24 hr layover in Seoul What to see

Hi there. I live in Korea now. I think "What to see" totally depends on what you're interested in . . .

Touristy stuff/Sights- Gyeongbukgong Palace, Dongdaemun gate and market, Namdaemun market (gate is under reconstruction), DMZ (have to go with a tour), Insadong (tourist/souvenir district)

Shopping- Insadong (see above), Coex Mall (one of the biggest malls in Asia), Myeongdong (youth/fashion mecca), Namdaemun or Dondaemun market (see above)

Nightlife- Hongdae, Sinchon, Hyehwa, Gangnam, or Itaewon (though it's a mostly foreign crowd here)

Here's what I would do if I were you . . .
24th evening- Get settled into your hotel, head to Hongdae (via airport shuttle or metro- metro stop is "Hongik Univ." or "Hong Dae Ibgu"), explore the madness that is Hongdae and find a sidewalk restaurant . . . order samgyubsal/galbi/dubu kimchi and soju or makkoli (Korean rice wine) and people watch
25th day- Head to Gyeongbokgong Palace and do all the standard tourist photo-ops, walk over to Insadong for souvenir shopping plus tea/lunch, take the metro down to Namdaemun market and spend the rest of the afternoon there getting blisters on your feet

Can I ask though- why are you staying so close to the airport? The airport is over an hour outside the city, that will seem like a long haul at the end of the night.

Let me know if you have any other questions!
Dee

If you can arrange it, a DMZ tour is definitely worth doing. The USO tour is a good one (Google for info) - if you don't do that one, make sure your tour includes the JSA/Camp Boniface. You will need to book a tour before you arrive as they leave early in the morning and tend to sell out.

The DMZ would pretty much take out your whole day, and would be a good experience but you'd never 'see' Seoul. Friday night in Hongdae is absolutely worth it, but just be aware that most public transport stops around midnight - a little later on Friday, but Incheon is a decent hike from Seoul.

Definitely visit a palace or two - combine Gyeonbokgung with a wander through Insadong but make sure you hit Samcheong-dong/Bukchon-dong near the palace to see some nice traditional houses and enjoy something less-touristy than Insadong.

Namdaemun or Dongdaemun for shopping, but both are disorientingly huge; if you want a bustling Korean market experience without actually buying anything, visit Gwangjang/Kwangjang sijang (market) near Dongdaemun, which has fascinating food, traditional costumes and acres of fabric, and you can combine it with a walk down the Cheongyechon (stream) through downtown. Stick around here and other places in northern Seoul and there are plenty of traditional Korean sights. South of the river in Gangnam is where you go for mega malls and designer labels.

Thanks for all the info! Dee - we picked the songdo park hotel because we figured we would be tired and just want to go to the hotel, grab some dinner and go to bed. Do you know of any fun restaurants or things to do in songdo park? We were planning on heading into Seoul the morning of the 25th. If we can cancel our hotel do you think it would be better to travel into Seoul that night and stay in the city? Our hotel in Songdo park is a best western, so I looked at other best western's to see if maybe we can just switch hotels without a cancellation fee, but there are several and I'm not sure which one would be the best. Is there a hotel that you would recommend that is near Hongdae? Thanks so much...you guys are super helpful.

@aladennis-

To be honest, I don't know too much about hotels in Seoul as I usually don't need to stay in one. I do know, however, that Hongdae has surprisingly few hotels. When some relatives came to visit me in Korea, we all stayed at the SunBee Hotel in Insadong (here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294197-d506110-r19869727-Hotel_Sunbee-Seoul.html). It was quite nice and affordable (around 80,000W, $80 a night), and you could choose between a western-style bed or a yo. Also, Insadong is a pretty cheap cab ride from Hongdae (maybe 10,000W, $10?)

If you are committed to Best Western, I just found the "Best Western New Seoul Hotel". It's in Namdaemun, also a short/cheap cab ride away from Hongdae.

Regarding Songdo Park- I don't think I've ever actually been there (I had to google it, haha), so I can't recommend any restaurants. . . But I could recommend some food! (I don't know how much you already know about Korean food, but I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about it). In my humble opinion, here are some "must try" good options: samgyupsal (grilled fatty pork with side dishes), galbi (grilled marinated pork with side dishes), jjim dalk (soy sauce chicken with veggies and rice noodles), han shik (table full of small side dishes with rice), gamjatang (pork bone and potato soup), Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew), dweonjjang jjigae (fermented soy bean stew- much better than it sounds), samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), budae jjigae ("everything stew") . . . most of these are served "family style"- for two or more people.

Hope that was helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions!