2 amazing weeks in Seoul with toddler!
I kid you not, this trip is THE travel of our lifetime! Not to mention that our big daughter turned 3 on this trip. Buckle yourself & immerse in the Korean culture because I have a lot to share. I know Seoul might not be the first destination in mind but oh boy this city is amazing! 🥳
🎥 Reel - It all started like this
5 easy steps we needed to enter & get along in South-Korea! 🇰🇷 Every country has its own set of requirements, which can change over time. I include ours from August 2023. Please make sure you seek for information on your own as well before your trip.
➡️ Valid passport for at least 3 more months from arrival.
➡️ K-ETA (Korean Electronic Travel Authorization) - if needed
You have to fill out this online form at least 72 h before flight departures. The fee is 10.000 KRW, which is valid for 3 years (unlimited entry). In this case no Arrival Card needed at the airport.
➡️ Q-code
It replaces the Health Card. The online form is free, it’s about your current health status. It’s needed to be filled out not long before your flight & at the end you’ll get a QR code which can be asked to present at arrival. No-one was interested in it in our case.
➡️ Bring only a small amount cash (EUR, USD) to exchange it at the airport.
South-Korea offers pretty good exchange rate in banks, so for starter change only the amount of cash you’ll need to purchase your T-money card (+topping it up).
➡️ T-money card + upload
This is life changer! Use it for transportation, convenience store & taxis. In terms of how smooth the process was, our Seoul trip was one of the best experience! With the help of KakaoMaps I could roughly estimate the cost of our travels as well for the 2 weeks.
🎥 Reel – How to enter South-Korea
In this section I’ll also list those mobile applications you can use while you’re in Korea! 📱🇰🇷
ADMINISTRATION Revolut, Airalo (code ESZTER4181 for 3 USD off), AirVisual, K-ETA (not an absolute must have, it’s just for safety)
TRANSPORTATION: KakaoMap (in Korean), NaverMap (works in Eglish too), Kakao Taxi, BucaCheck. Please ignore Google maps. It doesn’t work properly in the country.
TRANSLATION & FOOD: As for foods: we never ordered to our AirBNB because we loved the fact we’re in Seoul & wanted to spend as much time outside as possible. Papago, Baemin, Yogiyo
TOURIST: VisitKorea, AirBNB, Klook, Get your guide
I tell you a great thing I experienced myself in South-Korea. Shortly, this is what you need to know:
WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Foreigners staying in South-Korea less than 6 months + the shopper must leave the country within 3 months from the purchase date.
AMOUNT RESTRICTIONS: The amount of a single payment must be between 15.000-500.000 KRW, & the total purchase amount must be under 2.500.000 KRW. You can get back app. 5% of your purchase.
WHAT IS NEEDED? Passport, receipt(s) at the shop, your foreign debit/credit card
TYPES: Immediate tax refund or tax refund at airport kiosk
WHERE: At airport: Eg. Sephora. Immediate: Eg. Department stores, large supermarkets like Chicor, OliveYoung, Lotte Mart, majority of cosmetic brands in MyeongDong like LaNeige or EtudeHouse.
HOW IT WORKS:
Step 0. - Make sure the shop is member of certified tax refund brands (sign at cashier).
Step 1. - Upon purchase scan passport & collect VAT refund receipts.
Step 2. - For immediate tax refund no other action is needed, you will pay the deducted amount.
Step 3. - Collect & keep all the receipts & head to airport
Step 4. - Scan your passport + receipts at airport kiosk before Security control.
Step 5. - At another kiosk (after Security control) collect your money in cash.
Click here to read more info about it.
After discussing the money/entry matters, I want to give a bit of an insight how family/kid-friendly Seoul is. 👨👩👧
Even more, the city is an absolute blast for families. I’m not even talking about child-oriented programs like visiting the Lotte / COEX aquariums or the Hanbok dressing. Just the general mindset towards children & families is so welcoming. Some things we found:
- Dedicated seats on metro for pregnant ladies
- In the metro wagons before it stops the screen above is signaling which way is the elevator (life saver with strollers)
- We haven’t found a spot which was not stroller friendly (except from the cable car station to N Seoul tower, that was the only one)
- Baby strollers can be rented for free from the Banpo Hangang River Park Information Center
- Everybody is smiling at children & they are generally very kid-oriented
Probably it has to do something with the aging society. Having children around is less & less likely.
