The post-trip analysis of this 18 days in South Korea showed a couple of interesting things when I compare it to our last several trips to Japan. Firstly, the number of unique places we visited – 59 in total – was actually higher than our typical holidays in Japan. This was in view of the number of organised day trips we had, and also that many places were in close proximity in the cities we based our itinerary on. On the other hand, we eventually still dropped a number of places. We listed a total of 70 in itinerary planning, visited 59 eventually and skipped/dropped 11. These latter included:

Trick-Eye Museum in Busan – because it was closed on the day we visited – whoops!

Haeundae Blueline Park in Busan whose admission was not actually included in our Busan Visitor Pass – our bad.

Yongsan Observatory in Suncheon which was undergoing renovation and we didn’t realize it.

Café Onion Anguk in Seoul which was super crowded.

Wondae-ri Birch Forest and Yondaeri Maebawi Artificial Waterfall which was in the cancelled day trip.

Deoksugung Palace Changing of the Guard and Namdaemun Market in Seoul because the timings didn’t line up against the other things we wanted to do.

Olympic Park Ice Skating Rink in Seoul which we swapped out for the rink in Seoul Plaza.

Namsan Seoul Tower and Namsan Mountain Park in Seoul because of admission costs. Yep, we travel on the cheap!

So, that out of the way, these two posts will basically summarize the places we visited and our overall comments for each. Starting with Part 1 – Days 01 to 09:

Day 1 (Incheon – Busan)

Travel from Incheon International Airport to Seoul (40 mins) and Busan (3 hrs): many visitors arriving into Incheon International Airport would make their way to Seoul using the Airport Railway Express, or AREX. The express train takes about 40 minutes, and the train platform is a 5-6 minute walk from the airport arrivals exit once you pick up your luggage. On the train itself, luggage space in the designated area is a little limited in each car. But we saw some passengers use a small area opposite the designated space for their large luggage cases anyway.

You’d alight from the AREX train at Seoul Station, and take several escalators up to the main platform where the KTX platforms for inter-city travel are. Signage is everywhere, and we never for a moment felt lost in the huge station. Nonetheless, the total walking time for us is about 10 minutes, so if you’re doing immediate connections after landing to get to a city other than Seoul, do still try to allow a bit of buffer time to get to the KTX platform at Seoul Station.

For the KTX ride itself, the first class seats were only marginally more expensive than the economy ones. So unless you’re seriously traveling on a budget, you should go ahead and spend a little bit more to better seats and also a few extra amenities. We travelled on the economy seats on Day 09 from Suncheon to Seoul, and the difference in seat quality was very noticeable.

Gwangalli Beach (1-2 hrs) [blog post here] Gwangalli Beach was an about 25 minute taxi ride (fare was about 11,000 KRW) from where we were staying near Jungang Station. The beach has a number of restaurants and cafes, so you’d be spoiled for choice on where to get grub. Pro-Tip: if you’re coming here specifically to catch the Drone light show, do pay attention to where the area where the drones are largely flying around and situate yourself accordingly if you want to get the best views. There’s plenty of space though – it being a large beach – so don’t feel like you need to get in early to chope your spaces.

Day 2 (Busan)

Gamcheon Culture Village (2-3 hrs) [blog post here]: this is a must-do if you’re in Busan. Truth to tell though, if you’re not going to do the photo shoot at the Flipbook Studio, you could probably comfortably cover the most interesting bits of the village in 2 hours. The additional hour is for you to queue up for your photo shoot, have your session, then wait for the photobook to get printed. You’d also want to buffer even more time if you plan to visit more than a few of the many shops that line the busy areas. Pro-tip: if you’re adverse to any sort of queuing, then head earlier for for the Flipbook Studio before they open at 10AM and start queuing up. However, the best lighting for picture-taking in the villlage itself is in the early afternoon, as the early morning sun will cast strong glare at the most common picture taking spots in the village. Interestingly, the long queue we saw when the Flipbook Studio opened for the new day of business cleared up by around 11:30AM. And while there were still groups joining the queue now and then, it wasn’t to the long snaking line of people that we saw at 10AM.

Gukje Market (~1 hour) [blog post here]: if you’ve been to any one of the street markets in Japan that caters largely to the domestic crowd, then you know what to expect here. The street food stalls seem to be in closer to the BIFF Square area, so head towards in that general direction if you’re looking for grub.

Jagalchi Fish Market (~0.5 hrs) [blog post here]: I seriously doubt if most tourists to this fresh seafood market are intending to actually buy any of the seafood items in this market and cook up a feast back in their hotels or apartments. So, my guess here is that most visitors are just coming back to take a look at a busy seafood market, or perhaps to dine at one of the restaurants there which are serving up cooked seafood. Still, it’s a fairly easy area to get to if you’re in the Gukje Market area, so go for it.

BIFF Square and Gwangbokro (1-2 hrs) [blog post here]: this is an area with many retail shops that would particularly appeal to Gen Y and Z types. Depending on your shopping inclinations, you’d want to budget the appropriate amount of time to visit the shops that are interesting for you, and also enjoy more street food in the area, or find a cafe if modern F&B is your thing.

