Why You Should Visit Seoul in Your Twenties
Written by Kaelie Piscitello
Seoul has held a place on my places to visit list for a while, but I didn’t prepare a detailed plan for to do once I got there. I knew I wanted to do two things: eat lots of food and do something related to skin care.
This city has no shortage of trendy coffee shops, each with its own unique twist, cool bars, and places to shop. While everyone should stop by the must-see tourist spots, such as Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village, the main things to do in this city seem to enjoy others’ company by partaking in everyday activities. Seoul is a city for the youth and everyone should go there to experience it as a young person.
A Bumpy Arrival
I had just landed in Incheon Airport after a few weeks in Japan and I felt pretty confident about my ability to travel around a non-English speaking country.
Something I wasn’t expecting? I couldn’t use Google Maps or Uber. The first mistake I made at the airport was deciding not to get a T-money card because it turned out I needed it for the subway, and I couldn’t just tap my credit card.
My second error involved riding a bus into central Seoul and assuming I could use Google Maps the rest of the way there. Google maps didn’t work at all and the main app for transportation, Naver, didn’t have a translation function. I also couldn’t seem to hail a taxi, no matter how many passed by. By the time I made it to my hotel, I had spent 3 hours over the expected travel time attempting to make sense of my surroundings.
By the time I reached my hotel, I felt exhausted and was in search of a shower and some food. I stumbled into a Korean barbecue joint and my boyfriend and I made friends with a group of three guys around our age who saw how confused we were and offered to help us understand how to order and cook our food.
They took us out for drinks afterwards, and we traded cultural ways of saying “cheers!” with our beverages. We learned some basic Korean phrases that would help us get around for the next few days, including 감사합니다 (thank you) and 안녕하세요 (hello).
Incredibly Kind and Patient Locals
.After settling in with friendly faces that first night, I felt much more ready and confident about taking on the city. I soon discovered that this first encounter would be a trend, because most people living in Seoul will act friendly towards foreigners
One elderly lady gestured me towards an empty seat I had not noticed on the subway. Meanwhile, Another person pointed me in the right direction when I could not find my way back to my hotel.
The people working at the tourist attractions were also very helpful. When I was on my way to the Buchon Hanok Village, it started pouring out, so my boyfriend and I decided to take a detour into something labeled as a “space museum.” This turned out to be a food gallery that taught me about the history of Korean food and diets.
While this museum wasn’t at the top of the list of things to do, I enjoyed learning about how Koreans use natural, bright colors to make their dishes healthful. The lady giving us our tour asked me questions about home and provided me with some food recommendations for lunch nearby.
I think any young traveler exploring the world for the first time will find comfort in the hospitality and goodwill the locals here show towards tourists. Whenever I felt lost or confused, locals showed me incredible kindness, and they were always willing to communicate with Google Translate.
An Abundance of Delicious Food
I decided to take the lady from the museum up on the advice and headed to Gaeseong Traditional Dumpling House, a traditional eatery with a Michelin Star. The dumplings oozed with juice and each had its own distinct flavor. The orange ones tasted more spicy while the whiter kinds tended to have savory flavors, bits of pork, and scallions.
My boyfriend and I also tried out a crispy, chewy seafood pancake that was worth ordering even though we bought too much food. The prices were remarkably cheap for a Michelin Star restaurant, and I love trying them in Asia as so many have cheap prices. Seoul truly is a great place for young travelers on a budget wanting to explore some fine dining options.
One of my favorite places to eat in Seoul was a coffee shop. An old friend recommended I visit the Hapjeong area if I wanted to explore some unique cafes and I’m glad that I listened to her. There were a ton of cafes scattered along Yanghwa Gil (road) and I decided to look into Cafe Mignon because the display of tartes outside looked so colorful and enticing.
Cafe Mignon’s interior had the perfect color scheme of black, white, and pink and was decorated with tasteful cat pictures and statues. Like our other days in Seoul, the weather had lots of heavy rain, so Cafe Mignon’s indoor roof space offered the perfect escape from the rain.
I found it hard to narrow down the many handmade, fresh deserts into just one option, but my boyfriend and I settled on splitting two flavors: strawberry and chocolate ganache. I could not believe how different but delicious they both were. The tartes were soft but also had a crunchy piecrust shell that encased the frosting filling. We enjoyed them so much that my boyfriend decided to return when he was looking for something to do after I left for Taiwan.
The shopping outlet-style Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art is located near the dumpling house, and I loved walking around and exploring local crafts.
I loved walking around a clothing room with experimental fashion with lots of clothes made out of jeans (which are in right now). The designer made one dress out of a t-shirt material that ombreyed down from a blue at the top to black at the bottom. I also liked another dress made completely out of jean material with many belts and buckles attached to it.
Another gallery I stopped in on featured pieces of art made from colorful stone dust that made brilliant hues of blues, purples, reds, and yellows. Many of the pieces depicted a particular woman in a headscarf.
The artist demonstrated how he created pictures by painting with a clear glue then sprinkling the dust all over the the strokes he deemed fit. He was so happy we stopped in that he took a picture of us with our favorite piece.
An Atypical Night Out
Of course, vacationing in Seoul as a girl in my twenties wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Hongdae for the nightlife. I started my big night out at an all-pink bar for pre-drinks and a light snack.
The noodles I ordered were the perfect thing to supplement my soju and it helped me keep my head on straight. I felt excited to learn most of the clubs did not have a cover charge, and since I had limited time this encouraged me to club hop. I have never done this in the US due to the steep cover charges.
Unfortunately, I did not get as far as I wanted because two bouncers kicked me out of line their due to their establishment’s Korean’s only policy. I thought this was a bit unfair because most Western countries have anti-discrimination policies and I’m used to clubs having a variety of people in them. However, I was able to move past it and still have a fun evening.
The cramped spaces inside the clubs hosted many tables, with people leaping onto them every few minutes. While we usually have one intoxicated person looming over the crowd in the US, this appeared to be the norm at the Korean clubs. While the pulsing lights and booming music seemed familiar, the crowd stood still for the most part, and people didn’t seem to mix with people outside of their groups. Despite the different atmosphere, I still had fun dancing the night away.
