The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
I was having my nails painted one week before the Korea trip. “Jeju 好像会有海啸,” the manicurist told me that Jeju might have Tsunami. She had checked the weather forecast and was planning to change her travel plans. That was one of the many things that …
Thankfully, our flight from Jeju to Gimpo airport was uneventful, unlike our flight from Singapore to Jeju. It was almost evening by the time we settled in our accommodation at Ever8 Residence (serviced apartments). So we had Nene Chicken for dinner and slept early for …
Out of the ample choices of palaces, hanbok villages, and traditional markets in Seoul, we shortlisted one of each “type” to visit. We covered them all in one day.
Jump to your preferred attractions:
Fans of Korean historical dramas have four palaces in Seoul to immerse themselves in. To explore all of them, including Jongmyo Shrine, get an adult combination ticket for ₩10,000 (S$12.20). With this ticket, you can visit each of these five places once within three months: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace (Secret Garden included), Changgyeonggung Palace, Deoksugung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine.
A tip for those visiting Changdeokgung Palace. Reserve time slots online as early as possible to visit at your desired timing: Secret Garden course, and General course.
With a toddler, it would be tiring and time consuming to go to all four palaces. Also, we reckoned palaces would look the same after a while. So we shortlisted Gyeongbokgung Palace (“Gyeongbokgung”), and Changdeokgung Palace and planned to visit them on the same day.
However, we underestimated the time to travel around the sprawling big Gyeongbokgung and to walk to and fro Tongin Market for lunch. Hence, we forfeited our reserved time slot to visit Changdeokgung Palace and its Secret Garden.
Gyeongbokgung was our first choice because there were free parades and it was also the first and largest royal palace built during the Joseon Dynasty. Built in 1395, it was used as the main palace. Greatly damaged by fire during the Japanese occupation in 1592, it was thereafter rebuilt and restored.
In December 2018, the palace’s western gate was opened to public. Hence, public can now enter the palace in all four directions.
National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum of Korea are located on palace grounds. And these are where you can find diaper changing stations. There’s also a hidden playground behind National Folk of Museum.
BABY DIAPER TIP: Before you roam the palace, get your child’s diapers changed at National Palace Museum. It’s not that easy to come across another diaper changing room. For more, baby.joogostyle.com/nursing-rooms-in-south-korea.
Everyday except Tuesday, the public get to enjoy free parades or ceremonies by the royal guards*.
*Number of guards may be reduced during winter and summer due to extreme temperatures. Ceremonies may be cancelled in bad weather.
We reached before 9:30AM and watched the first two parades, Gatekeeper Military Training and Changing of the Royal Guard Ceremony. Due to time, we skipped Gwanghwamun Gate Guard on Duty Ceremony.
All the parades are held around or near Gwanghwamun Gate. From Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3, Exit 4), it’s a straight path to Gwanghwamun Gate, the main gate. Google map shows that the station’s Exit 5 brings you inside of the palace, near to Gwanghwamun Gate too.
Where to find the first parade? As you enter Gwanghwamun Gate, you will see the ticketing booth on your right. As you faced the ticketing booth, look out for a smaller gate on its left. Walk through the gate and the first parade will be there. Basically, the small gate is on your right after you enter Gwanghwamun gate.
After the first parade, head out to the main square, where the ticketing office is. Here, find a good spot and enjoy the second parade (changing of guards). Staff will be putting up barriers so you will know where to get first row spots.
Duration of both parades are relatively short, perhaps about 15minutes.
Many people wore hanboks and walked on palace grounds. It’s free admission for those wearing hanboks! So it’s killing two birds with one stone – be pretty and get free admission. ;)
You can rent from one of the many rental shops around the palace. Otherwise, you can rent hanbok in advance via klook: Seohwa Hanbok Rental or Hanboknam Hanbok Rental with Hairstyling.
To sweeten the experience, engage a photographer to capture you in the beautiful hanbok and your travel memories in Korea. Rent your hanbok and have your Gyeongbokgung hanbok photoshoot with HAB KOREA or Hanbok That Day.