📸 Carousel photos – Family friendly Seoul
Let’s talk about food! Most of you will assume South-Korea is nothing but rice & kimchi – which is partially true. 🤤 But this country is very modern enough to offer food from every cuisine from America to Europe as well.
However, for a true authentic Korean dining experience I’m here to help you what to expect:
- Food sharing. This has a great culture, so don’t be shy picking food, from the others. Especially from the side dishes. It’s normal that for 1 main dish, you can get 5-6 small plates of side dishes, usually different types of pickles. At the end, the whole table will be flooded with bigger & smaller plates. Go for it!
- In connection with this, oftentimes the kimchi & danmuji (yellow pickled radish) are unlimited. Even the tap water is free in many places.
- For utensils (chopsticks) look for the small drawers at the side of the table. Don’t wait the ‘ajummas’ bring it for you.
- Street food culture is also one of worth mentioning. In the markets, or even is certain districts like MyeongDong, try as many of them as you can. It’s gonna be worth it, I promise! Have cash with you – usually these stalls don’t accept card.
- It’s a misconception, that Korean BBQ places will make your clothes dirty & smelly. All of these places are equipped with kitchen hood – one attached to each table. You don’t have to worry about smell.
- Coffee hopping is a serious thing! We’re huge coffee lovers - so I was over the moon & back that South-Korea has a very advanced & modern coffee culture. Specialty cafes are growing like mushrooms in the city.
- Picking only a few Korean dish, you should try is impossible. But I leave here a list, you can start with:
🍌 Banana milk (바나나 우유)
🍩 Korean twisted Donut (꽈배기)
🍪 Dalgona (달고나)
🍡 Strawberry / grape Ddalgi Satang (딸기탕)
🥖 Condensed milk bread (우유식빵)
🍥 Rice Batter Puffs Coated in Honey (유과)
🥐 Bungeoppang (붕어빵) - fish-shaped pastry stuffed with sweetened red bean paste
🍵 Korean pear tea (배차)
🥞 Hotteok (호떡 ) - sweet pencake
🍧 Bingsu (빙수) - milk based shaved ice
🥚 Eggbread (계란빵)
🥟 Mandu (만두) - dumpling
🍣 Kimbap (김밥) - rice roll
🥮 Bindaetteok (빈대떡) - mung bean pancakes
🍜 Hand cut noodle soup (칼국수)
🍜 Chilled noodle with cold broth (냉면)
🍜 Jjajangmyeon (짜장면) - black bean noodle
🍜 Samgyetang (삼계탕) - ginseng chicken soup
🥘 Bibimbap (비빔밥)
🍗 Korean fried chicken (프라이드 치킨)
🥓 Korean BBQ
🥘 Tteokbokki (떡볶이) - spicy rice cake
🍛 Kimchi jjigae (김치찌개) – kimchi stew
It happens often, that traveling to a totally different culture you’ll find unusual, but often handy things, that are different or works differently in your country. In Seoul we also found a handful of them which - to us, Hungarians - were a bit strange. Nonetheless I would definitely keep a few at home as well. 🤭
🏖️ Parasol at crossings
🚦 Green light count down in crossings
🚦 Green-red lights in the ground at crossings
🚩 Mini flags on buses
💦 Watering the asfalt during summer
🚬 Smoking boxes in public spaces
🧹 Cleaning staff on metros
🖥️ Screen showing the staircase, escalators & elevators in metro
🟢 Green light on left/right side of the wagon to show which direction the door is opening
😷 Gas mask ‘cabinet’ in metro stations
🌂 Umbrella dryer or biodegradable umbrella vinyl machine
🥢 Cutlery are in the drawer in restaurants
🔐 Combination locks on doors
🚶🏻♀️ Walking with open bags
Let’s see the dark side of Seoul! 🌑
Okay, drama aside, no matter how excited we were, it’s natural that there were unusual things as well we needed to adjust to. Only this case I’m not talking about the ‘good’ type of unusual, but the bit annoying ones.
