brand of soju is considered the finest in all of South Korea. If you want to experience soju at its finest, you need to visit Andong.

As for the food, Andong has a culinary history to match its folk history. The town’s most famous and celebrated dish is easily jjimdak: a Korean stew made from steamed chicken and mixed vegetables marinated in a soy-based sauce (known in Korea as ganjang). This local chicken stew is an absolute delight, full of subtle flavours and extremely nourishing.

Jeonju: Bibimbap & Kalguksu

Jeonju is a small city near the West coast of Korea. The city is predominantly known to tourists for its Hanok village. These are vintage villages populated by traditional Korean-style houses, sort of like Japan’s Edo period buildings found in the Gion district of Kyoto.

Hanok villages are gorgeous, and they can be found in multiple cities around South Korea, including Seoul. But the most impressive Hanok village is to be found in Jeonju. Jeonju is also the home of Korea’s most famous dish: bibimbap. Bibimbap is to Korea what a roast dinner is to the UK: a rounded, wholesome meal of meats, vegetables, and sauces.

Bibimbap is a hefty rice bowl topped with mixed vegetables (kimchi, radishes, carrots, etc), a generous helping of meat (traditionally beef), and a raw or fried egg.

Bibimbap is also flavoured with a chili pepper paste known as gochujang. Needless to say, there’s never a better place to try a dish than its own home, so trying bibimbap in Jeonju is a necessity and a privilege. Jeonju even hosts a yearly Bibimbap Festival to celebrate the national dish.

It’s fairly unclear where kalguksu originates from, but the most famous version of this dish comes from Jeonju. Kalguksu is one of the very best Korean noodle dishes.

For comparison, you can think of kalguksu as Korean ramen noodles, though they are still very much their own thing. Kalguksu is made from wheat flour noodles served with a seafood broth made from anchovies and kelp. The dish is often finished off with potatoes or scallions.

Daegu: Dongindong Jjim galbi

South Korea’s fourth-largest city, Daegu, is a thriving metropolis that combines traditional Korean culture with the most exciting aspects of modern Korean life. Since the Korean War, this city has been the hub of Korea’s electronics and textiles industries, making for a rich and thriving metropolis and one of the best cities to visit in South Korea.

Daegu also has a fairly secretive culinary history, with local dishes that many people have never heard of. One of these dishes is dongindong jjim galbi, a mouth-watering dish that will excite the taste buds of any ambitious carnivore. Dongindong jjim galbi is essentially a large metal dish filled with beef ribs. The ribs are seasoned with pepper and garlic, and the dish is traditionally enjoyed with a generous amount of Korean soju to really elevate the spices.

Gwangju: Ori-tang

Gwangju is a name that may be familiar to many people with a passion for Korean cinema or an interest in Korean history. The nation’s six-largest city was home to an enormous and transformative pro-democracy uprising in the 1980s.

This uprising was captured amazingly in the fantastic Korean film A Taxi Driver. Today, the legacy of that uprising, which changed the future of South Korea, can be seen in Gwangju’s 5.18 Memorial Park.

As for the city’s local cuisine, Gwangju is perhaps best known for its ori-tang, a kind of Korean duck stew. With duck being one of the softest and most flavourful meats, this is a true local delicacy in Gwangju. Ori-tang is often spiced with chili powder and the broth thickened with perilla seeds.

Boseong County: Green Tea Specialities

One of the natural wonders of South Korea is, without question, Boseong County. This area of South Korea on the nation’s south coast is home to a seemingly endless sea of tiered green tea fields. A mountainous region at the edge of the sea, populated by green tea fields: there may not be a more picturesque place in all of Korea.

Naturally, it should come as no surprise that Boseong County’s culinary speciality is green tea. Both Korea and Japan are famous for their green tea-flavoured products, and in Boseong County you can find everything from ice cream to noodles flavoured with green tea. If you’re a fan of green tea and its flavour, you’ll be in heaven when visiting Boseong County.

Busan: Dwaeji Gukbap & Ssiat Hotteok

Busan is the southern capital of Korea: a thriving, bustling city on the southern edge of the country. A place of iconic beaches, fantastic bars and restaurants, and a temple that hangs over the rocks at the edge of the water (see photo). There is so much to love about Busan, and one of the many things to enjoy is the city’s cuisine.

Dwaeji gukbap is a soup local to Busan, with its primary ingredients being pork and miso, flavoured with soy and sesame oil. It’s a soothing, flavourful, and friendly dish that almost anyone can enjoy. It’s a favourite amongst locals and one of those dishes that isn’t overly popular across the country, so you really do need to visit Busan to get the true dwaeji gukbap experience (like you needed another reason to visit Busan).

Visit any street food market in Seoul, and you’ll have plenty of chances to try hotteok: sweet Korean pancakes. But the city of Busan has its own unique take on hotteok, known locally as ssiat hotteok. The only real difference is that ssiat hotteok are filled with local seeds that are extremely healthy and add a welcome texture to the hotteok.

Jeju Island: Black Pork

Jeju Island is a popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners alike. In many ways, this island off the south coast of Korea is a land and culture all its own. In fact, ask anyone native to Seoul and they’ll tell you that it’s far easier to understand the modern North Korean dialect than it is to work out what the islanders of Jeju are saying.

Jeju is a perfect island paradise, and home to an enormous wealth of unique local foods. The most well-known and beloved of these dishes is easily Jeju black pork.

This is a local kind of pork sourced from Jeju black pigs (heuk dwaeji). The meat is traditionally barbecued in the same way as beef is in a traditional Korean barbecue. Jeju islanders and mainlanders alike all attest that Jeju black pig pork is the finest pork in the entire Korean peninsula.

While many things in Korea focus on the newest, the latest, the most luxurious, the name brand, and the beautiful, here at Bosudong, there is a different spirit alive and well.

