Seoul, South Korea-Heaven of Tourism: Part 1 of My Great Memories

Korean wave, so-called with “Hallyu”, has spread all over the world. Watching from its Korean idol or Korean drama, many people have wanted to visit Korea so much. Recently, Seoul as the capital city of South Korea has ever been called as the Soul of Asia. It becomes the melting pot where traditional and modern stuffs blend together to be such an enormous entity. That is why through this simple writing, I would like to share some spots as “must to visit” place in Seoul. It hopefully will entertain you so much besides the relatively “good looking” man and woman that you could see there.  All of the spots that I mentioned below will be really easy to be reached because of the sophisticated transportation system there:

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     1. Shopping Center (Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Namdaemun)

First of all, it would be the shopping center because Seoul has been one of the fashion lighthouse in the world. Korean fashion is always one of the first that came out and then will be followed as a global trend. Myeongdong is a “street shops” which is covered by a lot of great brand of fashion. You can find a lot of Japanese and other foreigner since it provides you with a lot of good quality and relatively reachable price.

Second, different from Myeongdong, there are Dongdaemun and Namdaemun which also offer a lot of things but a bit cheaper than Myeongdong since the numbers of shops are much more.  Those are the favorite spots for tourists who want to buy souvenir or gifts since the prive is a bit lower than Myeongdong. You have to be able to have the “skill of bargaining” so you can get a cheaper stuff.

Myeongdong during the Day time

2.       2. Han River and National Assembly (Yeoinaru)

                     Han River is the one of the main river in Korea. it overflows all over the city of Seoul, just like “Ciliwung” in Jakarta. The major difference is that the Han River is terribly clean and nice to watch, but Ciliwung River is definitely dirty and polluted. The park beside this river in Yeoinaru is often full with crowds especially during the weekend for people who want to do picnic, take pictures, cycling, or just getting some fresh airs. Not far from this park, there is National Assembly building which have an awesome design influenced by European way of design.

Han River Park

3.       3.Amusement Park (Everland and Lotteworld)

                   Everland is actually not located in Seoul, it is located at the outskirt of Seoul city. However, since it is such an interesting outdoor amusement park so I will write it down. With such a big size, Everland is the biggest amusement park there with such a perfect design and theme that change following the season. Right beside of Everland, there is also the biggest waterboom there called “Carribean bay”. If you ever watch one of SNSD & 2PM song, it was shot there. Everland and Carribean bay is managed under the same management so they often give some promotion like discounted coupon or student price coupon. 

                     Lotteworld is the indoor amusement park in Korea. Even if the size was much smaller than Everland, but it is truly worth to visit during the winter since the winter there is really chilling. Therefore the weather will not be a trouble to have fun with friends. To make it simple, Everland is like super big size of Dufan in Jakarta and Lotteworld is like the Trans 7 in Bandung, Indonesia the biggest indoor amusement park there.

Everland in Spring

4.       4.Gangnam and Bongeunsa Temple

                      Gangnam is the most advanced area in all over Korea. It provides you with whatever you wish. During the rush hour, it is truly crowded. To make it simple, it’s a bit similar with Shinjuku in Japan during the rush hour. It is famous for its many tall buildings and apartment. If you are lucky, it is really rare you can see Korean idol there. It’s like one of my experience to bump into Big Bang idol group in Apgujeong, Gangnam area. One thing to be noticed, the price of things here are relatively most expensive compared to other area in Seoul because it is full with executives from the top companies of Korea. to be noticed, there is a  temple called Bongeunsa which offer Korean style of temple. For a Buddhist believer who can’t go a bit far to Seorakhsan where a great temple is located, this temple can be seen as a great comparison about how the typical Buddhist temple in Korea is. As an addition, this Gangnam region is well known as the heaven for girls to do plastic surgeries. Looking on those surgery center, it feels like looking at hair salon which is neighbor to each other.

Bongeunsa Temple in Gangnam

5.       5. Gyeongbokdung Palace (Gwanghwamun)

                Last but not least, I have introduced some modern spots in Korea, but we also have to see the traditional spots. It is Gyeongbokdung palace which can be found in Seoul. We can see the typical palace of Korean ancient people where the king and his royal family lived hundreds or even thousand years ago. Even there is no more royal family in such a period like this, but this place is still highly preserved for ceremonial place or place where Korean parents teach their children how their culture is. All doesn’t stop there, around this area there are so many amusements that you can see like the great statue of its Sejong King, Yi Sunshin General, or even Chonggyechon stream as some nice spots to take pictures.

Gyeongbokdung Palace

Till this time, all I recommend through five points above are just a small part of Korea. It was just a dot from my great memory of four months staying in Korea as an exchange student, as a traveler, as a businessman, and as a foreigner. There are still so many great and nice places that I have not explained above like Seoul Tower, Hongdae, Trick Eye Museum, Busan, and many more. I hope I will have the opportunity of sharing to you guys in another opportunity.

Last but not least, let’s be rich soon so you will also have the chance to enjoy the amusement that I ever had there with all the great friends I ever had from all over the worlds.

*This article will be posted on buddhist student community from University of Indonesia
http://kmbui.ui.ac.id

If you ever had any questions about Korea, don’t hesitate to ask me. Here is my facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/Richardryurich