Tom Finally after 12 days, we’re visiting all the attractions of Seoul! On day 12 of our South Korea Travel itinerary, we check out attractions in Seoul including Seoul Tower, Namdaemon, Myeongdong, Dongdaemon, Insa-dong Stream and the Michelin Starred Manjok Ohyang Korean Pork Trotters!
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After breakfast at Grid Inn Seoul, we headed to our first attraction of the day – Seoul Tower!
South Korea Seoul Travels – Seoul Tower
To reach Seoul Tower, we originally thought that walking would be an option. It is not. Thankfully, we were able to find out that the way to reach Seoul Tower, is to alight at Chungmuro Station and head to exit 2. There, you will see this bus stop…
From Exit 2 of Chungmuro Station, you’ll be able to take bus 2 up to Seoul Tower. It is actually part of the Namsan Tour Bus network and costs 1,100krw for each bus ride up and down Seoul Tower (Namsan).
After a short climb (10 minutes or so), we arrived at Namsan Seoul Tower. We alighted close to 7-11 and had to take a short walk to Seoul Tower itself. Even at the area where we alighted, we were already greeted by beautiful views of Seoul!
Like Hilton Busan (the most instagrammable hotel in the world), there are many instagrammable spots with views, cute cartoon characters and even a lockermania at Seoul observatory…
At the lower parts of Seoul Tower, there are many shops, cafes, restaurants where visitors can chill and enjoy the views of Seoul. As the views from Namsan (243m above sea level) were already beautiful, we decided that a visit to the top was not necessary. Hence, we continued to take more pictures with cartoon characters and enjoy the views with a beer in hand…
This time, we took the opportunity to try out the Jeju Wit Beer (8,000krw) as we did not have the opportunity while we were in Jeju. However, it was actually not as good as the Hawaii Kona Brewery Beers 😛 If you have time, taking in the views while sitting by the park or the cafe is definitely an unforgettable experience.
South Korea Seoul Attractions – Manjok Ohyang Jokbal Korean Pig’s Trotter
After our visit to Seoul Tower, we took bus 5 down to Namdaemon (kids/accessory shopping area)…
One of the most authentic Korean dishes in Seoul is the Manjok Ohyang Jokbal aka, Korean Pig’s Trotter. This time, we tried the Michelin starred Manjok Ohyang Jokbal at 134-7, Seosomun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul!
First off, we must say that it korean styled pig’s trotters is nothing like the braised pig’s trotters in Singapore. As expected, the meat itself was very tender. However, the big surprise was that the gelatinous fats melted in our mouths but was not oily at all! Somehow, the oil must have been steamed off and left with a non-jelak (Singlish for “sick of eating” mostly due to oiliness) and full taste of the boiled broth. A perfect combination of fragrance with sweetness & saltiness! Remember to pair it with the cabbage dipped in the special garlic sauce for the authentic taste!
Although the set we ordered was called the “foreigner’s set”, the price was actually very reasonable. We compared it with the Korean menu and found that it was actually slightly cheaper than if you’d ordered separately. At 38,000krw, the set comes with Michelin-starred Manjok Ohyang Jokbal, steamed egg and dumplings/rice cake soup. Definitely worth it!
Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Seoul
Book Here with Klook: Popular Activities in Seoul
South Korea Seoul Attractions – Shopping from Namdaemon to Myeongdong
After a hearty meal, we continued our shopping from Namdaemon to Myeongdong!
While walking along Myeongdong Shopping Street, we passed by the Innisfree Flagship store at Myeongdong and found that there was a 50% discount sale going on! We soon realised that the signs JUST came on and soon, more and more customers were flooding the store. Interestingly, the salesperson was able to speak in Mandarin and thought that we came from China. This is a sure sign of the number of Chinese visitors. Hence, the in-house Mandarin speaking salesperson. As a result of the sales pitch Kate’s wise choices, we spent 82,000krw saved substantially during the sales! Thereafter, we headed to Dongdaemon…
However, at Dongdaemon shopping district, we were very disappointed. We only came across carpets, home furnishings and curtains etc. Disappointed, we headed back to Grid Inn for rest before we headed out for an evening walk…
Seoul Travel Itinerary – Stroll along Insa-Dong Stream
One of the free attractions in Seoul that we enjoyed was the stroll along Insa-Dong Stream…
As the sun sets, it was indeed relaxing to walk by the steam. Many groups friends and families also gather along insa-dong stream to wind down the evening. As we strolled further on, we chanced upon the now famous (also in Singapore), Yoogane Chicken Galbi!
As we were still relatively full from the Jokbal in the afternoon, we decided to have “only” the chicken galbi fried rice (6,000krw) and cold noodles (6,500krw). As there were free flow of sides (which Kate said after the trip that we had probably eaten a year’s worth of kimchi. Yikes!), the price, with no other taxes/charges were especially value-for-money!
Thankfully, we only ordered the 2 dishes (teppan fried rice for 1 person) as we were so SUPER FULL! The one person portion was actually good for 2 to share. As expected, parts of the fried rice was crisp and well infused with the galbi sauce. Yum! Somehow, the Korean version trumps the Singaporean one. Perhaps its the frying technique?
Eventhough we were full, we were not THAT full. Kate always says that “there’s always space for dessert!”. Hence, we headed to Korean Dessert Cafe for a delectable strawberry cheesecake chocolate patbingsu (~10,000krw)!
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Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Seoul
Book Here with Klook: Popular Activities in Seoul
We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of our Seoul Travel Itinerary. Stay tuned as we check out more attractions in Seoul during our last leg of South Korean Travels! We’ll now leave you with this video coverage of the top things to do and attractions in Seoul as well as where to eat in Seoul!
Related Posts
You have just finished reading a post from our 14 Days Travels in South Korea. Check out the rest of the posts from this series below!
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 1: Busan Gwangalli Beach, Spaland and Fried Chicken Army Stew!
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 6: Flight from Jeju to Busan PLUS Hilton Busan Review!
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 7: Haeundae Beach, Dalmaji Road and Dalmaji Hill
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 11: Driving from Danyang to Seoul!
Top 17 Things to do and Attractions in Jeju South Korea!
Top 8 Busan Travel Experiences, Things to do and Attractions!
Top 7 Gyeongju Things to do, Attractions and Travel Experiences!
Top 5 Danyang Attractions, Travel Experiences and Things to do!
Top 7 Seoul Attractions and Things to do
Top 8 Food to eat in Seoul South Korea
The Ultimate Guide to Driving in South Korea!
What Souvenirs to buy from South Korea? 9 Souvenirs to get from South Korean Supermarkets!
The Complete Hilton Busan Review: Probably the Most Instagrammable Hotel in the World!
Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Resort Review: The Perfect Base to Discover Jeju!
Da Moim Buffet Restaurant Hilton Busan Review
Singapore Airlines (SQ) 777-300ER Business Class Review: Singapore to Beijing
Air China Business Class Review: Beijing to Busan CA 129
Singapore Airlines Business Class A330-300 Review: Incheon to Singapore
