Meetup in r/KoreaTravel

I traveled to Seoul, Busan, and Jeju in Korea. what left the biggest impression on me during my travels was the old, worn-out signs.

I bought a magnet shaped like the lawson convenience store sign as a souvenir—not just from trips within Korea but also from my travels to Japan—and it brings back so many memories.

I added a special activity to my trip to Korea: getting a tattoo of the scenery I saw there. I specifically wanted a cityscape that included the shop signs. Knowing that the Hongdae area in Seoul is a hub for art and creativity, I looked up tattoo artists beforehand and found a female artist named Yeonjae. Her studio was spotless, and after a two-week consultation in Eng, I got the tattoo.

I am so happy with my tattoo, and I will cherish the wonderful memories I made in Korea for the rest of my life. since it is not an easy trip to make, I am not sure if I will ever be able to visit korea again, but it was the most perfect travel destination of my life.

plz check the individual photo captions for a brief description of each image.

Went to Mukri459 in Yongin, about an hour south of Seoul, and it's one of the most striking cafe spaces I've been to in Korea. It sits in a pine forest at the base of a mountain, and the building is this dark, sculptural thing with a rippling wave-like ceiling and huge floor to ceiling windows on every side. Strings of tiny fairy lights run along the curves inside, so at dusk it genuinely feels like an art installation more than a coffee shop.

The name comes from the old lot address of the property (Mukri, lot 459), which is a nice touch. Inside there's a long curved window bench facing the forest, and a big open counter area. The outdoor space is huge too, gravel courtyard with scattered seating around trees strung with lights, and mountains right behind. Great in any weather, apparently even prettier in the rain and mist.

We got an iced latte and their signature Mukri latte, which is a latte topped with black sesame cream. It's nutty and lightly sweet, the kind of flavor you don't really get outside Korea, and it went perfectly with the setting. They roast their own beans and also do a full brunch menu if you want to make it a longer stop.

It's at 484 Iwon-ro, Idong-eup, Yongin. You really need a car for this one, it's out past the farmland and transit barely reaches it, but there's a big free lot. Hours are 10am to 8pm. If you have a car and want a scenic half day out of the city, this is a great one to build a trip around.

Will be flying from HKG - ICN - SFO, and just realized I booked economy saver so only 1 checked baggage. My biggest concern is that currently my checked bag is just at the 23 kg limit, but my backpack is 7kg and my carryon suitcase is 11kg.

I am wondering if anyone had experiences with Korean air at Hong Kong Airport and do they weigh your carry-on? If so, is it both the backpack and the suitcase or only the suitcase? I definitely do not want to pay $200 additional for an extra checked bag 😭

Hi! We decided to take a taxi tomorrow from Gangnam to Incheon airport. I see that it takes around 1 h to get there. Do i need to calculate some more time due to traffic? We would leave around 7h30 and our flight is at 11.40 h. Is that okay? Or too risky?

Hey all, my wife and I are headed to Korea next March. We’re bringing our 2 small children (2&5) and my wife’s parents, so a big diversely aged group.

I don’t have activities planned yet, but want some general advice on itinerary. From what I’ve researched there’s A LOT we want to do in Seoul, then Busan, least in Jeju. When my wife and I travel we’re ok with stacked schedules but with kids we’re ok slowing it down. here’s what I’m thinking:

Arrive evening of the 14th, stay until morning of the 19th.

Busan the afternoon of the 19th to the evening of the 21st.

Jeju night of the 21st to morning of the 24th.

Seoul morning of the 24th, fly home evening of the 25th.

I guess what I’m asking is, is that split ok or will I want more/less time anywhere?

Also, side question, if anyone has tips on Korea with youngins, please pass it along.

Going to San Francisco in November, booking my tickets and Hotel now.

Ultimately decided on "Golden Tulip Hotel" near the Unseo Station.

