Anyone been to Seoul?

[maunahaole]

The wife and I are kicking around vacation ideas. Seoul, South Korea has come up as an idea. Comments? Good side daytrips? Enough to keep us occupied for a week? Good food? Good Beer? I'm already down with the Shochu.

[edoz]

It's been many years, but I was stationed in S Korea. Seoul has changed a lot since 1990 I'm sure, but there's a lot of ancient architecture to check out. Gyeongbokung (might have spelled that wrong) Palace is pretty cool, and there are fortresses called the East and South Great Gates which are worth a tour.
The food, the city and the people are all worth the trip. I don't know if it's open to civilians, but the DMZ tour is very interesting. The Olympic Park probably has a velodrome, too.

[Blue Jays]

You two can be Seoul Brothers.

[sevencyclist]

Took a tour to Korea this past winter holiday break with the kids, and I was very impressed. I was there in 1979, and the changes are just amazing. I have a lot of respect for the progress of the Korean people, and think Korea is very well poised to be an economic powerhouse. Lots of governmental support for large industires to make them excel. Probably not the best "free trade", but definitely great for progress to pass some of the first world nations.

Lots of things to do in Seoul. My family loved Nami Island as a good day-2 days trip out of Seoul. There are also some good hot springs if you are into that type of thing.

[WanderingWheel]

I spent a week in Seoul just before Christmas. I had been in Korea near Busan since the summer but had not spent any time in Seoul. It's a wonderful city and you can easily pack a vacation with lots of different things to do. The DMZ tour by the USO that edoz mentioned is open to civilians as long as North Korea hasn't been acting up recently. Seoul is easy to navigate without speaking Korean, but that is not true of most of the rest of the country. Likewise, Seoul is also expensive compared to the rest of Korea, but is still very affordable compared to other large cosmopolitan cities. It also has a very active and helpful tourism department, and many events specifically designed to attract foreign tourists. The only caution I can give you is beware of the weather, Seoul is bitterly cold in the winter and can be very hot and humid in the summer, so choose your season well.

If you want to venture outside Seoul, Gyeongju, the capital of the Silla empire for almost 1,000 years is a good historical and cultural sidetrip. Unless there is something you are particularly interested in, I would skip Busan. It's the second largest city in Korea but is not as visitor friendly as Seoul and generally has much less to see except for its beaches and the worlds 1st and 2nd largest department stores. There's plenty of other things to do, I would recommend hiking almost anywhere as Korea outside of the cities has a very striking beauty to it. Hiking is also by far the favorite pasttime in Korea. One thing I regret not getting the opportunity to do is a temple stay at one of the Buddhist monasteries, it probably would have made for a very enjoyable weekend. Getting around Korea is very easy and affordable using public transportation. Many visitors don't even consider it, but trains and buses are the best ways to get between cities and far better than driving yourself. Let me know if you have any other questions.