Will Robb Photography

South Korea has been in Japan’s shadow for a while. From the 1930’s it suffered under Japanese occupation. After WWII ended and Japan was rebuilding it’s infrastructure Korea was embroiled in a bitter conflict that split the country in two. It left both North and South drained, but the South set about rebuilding straight away and within a few decades it had rebuilt itself into a strong economy, it has an excellent transport system and some of the most innovative electronics industry in Asia, yet it’s full potential hasn’t really been realized by the rest of the world. This doesn’t deter the South Koreans, they know what they have and they keep pushing forward and as the rest of Asia’s economies show negative growth, South Korea’s continues to grow.

Now the economy is strong and continues to grow, it seems that their next target is to expand their tourist industry. Five years ago Seoul didn’t have much to offer foreign tourists, but things are beginning to change. The new Incheon International airport is one of the best in Asia and a new High speed state of the art train connects it to central Seoul (via Gimpo airport). Once you get into Seoul, the underground system is easy to negotiate and most of the tourist sites are within easy reach of other. You can walk between many of them, but it’s easy to jump on the underground or hail a cab.

Seoul is only 90 minutes away from Tokyo. Year round it’s cheap to get to and it’s cheap to stay there for while. As a result it’s become really popular with the Japanese and some of the main tourists spots are so full of signs in Japanese and shop staff who speak Japanese, it sometimes felt like I hadn’t left Tokyo. From the high street fashion stores to the street vendors selling food, almost everyone would call out to the Japanese tourists in their native tongue and entice them to buy. And buy they do, the Japanese are the biggest tourist group to visit Korea and they spend they most. Prices for everything from electronics goods to designer bags are a lot cheaper than in Japan, so when the Japanese arrive, they are happy to empty their wallets for the Korean bargains.

In terms of tourist attractions, Seoul offers up some really beautiful palaces set in amongst the modern financial centers of the town. They have displays in different languages and put on shows with the participants in traditional clothes providing an excellent spectacle for the tourists. Deoksugung Palace in the city Hall area of Jung gu ward is one of the best, it’s maybe not as big as some others but it’s a really interesting place to wander around.

A short walk away in the Insadong area of Jongno ward is the Ssamizie market, a small complex full of independent stores run by local artists selling jewelery, clothes, accessories and a variety of traditional and modern art works. It has a nice coffee shop up on the roof level and some galleries and restaurants in the basement. The surrounding area is a full of art shops and restaurants, I stayed there for 3 days in a local guest house. I found it a really nice chilled place at night and full of life during the day.

Another modern marvel is the Namsan Tower on the mountain south of the Myeong Dong area of Jung ward in Seoul. You can get there by cable car (or walk if you are skint and very fit…get the cable car). It’s a great spot to get a view of Seoul, maybe not on a par with the city views of Hong Kong or the awesome sight that is the Eiffel tower, but it does offer good views to the tourist and financial areas to the North and the residential areas to the South. From the tower grounds you get a pretty good view, also you can see hundreds of thousands of padlocks with messages of love written on them fastened to the railings which are quite interesting. Young couples in Seoul go there together, fasten the padlock and throw away the key hoping that their love will stay strong. Local padlock makers must be making a fortune. In the afternoon a few traditional Korean martial arts are on show which are worth checking out if you are around then. It starts off serious, but adds in some comedy moments. During the cold winter and spring, the day view isn’t so clear sometimes, but if you can’t get a clear day the night view is pretty good…probably better actually.

There are a pile of places to investigate that have English/Japanese and sometimes Chinese language explanations, but I was happy just wandering about the local markets and soaking in the atmosphere. Kwangjang market in the Dongdaemun area is brilliant for seeing all the food on sale. Here is mostly locals who haven’t got into the whole “tourist” thing yet, some smile and don’t mind you taking pictures, some bark at you to get out of the way as they are trying to transport their goods around. There are a lot of everyday foods as well as elaborate traditional foods given for weddings and birthdays. There are also a lot of excellent food stalls. Cheap and excellent. Many of the places even give out free samples. A nice place to fill up on if you have got much money.

At nights it’s good to check out some of the outdoor night markets. In the Myeong Dong shopping area it’s just regular high street stores by day, but at night as soon as the sun goes down an army of street vendors descend, selling fake designer goods, food, everything in the surrounding stores but ripped off basically. The stalls have been a way of life there for a while, no-one seems to mind them and as long as the vendors acknowledge their goods are fake, no one really bothers. The area is full of great restaurants as well, food is one best things about South Korea actually. It’s cheap and it excellent. You order one dish and you get up to 20 side dishes to accompany it. Can’t grumble about that at all. If you’ve never had it before, the Korean BBQ is simply divine.

The Dongdaemun area is another good area to visit at night. Again, it’s famous for it’s stalls that lie in the shadow of several huge shopping malls that stay open until 5am everyday. The area is full of young kids out on dates looking to do some cheap shopping as well as hang out in the ubiquitous karaoke bars and internet cafes. Nearby the Dongdaemun gate, an ancient gate that was once one of the several entrances to the city is great when illuminated at night.

Seoul’s a great place to visit for a few days. It’s got a lot going for it for a short stay and the people there are working hard to make it somewhere that more people will want to come visit. It has some of the best food in Asia, the people are welcoming, it has a really nice arts and music scene and the options for things for tourists to do is ever expanding. When the South Koreans have goals, they get there and make a good job of things. It’s a city that’s growing and I imagine that in the next few years it’s going to grow into a major player in the Asian and world scene. Wouldn’t mind moving there for a couple of years.