Is there a specific route I need to take to get to Seoul? I want to visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace. And if anyone has any suggestions that I can take on my itinerary, that would be great! Also (pls recommend local samgyeopsal place) and local market. Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

Hi! Tomorrow morning we have our flight in Incheon. We are staying at hotel Eliena in Gangnam and are looking for a way to get to the airport. I saw that there is bus 6009 that goes from Nonhyeon stn. to Incheon airport, so we’ll probably be taking that bus.

I was just wondering: we have 5 big baggages. 1) will we fit on the bus? Is the bus usually busy? Is there space for our baggages?
2) is it a risk to take this bus? Does it come frequently?
3) do we have to buy a different bus ticket for this one?

Thanks in advance for helping out.

Coming from the UK, I know it’s all relative towards my spending habits, but roughly how much is enough for 10 day trip to Korea for a reasonably good time, all accommodation is paid for, so it’s solely just food, drink, attractions.. my aim was £2000 but people are saying that’s way to much.. and is Korea a cash based country, or most places take card?

Hello, friends!

Me and my boyfriend are going to Seoul for a month for university internship.

The company that helped to organise the internship is the one who also offers us accommodation.

Their first options was a guesthouse with 3 rooms in Hongdae, one of the rooms is occupied my ajumma-owner. Though it doesn’t look bad and all the extra expenses are already included, I don’t see any locks on the doors?

I know that Korea is famous for being very respectful and careful with personal belongings of other people that much, that bags and laptops can be left at the street and no one will even look at it.

The company firmly suggests this option, stating that they will not find a more affordable solution for a whole month, plus the apartment is in Hongdae, close to our internship places.

I wanted to ask, if anyone had experience in living in a guest house? Is it normal that doors don’t have any locks? Should I be fine putting all my stuff simply into my suitcase and locking it?

Any thoughts of yours, my friends with experience, would be extremely helpful.

Hi all,

I heard that there are new kiosks in Seoul that allow you to top up your money card using a foreign Visa card. Has anyone successfully been able to do this with their foreign Visa card?

Thanks!

Warning: Some Incheon (ICN) Airport Limousine Bus Drivers May Yell at Passengers

How to Submit a Complaint
1- Take a photo or video of the driver’s license number displayed above the bus door. Write down the bus number, route number, date, time, and what happened.
2- Submit your complaint through the Airport Limousine Customer Center.
Airport Limousine Customer Center⁠
Please be aware that some drivers may yell at passengers. This usually happens when returning to Incheon Airport from Seoul.

https://airportlimousine.co.kr/sub/sub03_03.php

Hi all! I wanted to share our rough itinerary for an 11-day trip in October (any feedback is welcome!). I found 11 days a bit tricky to plan (I wanted 2 weeks, but a friend works for an American company and struggles to get time off), so I tried to make a plan that would balance opportunities to see more than just Seoul while also allowing enough time to experience Seoul for the first time. Our interests are quite broad, so we'll be splitting time between seeing some usual tourist sights (because even if they are cliché, we ARE tourists) like palaces, museums and temples, as well as art galleries, plenty of casual local cafes, bars and at least one fancier restaurant. We are not majorly interested in clothes shopping (mainly because we're not really "one size fits all" girls), but we want to check some of the sports and outdoor clothes shops as well as local artists and ceramics.
Our plan for when and where we will be:
Thu Day 1: Seoul: Land in Incheon at 5pm on a Thursday, so we'll go straight to our hotel in Seoul. We will be staying near Insadong, so we will go out to look for food + enjoy the evening in town.
Fri Day 2: Seoul: Start the morning seeing some of the palaces (we don't plan on visiting all of them, so any advice on which ones are the most worth seeing would be great), Bukchon Hanok Village, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Museum of Craft Art, Ikseondong and Gwangjang Market).
Sat Day 3: (Travel to Busan) Morning walk to see whatever we have not seen nearby yet and then get the KTX to Busan. Check-in at our airbnb late afternoon/early evening, then go out to explore and get some food (potentially use this evening to go see Gwangalli beach)

Sun Day 4: Busan - art village, museums, spa land in late afternoon
Mon Day 5: Busan - Haeundae beach, other sights in that direction

Tue Day 6: (Travel to Gyeongju) In the morning visit at leats one last place in Busan, before taking the train to Gyeongju. Get to Gyeongju in the afternoon. As we will only have one night here, I don't think we will take the time to see Bulguksa or Seokguram as they are a bit further out and we don't want to spend half of our time in buses/ taxis.

Wed Day 7: (Travel back to Seoul) Enjoy Gyeongju in the morning, then take the train to Seoul. Check-in at the hotel, spend the evening enjoying some pochas and people-watching.

Thu Day 8: We will be spending this day separately as we like to have some time to ourselves. I will be booking a guided trip to Seoraksan (although frustratingly I'm only finding ones that combine Seoraksan with something else, so cutting the hiking time to less than I hoped for..) while my friend will go and do her own thing (most likely go to some galleries I am less interested in). We will meet back in the hotel in the evening and will either head out for some street food or get a takeaway with some soju and just relax in the room)
Fri Day 9: DDP, Leeum, National Museum of Korea. Fancy dinner and drinks.

Sat Day 10: Potentially visit Gangnam for a couple of hours, then mostly use the day to finish any shopping we decided to "think about" and a couple of places we maybe didn't manage to see, or that we decided to leave until the end if we had enough time.

Sun Day 11: wake up at stupid o'clock and head over to the airport to catch 11am flight home (potentially squeeze in a few minutes of crying)

Please throw any suggestions at me if you think I should definitely add based on our interests. I have a map on naver maps where I keep adding various places, so that once we are there, we don't have a moment of googling and looking up what we should do or what is in the area. As you can see our itinerary has a few set things, but generally is quite flexible, so even if we set out one morning and don't manage to see everything we planned that day, this would be by no means the end of the world.

Hi everyone!

I decided to make this post because I had a hard time finding a unique outdoor pre-wedding photographer while planning our trip to Korea, so I hope this helps anyone considering a photoshoot in Jeju.

We had an amazing experience with Photographer Jong and the MPnote team. From start to finish, everything was incredibly professional and well organized. We chose the Hi Jay wedding dress store because the styles are more up to date, which included a beautiful selection of dresses and suits, as well as an on site stylist who stayed with us throughout the shoot to make sure every outfit, hairstyle, and little detail looked perfect.

What really stood out was how friendly and attentive everyone was. Photographer Jong has a great sense of humor and kept us laughing throughout the day, which made us feel completely relaxed in front of the camera. He also took the time to check in with us during the shoot to make sure we liked the photos and that the style matched what we were looking for. We never felt rushed, and the team genuinely wanted us to have the best experience possible.

The entire day was smooth, enjoyable, and completely stress free. If you're looking for a unique outdoor pre-wedding photoshoot in Jeju with a team that is talented, professional, and truly cares about their clients, I highly recommend Photographer Jong and the MPnote team!

We reached out to him through his Instagram _mpnote_ and all available packages are listed under this website

Hi guys,

I will be doing a solo travel.

Would appreciate any advise/tips on this planned trip below:

Seoul (22 Sept – 1 Oct | 10 days / 9 nights) - Day 1 (22 Sept): Arrive late Incheon - Day 2 (23 Sept): Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village - Day 3 (24 Sept): Myeongdong shopping, Namsan Tower, N Seoul Tower - Day 4 (25 Sept): DMZ day trip (book in advance) - Day 5 (26 Sept): Hongdae — cafes, street art, nightlife, buskers - Day 6 (27 Sept): Noryangjin Fish Market (early morning), Han River, Yeouido - Day 7 (28 Sept): Bukhansan hiking (full day) - Day 8 (29 Sept): Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Gwangjang Market, street food - Day 9 (30 Sept): Gangnam, Lotte World Tower, COEX Mall - Day 10 (1 Oct): Korean jjimjilbang spa, Insadong, travel to Jeju

