Who doesn’t want a holiday in Seoul? I definitely did, and that’s why I visited Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in the late September, 2016. Basically, I was flying from Singapore to the USA via Seoul and I came out of the Incheon airport to visit the Seoul downtown. However, during the return trip (USA-Seoul-SG), I didn’t come out of the airport, and spend time chatting with some unknown people at the airport. There were a few kids at Seoul airport and we played hide and seek. 🙂
I will summarise some of my general observations about Seoul downtown in this article. In the next post you can find more details about some of the must visit places in Seoul.
Korean airlines
I flew with Korean airlines, and I would positively recommend it. The food served was super delicious. The Korean airlines crew members were very attentive. My return flight ticket fare (SG-Seoul-Seattle-Seoul-SG) was around SGD 1400 (1SGD = 0.74 USD).
We were flying at an altitude of 12 KM and the outside temperature was -53’C. Sounds crazy, but that’s true. Check out the following flight information photo for more details.
Seoul Incheon airport to the Seoul downtown
From the Incheon International Airport Station (인천국제공항역) you can take AREX MRT (blue line) directly for the city centre. NOTE: There are two AREX lines:
- The AREX Express Line – non-stop – it stops only at the last station- the Seoul Station. If you have to go Seoul Station, you can take this. Don’t take this otherwise.
- The regular AREX Commuter Line – takes 53 minutes and stops at ten major subway stations along the way. A train leaves every 23 minutes between Incheon airport and Seoul Station. No need for an online reservation – just get in, and get going. 🙂
Seoul downtown Food
Similar to China, Korea has its own variety of delicious food. Although my trip was short, I tried a variety of local Korean food. I went to Hongdae (홍대) area during the night. There are so many street hawkers in Hongdae and I had lots of local food. Seoul food is quite cheap and delicious. For 1 SGD, you can get 3 pieces of boiled fish/chicken in Hongdae.
Just walk around, and you will find them. you should be careful about the spicy food as. I ended up eating spicy rice cake (Ddeokbokki: 떡볶이) at one of the stalls in Hongdae. It was too spicy.
The saleslady asked me –how is it? I replied here in Korean – delicious, but spicy (mas-issji man maeun -맛있지 만 매운). She was really happy to hear Korean words from me and got me a water bottle – for free! She was really kind. There were lots of dudes in half-pants walking around, girls too. 🙂
The Seoul pace of life
The life seems to be rushing on a fast track in Seoul. People in Seoul are quite occupied with work, and obviously very busy.
Korean People
The Korean people are generally very helpful and kind. The pace of life seems to be very fast in Seoul. People in Seoul seemed to be busy. The Seoul downtown area is quite crowded.
- Men – they look a bit serious. If you just look at a Korean guy standing in the Subway/MRT or somewhere, they seem to be lost in some kind of deep thinking.
- Girls – Their dressing style is just classy. However, too much makeup. I am a known admirer of the beauty, but in Seoul I felt a bit turned off. I mean, you are already so beautiful, why you need so much makeup? 😀 Anyways, that’s none of my business.
- Couples – they were busy- business as usual. 🙂
- Kids– first time I was interacting with Korean kids. They are cute as well.
Language issues in Seoul
It seems that as a tourist, you can pretty much manage with English language in the Seoul downtown area. Nevertheless, the locals would be more than happy if you knew a bit of Korean language. The most important Korean word seems to be Khamsahamida (Thank you – 감사합니다).
Moreover, if you happen to be using Korean, make sure you give them proper respect (which is the corner-stone of the Korean language). Check out my Korean language learning journey for more details.
How expensive is Seoul?
Well, expenses in Seoul look pretty much similar to Singapore (or a bit cheaper). Especially, the taxi fares are similar to Singapore. Food may be somewhat more affordable. But again, it depends where you eat. If you try street food, it’s definitely going to be slightly cheaper. But prices at KFC in Seoul downtown and the airport were comparable to Singapore. Seoul is overall not a cheap city from an Asian standard.
Safety in Seoul Downtown
For an Indian dude Seoul is a safe city. I was out in the night till late, and didn’t see any problem. You don’t need to worry about North Korea President Kim. 🙂
Visa of Republic of Korea
The Republic of Korea seems to be having a very interesting transit visa policy. You don’t need a Korean visa if you are going/coming from USA/Canada, and stop in Seoul for up to 30 days. I had a visa free entry into Seoul. You can find more about Korean transit visa here!
Holiday in Seoul & Seoul Subway
Well, your holiday in Seoul is just not complete until you take a subway ride. The Seoul subway is clean and safe mode of public transport. The subway covers the city very comprehensively. The ticket prices are quite reasonable. There are ticket vending machines places at each of the stations. These machines operate in English as well. So you shouldn’t have any problem using the Seoul subway.
Seoul Tourist attractions
Here are some of the must visit places in Seoul – I will talk more about them in my next post
- Deoksu-gung (덕수궁)
- Jongmyo Shrine(종묘)
- Changgyeong-gung (창경궁)
- Changdeok-gung(창덕궁)
- Gyeongbok-gung(경복궁)
I would love to get back to South Korea with more and more time.
That’s all for this post. Here you can find all my South Korea travel articles.
If you find the write-ups useful, buy me a beer! 🙂
Wish you a great trip in the Republic of Korea.
With love. 🙂
Last updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2017
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