Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
Amid the celebrity-owned apartments on the leafy southern slope of Namsan is Korea's premier art gallery. Beautifully designed and laid-out, it balances…
Must-see attractions in Seoul
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
One of Seoul's five grand palaces built during the Joseon dynasty, Deoksugung (meaning Palace of Virtuous Longevity) is the only one you can visit in the…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
This vast and imposing concrete slab of a museum takes visitors on a fascinating journey through Korea's past from prehistory all the way to the Korean…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
This huge museum documents the history of the Korean War (1950–53) using multimedia exhibits and black-and-white documentary footage, along with artefacts…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Located in the heart of ritzy Gangnam, the shrines and halls of the Buddhist temple Bongeun-sa, with its tree-filled hillside location, stand in direct…
Seoul
Providing terrific photo opportunities, Korea's largest fish market supplies every kind of aquatic life form to restaurants, fish shops and the general…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
You could spend all day in this swarming night-and-day market and not see it at all. The largest market in Korea, each section has hundreds of stalls,…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
The iconic N Seoul tower (236m), atop the city’s guardian mountain Namsan, offers panoramic views of this immense metropolis from its observation deck…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Hyundai Development Company commissioned Daniel Libeskind to work with Seoul-based firm Himma on its headquarters opposite COEX Mall. The result, Tangent,…
Seoul
This 6.3km park, named for the former Gyeongui Line (on which it was built), is a narrow, long green space that runs along the discarded railroad tracks…
Seoul
Funded by Korea’s top tobacco company, this visually striking building is home to an art-house cinema, a concert space (hosting top indie bands) and…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
This large and pleasant park was the focus of the 1988 Olympics. Strolling its paths takes you past its stadiums surrounded by plenty of greenery, ponds…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Located in a park at the foot of Namsan, this peaceful village is a wonderful spot to encounter traditional Korean culture. It features five differing…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
This huge complex includes an amusement park, an ice-skating rink, a cinema multiplex, a department store, a folk museum, a shopping mall, a hotel,…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
This overpass-turned-park is a green space in the heart of the city. About 24,000 plants are grown here, including various types of flowers and trees, all…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Looking like a tsunami made of glass and steel, Seoul City Hall was completely redeveloped in 2013 and now is a major architectural attraction of the city…
Seoul
This extension of the Gyeongui Line Forest Park is a book-themed pathway of bookshops housed in train-carriage-like containers. The street commemorates…
Seoul
Originally built after Korea’s first oil crisis in 1973 and reopened in 2017, this cultural centre is made up of five abandoned oil tanks. Planted in a…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
Held on the last Saturday of each month, this market attracts hundreds of shoppers to Usadan-ro on top of Itaewon Hill, where local artists sell their…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Beloved by locals as a place for exercise, peaceful contemplation and hanging out with loved ones, Namsan was a sacred shamanistic spot when the Joseon…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
At the south end of Banpo Bridge are these three artificial floating islands interconnected by walkways. Each features futuristic buildings in a complex…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Completed in early 2017, Seoul's latest landmark is the 555m-high Lotte World Tower – the tallest skyscraper in Korea (and sixth highest in the world)…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
This five-level interactive shrine to K-Pop in the COEX Mall has already become a pilgrimage hot spot for fans since opening in 2018. The photo hall is…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
As well as being home to Seoul's premier concert halls, this art centre also has three art galleries. Seoul Calligraphy Museum is devoted to hand-drawn…
Seoul
Jeoldusan means ‘Beheading Hill’ – this is where up to 2000 Korean Catholics were executed in 1866 following a royal decree, most thrown off the high…
War & Women's Human Rights Museum
Seoul
In Korea the survivors of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during WWII (known euphemistically as 'comfort women') are respectfully called halmoni …
Seoul
This interactive museum at the World Cup Stadium & Mall is a must for football fans, despite the steep admission fee. Korean football history and its…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
A good example of Deoksugung's potpourri of contrasting architectural styles, the grand neoclassical-style Seokjojeon was designed by British architect GR…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Head down to City Hall's basement to reach Citizens Hall, a multipurpose space with an interesting mix of multimedia art exhibitions, design shops and a…
Seoul
Something very interesting is going on in Mullae-dong, a light-industrial area of the city packed with compact metalwork factories. Artists and designers…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Within the Deoksugung complex, the interesting fusion-style pavilion Jeonggwanheon was designed by Russian architect Aleksey Seredin-Sabatin as a place…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Seoul's Olympic Museum has been completely updated as an interactive museum to not only show highlights of the 1988 Olympics but also the thrills of the…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
A part of the National Gugak Center, this engaging museum covers gugak (traditional Korean music) with displays of Korean stringed instruments and unique…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
More like a 13m-tall, neon-lit, designer shrine to books than a library, you can't actually take anything away here, but there are desks, sofas and…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Outside to the left of Deoksugung's main gate, the palace's stone southern wall creates a curved path shaded by 130 trees with benches where locals stop…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Spread over three floors, one of which is devoted to selling the latest lines of gadgets, this showroom showcases the technology of the Korean electronics…
Gangnam & Southern Seoul
Bunker-like SOMA features modern and contemporary art in six galleries. Most are special paid exhibitions, covering both local and big-name international…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Hosting world-class exhibitions that are always worth a visit, SEMA has ultramodern, bright galleries inside the handsome brick-and-stone facade of the…
Itaewon & Yongsan-gu
Give your Korean-language skills a brush up with this museum dedicated to hangeul, the much-lauded Korean alphabet and writing system created in the 15th…
Myeong-dong & Jung-gu
Formerly part of Seoul Station, this grand 1925 building with a domed roof has been beautifully restored inside and out and made into a cultural-arts…