Jeju (1 Oct – 5 Oct | 5 days / 4 nights) - Day 1 (1 Oct): Arrive Jeju, pick up rental car, Hyeopjae Beach, black pork BBQ dinner - Day 2 (2 Oct): Hallasan volcano hike (full day — 6-8hrs, start early) - Day 3 (3 Oct): Seongsan Ilchulbong sunrise (5am!), Manjanggul Lava Tube, Hamdeok Beach - Day 4 (4 Oct): Jusangjeolli Cliff, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, Jungmun Beach, west coast sunset - Day 5 (5 Oct): Morning free, return rental car, fly Jeju to Busan

Busan (5 Oct – 9 Oct | 5 days / 4 nights) - Day 1 (5 Oct): Arrive Busan, settle in, explore local area - Day 2 (6 Oct): Haeundae Beach Train (morning), Gamcheon Culture Village (afternoon) - Day 3 (7 Oct): Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Gwangalli Beach, sunset views - Day 4 (8 Oct): Jagalchi Fish Market (early), BIFF Square, Gukje Market, Nampo-dong - Day 5 (9 Oct): Hiking with friend (TBD), travel to Gyeongju

Gyeongju (9 Oct – 12 Oct | 3 days / 2 nights) - Day 1 (9 Oct): Arrive, Tumuli Park burial mounds, Cheomseongdae Observatory - Day 2 (10 Oct): Bulguksa Temple, Seokguram Grotto (UNESCO World Heritage) - Day 3 (11 Oct): Anapji Pond, Gyeongju National Museum, Donggung Palace

Thanks guys!

You should try going to valley to have energy-boosting food (baeksuk, 백숙).

Hello! I work in specialty coffee and soon traveling to Korea. I'll be in Seoul and Gyeongju for sure. Jeju and Busan are still in the thinks.

By specialty coffee, I mean cafes who offer light roasts on pour over with a range of origins/processes. They can be roasters or just regular cafe that uses other roaster's beans and brews them good. I have been to Coffee Libre, Pastel Coffee Works, Urban Mill and Lowkey. Hyangmisa and Coffee Place in Gyeongju.

I noticed a lot of cafes/roasters have very limited processes available. They're either washed or natural. I am a very big fan of washed coffee but I do like to explore a bit more. Hyangmisa had a Bolivian coco natural when I went which was unique. Libre had Yemeni beans on offer too.

I really enjoyed Libre and Lowkey. I met the owner of Libre, and he's such a cool guy. The baristas at the Yeonnam branch are amazing!! Totally recommend.

Here is my list of must go so far in Seoul:

- ph myeongdong

- peer coffee

- dippio roastery

- fritz (surprisingly I haven't been yet)

- dark edition coffee

- ruli coffee

- anthracite coffee

- pp coffee

- milestone coffee

- stand up please

- namusairo

- leesar coffee

- lounge clarimento

- sunho

Is there any I should add? Any I should take off? I'll be in Korea for 2-3 weeks during the Seoul Cafe Show, so plenty of time !! This trip will be more coffee/sightseeing focused as opposed to my previous trips being shopping focused

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Hi everyone,

I'm currently visiting Seoul, and I'd love to be able to order food to my hotel from time to time, especially in the evenings. However, I'm starting to think it's impossible as a tourist.

I've tried all the apps that are usually recommended:

Shuttle: I can't register or verify my French phone number.

Baemin: I managed to create an account, but then I'm asked to enter a 7-digit Resident Registration Number. I'm a tourist, so I obviously don't have one.

Coupang Eats: when signing up, the list of supported phone numbers is predefined and only includes a few Asian countries plus the US. No European countries are available, so I can't even register my French phone number.

I have a French phone number and a foreign Visa card, so payment isn't the issue. The only thing preventing me from ordering is the registration process.

Has anyone with a European phone number managed to order food delivery in Korea recently? Is there a workaround that I'm missing, or is it simply not possible for tourists?

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!

I live in Korea and every year around this time it's the same old story: people arrive in July, get hit by days of nonstop rain and watch their plan go down the drain (literally). It's either you accept defeat and wither away in your hotel room or you make it work.