Day 3 (Busan)

Songdo Marine Cable Car (0.5 hrs) [blog post here]: included in the Busan Visitor Pass, like all the other places covered in the posts on Day 03. The cable car experience is about 10 minutes or so: long enough for you to get a number of pictures of different views, and not long enough for you to get bored too. The Visitor Pass also covers the return journey by the same cable car system, so you get another opportunity to get additional pictures if you didn’t in the outbound leg. Also, don’t forget to check-out the observation deck on the top floor of the Songbo Sky Park Station to get some fun photos.

Songdo Yonggung Suspension Bridge (0.5 hrs) [blog post here]: the Bridge is a short 5 minute walk from the Songbo Sky Park Station. But from pictures elsewhere that we’ve seen, the Bridge can get quite busy with a lot of visitors. We went early on a weekday morning, and had the bridge largely to ourselves.

Running Man Busan (1 hr) [blog post here]: many other visitors to the Running Man Busan experience center have remarked that the difficulty levels are really deceiving: the ‘easy’ difficulty level is actually ‘normal’, ‘normal’ is ‘hard’, and ‘hard’ is impossible! You’d probably realize soon too that some of the mini-games, even at the ‘easy’ difficulty level, are impossible for individual players to complete, not unless you have lightning-fast reflexes, photographic memory, have arm muscles that can pull up your entire body weight and remain there for 25 minutes, and have obtained full marks at the Standing Broad Jump station at IPPT!

Yongdusan Park / Busan Tower (1-2 hrs) [blog post here]: we’ve gone up numerous observation towers elsewhere in our vacations before. The Yongdusan park itself is by no means large nor comprising unusual flora, and for many people, I suspect they would be visiting the park only because they are on their way to Busan Tower.  But what made our Busan Tower visit really enjoyable was how laid-back and unhurried we felt this time, compared to our visits to similar skyscrapers’ observation decks elsewhere, and the lovely felines we encountered while strolling through the park. The Tower itself provides excellent unobstructed views of Busan city, and we spotted a number of places that we’d visited in the earlier two days. So, Pro-Tip: consider visiting Busan Tower only after you’ve spent a day or two visiting the general area around the Tower first.

Day 4 (Busan)

Skyline Luge Busan (1 hr) [blog post here]: included in the Busan Visitor Pass, like all the other places covered in the posts on Day 04. This one is super-fun, and similar to the experience at Sentosa – except the circuits are longer in Busan. Don’t be intimidated by big crowds too: the activity guides are super chop-chop and clear large groups of people expediently. There are lockers to put your personal belongings, but if you’re just carrying a small backpack, you can easily wear them on your back like normal as you ride down. Highly recommended!

Busan X The Sky (1 hr) [blog post here]: the 411 meter tall skyscraper with its 98th to 100th floor observation area, and offering commanding views of the area. Persons with fear of heights might feel a bit of wobbliness in their legs! There is a Dal.Komm, and also Starbucks cafe in the observatory, and also a fine-dining restaurant if you’re up to spending loads of money for grub.

Spa Land Centum City (2-3 hrs) [blog post here]: I’m not a spa enthusiast, so the experience was a little meh for me. Still, visiting this place if you have the Busan Visitor Pass seems to be a super value for money and must-do activity. And for those of us who also don’t do spas because of modesty reasons, there’s the outdoor foot spa where you can keep your clothes on. The lounging around places for you to get some siesta time get snapped up real fast though. Also, the ramen at the restaurant is not free, albeit it comes with free-flow toppings that can easily fill your tummy.

Yacht G Tour (1 hr) [blog post here]: super enjoyable on a cool winter evening! Boat had about 12 guests but there was enough space for everyone to get comfy. The 50 minute cruise takes you underneath Gwangan Bridge, and stopped some distance in-front of Gwangalli beach to set off fireworks. Super cool! Guests were helpful in taking pictures for other guests. Pre-booking of your time slot is required, and you also need to pay a small surcharge of 5,000 won per guest for the sunset tour.

Day 5 (Gyeongju)

Bulguksa Temple (1 hr) [blog post here]: our first stop on a day trip to Gyeongju out of Busan. Most of the Gyeongju day trips seem to operate along the same itinerary and visitation places, so I reckon visitors don’t really have a choice on specific places they want to include or exclude. This temple is one of the country’s most important religious sites, and is a designated World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Gyochon Traditional Village and Woljeong Bridge (1 hr) [blog post here]: these two places are next to each other, and are also included in the Gyeongju day trip. I didn’t find the traditional village particularly interesting, and that the village were essentially just buildings shells. There were few furniture, living, work or household items on display – at least from what we saw – to show how its inhabitants lived and work during their times. This meant that we really didn’t get much out of this visit. Woljeong Bridge on the other hand is an impressive construction, and if your tour group includes a sunset visit to the bridge, the place looks even better.