Big book-selling chains Like Kyobo or Aladdin can be found around Korea as in other countries but, at Bosudong, used, old, and vintage books at discounted and cheaper prices are the norm. Cheap books are not the only draw to this magical street, however. The history, culture, tradition, and character of this street also create the mystical atmosphere you can experience here.

How to Get to Bosudong/Busan Book Alley

Get lost in the books not getting there! First off, to get to this wondrous street of pages and knowledge, without taking a page from Odyssey trying to get there, seek out 8, Chaekbanggolmok-gil, in Jung-gu. Buses number 81 and 40 stop right at the beginning of this enchanting street. Exiting from line one from Jagalchi on the orange line will also bring you to this fantastic spot.

The Story of Bosudong Book Street

The book alleyway may be a pleasant and peaceful place today, but it was born from war, pain, and struggle. The street first opened in the 1950s in the wake of Korean independence from Japanese colonial control after World War II. The area itself was formerly the Gukje Market before the market was itself demolished. 

During the tumultuous Korean War, Busan was declared the country’s provisional capital and last bastion of democracy and freedom. Communist forces pushed the border far south and had the city surrounded on all sides, except for the sea. 

Refugees from other parts of the peninsula began to arrive in Busan, many were able to grab very little as they fled, some only able to bring the clothing on their backs. But for some refugees, they brought their books, many of them used, and willing to be sold for more discounted prices. 

It may be important to note that, prior to the war, Pyongyang and areas in what would become North Korea hosted a highly affluent and educated population. It isn’t surprising that many of these once wealthy and well-to-do scholars and professionals grabbed their books as some of the most precious things to take with them as they fled encroaching communist forces. 

The refugees began to set up stalls to sell their books. Again, mostly used, which sparked a tradition that continues today as many of the books feature are all used books, yellowed and frayed in their edges.  At the time, many of the books traded were printed in Classical Chinese (known in Korean as “Hanja”) Japanese, native Korean script (Hangul), and some in English.

The presence of Russian influence prior to the colonial period and French influence via Catholic missionaries possibly also saw a few Russian and French language books as well, but those texts are less certain. But what can be certain is the area continued to grow and expand. 

Busan Book Alley Today

 As Korea’s economy and society began to stabilize and the communist forces were pushed back north students, teachers, professors, and scholars tried to preserve the area, if not to buy and sell their books at an affordable price! Today the book alley is a winding labyrinth of literature! A labyrinth sans minotaur (perhaps) and one we would all love to get lost in. 

In fact, you may indeed get lost perusing the many rare and unique gems to be discovered at each and every one of these rare shops, stalls, and corners. Each and every one of these book stores has its own theme, character, and story to tell. From books all in Japanese to books all about one subject or another. 

But what if you find one (or ten) perfect books? Where can you sit and enjoy your newfound treasures? Luckily there are plenty of cafes and coffee shops to sit and pour deeply into your new books.

BosuDong Cafes

If you’re spending an afternoon, or even longer, on Bosudong, dipping in and out of bookshops and browsing the shelves, you might want to duck into a cafe or two on your route and take a load off.

The independent cafes in this neighbourhood have a lot of bookish themes and real high-quality coffee. They offer as much charm as the bookshops themselves do, giving you a second reason to visit. Here is one of the best cafes on Bosudong.

In-Aenbin Cafe

This cafe is one of the friendliest places in Bosudong to relax after a few hours of exploring. The coffee at In-Aebin is second to none, and the decor is what really encourages that feeling of complete relaxation. A heavy emphasis on wood and a natural atmosphere, as well as a deep smell of top-notch coffee that fills the room. It’s often busy but, if you manage to find a seat, it’s the perfect place to chill.

Read More: South Korea’s Best Cafes: From Seoul to Busan

Bosudong Cultural Festival

 The annual Bosudong Culture Festival is another great reason to visit this book street. At the festival, one can make their own book covers and even your own book. Other events, and certainly music and food are to be enjoyed as well.

 So, while fun in the sun is always possible in Busan, perhaps make the most of the colder winter and autumn months in Korea with a visit or two to the magical Bosudong Book Alley.

You never know what you just may discover there. Oh! And for those worried they may not find books in their language, there are now plenty of English language shops, or at least shops offering English language books to be discovered. So get out there and wander. This maze of endless books is the ideal way to end a long and sun-soaked day at a Busan beach.

Explore the endless mysteries and transcendence of Buddhism through a Buddhism-themed book after visiting Haedong Yonggungsa. Learn how to whip up the spiciest and most flavourful eomuk fishcakes yourself through a cookbook or selection of recipes. The world is your oyster at Busan’s Bosudong Book Alley!

Bathhouse Culture in South Korea

Just about everyone goes to Korean bathhouses, or jimjilbangs (찜질방), meaning heated rooms. Businessmen go to unwind after work, couples go here on dates, and friends come to catch up all while relaxing in the hot tubs of water and heated rooms.

Jimjilbangs are gender-segregated bathhouses with both hot and cold pools, as well as dry heated rooms. You can also get deep body scrubs, dinner and, even sleep here overnight! The most awkward part about jimjilbangs is getting naked. The awkwardness may be even worse if you are a foreigner. However, since everyone is naked, this feeling lasts about thirty seconds.

The most famous jimjilbang in Seoul is Dragon Hill, and Spa Land in Busan. However, there are plenty of Korean spas in major cities. A quick Naver search (similar to Google maps, but I prefer this in Korea) for spas can show you dozens anywhere you are in Korea.

If you work in Korea, I recommend going Sunday evening before the workweek starts. I find myself leaving relaxed and refreshed, and I also get the best sleep after I visit these bathhouses.