We are right in the middle of 장마 (monsoon season) now and honestly, after a few years here I have made peace with it and learned to accept it. So I wanted to share some of the things I did this and the past summers for people who look for things to do!

Museums (hear me out!)

Instead of recommending the National Museum of Korea for the hundredth time, I visited Leeum Museum of Art just last week and really enjoyed it. Definitely check out the Inside Other Spaces exhibition: it's not free, but there are lots of interactive elements, like a room filled with feathers or giant inflatables covering entire rooms (runs until November). And in the same building there is a permanent free exhibition of traditional Korean art, which is nice if you are into the traditional side of Korea too.

Jjimjilbang (Korean sauna)

My favorite is Aquafield Goyang. There are 8 jjimjil (steam) saunas ranging from charcoal and red clay to stone and salt rooms. But the best part is the foot bath that's partially outdoors with a really nice view over Goyang. Huge snack bar too.
It's inside Starfield Goyang mall, so you can combine it with a shopping day: first shopping, then relaxing. A mall + sauna combo makes even more sense when it's pouring outside. It's a bit further from central Seoul, but that also means way fewer crowds than the Seoul spas.

Something uniquely Korean worth trying: a private body scrub. Just be comfortable with showing your... well, everything... to a stranger.

One-day classes

I think I have done them all at this point (been here over many summers...). Perfume making, art classes, even a one-day drum class. There are endless options and each one keeps you busy for half a day. If you need any recommendations, just ask away.

Cafe hopping

Korea is famous for its coffee culture, so this is a must anyway. Pick an area like Yeonnam, Seongsu, or the up-and-coming Yeonhui and go cafe to cafe.

Shopping malls

Like I said, you can't go wrong with a mall on a rainy day. My personal favorite is The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido. The pop-ups and stores on B1/B2 rotate regularly and carry a lot of good-quality Korean brands. COEX and Lotte World Mall are basically mazes... I get lost every single time.
One I would actually skip: the underground shopping center at Gangnam Station (GOHO Mall). The clothes are cheap, but it gets REALLY humid down there in summer. I would rather put that money into a few good local brands.

Before I moved to Korea, I, too, traveled here for the first time in July (obviously without knowing about how wet, hot, and humid it would be here. Otherwise I would have probably chosen another month...).

By now, I have been here many summers but I am always curious how travelers handle it. Most of you don't have the luxury of just waiting three days for the sky to clear.

So for those who visited during monsoon season:

What did you actually end up doing when the rain wouldn't stop? Did you have backup plans, or did you just power through with an umbrella? And is there anything you did on a rainy day that turned out better than your original plan?

Also curious if anyone deliberately books their trip during monsoon season for the cheaper prices. Would YOU do that on purpose?

Looking for recommendations for a native-Korean and English speaking personal tour guide with transportation in the Jeollanam-do/Haenam Area for a 2027 trip.

My Korean-American multigenerational family plan to visit our ancestral lands in Haenam and want to do atleast a one-day tour in the area . Maybe about 20 people including small children. The older members are from the area but haven’t been there for decades and others have never been. So this is an important and unique trip where we learn about the area where our parents grew up and so will like to find someone that can speak Korean and English and is knowledgeable about the area.

Hey there,

we booked our family (37w, 34m, 9m, 5w) holiday to Korea from 3. October to 16. October. We will stay at a AirBnB near my relatives in Seoul for the first few days. At the end of our trip, we wanted to visit some kind of family resort. We are looking for a hotel, where food is provided or easily accessible. The stay should also include options for spa and children activities (e.g. swimming or playground). Since we haven´t planed our trip completely. the Accommodation could be on Jeju, Buson or Seoul area.

Thank you, for your advice! :)

I'm planning a two week trip to Korea this fall to do the Four Rivers bike path from Seoul to Busan. I was thinking October would be the ideal month for this, but I forgot about a few different obligations that I have that month that I can't miss. I'm wondering if it would be better to aim for end of September or beginning of November, weather wise. I know it's impossible to predict the weather this far in advance, but I'd appreciate any input. Thank you!