Humidity - With around 80% of humidity together with 30 degrees, we were sweating like pigs, to say the least. My bad: reading that ‘July is the wet hot, & August is the dry hot’ does not mean that there is no humidity. It means there is less or no rain at all. However the AC works everywhere. On maximum. This caused a bit of coughing (literally) by the end of 2nd week. AC is on full speed on metros, in shopping malls, in grocery stores etc. Have a scarf or a light shirt with you!
No litter bins in public places - That was a tough one. They take selective waste very seriously – which is a good thing. In our AirBNB we even had a separate guide sheet how to sort out things. And bins on streets, squares are just unheard of. They kind of encourage you to take your litter to your home. But being a local & go out for a few hours produce way less litter than being tourists (a family of 3) with 10 hours non-stop exploring in the city. Our stroller’s bottom often acted like a bin.
No benches - At least where we have been, there were hardly public benches on streets, parks, shopping malls.
+1 opening hours - This one was not inconvenient at all, just bear in mind most of the restaurants, cafes are closed somewhere around 15-17:00 pm.
📸 Carousel photos – the dark side
Since there are many in the city & also because for those who doesn’t speak/understand hangul can be a bit overwhelming, I found I’ll give a short summary of them.
Gyeongbokgung 경복궁
It’s the big kahuna of all the palaces in Seoul. Originally built in 1395, its creation marked the official change to Seoul as Korea’s capital. The name means “Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven” because of its placement between Bugaksan & Namsan. If you want to see the changing of the guards, make sure to visit the front at 10:00 am or 2:00 pm at Gwanghwamun Gate.
- Adults – 3,000 ₩
- Children (7–18) – 1,500 ₩
- Children (6 & younger), seniors (65+), & anyone wearing hanbok is free.
Changdeokgung Palace 창덕궁과 후원
It was the 2nd royal villa built in 1405. It’s the most well-preserved of the 5 remaining Joseon palaces. The Secret Garden was kept as natural as possible & was touched by human hands only when absolutely necessary. The most beautiful time to see the garden is during the fall when the autumn foliage is at its peak.
- Adults – 3,000 ₩
- Children (7–18) – 1,500 ₩
- Children (6 & younger), seniors (65+), & anyone wearing hanbok is free.
Changgyeongung 창경궁
Compared to other palaces, it’s simple & compact. The palace is surrounded by a forest with about 50,000 trees including Japanese apricot, zelkova, maples, cherry & peach trees.
- Adults – 1,000 ₩
- Children (7–18) – 500 ₩
- Children (6 & younger), seniors (65+), & anyone wearing hanbok is free.
Deoksugung 덕수궁
It’s the smallest of the five palaces in Seoul. It is the final residence of King Gojong, the last King of the Joseon Dynasty & the first Emperor of Korea. The palace alternated between being an official palace & a temporary residence. The name didn’t change officially to Deoksugung Palace, meaning the “palace of virtuous longevity” until 1907.
- Adults – 1,000 ₩
- Children (7–18) – 500 ₩
- Children (6 & younger), seniors (65+), & anyone wearing hanbok is free.
Gyeonghuigung 경희궁
Due to its considerable size, many kings have worked here on state affairs. The palace was considered an important one & was also called 'the West Palace'.
- Free
After mentioning the Palaces, it’s only fair if I share our Hanbok experience 👘 One of the most authentic way to experience South-Korea is through their traditional clothing, called Hanbok - dating back to almost 2.000 years.
The women's hanbok has a short jacket called ‘jeogori’ (저고리) with a full skirt called ‘chima’ (치마).
The men’s hanbok has the a jacket ‘jeogori’ (저고리), pants called 'baji’ (바지), & usually a vest called 'baeja' (배자).
I loved, that moving in Hanbok is easy. This is a huge plus with a toddler. 🙌🏼 We were on the hunt for a "princess dress" for her.
