#Introduction

2023 was the first time I ever went to Korea. That was a lot of firsts!

• First country in Asia
• First country outside of Europe and America
• First flight over 10 hours
• First time in a country where I can’t even read the letters (properly)

Places we visited:

• Seoul 서울
• Jeju 제주

#The flight

Incheon

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The flight to Korea is very long!

From FRA to ICN it is 13,000 km. That is a long way, and travelling that long way takes about 11 hours. But I have to say that my economy experience with Korean Air was my best economy experience so far. The food was honestly the best airline food I ever had. The personnel were very friendly and the movies were good too, but unfortunately they still don’t support Bluetooth.

I don’t know if anyone ever had a real culture shock from an airport, simply because all airports are seemingly the same. So of course Incheon airport was no different.

#The Arrival

As previously described, Incheon is quite a bit outside of Seoul, so the ride from the airport to the city took about 1 hour. That was where the culture shock hit me. This city was so big that shortly after getting off the island you could already see big apartment complexes, and the city stretched all the way to the horizon.

Not only did the city look quite different — the cars, the signs and the sounds were all different too. If I’m honest, it was a lot to take in and it took me a day to adjust.

#The first days

During our stay in Korea in early to mid September, Korea was still quite hot and humid. Luckily our home had AC so we could escape the heat during the day and go out in the evening — and what a city!

We were very fortunate that our home was in the nice neighbourhood of Jongno 종로구 , which is very near to the Gyeongbokgung 경복궁 palace.

Seochon

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This place is very special because it is in a very quiet part of the city, although not far from Gyeongbokgung 경복궁 and the Blue House 청와대 . In recent years the area has become a very hip place with many small modern shops and restaurants making it a great place to explore at night, when the heat is bearable.⁴

During the day we visited many of the tourist attractions within walking distance, like the Gyeongbokgung 경복궁 palace and the Gwanghwamun Plaza 광화문광장 , which is a big open space in front of the palace.

## Namsan 남산

Namsan River

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To everyone visiting Seoul, at least in the summer, I can recommend going to Namsan 남산 park. It’s a big park on a hill in the middle of the city, and at its centre stands a big tower called the N Seoul Tower N서울타워 , which is a great place to see the city from above and an iconic part of the Seoul skyline.

The park itself is a very beautiful place with many trees and long walkways you can take to get to the top. From time to time there is also a cooling creek complementing the pretty atmosphere and light. You almost forget that you are in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.¹²

At the top you can enjoy a beautiful view of Seoul, from where you can see where you have been and where you should go next. Very near to Namsan is one of the most famous parts of Seoul: Itaewon 이태원 .

There is also a cable car to get to the top.

## Jogyesa 조계사

Jogyesa temple from the side

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Jogyesa 조계사 is an important temple in Korean Buddhism. Its history dates back to 1395, the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty. It played an important role during the Japanese occupation, when it became one of the strongest fortresses of Korean Buddhism.

To see the temple at night, while still illuminated and with people praying was a very special experience. It was a sight of intense beauty, peace and tranquility. The mood in the air was very difficult to capture with my camera, but I hope the picture above gives you a glimpse of what I felt.

The front of Jogyesa temple with the beautiful wishing tree.

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The colourful strands hanging from the tree are wishes left by visitors — a tradition known as a wishing tree.

## Deoksugung 덕수궁

I also want to mention the Deoksugung 덕수궁 palace. Its significance comes from being the residence of the last king of Korea, before the country was annexed by Japan in 1910. Although it’s smaller than Gyeongbokgung 경복궁 , it’s easier to picture people actually living there than at Gyeongbokgung 경복궁 .

Deoksugung palace

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## Bukchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을 and Seoul Museum of Art 서울시립미술관

I think enough has been written on the internet about both places, so I will keep it short.

Bukchon Hanok Village 북촌한옥마을 is a very beautiful place with many traditional houses and a great view of the city. It’s a great place to take pictures and enjoy the view. Very touristy!

The Seoul Museum of Art 서울시립미술관 is a very modern museum with many interesting exhibitions. It’s a great place to spend a rainy day, great cafeteria. But the exhibition is not very big.

#Food and Drink

My favourite part of Korea is the food and the food culture. I don’t think I have ever eaten so much and so well in my life.

I could write a lot about the different foods we ate and would recommend to you, but I want to highlight my favourites.

## Korean BBQ 고기구이 and Samgyeopsal 삼겹살

Samgyeopsal

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I want to go a little bit into what you are seeing in the picture above. In the middle of the table is a grill, where the meat gets grilled (or you grill it yourself). Ideally it’s a charcoal grill and the meat is grilled on a metal plate; I like the tilted ones made out of cast iron.

The meat is typically pork belly or (finer - less often) beef. The meat is grilled on the sides and then cut into pieces with scissors. I actually like the pork belly (or even better pork neck) better than the beef, but that is a matter of taste.

