It will be our first time in South Korea and we’re kind of excited and not really expecting too much. We watch K-dramas but it didn’t really got into my head to visit here. I am not really into cosmetics or a die-hard fan of skin care routines as well.
I am excited to see North Korea though *insert North Korea’s national anthem* so I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve always wanted to visit there someday so thinking about it made me excited about South Korea lol.
When we arrived in Seoul, it was already 9:00 PM, and the last express train from Incheon Airport to Seoul departed at 11:00 PM. Since immigration takes time, and we still needed to withdraw cash at the airport, buy our t-money cards and some late-night snacks, we didn’t want to rush things after arriving late. So, I booked a private car with a Filipino driver for 100,000 won, or around 4,000 pesos.
Where to Stay in Seoul?
Tourists usually stay in Myeongdong, Hongdae, or Gangnam, but as first-timers in South Korea, we booked New Blanc Central in Myeongdong. It’s not right in the heart of Myeongdong and is about a 30-minute walk from Myeongdong Shopping Street. How did we know? Because we tried it (20,000 steps here we come!). However, it’s still close to everything like tourist spots, restaurants, and banks, and there’s a bus stop right in front of it where the airport limousine bus stops as well, so you still have this option to the center.
For five nights, we paid around ₱33,000.
When we arrived at the hotel, the first thing I did is to buy and try the famous Korean Banana Milk! And here I am, posing outside the hotel with my Banana Milk lol
Climate Card or T-money Card?
You can use the Climate Card if you’ll only be staying in Seoul. You can use it for unlimited rides on subways and buses within the city. On the other hand, the T-money card is like the regular transit cards used in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan, and it is widely used throughout South Korea. You just need to top it up to use it.
Then why did we choose T-money card if we are only staying mostly in Seoul? Because there was no climate card available that time in the airport lol.
What apps to use while in South Korea?
Naver Map or KakaoMap: These are widely used for route searches.
Google Translate: For translations, obviously. There’s also Papago, which I haven’t tried yet, but I’ve read that it’s also great to use.
Klook: For hassle-free tour bookings.
Now, for first-timers, what are the things you can do in South Korea?
Day 1: Bukchon Hanok Village & Gyeongbokgung Palace
We still woke up very early despite sleeping late because we hate crowds, and tourists usually wake up and start touring around 9:00 AM. As early birds, we started walking around the area to get to the bus stop for Bukchon Hanok Village.
It’s supposed to be Spring but the weather in Seoul is somehow, still in Winter, so it’s really really cold! Good thing we were ready and still brought our heathtechs and wool coats.
Now, you might wonder why I call this article a Spring trip when it wasn’t really spring yet when we went there. FYI, before booking the flight, I made sure the dates were within the forecasted season. Since South Korea wasn’t really part of our original plan, the dates of our trip didn’t coincide with the sakura full bloom period. To be honest, the sakura full bloom dates we were targeting were actually in Japan, which you can read about here. Now, I’m overexplaining myself again! *hysterical laugh*
Bukchon Hanok Village
Unfortunately, Bukchon Hanok Village will be open to public at 10:00 AM so we just roam around and took some photos around the village.
That time, there’s an issue with South Korea’s president and we witnessed people protesting and to be honest, it scared me a little because there were police everywhere! We just pass through them like nothing’s happening and looked for a coffee shop nearby LOL.
By 10AM, we’re scheduled to go to a Hanbok rental shop to choose our outfits for our Gyeongbokgung Palace tour for that day.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
How much is the hanbok rental?
We rented via Klook and we paid 2,000 pesos for both of us for 2 hours and 30 minutes. We chose the themed package, mostly the hanbok for nobles, that has more designs compared to the regular ones.
This includes hair styling so YAY!
The rental shops are just 5 minutes away from the palace, so it’s very convenient. The staff at the shop are also very helpful in choosing the right size for you.
We chose black hanboks because we felt like antagonist royal nobles from the Joseon era LOL! By the way, entry to the palaces in Seoul is free as long as you are wearing a hanbok. So here we are, in character and ready to live in the moment in 3, 2, 1…
We didn’t expect it to be this fun wearing hanboks, so we took soooo many shots just in the palace alone! After a good 2 hours, we decided to return the hanboks, and just as we exited the palace, there was a Royal Guard Changing Ceremony, which is held daily at a scheduled time. So lucky us!
In the afternoon, we went to the famous Myeongdong Shopping Street so we can also take lunch and try their famous Korean chickens and other street foods.
We tried BHC Chicken because it’s very popular based on our Google search. Their chicken tastes good, but I think it would be better with beer, just like in most K-dramas. Unfortunately, we’ve stopped drinking, so we just made ourselves full instead.
Day 2: Alpaca World, Nami Island & Garden of Morning Calm Tour
Story time: Our second day in Seoul was quite memorable because we were woken up by a very unusual alarm clock – the fire alarm. Yep, at 5 AM, the hotel’s fire alarm went off, so from the 9th floor, we had to run down the emergency stairs all the way to the ground floor. After a few minutes of waiting, I noticed that there were only a few of us, and it seemed that only our floor was affected. The staff later informed us that it was just a false alarm. What an early morning exercise that was! We just prepared for that day’s tour and stayed in their lobby and had coffee then went to the meetup point for the tour’s pickup.
How much is the Alpaca World, Nami Island and Garden of Morning Calm tour?
We booked in Klook for 7,000 pesos for 2 pax, which includes admissions to the spots and round trip transfers. There are other packages that includes more tours like Petite France and Rail Bike but we don’t want the tour to feel like we’re in a hurry. We’re slow travelers, right?
