Seoul: 9 Things Worth Doing (and 3 to Skip)

Seoul is South Korea’s capital on the Han River, and three practical facts matter more than any sight on this list: the currency is the won (KRW), not yen or yuan; Google Maps is functionally broken here for walking and transit directions, so put Naver Map or KakaoMap on your phone before you land; and most major passports, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ and Japan, currently need nothing but a passport to enter, a K-ETA waiver that runs through 31 December 2026. This is a huge, ultra-modern, extremely safe city of roughly 9.6 million, not the tense border town people sometimes imagine. Nine things below are worth your time in Seoul. Three are not.

Here is the version you can act on before you touch a booking form:

Essentials Details
Days needed 2 for the palace-Myeongdong-Namsan core; 4-5 to add Hongdae, Gangnam, Dongdaemun and a jjimjilbang night
Best months October-November for clear skies and foliage, the standout season
Daily budget Roughly KRW 60,000-90,000 budget; KRW 150,000+ comfortable, and that is a developed-capital price tag, not a cheap one
Before you book Confirm your K-ETA status at k-eta.go.kr before you buy flights, not after

Things to do in Seoul that are actually worth it

Skip the generic top-ten list built for a layover. These nine hold up because they show you something specific about how the city actually works, not because a hostel noticeboard printed them. For hour-by-hour hours and event dates, the Seoul Metropolitan Government runs english.visitseoul.net .

  1. Gyeongbokgung Palace in a rented hanbok. Wear a rented hanbok (traditional Korean dress, widely available near the palace gates) and entry is free; without one, adult admission runs roughly KRW 3,000. Time it for the changing-of-the-guard ceremony, and book a palace and hanbok rental ahead if you want a specific photographer or styling package rather than the walk-up stalls.
  2. Buy the Royal Palace Integrated Pass before your first palace, not after. Roughly KRW 10,000 covers single entry to all five grand palaces plus Jongmyo Shrine within a 3-month window. Most first-timers only find out about it after they have already paid full price twice.
  3. Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden, not just the main palace. The rear garden (Huwon) is a separately ticketed, timed guided tour with limited daily capacity, roughly KRW 5,000 on top of the palace’s own roughly KRW 3,000 admission. Book the slot in advance. It is the palace most people who have done all five call the best looking and least crowded.
  4. A street food crawl through Gwangjang Market. Go for bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes), mayak gimbap, and the raw beef stalls, and bring cash, since most vendors here are cash-preferred. This is a working market, not a food hall built for photos.
  5. A jjimjilbang night. Communal hot and cold baths, gender-separated, plus a shared heated-floor lounge, saunas, and simple food, open 24 hours at spots like Dragon Hill Spa or Siloam Sauna. Basic entry runs roughly KRW 8,000-15,000; a body scrub or oil massage costs extra on top. This is a real cultural institution, not a spa treatment dressed up for tourists.
  6. Seongsu, not another round of Myeongdong. A former industrial district of converted warehouses now holding cafes, design studios, and flagship pop-ups, nicknamed the Brooklyn of Seoul by locals for the aesthetic, not the price. Genuinely current, not a decade-old writeup still doing the rounds.
  7. Ikseon-dong’s century-old hanok alleys. Small traditional houses near Insadong reworked into cafes and bars, denser and more atmospheric at night than the daytime-only feel of Bukchon.
  8. Bukchon Hanok Village before 9am. Same houses, same photos, none of the tour groups. Keep your voice down, since people still live in these homes and locals do ask visitors to be quiet.
  9. Chimaek in a Han River park at sunset. Order Korean fried chicken and beer through a delivery app straight to a blanket at Yeouido, Banpo, or Ttukseom park. It is a genuine local habit, not a gimmick invented for visitors.

Skip these 3 in Seoul, no matter what the group chat says

  1. The N Seoul Tower walk-up ticket line. On-site observatory admission runs roughly KRW 29,000 adult, and the queue at sunset is long. Book the N Seoul Tower ticket online in advance for a lower price, or skip the deck entirely and treat Namsan as a free park with its own views.
  2. A full day in Gangnam. It is glossy malls, plastic-surgery clinics, and K-pop agency storefronts, genuinely interesting for an hour, not a full day of culture. An hour at COEX’s free Starfield Library covers what most visitors actually came for.
  3. Dongdaemun’s overnight market crawl as a default evening plan. These are wholesale malls that trade hardest from roughly 1am to 6am for buyers stocking shops, not a casual browse for a jet-lagged tourist. Go for Zaha Hadid’s DDP building and its daytime exhibitions instead, and treat the markets as a bonus if you happen to still be awake.

