Seoul. Seoul is a fun city with a lot to do, but people who live in Seoul tend to go to the same places and do the same things every day. Many people get tired of the stifling city life and try to escape to the suburbs on the weekends, but there is nothing else like Seoul to do or enjoy.
Whether you’re looking to venture off the beaten path or just want to make the most of your time in Seoul, we’ve put together a list of places you shouldn’t miss.
1. Architectural award-winning Hangangyu Island and Botanical Garden
Seoul has many beautiful buildings. The Seoul Architecture and Culture Festival is held every year, and the Seoul Architecture Awards are given to buildings and design works every year. Some of them are perfect for indoor dates, no matter the season.
The Forest, a bookstore on the side of Mt. Inwangsan, Nodle Island, a floating island on the Han River, and Seoul Botanical Garden, the city’s first urban botanical garden, have all received architectural awards. Visiting these spaces is an experience in itself, so if you want to be mesmerized by the beauty of design, check out Seoul’s architecture awards. For a list of architectural awards, see here.
2. The most recent version of the Candlelight Concert
Candlelight is a concert where thousands of candles are used to play classical versions of songs we know and love. It has been popularizing classical music in Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Incheon, and other cities in Korea, but the latest program is available in Seoul first.
Whether it’s a program of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in a place of worship or Mozart’s Requiem, Candlelight picks and chooses sensitive spaces in Seoul and holds classical concerts in special places.
Enjoy the Candlelight Concerts in Seoul, then move on to another city to experience the candlelight in its own unique way, and you’ll be sure to return to these concerts again and again. Click here to learn more about the Candlelight Concert in Seoul.
3. Get lost in the music at Seoul’s jazz bars
There are many jazz barsin Seoul. They range from the first generation of jazz bars to those that are booked up every day. Professional musicians from famous music schools such as Berklee or jazz festivals often appear on the stage of jazz bars.
Whether you know jazz well or not, you can just hum along to the music and enjoy yourself. Let’s visit a jazz bar in Seoul. Click here for a list of recommended jazz bars in Seoul.
4. Throwing, spraying, and action painting
Drawing and coloring doesn’t have to be a sedentary activity. You can fill a squirt gun with paint and shoot it, or dip a paintbrush into a bucket of paint and splatter it all over the place. He even throws paint onto the canvas.
Instead of an elegant tossie and apron, the artist enters the firing chamber wearing a full-body gown suit, goggles, and shoe covers, like something out of a forensics lab. It’s an action-painting paint table. Time to unleash your inner artist to the beat of loud music. For reservations and more information, click here.
5. MooBasic, a rootless bar in Seongsu-dong
The negative of a negative is a positive. Seongsudong’s Mugibonis a place that is so rootless that it seems like it’s not even a root at this point.
It is a place that has gained fame for its boss and staff’s overflowing excitement and food rather than alcohol and snacks. There are all kinds of famous mimic singers from Park Ji-sung to Park Hyo-shin, and they never stop telling scary and funny stories that will give you goosebumps.
If you go to Mugunbon, don’t forget to drink whiskey. Despite the increasingly high cost of whiskey, the boss says he wants to offer the cheapest and highest quality whiskey possible. I swear, you won’t find another bar with such a no-frills atmosphere. No, it’s hard to find another. Click here for the official Instagram.
If you’re curious about other restaurants that aren’t quite as good as Moo Rootbone, but have an unusual concept or are just plain funny, check them out here.
6. Cafe with a view of the Han River
Seoul and the Han River. It’s hard to deny that. However, if you want to enjoy the Han River to the fullest, there is nowhere else to go but the park. If you want to drink coffee, eat, and punch the air for a while, but don’t know what else to do but order delivery from the park, check out these Han River view cafes.
Starbucks is everywhere, and so is the Han River. Click here to find a Starbucks with a view of the Han River or arestaurant with a view of the Han River.
7. Live music venues with surprise appearances by famous musicians
Hongdae, Jongno, and Seongsu have many stages for singers. Theseare great places to go if you want to interact with the audience and see what other musicians are playing that day. They have a different charm than jazz bars.
Sometimes, you might be lucky enough to be surprised by a really famous musician. Coincidence masquerading as music is something you should definitely experience in Seoul. Check out the list here.
8. Korea’s Largest Immersive Media Art Space
If you’re thinking about driving to Yeongjong Island for the weekend or holidays, consider Yeongjong Island. Le Space, Korea’s largest immersive media art space at Inspire Resort, is holding a space travel-themed exhibition, “Journey to the Unknown World. The new dimension of outer space, created with beam projectors, large LEDs, kinetic art, holograms, steering, interaction, and other devices, will capture every corner of your senses.
Click here for more media art spaces.
9. COEX Aquarium, Korea’s largest shark habitat in Seoul
Coex Aquarium is the largest shark habitat in Korea and a real water hole restaurant. More than 40 sharks, including sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, zebra sharks, magpie sharks, and tiger sharks, and two types of rays live together in the main tank, the Sea Kingdom. The main tank and the undersea tunnel are also recommended for a watery outing. Click here to purchase tickets
10. Art Film Festival on the Rooftop
There is no other city in Korea that is a center for art and indie than Seoul, and if I had to name one cultural content that can only be enjoyed in Seoul, I would definitely say art films in minor code or independent art.
Among them, I recommend Emusinema’ s Starlight Film Festival, which is held every year during the season when the rooftop is open. As an art cinema loved by the 2030s for its trendy exhibitions and programs, the Emu Cinema Starlight Film Festival is a perfect way to enjoy a movie on the rooftop with its emotional Choice. For more information on Emu Cinema Starlight Film Festival, check out their official Instagram.
For more information on independent and art cinemas in Seoul, click here.
11. Han Tempo Resting Park
Seoul has a lot of parks. In addition to Hangang Park, which runs along the Han River, Seoul Forest and Children’s University Park somehow managed to squeeze greenery in between the forest of buildings.
That’s why I’m glad to see these green leaves. They are always there, just as they were in the previous season. Ttukseom Hangang Park and Yeouinaru are the best places to enjoy the colors during the day and the night view at night. There are also festivals and events along the Han River that you shouldn’t miss.