Before Visiting the Jimjilbang

Before you head out, there are a few items you should bring. Should you forget to take them with you, have no fear. Jimjilbangs sell toiletries for a few thousand won.

Here are the things I recommend you bring:

• Shampoo
• Face mask (optional)
• Loofah or exfoliating glove
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Soap or body wash*
• Body cream*
• Empty water bottle (for the baths)
• Cash

**Most jimjilbangs have soaps and creams on site, but if you prefer your own you should bring them. You can also buy them at the jimjilbang.

Read More: A Health and Wellness Journey Around South Korea

Entering the jimjilbang

When you enter a jimjilbang, you should go to the reception and pay the entrance fee. Most jimjilbangs cost about 8,000 – 12,000W to get in ($8-$12). This includes two small towels as well as a change of clothes, which we will get to later.

You will be given a key with a number on it. Take off your shoes and find your locker number. Since jimjilbangs are gender-segregated, make sure you go to the male or female side accordingly.

Put only your shoes in this small locker.

Being Naked in the Jimjilbang

Take this same key and go into the locker rooms. Here, you take off all of your clothes and put the rest of your things into the locker. As I mentioned earlier, getting naked can seem daunting at first, but Koreans won’t give you a second glance. The first thing you should do before hopping in the baths is taking a quick shower.

Bring one towel with you inside and wrap it around your head. Now you are ready to go to the baths! Each bath has a different temperature, anywhere between 10C and 40C. This is usually indicated above the bath. I recommend alternating between the hot and cool ones so that you don’t get too lightheaded.

Make sure to stay hydrated! The locker area just outside the baths has water coolers. You can also bring a water bottle, fill it up and take it with you inside the baths. If you go with a group of friends, don’t make too much noise. You will get dirty looks or you may be shushed. If you must talk, do so quietly. People come here to relax, so don’t disturb others.

Optional Jimjilbang Extras

Scrubs

If you want your skin to feel truly refreshed, the best thing you can do is get a full-body scrub. Full-body scrubs are provided inside the baths. The scrub itself costs about 20,000 – 30,000W and last about half an hour. The dead skin is scrubbed away and you come out a new person.

Stores

As previously mentioned, every jimjibang will have a store either in the locker room area or the public area. Some stores charge cash only while others will charge what you need to your key. Stores sell snacks such as ice cream and kimbap (Korean sushi). They will also sell necessities such as shampoos, soaps, socks and underwear.

Restaurants

Getting clean is an arduous process, and it’s sure to make you hungry. Bigger jimjibangs will have a restaurant where you can get a decently-priced Korean meals. Some will charge your key number, but many require cash payments. They will always have tables, but like many Korean traditional restaurants, you will be required to sit on the floor.

Sleeping

Whether you are visiting Korea or need a place to stay after a long night of fun, if you need a cheap place to stay for one night, jimjilbangs are your best option. Paying a few extra thousand won at the entrance allows you to sleep in the sauna overnight.

Every jimjilbang has a large sleeping area with heated floors. If you know you will spend the night here, I recommend bringing earplugs because some people snore.

Heated Rooms

Once you are done with the baths, head back to the lockers and put on the shirt and shorts that were given to you earlier. There will be a main room, usually with a TV, where both men and women lie on mats and relax while watching TV.

This is also the place where you can go into the dry, heated rooms. Like the baths, each heated room will have the temperature indicated above it. The ice room will be the smallest and the coldest room. This is a great place to go in-between the other rooms.

Some rooms will go up to 40C, 50C or 60C. Depending on the room, the floor will either have hot salt crystals or a wooden floor. You can doze off on the mats or rest your head on a pillow in the cooler rooms. Each room’s walls are also lined with different stones. Some rooms may have walls lined with salt, jade, quartz, gold or other crystals. This is done so that you can breathe the air emitted from the stones.

Depending on the room you go, they are said to heal different parts of your body. So take deep breaths!

Leaving a Korean Spa

I recommend taking a shower after you have visited the heated rooms and you are ready to leave. This is because you sweat a lot in the heated rooms. Some jimjilbangs have free hairdryers, but others require you to pay 100W for about 3 minutes of use.

They also have lotions and creams to put on your body after you are done. Jimjilbangs also provide hair brushes which are sterilised, but I recommend you bring your own. To leave, take your locker key and go back to the shoe lockers. Take your shoes out and hand the keys to the front desk. Assuming you haven’t accumulated extra charges to your key, you are free to go!

Jimjilbangs are a fun place to visit whether you go alone or with friends. You feel relaxed and refreshed, ready to take on a new day. Whether you go once a week or once a month, you are sure to have a good time. Now that you know the steps, head to your nearest jimjilbang!

If you’re in Korea, you may also want to know about Seoul’s best party districts

You can see the best that the city has to offer in a 3-day Seoul itinerary, and that’s what we’re going to give you here. You can, of course, spread this out and spend 5 days in Seoul or even longer, if you want to, but for now, let’s give a clear and concise perfect 3-day Seoul itinerary that will give you all the best sights, museums, restaurants, bars, and more in Korea’s colourful capital.

Seoul has six districts which are must-see areas: Myeongdong, Gangnam, Itaewon, Hongdae, Gwanghwamun, and Insadong. We’re going to divide them into half a day each and cover all of them in a 3-day Seoul Itinerary.

Day 1: Myeongdong and Gangnam

You’ve just arrived in Seoul – you’re on the train from Incheon Airport, and you’re wondering where to go in the city first.

We’re going to start with the two districts which best resemble the modern landscape of Seoul: Myeongdong and Gangnam. Two examples of exciting and vibrant areas which showcase why Seoul is such a tantalising and wonderful place to explore.

Morning and Lunch: Myeongdong

Myeongdong is the life and soul of modern-day Seoul condensed into a single vibrant area. It’s a place of boutique shops, street food, and live music. Myeongdong is where you go to both feel the atmosphere of Seoul properly and taste the wonderful authentic Korean street food for yourself.

Read More: 11 Unique and Interestings Hotels and Hostels in Seoul

Korean Street Food

It’s a great place to go for breakfast because you can simply wander through the street food stalls found right outside Myeongdong Station and sample the wonderful delicacies they have to offer. If you have a morning sweet tooth, we recommend the hotteok sweet breads and sweet gyeran-bbang (literally meaning egg-bread). Both of these are sweet, soft, bready yumminess.

If you’re rather a local favourite Korean food with a bit more of a kick, track down and try some tteokbokki. These are a pile of thumb-sized rice cakes slathered in a traditional Korean spicy sauce or why not try some Korean instant ramen?

They’re a favourite amongst young people and they really do pack a punch but they’re filling, soothing, and they definitely do a good job of waking you up!

Read More: A Culinary Trip Around South Korea

Korean Fashion and K-Beauty

As for what to see, well, this is what makes Myeongdong one of the best places to visit in Korea. Myeongdong is very much a boutique shopping district. Korean fashion and Korean beauty products are what Seoul is known for today, and you’ll find both of them here in abundance!

You don’t need a strict route in Myeongdong; let the crowd carry you. The area is always packed, and you’ll find that most of the shops and stalls are not part of major labels. They’re individual boutique shops offering original and unique elements of Korean fashion. You’ll find Korean skin care products, makeup, iconic face masks, and more.

Myeongdong is very much the fashion capital of Korea; it’s where locals and tourists alike mingle to find the best and most unique fashion choices. The area is a fantastic introduction to Seoul culture today.

Read More: Must-Try Health and Wellness Experiences in Korea

Where to eat in Myeongdong

After a morning of shopping and exploring, and hopefully snacking on some fantastic Korean street food, you’ll want a good heart lunch.

Isaac Toast: Korea is so good at combining traditional Korean food with foods from other cultures or even just some cheap snacks. Unlike in neighbouring Japan and China where such an act can be seen as sacrilege, Korea will take a thousand-year-old recipe and slather it with cheese or add some slabs of spam to it for fun.

Isaac Toast epitomises this attitude by taking the traditional Korean staples consisting of fried chicken, eggs, and rice cakes and mixing them with toast to get some truly original (and sometimes frightening) results. Isaac Toast represents Korean culture in a rather unexpected way.

It’s not traditional food but, honestly, Korea isn’t entirely about tradition these days. It’s about innovation, fun, and creativity. That’s what makes it such an enticing place. In short, get your lunch at Isaac Toast.

Read More: The Best Day Trips from Seoul

Afternoon and Dinner: Gangnam

Now that you’re energised and full of unusual food, it’s time to head to the second area of Seoul for the remainder of day 1 of your Seoul itinerary: Gangnam. Gangnam was put on the world map back in 2012 with the dizzyingly popular k-pop song by Psy: Gangnam Style. But what is Gangnam style? Well, think of it as the way of life for the most privileged youth of Seoul.

Gangnam Style was very much a tongue-in-cheek poke at the culture found in Gangnam. To put it bluntly, Gangnam is Seoul’s rich, up-market district. It’s an area of technology, skyscrapers, and expensive restaurants. And no Korea itinerary, let alone a Seoul itinerary, would be complete without a visit to Gangnam.

When you’re looking for where to go in Seoul with friends, or on a date, Gangnam may well be at the top of the bill for all its great high-end restaurants and the generally street-level atmosphere it provides. While it is great to just wander the streets (and visit the Gangnam Style stage on the corner by Gangnam Station), Gangnam is all about quality restaurants, bars, and cafes.

So, when you arrive, take your time wandering and taking photos of the area, then we have an afternoon café, a dinner spot, and an evening bar for you to visit.

Afternoon Coffe at Dessertree

This is your first stop in Gangnam. Dessertree is as much a gallery as it is a café. What I mean is that Dessertree is a French-style patisserie where every single cake and pastry is a work of hand-crafted, impeccable art.

They’re the kinds of pastries that are so exquisite to behold that you really will hesitate to take that first bite. Dessertree epitomises the atmosphere and the philosophy of Gangnam culture: perfection, art, modern living, and modern beauty.

Dinner at MADE

This is your dinner spot. MADE is an Italian-America bistro. While we can go on debating traditional Italian food vs American adaptations of Italian food (like New York pizza), MADE is going to go ahead and offer you the best of both, in true typical Korean style.

Here, you’ll find American style sliders (several miniature burgers), as well as more traditional Italian dishes like tiramisu and chicken parmesan.

MADE is perhaps the best foreign restaurant in Seoul. And while you may be tempted to only seek traditional Korean food while you’re in Seoul, fight that urge because Western food is really celebrated here and almost always improved upon. So, enjoy it!

Evening Drinks at Once in a Blue Moon

Now that you’ve enjoyed an indulgent café and a satisfying dinner, spend your evening at one of the best bars in Gangnam: Once in a Blue Moon. Gangnam relishes quality, and this bar is no different. It’s a three-floor jazz bar that offers plenty of live jazz music night after night.

Yes, while Korea is of course most famous for its pop music, there’s still a lively and celebrated jazz scene here, just like there is in neighbouring Japan. And what goes better with live jazz music than whiskey and cocktails? You’ll find the best of both here at Once in a Blue Moon (which is also a fantastic name for a bar).

Read More: Where to Stay in Seoul (+ Neighbourhood Guide)

Day 2: Gwanghwamun and Insadong

From the modern to the traditional! Now that you’ve had a day soaking up the modern world of Seoul, it’s time to take a trip back in time to the more traditional side of Korean life and Korean culture. You’ll find that in the northern areas of Gwanghwamun and Insadong (both found in the Jongno district).

