South Korea – Part 3

The Insadong neighbourhood and Insadong-gil street are only a few minutes’ walk from Gwanghwamun Square or the Bukchon hanok settlement, in the central part of Seoul and offer a range of small shops with traditional handmade products, clothing and souvenir shops and restaurants, from of fast-food restaurants, to traditional Korean restaurants that attract tourists from all over the world. If you get a feeling that the restaurants are too "touristy", just go to one of the side streets, where you will surely find a less traditional on the first look but probably more authentic Korean restaurant. Side streets that connect to the main street are marked with additional numbers, for example Insadong-7-gil. And if that will not be enough authentic and homely, there is no other choice than a 15-minute walk to Seoul's markets.

The Gwangyang and DongDaemun markets, a good kilometre east of the Insadong neighbourhood, offer a wide selection of Korean food at the stalls, as well as a wide selection of souvenirs and clothing. Other market, DongDaemun, also has the name Night Market, which means that you can enjoy excellent Korean food prepared in front of you even in the night-time. In any case, do not mistake the Dongdaemun Market with the "Dongdaemun Design Plaza" or DDP, which is the most beautiful example of modern architecture and certainly deserves your attention. If you find yourself at Seoullo 7017 or near the main station because of your desire to shop or because you're hungry, I advise you to go to the best rated market by guides, Namdaemun.

Jasmil Area with the Olympic Park and Lotte Tower are the first attractions which we cannot access from the city centre without using public transport, because it is located in the southeast of Seoul. If you choose Seoul Olympic Parktel Youth Hostel for your accommodation, you are right in the heart of this extremely modern and interesting area of the city. The Olympic Park was created for the Olympic Games in 1988 and extends to an area of 1.45 square kilometres. The Olympic Park, however, does not host only the largest sports arena in South Korea, but consists of several parts, such as a cultural and arts park, a recreational park, an environmental eco-park, but also has its own historical part. The park is used by locals and visitors for relaxation and recreation. That's why I also recommend visiting the park after a busy day of exploring the intense Seoul.

If you forgot about the actual size of the South Korean capital for a moment, it's time to visit the Lotte World Tower, located near Lotte World amusement park and connected to Lotte's huge shopping centre. Lotte is the strongest store chain in South Korea, established by Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-ho in 1948 in Japan who expanded the business to South Korea in April 1967. Today, Lotte is the eighth largest business conglomerate in South Korea, which generated more than EUR 8 billion in profit in 2014, which was as much as the entire budget of the Republic of Slovenia. These figures are stated intentionally before the presentation of the landmark of South Korea - the tower and the shopping centre Lotte World. The tower is currently the world's fifth tallest building and has cost approximately four billion euros. The ground floor covers an area of 12.2 football fields, and the sum of all floors is equal to the surface of the 115 soccer fields. The tower itself has 123 floors and is 555 meters high. "Seoul Sky" viewing platform with glass floors is 500 metres above ground and makes roads and cars look like a test pole in driving school. Of course, it is only advisable to visit the platform in good weather, because it offers a great view of Seoul. Only here you are aware of the full width of the South Korean metropolis. In addition to the sightseeing platform, there is also a luxury hotel on 25 floors in the tower and the most expensive office space on the top six floors, just below the viewing platform. The tower also has 223 luxury apartments on "lower" floors, that is from floors 42 to 71. In the immediate vicinity there is also a huge entertainment park Lotte World, with everything that belongs in a modern amusement park.

The Olympic Park, the Lotte World with the Lotte Tower, the 13-storey shopping mall (two floors are below the ground), two direct subway lines (line 2 and 8) are certainly good reasons to spend one day in this area and combine modern with nature and fun. And if you ate at the Lotte Shopping Centre during lunch time, I suggest something more authentic for dinner. Between Lotte shopping centre, the Olympic Park, and the monument "Olympic Peace Gate" south of the avenue Olympic-ro is a large area about 10 hectares big, where there are restaurants, bars, shops, food stalls, patisseries, bakeries... everything that we need after a perfect day; from the traditional Korean barbecue to the Chinese or Italian restaurants. Nightlife and restaurants in the infamous (yet still safe) quarter of Hongdae in the western part of the city are “only” 20 underground stations (line number 2) away from the avenue. The area is worth visiting for the graffiti located in Hongdae Mural Street.

Before leaving the city of Seoul and exploring the nearby and distant surroundings, we will wander to the district of Itaewon, which is just a few underground stations south of the main station. If you step out of the Samgakji station, the first landmark will be the mighty memorial park and the Korean War Museum (1950-1953), where you can see tanks, military planes, missiles, ships and other weapons and equipment, as well as the displays of individual battles, uniforms, in short everything that belongs to an excellent military museum. If I did not convince you to visit yet, let me add that the entrance to the museum is free. Because of the museum's size, you will definitely not miss it. After visiting the museum and before leaving Seoul, I invite you to the neighbourhood of Itaewon which is somewhat different from what we have seen and experienced in Seoul so far. Small streets, cute little shops and, above all, an extremely diverse range of food, are the reasons to visit this part of Seoul. In this area is also the Seoul Central Mosque, which, like the Seoul churches, does not represent an architectural achievement, so you will probably be more amazed at the food they offer nearby. If you want a great falafel or kebab you are at the most perfect place in Seoul. And the very idea of this flavour should lead you to the next part, in which you will be able to read more about the possibilities of shorter or longer trips from Seoul.