South Korea
Welcome to Korea!
We are in the capital city of Seoul.
Seoul is a city surrounded by mountains
where you find skyscrapers and bustling business districts
alongside narrow alleyways of traditional Korean houses.
A city where palaces and temples
meet modern urban design
and creative arts.
The friendly people here make you feel welcome
as you tune into the frequency of Seoul
and fall into the pace of life in Korea’s largest city.
In this video, we’re showing you around some of the top places to visit
in this amazing and unique Korean capital.
SEE THE ROYAL GUARD CHANGING CEREMONY
Observing the royal guard changing ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace
is a chance to see how it was done during the Joseon dynasty
when the royal guards here were the gatekeepers.
It’s free to come, you don’t need an admission ticket.
It takes place four times a day here in the courtyard of the palace
and it’s a chance to hear the music,
see the traditional dress and the weapons
that are based on historical record.
WEAR TRADITIONAL KOREAN CLOTHING (HANBOK)
The traditional ‘hanbok’ style of dress is still worn in Korea today
for special occasions like weddings.
And it’s not just foreign visitors that you see renting the hanbok at these shops.
Koreans enjoy it as well and you see big groups of people out on the street just having a good time.
Bye!
Bye.
Bye bye!
Bye bye.
Oh!
I almost felt walking around more comfortable wearing hanbok than I would have
in my everyday dress because there are just so many people.
And it’s definitely viewed by locals as a way of stepping into Korean culture and history in a really fun way.
Okay?
Okay.
Oh yeah.
This is great!
Your Majesty.
Thank you.
Very cool!
Okay.
Amazing.
Your Majesty.
Okay!
She says this is the “tall person” section.
Oh the ‘tall person’ section.
Yeah.
And I have to pick a colour.
Oh man.
I kind of like pink.
Well, you’re going to look like a Disney princess no matter what so…
May as well go for pink. -Oh this is pretty too, look.
It’s like a darker pink.
Maybe dark pink is better.
Darker pink.
Yeah.
Like this?
Yeah.
Oh yeah, that’s the one.
That’s it!
Okay.
Colour acquired.
Okay, I think this one.
I definitely feel like a princess.
Oh, beautiful!
Now I’m complete.
How’s it look? -So good.
Oh, a purse too.
Oh!
Beautiful.
Now I’ve got a place to put my traditional iPhone.
Yeah!
Oh yeah!
Beautiful!
I love it!
VISIT A 14TH-CENTURY PALACE
Gyeongbokgung Palace was the first and largest of the palaces built during the Joseon dynasty.
It was built in 1395 and today, it’s located in Seoul’s Central Business District
and admission is free if you’re wearing traditional hanbok.
DISCOVER OLD SEOUL
Bukchon Hanok Village is an amazing place to walk around.
‘Hanok’ are traditional Korean houses and in this area, you find hundreds of them.
There are narrow little streets, cozy cafes, and lots of boutiques.
TURN A NEW PAGE
I’m standing in the Starfield Library at the Starfield Coex Mall.
A beautiful example of urban design.
The Starfield Coex Mall is the largest underground mall in all of Asia.
The massive bookshelves here are 13 metres high
and more than 70,000 books fill the shelves.
This airy light-filled space is free and open for everyone to come and enjoy
and they also do events like readings and concerts.
TRY KOREAN STREET FOOD
Gwangjang Market was the first permanent market in Korea and it continues to thrive today.
It started out as a small trading centre to bring in goods from nearby regions
and now it’s a place where you can find everything from groceries,
to shoes,
to candy,
to delicious Korean food.
And you’ll probably want to spend most of your time on the food street,
which is right behind me,
where you can get some delicious Korean dishes
and also watch them be prepared right in front of you.
EXPERIENCE WORLD-CLASS ARCHITECTURE
The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or DDP as it’s also known,
is the world’s largest 3-dimensional atypical structure.
It was designed by Zaha Hadid.
She is a world-renowned architect
and DDP opened in 2014.
Seeing it in person is really a marvel of architecture.
It’s truly stunning to just walk around here
and even if you’re not someone who typically loves seeing architecture,
I have a feeling that visiting here might change your mind.
The architecture looks different depending on the time and space
so as you move around the building and as the time of day changes,
so too does the structure itself.
You’ll notice that the building is made up of points and curves
without a single straight line anywhere.
And I think like all really great architecture, this is based on an idea.
If a straight line is a predictable idea, then a curve symbolizes a new one.
A new flow that has never been seen before.
Photos and video really don’t do DDP justice.
It really does need to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.
HANG OUT IN HONGDAE
The neighbourhood of Hongdae is a part of Seoul known for its cool vibe.
There are a lot of students here,
a lot of young creative people,
and there’s a really youthful energy that you feel as you’re walking around the streets.
There are places to shop,
there are places to eat,
and I would say primarily, it’s known for its cafes.
And not the kind of cafes that you might be thinking of.
The cafes that have a very specific theme.
So there’s an archery cafe, a fortune telling cafe, a Harry Potter cafe, a study cafe.
Whatever you are looking for, I’m sure that there’s a cafe for you in Hongdae.
We visited a cafe called Meerkat Friends, which was less cafe, more like a zoo
where they had meerkats that you could cuddle with
as well as a wallaby, a fox, a cat, and lots of animals to make friends with.
Oh you like that.
You like that little belly rub.
Little belly rub.
Oh my god!
He’s like under my shirt.
There’s nothing back there for you.
There’s nothing there.
SHOP AT A SHIPPING CONTAINER MALL
I love spaces and buildings that have been repurposed and reimagined
and I’m here at a shopping mall entirely made out of shipping containers.
Two hundred shipping containers to be exact.
It’s been here since 2015.
It’s the first shipping container mall in Korea.
It’s also the world’s largest shipping container shopping mall.
You’ll find places to shop and to eat,
lots of great art on the walls here
and because it’s all made out of shipping containers,
it can be added onto and rearranged like giant life-size LEGO.
CRUISE THE HAN RIVER
One of the best ways to slow down in Seoul is to take a cruise on the Han River.
We’re doing it at sunset and the light is absolutely beautiful.
You get to pass underneath some of the bridges that you see all over the city,
there’s an island over there,
and you get a different perspective looking at the city from the water.
There’s also some rather unexpected “on-board entertainment,” shall we say?
Because they actually encourage seagulls to follow along with the cruise.
You can even buy food to feed to them
and so as you’re cruising along the river, they are gliding alongside you in the air.
It’s just a wonderful way to relax and get a different view on Seoul.
ENJOY 360° VIEWS
If you want to get a fantastic view of Seoul, then you need to come to the N Seoul Tower.
It’s built right on a mountaintop.
The mountain is called Namsan and it’s right in the middle of the city.
And the experience of getting up to the tower is really fun with views all along the way.
You start out taking the Namsan cable car.
We came at magic hour as the sun was setting
and the light was absolutely beautiful.
Then you take an elevator to the top of the N Seoul Tower
where 360° of windows are waiting for you.
Looking out you can see the mountains in the distance and downtown Seoul all around you.
As you can see, there is so much to see and do in Seoul.
We have loved spending time in Korea
and clearly we need to come back because really, we have just barely scratched the surface.
We hope that you guys have enjoyed this video.
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I will link more of our videos around Asia in the description box if you’d like to check them out
and we’ll see you in our next video.
Bye.