Side note: we used to live in Jongno and it’s a super chill part of the city to live, if ever you’re tempted to spend more than 3 or 5 days in Seoul.

So, if you’ve been wondering what are the best places to visit in Korea for a look at the more traditional, historic side of Korean culture, this here is it. Let’s take a look at Gwanghwamun and Insadong for day 2 of your Seoul Itinerary.

Morning: Gwanghwamun

‘Mun’ in Korean means gate, and Gwanghwamun was once one of the eight gates that provided access into Seoul through the fortress walls.

Today, it kind of works the other way: from inside the city you pass through Gwanghwamun to access the legendary Gyeongbokgung Palace, one of the best sights in Seoul and an unmissable part of any Korea itinerary. But one thing at a time.

King Sejong Statue

To start, when you arrive at Gwanghwamun Station, be sure to take exit 9 for the full impact of what you’ll see. Exit 9 follows a ramp up into Gwanghwamun Plaza for a spectacular greeting from the legendary King Sejong. The Sejong statue should absolutely be the first thing you see upon emerging into Gwanghwamun.

Sejong was famous for a lot of things, but most notably this 15th-century king is celebrated today for crafting the Korean Hangul alphabet. Until then, Korea used Chinese characters which are incredibly time-consuming and complex to learn.

Sejong was a great king who wanted his subjects to all have the chance to read and write easily. And so, he created an alphabet. To this day, Hangul is known the world over for being the most logical alphabet on Earth, and it really is! I learned the whole alphabet in about two hours, and you can too.

Yi Sun-sin Statue

When facing the Sejong statue, turn around and you’ll see, just beyond exit 9, another statue: that of general Yi Sun-sin. General Yi’s legacy is another sacred  of the Korean history books thanks to his series of naval victories against invading Japanese ships. Korea has been attacked, invaded, and warred against for centuries, most famously by Japan.

While Japan did occupy Korea for several decades until the end of World War 2 (something that, to this day, causes immense and impassioned animosity between the neighbouring countries), General Yi has been praised for 500 years for keeping the Japanese invaders at bay.

The Yi Sun-shin statue statue is also one of the most badass things you’ll see in Seoul.

Sejong Center

So, those are the statues. Next, you have the Sejong Center, which you’ll find at the edge of Gwanghwamun Plaza framed by enormous stone pillars. The Sejong Center is an art gallery, theatre, and convention centre. Every major art installation which comes to Korea sets itself up in the Sejong Center.

During our time living in Seoul we saw the original artworks of M.C. Escher on display in the gallery as well as an exhibition of the posters and artwork from the entire history of Studio Ghibli movies. When you visit, it’s hard to say what will be on, so make sure to visit the Sejong Center website to find out before you go!

Kyobo Book Centre

Kyobo is the Korean Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble, if you prefer). Its flagship store can be found here in Gwanghwamun Plaza, opposite the Sejong Center. While we’ve previously dedicated a whole article to the Itaewon Foreign Bookstore, Kyobo is a great option if you’re looking to pick up some English books while you’re visiting Seoul.

Kyobo stocks the newest titles released in English, as well as a few English comic books. They take pride in Korean literature, naturally, so you’ll often find displays that will encourage you to pick up some English translations of Korean books. Which, of course, you absolutely should!

We recommend picking up anything by our favourite Korean authors: Hye-young Pyun, Han Kang, and Kyung-sook Shin.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

This is Gwanghwamun’s pièce du résistance. Gyeongbokgung Palace is the most famous historic building in all of Korea, and is of course a must-visit part of an Korea itinerary or Seoul itinerary.

You’ll find it by passing through Gwanghwamun gate. Gyeongbokgung was the seat of power and the residential palace of the Joseon Dynasty. Today it stands as the defining statement of Korean history. It’s a perfect example of Korean heritage, architecture, and majesty. Take an hour or so to wander the grounds and be taken back in time to the great era of the Joseon Dynasty.

Read More: Seoul’s Best Party Districts

Lunch and Afternoon: Insadong

Hold off on lunch until you’re in Insadong, which can be walked to from Gwanghwamun by simply heading East. Or you can take the subway to Anguk Station. Insadong is an historic area of Seoul which has a far more relaxed atmosphere than places like Gangnam and Myeongdong. Insadong is a place of tea houses, quiet cafes, and traditional Korean restaurants. A perfect place for lunch.

Where to Eat in Insadong

Sanchon is the definitive restaurant for unique and traditional Buddhist food. If you know anything about Buddhism, you’ll know that, traditionally, the way of life requires its monks and followers to be vegetarian.

Sanchon is a vegetarian restaurant in Insadong which was originally opened by a local Buddhist monk who brought the traditional meals and cooking traditions of Korean Buddhist monks to the public.

At Sanchon, you can eat a spread of incredible vegetarian meals cooked in a completely traditional Buddhist style. It’s a wonderful chance to peek behind the curtain and see how Buddhist monks cook, prepare, and eat their meals.

The restaurant itself is a beautiful place with an ambience that is exactly what you’d expect from a place that offers a vegetarian Buddhist cuisine. This is where to go in Seoul for real, hearty, traditional Korean food.

Bukcheon Hanok Village

After lunch, head north of the Insadoing area to Bukcheon Hanok Village, which exists equidistant from Gwanghwamun and Insadong (so you can skip Sanchon as part of your Seoul itinerary if you’d rather head straight here).

Bukcheon Hanok Village is another unmissable part of any Korea itinerary, and you’ll find it on almost every Korea tour. It’s one of the quintessential places to visit in Korea and a must-visit whether you have 2 or 3 or 5 days in Seoul. Why? Bukcheon Hanok Village is a slice of ancient Korean life brought forward into the 21^st century.