Do you need a K-ETA to visit Seoul?

Most likely not in 2026, but check anyway. Nationals of 22 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan and most major EU states, currently enter with just a passport under a temporary K-ETA exemption. That waiver expires 31 December 2026, and K-ETA becomes required again from 1 January 2027, so verify your specific nationality at the official k-eta.go.kr before you book, not a third-party site charging a markup.

Does Google Maps actually work in Seoul?

Not reliably for walking or transit directions, a genuine, decades-old quirk tied to a South Korean law restricting the export of detailed map data. Install Naver Map or KakaoMap before you land, use KakaoT for taxis, and keep Papago handy for menus and signage. This single fix prevents more wasted hours than any packing tip on this page.

Is 2 days enough for Seoul?

Two days covers the honest core: Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon on day one, Myeongdong and Namsan on day two, without feeling rushed. It is a real trip, not a compromise, but it leaves out Hongdae, Gangnam, Dongdaemun, and most of the food list above. For the exact day-by-day split, see the 2-day itinerary, or stretch out to the 3-day , 4-day , 5-day , 6-day , or 7-day plans to add the rest without repeating a neighborhood. If an extra day or two is really about a trip out of the city, Suwon Hwaseong Fortress and Nami Island are easy add-ons, but that is a different trip: see Seoul and South Korea: Day Trips Worth It for how to build it.

When to visit Seoul (autumn wins, spring brings dust)

Seoul runs four real seasons. Autumn, October-November, is the standout: clear skies, comfortable temperatures, and foliage across the palace grounds and Namsan that genuinely competes with anywhere in Asia. Spring (March-May) brings cherry blossoms, typically peaking in early April, but also periodic “yellow dust” days when fine-particle air quality spikes, worth checking a real-time air quality app rather than ignoring. Summer (June-August) is hot, humid, and monsoon-prone. Winter (December-February) is cold and dry, with nearby ski resorts in Gangwon-do a genuine add-on for the gateway lane. Check the Korea Tourism Organization’s event calendar at visitkorea.or.kr for the current year’s festival dates before locking in a trip around one.

Is Seoul safe to visit?

Yes, genuinely. Seoul has very low violent crime and is routinely cited by solo travelers as one of the safest major cities they have visited, day or night. The US State Department rates South Korea Level 1, “Exercise Normal Precautions,” its lowest tier. The DMZ sits 55km north and is real, sober geopolitics, but it does not make everyday Seoul feel tense or militarized. The actual frictions are smaller: the language barrier once you leave the main tourist track, the maps issue above, summer humidity, and crowds at major palaces on weekends.

Where to stay in Seoul

The historic north (Myeongdong/Jongno, near Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon) puts you inside walking distance of the palace cluster, the easiest base for a short trip. Hongdae suits a younger, nightlife-forward stay; Gangnam suits anyone prioritizing modern hotels and shopping over heritage sights; Itaewon is the easiest landing spot if you want English-forward service and a wider range of non-Korean food. Check current rates on Booking.com before committing to a neighborhood.

Getting around Seoul (T-money, the subway, and skip Google Maps)

The Seoul Metro is extensive, cheap, and fully English-signed, the backbone of getting around. Get a T-money card, roughly KRW 2,500-5,000 for the blank card plus whatever transit credit you load on top, sold at convenience stores and station kiosks, and it works on the subway, buses, and most taxis with a small fare discount over paper tickets. Use KakaoT to book and pay for taxis given the language barrier with many drivers, and remember that Naver Map or KakaoMap, not Google Maps, is how you actually find your way between them.

FAQ: Seoul travel questions, answered straight

What currency does Seoul use?

The Korean won (KRW), not yen (Japan) or yuan (China). Cards work at most restaurants, shops, and transit, but traditional markets, some street food stalls, and certain temples are cash-preferred, so carry some won regardless of how card-friendly the city feels.

Is Seoul expensive?

Yes, by regional standards. Seoul prices sit closer to a European or North American capital than to Bangkok or Hanoi, despite sometimes getting bundled into the same budget-Asia trip copy. Expect roughly KRW 60,000-90,000 a day on a budget plan and KRW 150,000 or more for a comfortable one.

Is the language a real barrier?

Somewhat, off the main tourist track. English signage is strong on the subway and at major sights, weaker in residential neighborhoods and small local restaurants. Papago handles most menu and signage translation gaps, and pointing at a subway map gets you further than expected.

Sort your K-ETA status and get Naver Map or KakaoMap installed before you touch a hotel booking. Everything else on this list, you can figure out after you land.