The only building we entered in Gyeongbokgung is the library at the northern part of the palace. It has beautiful architecture and interior, with a modern touch as books lined the shelves in the building. We came across this library as we re-entered the palace through the North gate after our lunch at Tongin Market.
Known as Jibokjae Hall, it was built in 1891 and used to be King Gojong’s study room and meeting hall. Now it has become a public library that contains books about Joseon and the dynasty’s royal documents, proclamations and publications. Beside Jibokjae hall, the Palwoojeong Pavilion that used to be King Gojong’s resting space is also now converted into a cafe, serving coffee, tea and desserts.
We were not very impressed by the palace. Many constructions or restorations were taking place at our time of visit. Also, the place was so big that it takes quite a bit of walking from point to point. So the place felt sparsely attractive. The saving grace was that certain parts of the palace bloomed beautifully during autumn. Also, the yellowish green trees that lined the palace made our walk a scenic and romantic one.
For those with older toddlers, you might want to check out the entertaining Children’s Folk museum.
To rest your legs after the palace tour, head to Anguk-dong. This neighbourhood near Gyeongbokgung is full of trendy cafes to choose from. Here, you will also get to see juxtaposition of the old and new, traditional Korean houses beside modern shops.
Not knowing which cafe was good, we went to the one that looked crowded. So it was that we ended up in Radio M to rest and chill. Sitting under the whimsical decorations of cherry blossoms, hubby sipped a cup of coffee while I dug into their desserts to satisfy my sweet tooth. Interesting fact, a romantic scene of Korean Drama, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, was shot in front of this cafe.
RADIO M
About 15-20 minutes from the palace, you will arrive at Tongin Market. If you just finished parades, exit through the gate near National Palace museum for a shorter route.
Dating back to 1941, Tongin market is famous for Yeopjeon Dosirak (Yeopjeon Lunchbox). What’s interesting about this market is the use of Yeopjeon (brass coins) currency to purchase food.
Against my hubby’s wishes, I insisted we try Tongin Market’s famous stir fried rice cakes, Gireum Tteokbokki (기름 떡볶이). In the end, he liked the dish more than me. There was an online recommendation: Jeong Halmony Hyojadong Tteokbokki (정할머니 효자동 옛날 떡볶이) with a yellow signboard. They sell two flavours and is priced at two Yeopjeon per serving.
With so many spicy food ordered, I was so looking forward to eating them with rice. However, the lunchbox cafe on the 2F and 3F was under renovation. Hence we went to a temporary eating space where no rice, soup and drinks were served. By right, the lunchbox cafe sells boiled rice and soup for ₩1,000 (S$1.20), where you can either pay with Yeopjeon or cash. Drinks or coffee is at ₩500 ($0.60).
The food was generally nice and experience novel. However, there were not as many food stalls as expected and the food are also more or less the same.
Korean traditional house is called hanok and dates back to the Joseon Dynasty. So as the name suggests Buckhon Hanok Village is home to hundreds of such traditional houses. Perched on the top of a hill that is between Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and Jongmyo Royal Shrine, it is a tiring climb to reach the 600-year-old traditional village.
Surprisingly, there are people who actually still live in these houses. Since it’s a residential area, visitors are advised to be respectful and speak in low volume at all times.
“Security guards” or volunteers could be seen walking around with a board or directly asking visitors to lower their voices. Nevertheless, we still saw rowdy tourists who didn’t care. And with so many people around, it’s hard to keep the bustling quiet too. For the introvert me, this is definitely not a conducive environment to stay in.
During the late afternoon that we were there, the crowd was insane. Most people would crowd around two or three alleys of the village. Not sure if it’s because of the scenery or it’s the “official spot” of the village. In any case, your photos taken with the hanoks will turn out nice if there is no one to photobomb you. But this feat was near to impossible for us.
It was not easy for us to locate Bukchon Hanok Village and we almost missed the turn towards it. The turn was near to the tourist information office at Samcheongdong. Just pop in and ask for directions. They pointed us back in the right direction and gave us a map. That made finding our way easier.
