Autumn in Seoul and Jeju: 7 Days Itinerary
- Ruby Flores
- Nov 2, 2018
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 21, 2019
It was a last minute trip booked to Seoul that costs us a fortune but it was all worth it. The land of the famous K pop stars, K dramas and of course beauty products.
The heart of the Seoul Capital Area and considered as a leading and rising global city.
We flew from Singapore (where we applied our tourist visa for free that was processed within 4 working days check the link: koreanembassy) via Singapore Airlines, but now there are more airlines flying to South Korea that is cheaper like Vietnam Airlines, Air Asia, Jetstar. Just remember to keep a look out months prior to your trip.
Upon arrival in Incheon we quickly bought our T-money card (card for public transports) from 7/11 and head to Gimpo Airport via train for our flight to Jeju Island. Waiting game at the airport is fun as there a lot of shops to check and a few restaurants.
My friend picked us up from the airport and we took the taxi from their to our guest house booked from Agoda.com. But there are buses / you can take to bring you to the city check their official site visitjeju.net for more detailed information.
Day 1 - Jeju Island
Flight to Jeju
Sunrise Peak / Seongsan Ichulbong Peak (Unesco World Natural Heritage)
Food Trip at City Hall
Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, is 180m above sea level, erupted underwater in the ocean about 5,000 years ago, which makes it a very rare case among the many craters in Jejudo Island.
We went out that afternoon to see the Sunrise Peak, we took the bus from their bus interchange, walking distance from our guest house. It's an hour bus ride from the city, you can ask for assistance from the station on which bus to take, if they can't speak English show a picture of a place of your destination, locals will be willing to assist.
The buses has monitors and will be announcing the next stop, just be attentive. When you get there you need to walk another kilometre to get your entrance ticket, prepare CASH.
There are souvenir shops, cafe and restaurants around the peak, you can try to bargain if you are buying in wholesale. We headed back to our guesthouse and took the bus to the city, make sure to take the bus going to the opposite side from where you arrived.
My friend Ren brought us to City hall for dinner in this cool Korean Fried Chicken Place and let us try different street food in Jeju.
It was indeed a fun night catching up with a friend you haven't seen for a long time. I'm glad he lives there, we had a free tour guide .
Day 2 - Jungmun Resort (Jeju Island)
Alive Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Check the link visitjeju.net for the opening times and entrance fee for the museums
Jeju Jungmun Resort is a tourist complex that has famous hotels, museums , botanic garden, beach and the like. You can easily spend a whole week in this area.
We took the bus (ask for assistance from the ticket counter) from the interchange and went to the resort. It was more than an hour of travel but you can enjoy the nice scenery on the way. And since we have limited time we just checked two museums that are on our list - The Alive Museum and the Teddy Bear Museum.
Alive Museum is a Tricky Theme Park Made of Five Optical Illusion Experience Themes Trick Art, Digital Art, Sculpture Art, Provence Art We will provide our visitors a special and exciting experience and story through 5 unique themes. You can bring out the silly poses to match the optical illusions inside.
Teddy Bear Museum - Korea's first and only Teddy Bear Museum. It showcases Teddy bears that replicate famous people like Einstein and Van Gogh and the different decades. They also have a gift shop and cafe.
Jeju is an Island rich with places to discover I wish to have spent more days there. If you are planning to go there give yourselves at least five days to enjoy and explore.
We flew back to Incheon and took a train to Seoul Station. Our guesthouse indicated that it is near the station, we were surprised that there are different train lines in Seoul Station itself, make sure to ask for the train line. We were lucky enough to have asked a kind person that showed us the way to our guest house. (Travel tip: don't be embarrassed to ask)
Day 3 - Seoul
Seoul Station
Myeongdong
Dongdaemun
Namdaemun
Seoul Station the capital of South Korea. It is the major rail station in Seoul. The KTX and express services to Busan is here and the station is also served by about a dozen trains per day on the Honam Line and its express Gwangju Station and Moko. There is also a direct line from there to the airport (AREX).
Myeongdong is mostly a commercial area. it is one of the main shopping and tourist district of Seoul.
First order of business - Church! We went to visit the Myeongdong Cathedral, a short walk from the train station. I offered my prayers and thanksgiving to be in this country.
Then we head out to go shopping, all the facial masks, make - up, clothes a girl could wish for. Some items are cheaper like the beauty products and the freebies they give away once you purchase from their shop.
From Myeongdong we took the subway and head to Dongdaemun.
Dongdaemun Market is another shopping and tourist hub of Seoul. The main streets are divided into two sections: The Huge shopping malls and Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park and the old site of Dongdaemun Stadium.
We then took the train back to Seoul Station and walked towards Namdaemun Market.
Namdaemun Market - after alighting from the metro we decided to walk towards the arrow pointing to Namdaemun Market not knowing what we'll see there and to our surprise we found cheap souvenirs like keychains, shirts, fans etc. It's a good place to mingle along with locals as they also shop their local produce and food there.
Lotte supermarket (Seoul Station) is for food shopping from the famous seaweed, brownies, kimchi packets (sealed and ready for travel) and soju.
Day 4 - Nami Island
From Seoul station take the metro to Yongsan station and change to the ITX to Gapyeong station (1hr travel time) Take note that the T-money does not include the ticket here. Book it from korail.
Nami Island also known as Namisum is a tiny half-moon shaped island located in Chuncheon, South Korea. Check their link namisum.com for the prices of the visa, time table fo the ferry and ways to get there.
It was a beautiful autumn day when we went there the leaves are brightly colored yellow, orange and red. You can explore the island by foot or rent a bicycle. Best time for a picnic with family and friends. You can spend a day here.
Day 5 - Geongbokgung Palace
Geongbokgung Palace or Geongbok Palace - was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. It served as the home of Kings of the Joseon dynasty, the Kings' households, as well as the government of Joseon.
Today it houses the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum within the premises of the complex.
Getting there is easy, take the metro and alight at Gyeongbokgung Station of Line 3, For the entrance and schedule of shows kindly check this link royalpalace.go.kr. You can spend the whole day taking time going around the complex.
Day 6 - Everland
Everland is the largest theme park in South Korea. It has rides, a zoo, and a water park.
We took a shuttle bus from the City Hall Station, but there are other pick up points you can check their link for the details: everland.com
Upon arriving there, you have to take another shuttle bus to bring you to the Theme Park's entrance. Make sure to avail your tickets online to avoid queuing. It was the Halloween season and a
Grab a map to maximize your time. We took a cable car that brought us to the zoo. There are close encounters with giraffes and camels too.
The rides were full of people having an hour or more of waiting time. We headed to the hologram room where Kpop stars perform right before your eyes. During that time (2014) the Big Bang group was very famous.
If you have run out of cash (like us from hoarding face masks and beauty products) fret not as souvenir shops and restaurants accepts credit card.
It was indeed a fun long day! We took the shuttle bus back to the City Hall station and a train to our guesthouse.
We capped our night with a good Korean BBQ!
Day 7 - Flight back to Singapore
One of my favorite memories in Seoul is our trip back to the airport. Two good Samaritans helped us make it on time for our flight. As my friend jokingly said "I left my heart in South Korea! Gomabseubnida!
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