Seoul travel guide: four days for first-time visitors

Our Seoul travel guide gives you four easy days: a royal palace, two big markets, a mountain hike and a transport card that ties them together. Australians can enter South Korea without a visa for short stays, and the city's subway reaches most of what first-time visitors want to see. Plan the palace for a day other than Tuesday, because it is closed then.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Visa policy of South Korea; Gyeongbokgung Palace Office, Visitor information.

Before you go

A Wikipedia list of visa-free entry, last edited in early March 2018, shows Australian passport holders may enter South Korea without a visa for up to 90 days. The list is a summary, so check the rules with the Korean embassy before you book. Some people, such as those who plan to work or study, need a visa.

The Games are in the news. Pyeongchang County, in Gangwon Province to the east of Seoul, is hosting the Winter Paralympics from 9 to 18 March 2018. Pyeongchang is a separate trip from Seoul, so this guide stays in the capital.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Visa policy of South Korea; Wikipedia, 2018 Winter Paralympics.

Getting around: the subway and a T-money card

The subway is the easiest way to move around Seoul. The Korea Tourism Organization says the system includes Lines 1 to 9 and further lines that branch out across the metro area. Lines are colour coded, which makes the map simple to read.

Buy a rechargeable card. Tmoney, which Korea Tourism Organization writes as one word, and a similar card called Cashbee work on subways and buses in Seoul and many other places. Here is what to know.

• Where to buy: convenience stores such as GS25, CU and 7-Eleven that show the Tmoney logo, or the vending machines in subway stations.
• Price: cards start from 2,500 won. The card price and a 500 won service fee are not refundable.
• Top up: add 1,000 to 90,000 won at a time, at shops or at the reload machines in stations. Load small amounts, because refunds above 50,000 won can be slow.
• Fares: the adult base fare on a card is 1,250 won for trips up to 10 km, against 1,350 won for a single journey ticket. Single tickets also carry a 500 won deposit, which you get back at a machine at your destination.
• Transfers: you get a discount when you change between subway lines or between a bus and the subway, up to four times a day, if you change within 30 minutes. Tap your card when you get off a bus, or the discount does not apply.

Many stations have lockers for bags. Small ones cost about 1,000 to 2,000 won, and fees differ by station.

Sources for this section: Korea Tourism Organization, Subways and Transportation Cards (Tmoney and Cashbee) pages.

Day 1: Gyeongbokgung Palace

Start with the largest of Seoul's Five Grand Palaces. Gyeongbokgung was built in 1395 as the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. It sits in northern Seoul, and the nearest subway stop is Gyeongbokgung Station on Line 3.

The Gyeongbokgung Palace Office lists these details for visitors:

• Hours: 09:00 to 18:00 from March to May, with the last entry at 17:00. Hours change by season.
• Closed: Tuesdays.
• Tickets: 3,000 won for ages 19 to 64 and 1,500 won for ages 7 to 18. Children aged 6 and under, and people aged 65 and over, enter free.
• Combination ticket: 10,000 won for adults, with one entry to each of five sites within three months: Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung with its Secret Garden, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo Shrine.
• Gyeonghoeru Pavilion tour: 5,000 won, at 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00 from March to October, with 60 people at most.

The grounds also hold the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum, so allow a full morning or afternoon. Near the main gate, Gwanghwamun, there is a changing of the royal guard. Foreign visitors ranked it their third favourite activity in Seoul in a 2011 city government poll.

Sources for this section: Gyeongbokgung Palace Office, Visitor information; Wikipedia, Gyeongbokgung.

Days 2 and 4: Gwangjang and Namdaemun markets

Seoul's old markets are the best place to eat on a budget and watch daily life. Pick one for each day, and use your T-money card to get between them.

Gwangjang Market was founded in 1905 by a group of Korean investors. Wikipedia says it has more than 5,000 shops and about 65,000 visitors a day. Go hungry, because it is known as a food market.

Namdaemun Market sits beside the Great South Gate, Namdaemun. Its roots go back to 1414, and it is described as the oldest and largest market in Korea. Expect clothing, household goods and street food in narrow lanes.

Go in the morning, carry small notes and keep a free hour either side for wandering. Your fourth day can be a loose one: return to a favourite market, revisit the palace area on a day it is open, or rest.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Gwangjang Market; Wikipedia, Namdaemun Market.

Day 3: a Bukhansan day hike

Bukhansan National Park is a mountain park inside the city region. The Korea National Park Service says it became Korea's 15th national park in 1983 and covers 79.9 square km across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. It has around five million visitors a year and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most visited national park per unit area.

The park has granite peaks, streams, more than 100 Buddhist temples and the Bukhansanseong Fortress, which has over 2,000 years of history. The highest summit is Baegundae at 836.5 m, according to Wikipedia, with Insubong close behind at 810.5 m.

Because so many people hike here, the park limits access in some places. The park service asks visitors to follow its rest-year closures, its fire watch restrictions and its warnings about narrow trails and dangerous areas. Check the park's official page for closed trails before you set out. Take water, wear grippy shoes and start early, so you finish before dark.

Sources for this section: Korea National Park Service, Bukhansan introduction; Wikipedia, Bukhansan National Park.

Sources

1. Korea Tourism Organization, Subways: english.visitkorea.or.kr
2. Korea Tourism Organization, Transportation Cards, Tmoney and Cashbee: english.visitkorea.or.kr
3. Gyeongbokgung Palace Office, Visitor information: royalpalace.go.kr
4. Korea National Park Service, Bukhansan introduction: english.knps.or.kr
5. Wikipedia, Visa policy of South Korea: en.wikipedia.org
6. Wikipedia, Gyeongbokgung: en.wikipedia.org
7. Wikipedia, Bukhansan National Park: en.wikipedia.org
8. Wikipedia, Gwangjang Market: en.wikipedia.org
9. Wikipedia, Namdaemun Market: en.wikipedia.org
10. Wikipedia, 2018 Winter Paralympics: en.wikipedia.org