Oh we enjoyed the nice scenery on our way to the village, and posed with interesting wall murals too. I spotted the couple mural that was made famous by Running Man‘s Ji Hyo and Kang Gary! :)
If you are not a fan of crowds and cliche tourist spots, you might want to just hang around Seochon Village. This is where Tongin Market is located in. Compared to the more famous Bukchon, Seochon Village is less clustered while having bigger hanoks (traditional Korean houses).
Seochon Village (or Sejong Village) is west of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and thus its name ‘West Village’. Once known as the center of Korean literature, the village now sees many boutique shops, cafes and art galleries emerging over the years. Thankfully the village still retains its old Seoul charm with its hanoks and the many alleys.
Check out the shops and cafes along the main streets of Jahamun-ro 1-gil & Jahamun-ro 7-gil. Look out for Dae-o Bookstore, the oldest bookstore in Seoul.
Or dig into delicious and affordable food at Sejong Village Food Street (Jahamun-ro 1-gil), famous ginseng chicken soup at Tosokchon Samgyetang (Jahamun-ro 5-gil), and the food at Tongin Market (see above section).
As you continue to explore Seochon village, look out for King Sejong Stone Plaque (just after Jahamun-ro 9-gil) as this is his birthplace. King Sejong, the face of Korean 10,000 bank notes, is the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty and the creator of Korean Hangul.
Samcheongdong is famous for its Bukchon Hanok Village. Like I mentioned earlier on, we had to make a turn somewhere along these streets and climb a tiring climb up to the hanok village. Ask the tourist information office when in doubt!
Although we were not impressed by Bukchon Hanok Village, the streets of Samcheongdong has an enchanting allure that left a good impression on us. Perhaps it’s the mix of distinctive-styled cafes, trendy shops with beautiful displays and chic galleries that created a nice overall atmosphere. Spend some time here to stroll, eat and shop.
Let me know if you know of other interesting places or good food around this vicinity. Would love to recommend them here. For more Korea travel tips, refer to our itinerary for our South Korea trip (Jeju and Seoul).
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Ten years later, I was back at the beautiful island of Jeju. Yet, travelling with a girlfriend is vastly different from travelling with a husband and a 16-month-old toddler. I breath in the crisp air. It was turning autumn this time too. The autumn weather …
In beautiful Jeju, there are many trails to hike and climb, sea breeze to feel against your face, and mountain top experience to revel in. The focus of our trip was nature and the pace was to go slow. Turns out, my itinerary was still …
Update: 22 Dec 22
Jeju’s intercity bus system has improved since I was there ten years ago. Still, taking a bus is inconvenient — waiting time is long and bus stops are sparsely located around the island. Hence, driving in Jeju is a popular option for tourists to the island, especially those with children like us, or those in a big travel party. It’s easy to rent and drive around Jeju anyway. You’ll see, most cars will be relatively slow because the drivers are foreigners as well. Hopefully, this guide to driving in Jeju will be useful for you!
Before you decide to rent a car in Jeju, it’s important you have certain documents and requirements. They are generally required by car rental companies for foreigners, and the following is explicitly stated in Lotte’s email to us.
Requirements for car rental in Jeju:
You are required to present International Driving Permit (“IDP”) when you pick up your car. For holders from the United States of America, only a permit issued by The American Automobile Association (“AAA”) is accepted.
In Singapore, you can only apply for IDP through the Automobile Association of Singapore (“AAS”).
Based on online reviews, our choices came down to Lotte Rent-a-car and AJ Rent-a-car. We went with Lotte in the end. Although Lotte is more expensive, it seems more established and has more positive reviews than AJ.
Tip #1: For most car rental companies in Korea, like Lotte and AJ, signed up for their free membership online to enjoy discounted rates. To get Lotte’s member discount, you can register for free on their website. Or if you have a Krisflyer membership, you might want to consider Hertz.
Tip #2: Book online to reserve a car and get better rates. This is especially true during peak periods when you might not even get a car over the counter.
We reckoned we would be deadbeat after a red-eye flight from Singapore to Seoul, followed by a connecting flight to Jeju. Hence, we thought it was best to take Jeju Airport Limousine 600 (“#600”) from Jeju airport to Seogwipo, where our Airbnb was, and then rent a car the next day.