Renting one has a great culture in Seoul, & remember, if you visit any of the Palaces, you can enter for free wearing a Hanbok. 🤑 Our rental place is called Hanbok Day & considering the circumstances it was the best decision. We had our very last day in Seoul with rainy weather forecast, having just enough cash with us for the renting. 💸 With a 3 year old toddler after 2 weeks of constant sightseeing, in less than ideal weather, we weren’t very picky about the rental place, but managed to pick a very good one. 😎 We paid 70.000 KRW (19.000 HUF / 52 USD / 49 EUR) for the 3 of us for 2 hours including accessories like simple hair updo, hair piece and a small pouch for women). All in all, I truly recommend this experience! 🥰
Lotte or COEX Aquarium in Seoul? 🪼🦀
Seoul has 2 big aquariums, both of them located in big shopping malls where you can spend an entire day. I let you decide which one you prefer, here is the recap:
🪼 Lotte World Aquarium:
- Located in Jamsil, inside the Lotte World Mall
- There are 55.000 creatures from 650 species.
- Has a total area of 11.240 m2 with combined water tank capacity of 5,200 tons.
- It has Kore’s largest water tank, spanning 25 m.
- Ticket price: 29-35.000 KRW (combined ticket with SeoulSky pass: 49-56.000 KRW), free under 3
- Opening time: 08-20:00
- More on the loud, entertaining side - but super cool features for kids
- What to see nearby: Seoul Sky, Lotte World Adventure & Lotte water park (both theme parks)
🦀 COEX Aquarium:
- Located in Gangnam, COEX Mall.
- There are 40.000 creatures from 650 species.
- Total area of 15.970 m2 with combined water tank capacity of 3.500 tons.
- Largest shark habitat in Korea with 110 sharks from 17 species.
- Ticket price: 24-28.000 KRW, free under 3
- Opening time: 10-20:00
- More on the calmer, educational but entertaining side
- What to see nearby: Gangnam Statue, ongeursa Temple, Starfield Library
🎥 Reel – COEX or Lotte aquarium
How high you can go? 🫣 Lotte World Tower (롯데월드타워), is a 123-story, 555 m skyscraper, located in Seoul, South Korea. It is the 6th tallest building in the world, the tallest in OECD countries, and also the 1st in South-Korea to be over 100 stories tall. 🇰🇷 For the curious people out there, they created Seoul Sky Observatory for admiring the city below in bird’s eye view.🏙️ Sky Shuttle Elevator climbs 117 floors in less than a minute. It’s a world record breaking speed of 600 meters per minute. Seoul Sky occupies the top seven levels. The exploration begins on the 117th floor, from where you can take escalators up 1 floor at a time, until you reach the top and final floor accessible with a general ticket – the 122nd. You can also find Sky Friends Cafe, Souvenir shop, Premium Lounge Bar. The Sky Terrace on the 120th floor is a definite highlight of the Seoul Sky Observatory. At 486 meters, it’s the highest outdoor observation deck in South Korea.
🎟️ General ticket
Adult 29.000 ₩
Child 25.000 ₩
⏳ Opening
10:30-22:00 (23:00 on weekends)
It stands at 237 m tall atop the Namsan Mountain in central Seoul, which makes it an easily accessible spot in the city. 🌄 You can walk up to the top, take the bus (only bus is permitted up there), or take the cable car - just like we did. 🚠
I don’t think there’s a time when it’s not crowded so we put all in & went before sunset. 🤭😅 My wish was to hang a family padlock on the terrace, which was extra special during sunset. 🔐 The view at the top of the tower is insane! Those who love lookout places, this won’t let you down. 🤩 A bit grotesque, but worth mentioning the Sky Restroom - you can definitely have the best seat in the house. 😅🚽
⚠️ Warning: on the way down, there was a line queuing for the cable car but since we already had a return ticket we waited (but lots of ppl let us go ahead with a toddler+stroller combo).