The meat is then eaten with salt, lettuce, garlic, wasabi and radish, but most importantly with the Korean staple: Kimchi.

Apart from eating you can enjoy some Soju 소주 , Makgeolli 막걸리 or Cass beer.

What makes this meal special to me is the social component but also the amazing taste. I can’t wait to eat it again.

I miss it so much, I looked into making it at home, since Switzerland and Germany don’t have many Korean restaurants.

Also a special shoutout to my favourite Korean BBQ place in Seoul: Aewol Sikdang Seochon 애월식당 서촌점 .

##Beijing Duck

Although not Korean, I want to mention the Beijing Duck we ate in Seoul. It was the first time I ever ate Beijing Duck and it was amazing!

The duck skin was so crisp and the meat was so tender and juicy. I really recommend everyone to try it, but be prepared to pay a little bit more than for a normal meal and know that it’s quite difficult to find the real deal outside of Asia.

##Sushi

I know that sushi is Japanese, but Korea was the place where I had the best sushi of my life, so I have to mention it — and it was only about 30 Euros for two people.

The best Sushi of my Life.

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##Kimchi Dumplings

This also deserves an honourable mention! Great restaurant and great dumplings.

Kimchi Dumplings

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##Shake Shack

American, I know, but really good!

Hannes from 2025 here, just coming back from having lived on American fast food for 3 months: there comes a point where you miss Korean food very much.

##Fried Chicken

I have to say: Korean Fried Chicken is a real contender for the best fast food. It’s sooo good! How do they get all the bones out?

No picture, sorry.

# Jejudo 제주도

After we had a lot of fun in Seoul, we took a flight to Jeju (from Gimpo). Jeju is a special place in Korea, because it’s the biggest island of Korea and it lies in the south of the peninsula, in the Korea Strait.

Hannes from 2026 here: Jeju Island is actually way more interesting than I just made it seem. It was the site of an uprising and massacre in 1948, and it has its own highly endangered Koreanic language: Jejueo.

We flew there from the “old” Seoul airport, Gimpo, which now, since Incheon opened, mostly serves Korean domestic flights and a small number of international destinations. The route from Gimpo to Jeju is so popular that it’s actually the world’s busiest passenger flight route⁶.

It’s not a stretch to say that life in Jeju revolves largely around the sea that surrounds the island. While today its industry mostly revolves around tourism, traditionally its economy was dominated by the primary sector: agriculture and fishing. To get a sense of what Jeju was like, I recommend the Netflix show When Life Gives You Tangerines 폭싹 속았수다 .

The two main reasons to go to Jeju are:

1. Seeing the landscape (it’s a volcanic island)
2. Eating fresh seafood

So we did both. We climbed the dormant volcano called Hallasan 한라산 , which is actually the second tallest volcano on the Korean Peninsula⁷. It’s a really easy hike up the mountain and I would recommend it if you ever visit.

View from Hallasan

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Now, let’s talk seafood. Do you know what this is?

Squid Fishers off the coast of Jeju

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Well… the alt text already kind of gave it away, but these are squid fishers (the lights on the horizon). Let’s talk about why they do that.

Apparently, the way you fish for squid is by using really really bright lights on the fishing boat to lure plankton and small fish, which in turn draw the squid up from the depths. I took a picture of a fishing boat here where you can clearly see the lights.

Squid fishing boat

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It’s so bright that you can see these fishing fleets in East Asia from space!

I experienced tastes in Jeju that I had never even remotely tasted before, and ate things that I’m still not quite sure what they were, but I have to say: it was very, very good!

Now it’s time for some more pictures I took that I liked.

And that’s it :) thank you for having me, Korea — and I’ve already been back twice since⁸.

Footnotes

1. At least if you count by the population in the urban area. List of largest cities ↩ ↩²

2. If you count by the population in the metropolitan area. List of largest cities ↩ ↩²

3. The Korean Peninsula has a population of about 77 million people. The Seoul metropolitan area has a population of about 25 million people. That is nearly as much as the whole population of North Korea. ↩

4. On this trip we were more focused on doing the touristy things and not so much on the hipster things, but we did that on our next trip in 2024. ↩

5. Top 5 places with Superstitions ↩

6. At its peak (2021) 17,082,700 seats were available on that route. List of busiest passenger flight routes ↩

7. What is the tallest? It’s Mount Paektu 백두산 on the border with China and North Korea. It’s a significant place for the Korean people, since it’s considered sacred and has a place in Korean mythology as the birthplace of Dangun, the founder of the Gojoseon dynasty. Interestingly, it’s mentioned in both the North and South Korean national anthems, and it played a role during the Japanese occupation and the Korean War. It’s also the only active volcano on the Korean peninsula. ↩

8. Took me 2 1/2 years to finish this… ↩