#600 bus is at Gate 5, you can pay by cash or T-Money Card. The bus fare ranges from ₩1,300 to ₩5,500, depending on your alighting stop. The bus comes every 18-20 minutes, with the first bus leaving the airport at 6:20 am and the last bus at 10:00 pm. For more information on Jeju Airport Limousine 600, you can refer to Jeju Weekly, ISFNT, and Jeju Tourism.
However, Lotte’s branch at Seogwipo is not near our Airbnb. So, we aborted the plan and hubby had to fight his tiredness to drive us from one end of the island to the other, Seogwipo.
After we touched down at Jeju island, we took Lotte’s complimentary bus from Jeju airport to Jeju Auto House (the branch near the airport). It’s a two-way bus, and the ride was about 10 minutes. If you’re not sure where to hop on this bus, head to Lotte’s rental counter next to Gate 2 and 3 and ask.
Choose either branch to pick up your car during opening hours. There is no car delivery service.
Tip: A reader highlighted to me that payment doesn’t go through on mobile phones but only on desktops.
The pickup was fuss-free. I guess, since it is common to rent a car to explore the island, the car rental staff are experienced in dealing with non-locals. Anyway, we got a queue number, settled the admin stuff at the counter, and followed the staff to the car. He showed us how to use the car seat and pointed out some important car mechanisms. The car and car seats were in good condition and felt new. There’s even a sunshade provided for the baby (photo above).
The car didn’t give us problems throughout the ride and it was easy to drive. There was a mini accident that left some minor scratches, however, it was covered by the insurance. The car insurance was so comprehensive that there were no checks performed before and after we rented the car. The car insurance was included in the rental fee of KRW274,400 (online quotation) and did not pay additional charges when we were in Korea.
For left-hand drive folks, there might be a tendency to drive too far left, so be careful! Nevertheless, driving was a breeze in Jeju. Many drivers were foreigners unfamiliar with the roads, so they were also driving slowly to find their way. But don’t worry about losing your way too much, all rental cars are equipped with GPS devices.
It’s important to note that in Korea, the GPS device uses telephone numbers of the destination instead of the address. Sure you can input the attraction name, but it might not bring you to the specific entrance or worse, to some other similar name location. Phone numbers are like coordinates or postal codes to pinpoint your destination more accurately than addresses.
Hence, to save time on the road, planning in advance helps! Because who would easily know the phone number of a waterfall?
To save you even more time, refer to my list of GPS phone numbers of Jeju attractions. Please let me know if there is any error or new update so I can keep the list updated. You can leave a comment below. It will definitely help other travellers!
To test out the GPS phone numbers and see if they’re really bringing you where you want to go, you can download “KakaoMap” APP to try them out and plan your route. If you are taking public transportation in Seoul, this and “KakaoMetro” APP can help you to navigate as well. Or you can use the desktop version: map.kakao.com
You’ll realise that Google maps or Apple maps don’t help much if you are driving around Jeju. Yes, you can see where all the landmarks, but you wouldn’t find the driving route.
In my list, I will omit the first four digits of the phone numbers, +82-64-xxx-xxxx, because you just need to key in the last 7 digits into your GPS.
In alphabetical order,
In my list, I will omit the first four digits of the phone numbers, +82-64-xxx-xxxx, because you just need to key in the last 7 digits into your GPS.
If you want to know what I think of the food, refer to “What to Eat in Jeju | 21 Food Choices“.
Coffee and Bread
Traditional Markets
Black Pork BBQ
Restaurants/Eateries
For more Korea travel tips, refer to our itinerary for our South Korea trip (Jeju and Seoul).
Jeongbang Falls, Cheonjeyeon Falls, and Cheonjiyeon Falls are 3 famous waterfalls of Jeju island. They are located in Seogwipo, the southern part of the island. To find the exact locations, key in the following GPS phone numbers* into the GPS of your rented car or …
This is my fourth and final post about Nami Island! Can’t believe I wrote so much about a tiny island. I wanted to specifically dedicate one post for children, because of how child friendly Nami Island is. It was designated the 14th UNICEF Child-Friendly Park …
