Sights
One express bus, the 101, to the drama shores of eastern Jeju
The three drama shores on Jeju's east side can be strung together on a single route, the 101 express bus. They are Seongsan Ilchulbong from "When Life Gives You Tangerines", Gwangchigi Beach from "Welcome to Samdal-ri", and the sea at Gimnyeong, where three productions filmed. Seongsan Ilchulbong closes on the first Monday of every month, and the green rocks at Gwangchigi Beach only appear when the tide is out. If you pay the express bus in cash, you pay the maximum fare of 3,000 won from the start, so bring a transit card.
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Half a day in Songdo, starting from the Gangnam Style platform
International Business District Station, where the subway scene in "Gangnam Style" was filmed, and Songdo Central Park, the backdrop for two dramas, are one stop apart on Incheon Line 1. To get there by rail from Incheon Airport, take an AREX all-stop train and transfer to Incheon Line 1 at Gyeyang Station. The park's water taxi ticket office has no foreign-language service, so it is best to know the fares in advance. The observatory on the 33rd floor of G-Tower, at the northwest side of the park, is free, but it closes on Mondays and opens at 13:00 on weekends and public holidays.
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A Saturday in Yeongdo, the day Yeongdo Bridge lifts
Yeongdo Bridge lifts only at 14:00 on Saturdays. Kkangkkangi Art Village tours run only on weekends, and the Taejongdae shuttle bus is off on Mondays and Tuesdays. To see all four of Yeongdo's sights in one day, go on a Saturday. You cannot board the Kkangkkangi boat without a physical ID, so foreign travelers need to bring their passport. Two official websites give different Taejongdae timetables, so follow the Busan Tourism Organization, which runs the service. Huinnyeoul Culture Village is a set of lanes where people live, so do not go there late in the evening.
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In Incheon's old town, two Goblin filming locations close on Mondays
The parks and streets are always open, but Incheon Art Platform and Jemulpo Club close every Monday. Hanmi Bookstore in Baedari closes on the second and fourth Fridays, and photography is not allowed inside. Between Incheon Station and Dongincheon Station, hizine has collected 8 drama filming locations within walking distance in the old town. Four are filming locations for "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God".
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Walk between Gyeongju's filming locations and take the bus only to Bulguksa
Filming locations from "In Your Radiant Season" and "The Journey to Gyeong-ju" are within walking distance of each other in central Gyeongju. Only Cheonmachong and Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond require tickets. The other sites have no gates. Bulguksa has been free to visit since May 4, 2023. City buses 10 and 11 run there from downtown.
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Where the palace ticket window trips you up
The age for free entry depends on which passport you hold, and the combined ticket does not cover the rear garden at Changdeokgung. That garden runs separate sessions with separate quotas for each language, and Jongmyo cannot be walked into on a weekday without a reservation. Even the closing days split between Monday and Tuesday.
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Myeongdong by day and by night
Myeongdong is the first busy district most visitors run into in Seoul. Leaving after the main street of cosmetics shops and food carts would be a shame: the cathedral and the old theatre sit just off it, the cable car up Namsan is a short uphill walk, and after dark the same street turns into a different place.
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Climbing Haebangchon hill in the right order
Haebangchon is a neighborhood where people live on the slope below Namsan, so every approach is uphill. Ride the neighborhood bus up to the five-way junction, then take the market alley, the 108 Stairs and the Sowol-ro viewing deck in turn, and half a day is gone. The elevator beside the stairs is a mobility aid for residents, not a tourist ride, so find out whether it is running before you go.
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Jeonju Hanok Village does not sell tickets
There is no wall around the village and no ticket booth. Of the twelve cultural sites inside it, only Gyeonggijeon charges admission, and that is 3,000 won for an adult. The story that wearing hanbok gets you in free is widely repeated, but no such rule exists.
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Visiting the DMZ
There is a hard line between what a foreign visitor can and cannot do right now. The Paju DMZ peace tour takes you inside the Civilian Control Line on a same day ticket if you bring your passport, while the Panmunjom tour and the DMZ Peace Trail accept applications from Korean nationals only. Imjingak and the two unification observatories need no clearance at all.
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A walk through Seongsu-dong
Seongsu is a working factory district with cafes and showrooms laid over the top of it. Red brick alleys, shoemakers' workshops, a large park and the riverside all connect on foot, so half a day here needs no plan at all.
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Choosing a theme park around Seoul
There are really only three worth the trip. Lotte World sits on a subway station and stays open late, Everland is much bigger but takes a whole day including travel, and Seoul Land is cheaper and less crowded. Which one suits you is decided less by taste than by how much daylight you have left and what the sky is doing.
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Seoul's top sights
One palace, one viewing tower, two neighborhoods to walk. That covers most of what makes Seoul feel like Seoul, and all of it is reachable by subway in a day or two.
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Playing it weird in Hongdae
A one-minute caricature booth, a convenience store with 200-plus ramen flavors on the wall, a workshop where you blend your own perfume, a free art park, and a Harry Potter-themed cafe. Five very different moods, all within walking distance of Hongik University Station.
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