Attractions

Guardian in temple gate. © Martin Moos. Lonely Planet Images

Old Seoul

The central and northern neighborhoods are probably the most interesting areas of Seoul; their old fashioned atmosphere is in stark contrast to the surrounding modern city. The whole area was once called Pukch'on (North Village), and was reserved for the nobility. Here you'll find most of Seoul's royal palaces, as well as numerous tiny alleyways with traditional tile-roofed homes. Some of the traditional homes have beautiful stained-wood doors graced with ornate brass doorknocks. You can walk around the quaint residential area and the Kyongbokkung Palace in about an hour, starting at Kyongbokkung Station.

North along Samch'ongdonggil is an area full of teashops and galleries, such as the Yoon, Hyundai, Kumho, Kukje and the wistfully named Growrich. They all feature the work of local contemporary artists, and it's worth your while to make a small detour here to visit the National Folk Museum.

Chosun Dynasty Palaces

The palaces still standing in Seoul were built during the 500-year Chosun Dynasty, beginning around the late 14th century. The emperors built a string of palaces and monuments to their own greatness, and although the number left standing has diminished over time, what is left will keep even the most ardent royal watcher busy for a few days. They are all square, built on a north-south axis and are surrounded by high walls--the layout owes a great deal to Chinese geomancy.

Worth a visit is the Changdeok Palace, whose grounds are open to the public although one must join a guided tour provided by staff. Tours are offered at twenty-minute intervals and are held in English, Japanese and Korean. It's worthwhile if only to see the beautiful Piwon (Secret Garden), consisting of 32 hectares (79 acres) of ponds, pavilions, ancient gnarled trees. Passing under the Pullomun Gate is supposed to make you eternally young.

The Toksugung Palace is the smallest of the palaces in Seoul, but it has served as the royal residence twice in its history; once for 15 years after the 1592 sacking of the capital, and again from 1897 to 1907 by King Kojong. The entrance to the palace is through the Taehanmun Gate opposite the Seoul Plaza Hotel.

The oldest of Seoul's palaces is the Ch'anggyonggung Palace, which predates the Yi dynasty by nearly 300 years. Built as a Koryo summer palace in 1104, the Yis moved in while their main palace was being completed. The palace was demoted to a park during the Japanese occupation, and a botanical garden and zoo were constructed in the grounds. The wild animals have since been relocated to Seoul Grand Park.

Youido Island

Youido is the administrative and business center of Seoul, and touted as the city's answer to Manhattan. During the week there's little to see, as the office buildings fill up and the streets are eerily deserted. On Sundays the enormous Youi-do Plaza, which started life as a landing strip (and could still work as one in a pinch), fills up with locals on their afternoon outings; stalls are set up and people careen around on bicycles and roller skates.

At the far north-western end of the island is the ugly National Assembly building, which may not be worth the effort unless you are interested in contemporary Korean politics. Sunday services at the Full Gospel Church are a huge multimedia event, and with about 50,000 faithful, the church claims to have the largest congregation in the world. The glamorously named DLI 63 building, with 60 stories above ground and three below, is Korea's tallest, and houses an aquarium, an Imax theatre and an observation deck on the top floor, although the views aren't as good as from Seoul Tower.

It'aewon

As well as being the sleaze center of Seoul, It'aewon is a great place for shopping, and while prices are already low, bargaining is the norm. If you have the time to look you'll find worthwhile items among the mountains of junk and winners of bad taste souvenir awards (like the glow-in-the-dark Buddhas with 'Seoul, Korea' emblazoned on their foreheads). Leather jackets are a specialty, as are the bomber jackets so favored by the military, and you can generally pick up good ones for around US$60 to US$100.

There's a good range of shoes on sale as well as T-shirts, mugs and stickers with unusual and sarcastic slogans (such as 'North Korea--where's the beef?'). It's usually a good idea to sift, bargain, buy and split before nightfall, as It'aewon's not the best place to be after lights out.

Namsan Park

Mt. Namsan once marked the southern extent of old royal Seoul, and you can still see remains of the city walls within the park's boundaries. The peak used to be crowned with fortifications, but they are long gone and have been replaced by Seoul Tower. The tower reaches 483m (1584ft), making it the third tallest in the world and one of Seoul's landmarks. It houses a revolving restaurant, an observation deck, and a booth where you can have a photograph printed onto a T-shirt inscribed with the words 'For the precious love'. Really well worth the effort.

If you like that sort of tourist-oriented action, you could also visit the Aquarium, Ocean Life Museum, Funny World, Game Room and Natural Stone Exhibits, all housed in the tower. In the western part of the grounds of Namsan Park is the Namsan Botanical Gardens, which are worth a stroll. Also check out the library and the odd statue nearby. It's an easy, downhill walk through a pleasant residential area to get back into town.

War Memorial

Despite its name, this is a fully-fledged museum and one of Seoul's best. It traces the history of war in Korea, from the Three Kingdom period to the Korean War, and includes a section on Korea's involvement in the Vietnam War. It houses over 13,000 items, including a number of large aircraft parked outside. All the 'great victories' are there in English translations, but the defeats at the hands of the Japanese are there only in hangul script.