Cable car return for 3 of us: 28.000 KRW
N Seoul Tower for 3 of us: 42.000 KRW
Day 1 – traveling
Day 2 – arriving midday in Seoul
- Deoksugung Palace (덕수궁)
- Cheonggyecheon Stream (청계천) – For a Leisurely Walk
- Cheonggye Plaza
- “Spring” Tower
- Candlelight Fountain
- Dinner spot: Ssada Kimbap (싸다김밥)
Day 3 – market, playtime, shopping
- Gwangjang Market (광장시장) – For Local Food
- Cho Yonsoon’s Korean Noodles from Netflix
- Try Bindaetteok (빈대떡) & Glutinous Rice Donut (찹쌀꽈배기)
- The DDP - Dongdaemun Design Plaza (동대문디자인플라자)
- The Design Playground (DiKi DiKi)
- Try Egg Drop (에그드랍)
- Myeong-Dong Cathedral
- Myeongdong Shopping Street (명동) - For Cosmetics Shopping
Day 4 - murals, palace, secret garden
- Breakfast – Subway (or KFC, Starbucks are also available near the station)
- Ihwa Mural Village (이화 벽화마을) – For Its Art
- National Children’s Science Center (국립어린이과학관)
- Changgyeonggung Palace (창경궁)
- Secret Garden (비원 or 후원) - online booking recommended
Day 5 - chill, coffee hopping in Ikseon-dong
- Mil Toast (밀토스트)
- Flipper's Ikseon (플리퍼스 익선점)
- Soha Salt Pond (소하염전)
- Cheese Industry (치즈공업사)
- Cheongsudang Café
Day 6 - palace, hanbok rental, hanoks
- Breakfast in Anguk 153 (안국)- bakery
- Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을)
- Bukchon Traditional Culture Center (북촌문화센터)
- Cha-Teul – tea house
- Hanbok rental (we rented at Hanbok Day)
- Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁)
- Gwanghwamun Square/Gate (광화문)
Day 7 - market, hanoks
- Tongin Market 통인시장
- Seochon Hanok Village (서촌 한옥마을)
- Lunch: Ginseng chicken soup at Tosokchon Restaurant (토속촌 삼계탕)
- Try Tongin Sweet (통인스윗)
Day 8 - Chill
- Try a Jjimjilbang or 찜질방 (Korean spa)
- OR SeaLaLa aquapark
Day 9 - Lotte
- Seoul Sky Observatory (롯데월드타워 서울스카이)
- Lotte Aquarium (롯데월드 아쿠아리움)
- Seokchon Lake Park (Songpa Naru Park)
- Lotte World (Seoul) 롯데월드) - we left this out with a toddler, but next time it’s a must)
Day 10 - park, cafe
- Yeouido Park (여의도공원) - Cherry Blossom festival if you come during spring
- Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20/223-14
- Seoul Trick Eye Museum (서울 트릭아이미술관)
- near the museum: CaFace (카페이스)
- Hongdae - Hongik University Street (홍대) – for foodies/shopping!
- Kakao Friends Flagship Store (카카오프렌즈 홍대플래그십 스토어)
Other café alternatives:
- Meerkat Friends – café
- Stylenanda Pink Pool Cafe (스타일난다 핑크풀카페)
- Rooftop Urban Beach (루프탑 어반비치)
Day 11 - chill at Han river
- Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain (반포대교 달빛무지개분수)
Day 12 - Namsan hill
- N Seoul Tower (N서울타워)
- Korean café - C. Through Café
- Seoullo 7017 SkyGarden (서울로 7017)
Day 13 - COEX
- COEX Artium – SMtown wall of artists’s palms
- COEX – Gangnam statue (east gate)
- COEX Artium – Starfield Library (별마당도서관)
- Bongeunsa Temple (봉은사 (서울)
- For cosmetics: Sulhwasoo Flagship Store Seoul (플래그십 스토어)
- For cafe: Mammamia (도산맘마미아)
Day 14 - Incheon
- Incheon Chinatown (인천 차이나타운)
- Lunch at Gong Hwa Chun (공화춘)
- Jjajangmyeon Museum (짜장면박물관)
- Songwol-dong Fairytale Village (송월동 동화마을)
Day 15 – traveling