Daereungwon Royal Tomb / Hwangnidan-Gil (2 hrs) [blog post here]: the landscaped garden where the royal tomb is isn’t quite to the sheer beauty of a typical Japanese garden, but it’s still quite pretty in its own right, especially in the late afternoon as the setting sun in winter bathes the brown colored tombs in warm light. The Hwangnidan Street that runs the length of the garden will naturally be more appealing to younger visitors: the street is filled with cafes and snack shops. We didn’t finish visiting the street as it stretches for quite a distance. Be prepared to spend at least an hour on the street alone if you can spare the time.

Donggung Palace / Wolji Pond (1 hr) [blog post here]: I reckon Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond would look somewhat ordinary during day time. But at sunset, the place is beautifully illuminated, bathing the palace towers and pond in almost mystical and surreal lighting. This for me was the highlight of the Gyeongju day trip.

Day 6 (Busan – Suncheon)

Jukdobong Park (1 hr) [blog post here]: I don’t think many visitors to South Korea would include Suncheon as a city to visit. But if you are and have spare time beyond visiting the city’s most important places – i.e. the National Garden, and also Wetland Reserve – then Jukdobong Park can be a possible inclusion. It’s fairly easy to get to since it’s within walking distance from Suncheon Station. But be prepared for a degree of physical exertion as you make the climb. But then again, if you’ve visited Japan – that country of many steps and stairs – then climbing up the hill to reach Jukdobong Park would be par for the course in this part of the world! The payoff upon reaching the observation pavilion is of course the panoramic view of Suncheon city.

Day 7 (Suncheon)

Suncheon Bay National Garden (4+ hrs) [blog post here and here]: this is one of the must do-sees when in the city of Suncheon. The huge garden is pretty close to Suncheon Station, and if you have limited time in a South Korea itinerary, you could get to Suncheon city in an evening, then spend the next full day visiting the National Garden in the morning, then the Wetland Reserve from early afternoon, then head back out in the evening or the following morning. The garden – like much other types of flora – are best observed in non-wintering months. You’d also want to be aware of when peak periods are: while the park is huge and sufficient space for everyone, the Suncheon Lake Garden with its six iconic hills will look best in your Instagram-worthy photos when they are free of crowds – otherwise, it’s a lot of work for your smartphone’s Magic Eraser to scrub people out LOL.

Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve (2+ hrs) [blog post here]: the Wetland Reserve is the other must do when in Suncheon. And as the reserve is close to the garden, many visitors will do both in a day. Do note: the easiest way for most international visitors to get to the reserve is to take the Sky Cube from the garden, and this is not included in the admission fee into the garden. At the reserve, you can either just walk the Reed Forest trail – which itself will take at least an hour if you take time to soak in the sights, or also go up the hill for a view of the entire area. The hill is doable for most ages, but it’s still a fair bit of exertion, and certainly more than Jukdobong park. If you’re also intent on catching the sunset from the hill top area, do note that you’d need to time your descent down the hill, and walk (actually run!) back to the exit point of the reserve and catching the Sky Cube back (do especially note the last car to leave the station at the Reserve). Alternatively, you could just wing it and figure out your own transportation path out of the reserve.

Day 8 (Suncheon)

Suncheon Drama Film Set (2 hrs) [blog post here]: The Drama Film Set and Folk Village are the other popular additional attractions in Suncheon if you have an additional day to spend. Of the two, the Set area is fairly easy to get to, while the Folk Village will involve a fair bit of traveling by bus or cab. The Set area will probably be more meaningful if you’re a follower of K-dramas and film productions. Nonetheless, the set seems to be an accurate re-creation of 1960s to 1980s Korea, and the interiors for most buildings – complete with period props and recreations inside – are accessible to the public. The Set is an easy way to spend a couple of hours.

Nagan Eupseong Folk Village (1 hr) [blog post here]: This is the second traditional and folk village we’ve visited this trip, and I’ve found neither to be particularly interesting: not enough at least for me to recommend visitors go out of their way to visit them i.e. visit this village only if you have free time.

Day 9 (Suncheon – Seoul)

Ewha Street (2 hrs) [blog post here]: Our Seoul Airbnb accommodationfor this 9 day segment of the trip was near Seoul Station. This had the advantage of being very centralised but was also in the middle of two major hot spots: Hongdae on the west, and Myeongdong on the east. So, to get to either, we’d needed to take the metro. So, if you know you’re a big fan of either, then it would make more sense to stay at a property in either area. Ewha Womans University has a unique campus design, especially the Ewha Campus Complex which size-wise was a lot bigger than it looked in pictures. To note though: selected parts of the campus are closed to the public – which makes sense since you don’t want visitors to be disrupting student lessons. Near to the university is Ewha Street and the Sinchon, which has its own shopping district and smaller streets with retail and dining.

Myeongdong (3+ hrs) [blog post here]: If you’re coming to Seoul wanting to feel like and be treated as a tourist, Myeongdong is the place you’d want to go. The place seems specifically designed for out of town visitors, with higher than normal prices for street food, and the dining establishments we came across had English menus or at least staff who could speak English. We visited on a Sunday, so the place was – not unexpectedly – crowded. Still, this is the area to go to to soak in the atmosphere if you don’t mind the crowds.

Continued in the next post!