It’s a labyrinth of traditional Korean houses of wood walls, slate rooves, and sliding doors. Many of them have been transformed into cafes and shops, but still retain their traditional beauty and aesthetics. Those that have remained unaltered can be entered and explored (unless they’re lived in, which some are).

Here you can see the origins of the Korean ondol heating system. If you spend a winter in Korea, you’ll see that Korean homes don’t have wall radiators, but rather a heated floor system which works so much more effectively – even in apartments! Hot air rises, after all.

It’s in these hanok houses where ondol became the typical method of heating homes: a gap beneath the floor is heated by a stove and causes the entire room to be heated from literally the ground up. Genius!

Hanbok Rental

A must-do activity in Bukcheon Hanok Village is to rent a traditional Korean hanbok (the female and male dress popularised during the Joseon Dynasty). Hanbok have come back into fashion in a huge way, and in hanok villages you’ll find locals and foreigners alike get dressed up and conducting makeshift photoshoots.

You can rent hanbok from stores all around the hanok village, and even outside Gyeongbokgung Palace. It’s a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the local village and get some fantastic photo memories during your Korea itinerary. One more reason why Bukcheon Hanok Village is one of the best places to visit in Korea.

Day 3: Hongdae and Itaewon

While day 2 of your Seoul itinerary was all about the traditional and historic side of Korea, now it’s time to return to the present with your last day in Seoul (of course, it doesn’t have to be your last. Everything we’ve talked about here can be extended into 5 days in Seoul or even 7 days in Seoul. There’s always more to see, after all). Let’s begin day 3 with the university district of Hongdae.

Morning and Coffee: Hongdae

Hongdae is similar to Myeongdong in many ways. It’s a place of boutique shopping, great cafes, and places to buy k-beauty products. But it’s far less about the shopping and the street food, and more about live street music, quirky and unique café culture, and a fantastic must-visit museum. Here’s how to spend a morning in Hongdae.

Animal Cafes in Seoul

Something you’ve undoubtedly heard about when looking up where to go in Seoul or places to visit in Korea are the animal cafes. If this interests you, then the best ones can be found in Hongdae. If you have more time, say 5 days in Seoul, there are several to check out but, for now, let’s look at two of them: Thanks Nature Café (the sheep café) and Meerkat Friends (the meerkat café).

Meerkat Friends: This Seoul café is a wholesome and delightful place. If you’re a little sceptical about the ethics of a café in Seoul full of African meerkats, you’re not alone. We were wary, too.

But when you do visit, and you see the love and care given to these meerkats by the people who work there and look after them, all your fears will disappear completely. Visiting Meerkat Friends costs the equivalent of $10 and includes a drink. The only downside is that the drink has to be bottled because coffee machine noises scare the meerkats.

Thanks Nature Café: Two sweet and fluffy little sheep, an indoor tree covered with shiny decorations, and a stack of waffles. It’s certainly not your average café experience, but it is an absolutely delightful one.

There’s nothing to worry about here with regards to ethics; these sheep (Honey and Sugar) are beloved and completely looked after. This is also a great opportunity to try traditional Korean bingsu (shaved ice covered with various fruits and sweet sauces). Japan and China have their own variations but most of us agree than Korean bingsu is the best of the bunch.

Trick-Eye Museum

If you’re going to visit one museum that’s unique to Seoul, let it be the Trick-Eye Museum. This place is an incredible hour or so of hilarious fun. When you enter, you’re instructed to download an app (it’s free) which will combine with your phone’s camera and bring the exhibits to life. Keep the app loaded and your phone in hand the whole time.

The museum experience itself involved moving from room to room, and in each one is a selection of clever artworks that you can interact with.

These artworks are either clever distortions where one person stands inside the artwork (it’s usually on the walls or floor) and another person takes a photo from a specific angle to make the art look 3D. Or they are pieces of art which, when viewed through the app, come to life (like a dragon breathing fire or a Pegasus flapping its wings).

You can film your friends interacting with the art through the app and bring their experiences to life. It’s not the most serious gallery or museum in the world but the Trick-Eye Museum is a morning of memorable and delightful fun with friends.

Read More: 10 Cute Cafes in South Korea

Lunch, Afternoon, Dinner, and Drinks: Itaewon

That’s a lot to do in one area, but that’s what Itaewon calls for. This area in the very heart of Seoul can split opinions a little. That’s because it’s the foreigner district. Most of the restaurants and bars are owned by westerners who live and work in Seoul, and some of us find that comfortable; others find it lacking in culture.

But you’ve just spent two days seeing the very best of both modern and ancient Korean culture and Itaewon is a fun and fantastic place to finish off your Seoul itinerary. So, let’s see where to get lunch and dinner, as well as what shops and bars to visit in Itaewon.

Lunch at Fat Cat

When we lived in Seoul, we visited Fat Cat an embarrassing number of times. It’s a delightful little western-owned, English-speaking bistro that serves the very best sandwiches and their own special (and mouth-watering) maple syrup lattes.

Fat Cat is a great place to fuel up, relax, read a book, and catch up with friends. You’ll find a lot of foreigners in here from all walks of life, and it’s got the friendliest atmosphere of any café or bistro in Seoul. I love and miss this place.

Book Shopping in Itaewon

There are two English language bookstores in Seoul: one for secondhand books and one for new books. Itaewon Foreign Bookstore is a lovely little bookstore with a green awning which you’ll find on the way back from Fat Cat to the main street in Itaewon.

It’s everything a dusty old bookshop should be: stacks of books, that musty smell, not enough room, and a grumpy old owner who doesn’t like to banter. It’s a delightful place full – from floor to ceiling – with second hand English books of every genre and type.

What The Book is at the end of a long row of antique stores, and it sells brand new English books imported from the US and the UK. They get the very newest books in, just like any bookshop back home, and they’re all very reasonably priced despite the imports.

