If you’ve been following our Twitter and Facebook, you’d have noticed we were in Seoul, South Korea earlier this month to check out the 2014 League of Legends World Championships Final (it was epic, btw).
That aside, we did manage to explore Seoul quite a bit. And if you’re anything like us, you wouldn’t want to just see the side of Seoul that’s promoted all over the net.
A quick Internet search would probably lead you to places like Namdaemun, Hongdae and Dongdaemun. Pfft… Here’s a guide to the things they don’t tell you to do – but is awesome anyway.
1. Visit Myeong-dong – for food
Myeong-dong is well known as a modern shopping area for popular retail fashion and cosmetics outlets. But! At about 6.30pm, the streets transform ala night markets and you’ll find a whole lot of street food to choose from. And. They. Are. Delicious. Look out for dessert and coffee places above the shop houses, too – those are open throughout the day.
2. Take a stroll along a stream
If you’re one of those who think walking is a good idea, and you happen to be walking along one of these – walk in it. Streams of these proportion are quite common throughout Seoul, and they usually provide stairs down to a neat sidewalk for a nice stroll. The Cheonggyecheon Stream is a popular one for this and cold weather is ideal.
3. NAVER office aka Green Factory
NAVER is the Google of South Korea – ‘nuff said. Now, with that knowledge, imagine how cool its office is. The Green Factory is located slightly off from central Seoul, but if you have the time, it’s definitely worth a visit. It’s an office building but the public are allowed onto the first and second floors. To get there, get off at Seohyeon station on the yellow line and take a cab.
4. E-sports
What better place to experience e-sports as part of the culture than, arguably, the place of its birth? There are two places best for this – the Gangnam Studio where GOM eXP resides and the Yongsan E-sports Stadium, the home of Ongamenet. If you’re a gamer, you’d wanna check these places out – it’s like football fans visiting their team’s stadium. If you’re lucky, you could even catch a game live there!
5. Fried chicken & Korean BBQ buffet
Don’t just have Korean barbecue, have a feast at a barbecue buffet! It should cost only about RM50 per pax, too. Separately, Korean fried chicken is da bomb! These are the two foods every meat lover MUST have if ever in Seoul. There are no specific chain restaurants for these, so just be on the lookout (or ask the locals) cause it’s not hard to come across one.
BONUS
6. Lotte World
Yeah, we know – Lotte World is quite a common mention. Still, we felt it was a little underrated on the net. It does boast being the largest indoor theme park in the world, but being there and exploring every corner of the venue was surprisingly extremely fun! Of course, it helps that we didn’t really care it was more for kids.
7. Bukchon Hanok Village
Also a little mainstream but, when you’re there, ditch the recommended tour path and just stroll along the back alleys. Seoul is probably one of the most developed cities in the world. But at the Bukchon Hanok Village, you are transported back in time before high rise buildings took over. It’s a quaint, artsy area – a nice break from the concrete jungle.
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