It was a gloomy day but it wasn’t really a problem because we will be taking a tour bus in our whole trip. Now let’s go to our first stop!
Alpaca World
I’m quite excited to visit the Alpaca World because Alpacas are really cute and it will be my first time seeing one. You can feed Alpacas here and enjoy taking photos with these little cuties.
Read more about the Alpaca World HERE
Nami Island
We had to say goodbye to the cute alpacas *teary eyed* and leave for Nami Island, one of the popular destination in South Korea. If you’ve heard or watched Winter Sonata, this is where the famous scene was shot.
Before we went to Nami Island, we had lunch at the port on the way there. It was our first time trying Dakgalbi (chicken stir-fry) and Makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles), and it effin’ tasted sooo good! These are specialties from Gangwon Province that they’re really proud of!
Now, back to Nami Island, to be honest, I wasn’t really expecting much because we went there during spring. I think the best time to visit is during autumn or winter because the autumn leaves and snow make it look magical. We were still able to take some decent photos, though.
There’s nothing much to do here too aside from biking and roaming around so we just had coffee and hot chocolate and chill in one of their picnic tables.
Garden of Morning Calm
After a few cups of coffee, we went to our next destination, the Garden of Morning Calm. I’ve read that spring is the best time to visit the garden because there are many flowers in bloom. Unfortunately, since South Korea is still transitioning from winter to spring, there weren’t many yet, but we did see a few tulips.
To read more about this tour, click HERE.
Back in Myeongdong, we went a little shopping in Olive Young. It’s like the Watsons in the Philippines but way better, of course. Then we had dinner at Mom’s Touch burger, which is very popular in South Korea too. So far, it’s okay.
Day 3: DMZ Half Day Tour & Seoul Forest
The day I’ve been waiting for has finally come! Who doesn’t want to see North Korea, right? Or am I just being weird?
Anyhow, this is a booked tour in Klook for ₱5,700 for 2 pax. Since you are required to book with a fully licensed tour guide, we opted to book a joiner tour instead. That means, you can’t do DIY tour in DMZ.
We were picked up by our tour bus in a specific meet up place in Myeongdong and we’re given IDs to be identified easily.
We are not allowed to take photos of the North Korea’s side or they’ll get angry if they see the photos. If you want to read more of our DMZ tour, you can check it HERE.
Since we only had a half-day tour, we went back to the city afterwards and went to Myeongdong to have samgyeop for lunch *YAY*
Seoul Forest
After lunch, we decided to take a stroll at Seoul Forest, which was about 35–40 minutes away. We had read in a South Korea Pinoy group that the cherry blossoms were starting to bloom there, so off we went since we still had plenty of extra time! And boy, it did not disappoint. It was our first time seeing cherry blossoms like this. Well, we saw a few in Nara before, but THIS? Even though they weren’t in full bloom yet, they still made us so happy! LOL
Hongdae
So that’s it for the cherry blossoms mania. Next is Hongdae!
The place was so lively even during the night. Everywhere you look there’s good food, cute cafes, street shops, and just that fun youthful vibe Korea is known for. We tried their streetfoods and I’d say here is better compare to Myeongdong.
We were able to watch a K-pop busking performance. Yep, you read that right! We’re so used to guitar and singing buskers, so seeing a K-pop busking performance was really refreshing. They were so good at dancing!
Day 4: Namsangol Hanok Village & Insadong
We we’re very busy for the past 3 days so we wanted to chill on our fourth day in Seoul. So we just decided to have a stroll around Namsangol Hanok Village.
Namsangol Hanok Village
The Namsangol Hanok Village is an open-air cultural village in central Seoul that preserves traditional hanok houses from the Joseon Dynasty. It was designed to protect and recreate historic architecture that once existed throughout the city, gathering several restored hanok homes into a calm, landscaped space at the base of Namsan Mountain.
I personally chose to go to this village since it is very quiet, which is perfect for us because we hate crowded places. Luckily, there are already cherry blossoms around the area. Then, suddenly, it started to snow!
It’s not obvious in these images, but it snowed at that time. It was freezing, and the temperature dropped below zero, which is why it even snowed while it was raining.
It wasn’t our first time experiencing snow because we had our winter trip to Hokkaido in 2024, but we were still surprised since it was so unexpected.
Insadong
Insadong is one of Seoul’s most well-known cultural neighborhoods, often associated with traditional art, antique shops, and handcrafted goods. It’s a place where history and creativity blend together, offering visitors a glimpse of Korea’s artistic heritage through galleries, teahouses, and street performances.
Insadong is famous for its art culture and tea houses, which we are looking forward to.
This is where we had our lunch too in Insadong Geujib – a highly popular traditional Korean restaurant tucked away in the main cultural alleys of Insadong, Seoul. Honestly, we don’t know what the hell we are eating but everything is soooo delicious!
It was our last night in Seoul and we just decided to eat something from the convenience store for dinner since we will be early the next day for our flight to Fukuoka, Japan and we need rest.
Day 5: Flight from Seoul, Korea to Fukuoka, Japan
We really had fun in South Korea and 4 days isn’t enough. We will surely be back but for now, we had to leave and go to Japan, our home LOL. But for real, we will be back soon!
Getting to the airport is easy because there is a limousine bus that goes directly there. The bus stop is just across from our hotel, so it’s easy peasy.
This time, we are flying with Asiana Airlines. I had been deciding between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, but I chose the latter because it is one of the premier five-star Asian carriers and is part of the Star Alliance partnership. Maybe next time Korean Air!
And here we are after 2 hours, we have arrived in Fukuoka and ready for food trip! Read HERE for our Japan Spring Trip!