What The Book is a great place to visit in Itaewon so you can see how the local westerners who live here shop and spend their weekend afternoons (or, at least, it’s how I spent mine).

Dinner at Plant

It can be difficult to find good vegetarian and vegan food in East Asia, where meat is an ordinary part of life. But Plant is Seoul’s answer to the need for great vegan food. Most of the food here is Western in style (think sandwiches and burgers etc), but it’s all fresh, completely delicious, and explicitly vegan or vegetarian friendly.

And if you’re neither, like me, it’s still utterly fantastic food. Word of warning: Plant is so popular that you may end up waiting in line for a seat. But it’s so worth it, and you don’t want to miss out on Plant during your 3-day Seoul itinerary.

Drinks at Magpie Brewing co.

One of Seoul’s most famous and most celebrated bars is Magpie Brewing co. It’s a neighbourhood bar in Itaewon that brews its own ales from locally sourced ingredients. Magpie Brewing co. was originally the brainchild of four North American friends in Seoul, and since its inception in 2011 it has grown in size and popularity.

They even now have their own brewery which they opened, of all places, on Jeju Island. It’s a great place to see how western bars and restaurants have flourished in Seoul – especially in Itaewon. And the beer is, of course, top-notch.

Women who speak for the sidelined and the unrepresented, women who show us our lives and our cultures from an original perspective, women who can teach us love and pain and quiet introspection. These women are vital to their respective cultures.

With all of that said, here are some of the most life-affirming and inspirational East Asian women writers of today, women from all walks of life working to provide the world with some of the most important works of literature of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Banana Yoshimoto

An astonishingly powerful, and all the while humble and personal voice of Japanese literature. Yoshimoto considers the broadest and most intimate issues of love and relationships, both familial and romantic. She incorporates LGBTQ characters into her writing in a way that they always should be included: as people. It’s a tired descriptor to call a writer ‘ahead of their time’ but Banana Yoshimoto truly always has been.

Her writing is feminist, depicts queer people in a positive, grounded, and complex manner, and it serves to reinforce and closely examine conversations about how we love and how we should love one another.

Celebrating and criticising the darker side of Japanese society in equal measure, Yoshimoto has become one of my very favourite contemporary female Japanese writers, and reading every one of her books is a journey, an honour, and a lesson in life.

Read our review of: Kitchen

Han Kang

Making waves in the world of literature right now, Han Kang delivers lessons on the more broken and fragile aspects of modern society, both Korean and otherwise. Her writing is otherworldly, ethereal at times, but grounded in the kind of problems you and I have either faced ourselves or at least heard about.

Each of her books is wildly unique and will affect each of us differently but in an equally personal way. In the world of Korean literature, Han Kang is inescapable, and that is a great thing. She is, arguably, Korea’s most popular author, and the fact that she is a politically motivated, feminist, philosophical female writer is an absolute joy.

Read our review of: The White Book

Hiromi Kawakami

Much of contemporary Japanese fiction, in the realms of prose, manga, and anime, concerns itself with the ‘slice of life’, the consideration of each moment as both fleeting and astonishingly important. And no voice in this area speaks more affectingly than Hiromi Kawakami’s.

She’s a female Asian writer who understands what it means to simply exist, with all of our flaws on glorious display. Her writing affects quiet contemplation in the most meaningful moments of an ordinary day, and has the power to encourage the reader to reassess how they treat the simpler parts of our own quiet lives.

Her stories concern themselves with love in all its forms, and the ways in which our relationships guide and shape us. She understands us so well, and her characters have a habit of crawling inside of us and making themselves comfortable. She is a quiet genius in the world of Japanese literature.

Read our reviews of: Strange Weather in Tokyo and Ten Loves of Nishino

Krys Lee

An immigrant who has spent her life both in Korea and America, Krys Lee, with a phenomenal command of language and pacing, explores what it means to be Korean in a modern world of turbulent politics and fragile cultural and personal identity.

Questions of nationality and belonging are becoming increasingly difficult to answer, with migration being so commonplace, and so Krys Lee uses her seemingly bottomless well of imagination and writing prowess to probe these questions and wring them dry.

Yiyun Lee

Unafraid to criticise her native land of China, her adoptive land of America, her family, her culture, and herself, Yiyun Li is above all things honest, and one of the most revolutionary female Asian writers as a result. A feminist, a linguist, a loud voice in the realm of mental health issues, and a passionate supporter of literature and its ability to move mountains, her writing is to be experienced.

She’s a rare kind of writer, who has the power to simply spill her thoughts, anxieties, opinions, fears, and motives onto the page and be listened to without question. Reading Li’s work is to contemplate so much that was once perhaps thought trivial or best avoided. Honesty is powerful. We thought we knew that already, but we didn’t. Not until we read Li’s writing do we know this entirely.

Read our reviews of: Dear Friend, from my life I Write to You in Your Life and her new book Where Reasons End

Can Xue

While she has been round the block more than a few times in her homeland, Can Xue is a relatively new voice in English translation. Her novel Love in the New Millennium erupted to rapturous applause in the West.

Considered to be one of the finest Chinese authors alive today, Can Xue delivers comical, topical, romantic, and often surreal stories of life on the ground in modern China. She takes real life and twists it, making it even truer and more honest than it was before.

There is a true genius to Can Xue’s writing which speaks to her clear view of modern life and how we choose to live it. She is nothing short of a visionary, and because of that she consistently delivers some of the finest Chinese novels and stories available today. Truly, one of the great female Asian writers.

Sayaka Murata

Arguably a painfully obvious choice, but certainly no less valid because of that. Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman took the world by storm in 2018 for good reason: it is a book that tears through the machinery that forms the economy and social structure of modern-day Japan.

