This is part of the 2013 OUTDATED LIST! For the most up to date TOP 50 things to do in Seoul, go here.
#20 Cheonggyecheon / Cheonggye Stream / 청계천*
Uh oh! There is an asterisk already on the first entry. When I first made this list, the Cheonggye Stream didn’t even crack my top 30. It is a nice little stream that runs along the top half of Seoul, but nothing extraordinary. So what made me change my mind? I remembered how the stream transforms during the lotus and lantern festivals. Twice a year (once in May, once in November), the Cheonggye Stream is decorated with huge lanterns in celebration of those festivals. There is also a parade of lanterns near the stream that passes in front of Jonggak Station (#16), but this way, you can see them at your own pace. If you visit Seoul during one of these festivals, make sure to pass by this stream at night time, and of course, don’t miss the parade!
#19 Seoul Fortress Wall (starting at Hyehwamun / Hyehwa Gate / 혜화문)Read more →
This is the 2013 OUTDATED version of the top things to do in Seoul (maintained for sentimental value). Follow the link to the new TOP 50 Things to do in Seoul.
#30 Old Seoul Station
The beautiful Old Seoul Station building from the early 1900s.
The Old Seoul Station started operation more than 100 years ago. It has recently been reopened to the public after years of remodeling. It currently sits right next to the modern Seoul Station train hub, the main train station to go anywhere out of Seoul, and is quite interesting to get a good view of the two buildings simultaneously from a distance. As they were built almost a hundred years apart, you can see the development of Korean architecture from 1900 (European based) to today (almost futuristic). Unfortunately, for the time being, there is nothing really inside the old building besides a few modern art exhibitions (which isn’t my type of art) so the pretty building (and a lot of imagination) will have to do.
The Temple of Haein (‘sa’ means ‘temple’) is probably the most important Buddhist temple in all of Korea. It is located within the surprisingly scenic Gayansan National Park. While very famous among Koreans, it’s lack of international prestige is appalling, since it contains the Tripitaka Koreana. It is an amazing artifact, and uncharacteristic of Korean treasures by being original and not a rebuilt replica. It is a set of over 80,000 woodblocks that are the oldest known complete and flawless Buddhist Sutra, scriptures which serve as a guide to the Buddhist way of life. The only downside of this site is that photos of the Tripitaka Koreana itself are not allowed.
One great, additional activity to do is a “temple stay,” where you practice the customs of monks for a full day. This temple is perfect to combine that experience with visiting this UNESCO world heritage site.
One note I must make (for backpackers that travel with everything you own) is that Haeinsa is a good three km (1.6 miles) from the bus stop out of Daegu. This means you have to hike a good while uphill to even get into the temple, so be prepared to sweat a little. In my opinion, it adds to the feeling of accomplishment if you had to work for it.Haein Temple (Haeinsa) was constructed in 802 AD by followers of Korean Buddhism (Zen Buddhism). The land surrounding Haeinsa was awarded to the temple which has an additional 20 satellite temples (one of them pictured below). Currently the land is co-owned by Haeinsa and the Korean Government. In 1236, work began to make the Tripitaka to be copied and replicated for others to read. This ‘sutra‘ which is analogous to a Christian bible, was carved by hand in over eighty thousand wooden blocks, with over 50 million Chinese characters (hanja), as it predated the invention of the Korean alphabet (hangeul). Since it is the oldest known ‘sutra’ to be intact and flawless, it is essentially the oldest known version of the ‘Buddhist bible’ to again borrow the Christian comparison.
Background and Opinion:
The Historical City of Gyeongju is a nice city, with historical sites that include the oldest observatory in Asia, an ancient ice storage, Shilla tombs, and Buddhist temples. It is one of the best places to go to if you like Korean history. With that said, it also suffers from being possibly the most overrated place in South Korea. While it’s definitely worth seeing, it’s revered as a very beautiful ancient city with ancient Shilla (the old Korean Kingdom) buildings. In reality, besides the artifacts I just mentioned, it’s just like any other Korean town. In addition, sites like the Anapji Pond are not original as they have been destroyed in past Japanese invasions.
Gyeongju was founded around the first century BC. When it unified the three major kingdoms on the Korean peninsula, it became the first, truly unified Korean state (The Shilla Kingdom) which continued to prosper well into 1000 AD. The ruling clan at the time was named “Park” (박), the source of that surname. The “Silla Kim” clan was also very powerful, which accounts for 1/3 of all people with the surname “Kim” (김) (currently distinguished as “Gyeongju Kim”).
When you go to Korea, you should eat as much as can possibly fit into your stomach. Having spent the last three years here, I eat Korean food on a daily basis. In that time, I have amassed a big list of favorite things to eat which I hope to share with everyone. Because I would like you to eat a lot in your travels here, I have separated main dishes and snacks into two separate posts for your consumption benefit. I hope you get fat with these amazing street foods and snacks when you come to Korea. You can find the first food related Korea post here.
#5 Pickled and Fermented Spicy Cabbage (I guess)/ Kimchi / 김치
Kimchi is the signature side dish in Korea. Cabbage is cleaned and filled with salt to draw out the water (watch the video). Then, it is prepared with a red paste and left to ferment for weeks, months, or longer. Kimchi, much like wine, apparently gets better with age. It is also quite expensive to buy prepared in stores, as they can go for about 9,000 won ($8.50 USD) a kilo (2.2 lbs for you Americans that can’t convert). Because of this, many people make kimchi for the rest of the year sometime in September or October when the cabbage is cheapest and store it in specifically designed “kimchi refrigerators” (I’m not joking). As Koreans eat kimchi with anything, you won’t have trouble finding it at any “kimbap restaurant” or pretty much anywhere.
So, if it is the signature side dish, why is it ranked so low? Because it is overrated (at least for my foreigner taste buds). Have you ever woken up one day and thought, “man, I really want to have some cabbage today!” No, no one outside of Korea has ever thought of that because cabbage is a very average (or below) vegetable. I do like cabbage sometimes and I do recommend that you try kimchi once, but it is not the be-all and end-all of Korean cuisine. There are many snacks that taste better. In fact, I recommend kimchi more for its cultural impact on Korean people, than its actual taste. Besides, it will be free with most meals, so just try it.
If you are more familiar with Korean cuisine, it might be prudent to add that there is not just one kind of kimchi. There are actually more than twenty kinds which can be found at any large super market if you want to sample them all. For the purposes of this article, kimchi will mean the most common type of Korean kimchi (the red cabbage one).
Related Articles / Links on other Sites:
1) Best Kimchi (To be honest, kimchi is found with ANY meal, but this ppyeohaejangguk place has my favorite kimchi)
The idea is very simple: Grill some chicken and some green onions on a stick and put some sauce on it, but it is still very delicious. In many of the markets or shopping centers in Korea, you will see people selling Dak Kochi on the street. While many are out year round, you can see them especially in the late fall or early spring when it is just warm enough to be outside at night. They are a great street food, and the vendors are usually some of the friendliest people around. They cost about 2000 won each ($1.80 USD) so grab one to hold you over until your next big meal!
