As soon as I arrived in Seoul earlier this year, I knew it was unlike any other city I had visited. I’ve spent a lot of time living and traveling in Southeast Asia, but this was my first proper visit to east Asia, and one that I had long been looking forward to. Landing at Incheon Airport (from Mongolia - that was a cool layover!) was when the realization kicked in that I had finally made it to Korea. 

I spent four nights in Seoul, which seemed appropriate when I was planning this trip. Unless I am planning to base myself somewhere for a while, 3-4 nights is usually a good amount of time to stay in a city. But I quickly learned that wasn’t long enough (and therefore, I would love to go back!). You see, there is so much to see and do in Seoul. There are so many cool, themed cafes, so many activities, temples, food spots, and cool landmarks to visit. The city has more attractions than any place I’ve ever been to, and I wasn’t able to visit all of them while I was there. 

There are a few things I noticed while in Seoul. First, Korean culture is distinctive, as Korea has a different feel than the culture in Southeast Asia that I am used to. Koreans are more reserved, and the working culture is intense. But, when people go out in Korea, they like to have fun. Seoul is considered to be one of the best party destinations in the world, and Jinro Soju (local alcohol) is the world’s best-selling alcohol. (It tastes pretty good.) 

Second, perhaps unsurprisingly, Korea is high-tech. The internet is fast. Some of the best and latest technology comes out of Korea. The country is one of the most connected countries in the world. On a related note, Seoul has one of the largest metro systems in the world (it’s massive), and the architecture in Seoul is modern and shiny. 

There are actually a lot of parallels with Vietnamese culture, and I feel like present-day Vietnam was what Korea was like maybe 10 or 20 years ago. In other words, Vietnam could be like Korea in another 10 to 20 years, though at the same time, there are some differences, so I am not sure if that will be the case. 

Third, the cafe culture is strong. There are many, many themed cafes. There are 3D-themed cafes; there’s a cafe where you can pet sheep; there’s a Boeing-themed cafe; and even a fishing cafe, where you can go fishing while drinking a coffee, among many others. Personally, I visited the Boeing-themed cafe (called Boing) and a cafe called Nuldam Space (there are several locations) where you can write a letter to yourself or someone else, but it doesn’t get mailed for a year.

Black sesame is a popular flavor in Korea, and I found black sesame lattes to be very tasty. 

Furthermore, the K-pop culture is also strong, though I am not a subject matter expert there so I don’t have much to say. 

But on the topic of food and drink, one cannot go to Korea and not enjoy Korean food. Korean food is known to be spicy, but also very good. I enjoyed tteokbokki, bibimbap, which I found to be different from the “local” way, ramen, naengmyeon, which are cold noodles, and of course Korean barbecue. Eating Korean barbecue in Korea was actually my first time having it, and it was very good. I didn’t know what to expect, but everyone speaks highly of it, and it did not disappoint.

I also tried bingsu, which is Korean shaved ice, a dessert, and it was very sweet but tasty.

In Seoul, there are an infinite number of restaurants and eateries, but there are also many street markets (some of them night markets), which are very busy and full and offer many different kinds of food.

One of the coolest food experiences I had will actually sound quite simple. While in Seoul, I went to a 24-hour self-serve ramen store. No one works there—it’s all based on the honor system. You pick out the ramen that you want, pay for it, and then cook it on your own. They have toppings you can put on and also drinks. In the US, we have 24-hour McDonald’s… 24-hour ramen is far better. 

Not really Korean, but I also visited a place called the London Bagel Museum (I do really like bagels) where they had pretty much every kind of bagel you could imagine. It was very good. 

One of the coolest experiences while in Seoul was visiting the Demilitarized Zone (the DMZ) and looking into North Korea. It was very exciting to go, as it’s an experience I had on my bucket list for quite some time. There are many day tours from Seoul, as the DMZ is less than a two-hour drive from the city center. While the feeling of being there is exciting, the tone of the tour is solemn, as tour guides explain the significance of the separation of the two Koreas and the impact that the war had on the older generation, and what it means for people today. 

As part of the tour, you visit several different monuments and significant places, including a US war memorial, a statue of Harry Truman (US president at the time of the war), a train that symbolizes the lack of train service to the north (and thus to the rest of the world), and the Bridge of Freedom, which was used to exchange POWs after the war.

There is also a small museum at Camp Greaves, which was a former US military base (which was used to house the nearly 30k US troops that are still stationed in Korea).

The tour then takes you inside the DMZ, which is officially a UN-administered area. The DMZ is divided into three lines (as per the photo below): the northern limit line (orange), the military demarcation line (faint white line in the center), and the southern limit line (orange). No troops are allowed between the northern and southern limit lines; however, both North and South Korea have “police” within the DMZ.

The DMZ is actually extremely dangerous, and most of the DMZ is completely off-limits - there are more than 2 million landmines in the DMZ. Perhaps the coolest part of the tour was visiting the observatory, which looks into North Korea. From there, I could see the North Korean city of Kaesong, a large city in Southern North Korea, which is considered to be an industrial town. In the past, as a measure of good faith, South Korean companies used to outsource work to North Korean factories, which was a win-win for both sides. However, that no longer happens due to tension in recent years. 

From the observatory, you can also see flag poles from each side. In the 1970s, each country kept increasing the height to make it taller than the other—it was a Cold War competition thing. North Korea’s is taller (the South gave up at some point), and at one time, it was the tallest flag pole in the world (it’s now the sixth tallest).

There are binoculars making it possible to see all of these things, including a North Korean military outpost. On a clear day, you can see North Korean soldiers manning the outpost, looking into the south, and everyone tries to spot them through the binoculars. Unlike South Korea, the North does not allow any civilians in the DMZ. (The South has designated spots for civilians to live, though the DMZ is actually controlled by the UN.) So anyone in the north who is in the DMZ is part of their military (which is the largest institution in the country). 

In the past, it was possible to visit the Joint Security Area (JSA), which is the closest point within the DMZ where the two sides meet. There are two buildings at the JSA on either side that face each other, and there are soldiers on each side who stare directly at each other. The JSA is home to distinct blue buildings in the middle, and these blue buildings have been used for negotiations in the past. It was at the JSA where Trump and Kim met, and Trump stepped into North Korea. 

It is no longer possible to visit the JSA (at least when I visited) because, in mid-2023, a US soldier defected into the north via the JSA. He had joined a tour, and tourists used to be able to go inside the blue buildings and technically be “inside” North Korea. Since then, the JSA has been closed to tourists. All it took was one person to ruin it for the rest of us…

The final part of the DMZ tour includes a visit to tunnels deep underground that the South alleges the North dug (they were discovered in the 1970s) in preparation for another invasion. They claim that more tunnels exist, and perhaps there are others that they don’t know about. They don’t allow photos inside the tunnels, but it’s quite a walk down. 

The whole tour was a very surreal experience, and I even acquired some authentic North Korean Won (admittedly at a steep price). Quite the collector’s item.  

To summarize, Seoul is a fantastic place. There is so much going on and there’s so much to do and see, and I am very glad I finally visited. As part of my trip to South Korea, I also went farther south to Busan (though I may or may not write about that). Overall, my trip to South Korea, especially Seoul, was great, and I’d love to go back.