Murata is steps away from becoming the voice of 21st century Japan. A woman who worked as a convenience store clerk for years and years, who took her story and turned it into a biting, scathing novel with serious philosophical depth. Murata considers what really matters in life and, more importantly, who gets to decide that.

Convenience Store Woman is one of my favourite novels of all time, and Murata herself is a force to be reckoned with in the world of Japanese literature, making her one of the very best new female Asian writers.

Read our reviews of: Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings

If you liked this, you might like 5 Asian Graphic Novels we Love or our Women in Translation List

Calling it The White Book feels reductive, almost wrong on purpose. Because The White Book is less a book and more an embracing feeling of familiarity. This book is something you live and feel, and all of this is created by its use of empty space.

Han Kang has created a story unlike any I’ve read, but beyond being a story it is very much an exploration of the familiar things in life.

And the familiar thing that I was struck by, page after page, was snow. Han probes snow more than once in her writing, and the book is white after all, but the simplicity of this whiteness was what kept calling me back to the simple, perfect feeling of childhood in winter.

Noticeably, almost every other page in this book is left blank. And not just blank, but a stark and empty white. This empty, pure white space is something I could describe endlessly, and I cannot resist the temptation to do just that.

There are beautiful black and white photos throughout the book, taken by Han Kang, which only add to the experience as you try to grapple with the tone of each beautiful image. The White Book has real depth and I can’t help but feel that every reader will have a different experience with it.

Why Read the Physical Copy?

For the full effect of this book; for it to draw you in and affect you the way it did me, you need to read the physical copy. I am typically an advocate of e-readers (being on the road a lot), but with this book the importance of having the physical thing cannot be overstated.

This thick, stark white paper, this pure empty space, takes up half of the book. And this emptiness is what takes the book beyond being a story and accesses a part of your brain that takes you to another time and place.

One gets the feeling when holding it that Han Kang and her publishers must have painstakingly hunted for the correct shade of white to use for the pages, and the right thickness and smoothness of the paper. Inasmuch as it has been written, The White Book has been carved like a sculpture, and prepared and presented like a banquet.

It Starts with a List

In her introduction, Han Kang says:

“In the spring, when I decided to write about white things, the first thing I did was make a list. Salt. Snow. Ice. Moon. Rice … Running my eyes over that list again, I wondered what meaning might lie in this task, in peering into the heart of these words.”

Each tiny chapter of this story is titled with one of these white things, and the events and musings of the chapter circle its material theme. It is this, coupled with the empty space, that so draws the reader into the very feeling of whiteness. A bleak kind of melancholy peacefulness that takes hold and gently squeezes.

Who could have thought that white space, a handful of innocuous items, and some beautiful words could be quite so enveloping. Snow was what I kept returning to.

Moved as I was by her words and her story, at the back of my mind I imagined myself as a boy playing in waist-high snow. Han’s words encourage this wandering. They, like snow and like the pages of her book, are sparse and elegant in their simplicity.

Her vocabulary is plain, but certainly not dull. Rather, she picks and chooses only those words that need be used. There is no wastage here. Instead, she leaves room for the whiteness. Far more like Murakami than Dickens, Han Kang is a master of simplicity. She seems to be a believer in selecting the perfect word for the perfect moment. In this way, she is more a poet than a novelist.

For proof of this, enjoy this exquisite description from the chapter titled ‘Blizzard’:

“This thing so cold, so hostile. This vanishing fragility, this oppressive weight of beauty.”

The Power of Translation

So much credit for the beauty of this writing must also go to Deborah Smith, the masterful translator and founder of Tilted Axis Press. She has so far translated all of Han Kang’s books into English. Smith proves herself as a poet as much as the author herself does, for being so careful as to ensure that no beauty is lost in translation.

While I cannot make this claim so boldly, since my own skills with Korean are minimal, the several times that Smith’s translation brought me close to tears are the proof I need that she is a true, invaluable talent in the industry of literary translation.

A friend of mine was recently lucky enough to see Han Kang at a book tour in the UK, where the interviewer chosen was Max Porter, whose own books Grief is the Thing With Feathers and Lanny moved me in much the same way as The White Book has, with its own use of empty space, allowing the words to come alive on the page, and with its stripped and stark use of language and bare storytelling. I can only imagine that the discussion between these two talents must have been something rather special indeed.

But What’s it About?

I’m aware that I have staved off mention of what the story in The White Book entails. This is by choice, because to say much of anything about the story would be to spoil it for the reader, and to honestly do a disservice to the writer and the book itself. Though I can say a little more than naught about it. If only a little.

Han Kang’s introduction tells us that the white things came first. That whiteness itself was the most vital thing. This is as much as she knew, and from that concept grew a story.

The narrative flits between first and third person, but always centres on the same lone character: a Korean woman, spending a little time living in an unspecified central European city (though I suspected it is somewhere in Poland, and it was confirmed in an interview to be Warsaw). It is here that our nameless narrator spends her time in introspection, though the exact subject of which I dare not say.

The story has nothing in the way of true dialogue, and its chapters are short with the time between them unclear, but what is clear is the way that the character lessens the weight she carries, eases her feelings, and helps the reader lose the tension they perhaps don’t know they are holding onto as they read.

Coupled with this is the way in which the chapters gradually shorten, and as a result the white space continues to grow and spread. The feeling that the words are weight, and the white space is relief, is totally palpable. Like a fade-out at the end of an intense song, it is an absolute catharsis.

Conclusion

This story will stay with me for a long time, as much for the experience of reading it than for what is inked on its pages. Its beautiful, snowy pages. All the empty space giving it room to breathe creates the feeling of a living, aching, mending story.

The White Book is easily an experience inasmuch as it is a novel. I’d urge all Han Kang fans to read it, but also anyone looking for a very different kind of art; art which is difficult to explain and more difficult to talk about afterwards.