South Korea 2026

Flight from Washington, DC

My partner and I had a direct, 14+ hour flight with Korean Air. 2nd to last row in economy, 2 seats only, whole row to ourselves.

Service and food: good. First meal was their famous bibimbap (yummy). Snack was a hot pocket (fine). Second meal was beef, mushroom, and rice (yummy). Plentiful water and pineapple juice.

Temperature: warm to hot, ok to bad. No self-controllable air vent. Made sleeping extra difficult. Learned Korean Air is infamous for this. Wish I brought a fan and wore shorts.

Economy seat space: great. Very spacious, recline was good.

In-flight entertainment: good. IMO United is slightly better but I'm not complaining.

ICN customs and immigration: good. We were out in maybe 20-30 min, including waiting for my checked bag. No K-ETA needed for U.S. passport holders. Still needed to fill out Arrival card (at airport).

As I remembered from my last (much shorter) time in Korea, getting from ICN airport to Seoul is logistically easy but long. Lots of public transportation options but ICN is far from Seoul city center. We got to our hotel in Gwangwhamun in 1.5 hours. Exhausted.

We were so tired that we settled for having a quick and casual meal at the hotel restaurant - we otherwise have never eaten at our hotel's restaurant except for complimentary breakfast.

Day 2: Nandaemun Market tour & N Seoul Tower

Breakfast: Paik's coffee and bingsoo.

Nandaemun Market tour: The tour was ok. We tried 7 different street foods. We mainly liked the noodles (one hand cut and hot, other cold and made of potato starch with egg) we had at one of the crowded, busy stalls served by a couple older women and surrounded by other older women. 😆 We also had hoettok (pretty good), tteokbokki (eh), Korean potato / onion / pork pancake (good but greasy), spicy fishcake with soy sauce (eh), and bibimbap (ok; we've had better). The guide also showed us around several flea market style shops where folks buy fresh or artificial flower, Korean souvenirs, army-themed clothes, kitchenware, furniture, bedding, and more. Felt very much like New York Chinatown. At the end she showed us Namdaemon Gate and shared a bottle of makgeolli.

The guide was very sweet, took pics of us, and generously shared with us recommendations for other things (food, Jeju sights, skincare products, more) to see via Naver Map lists.

She recommended we hike to N Seoul Tower next, and we did – but we underestimated the climb!

N Seoul Tower hike: We came across a free City Wall Museum on the way up. There were also stairs and places to sit, as well as good bathrooms and an impressive outdoor gym. We could've taken a cable car but anyway it was crowded.

The top was beautiful and full of people enjoying the scenery and little shops. There is a tradition for couples to buy "love" locks too, but we opted not to.

We took a bus back to our hotel - it was an easy straight shot. We only had to wait a few min for it to come.

So far our bus experience here has been nice – buses are frequent and cheap and haven't been too crowded in the times we have used them so far.

No dinner.

Day 3: Private tour around Gwanghwamon, Insadong, Hanbok Village, Kilsangsa

Breakfast: oxtail soup from Imun Seolleongtang (https://naver.me/Go57Jhv7). Alright. Hidden local spot. Michelin guide??

Coffee: espresso from bitterbutter. Yummy!

Lunch: Suwang (https://share.google/RRoi9WS8VMKkWpJ0u). Good. Had clam ramyeon and soybean paste seafood soup with rice and banchan. Hidden local spot.

Dinner: SUPERPAN. We met, were served by, and had pictures with head chef Seoul Mother herself! So much food we were exploding. The best cod and octopus we've had. First time having Korean red wine. Piña colada ice cream with strong, natural coconut taste. 8-course meal.

Most of the day was on a private walking tour with a local guide. She was great. She tailored the day to suit our interests and pace, and she taught us a lot about Korean history and culture. We visited Gwanghwamun square, the National History museum rooftop, Bukchon Hanbok Village, Gilsangsa temple, and small hanok houses along the way. Espresso and lunch spots were her idea.

A packed day.

Day 4: Fly to Jeju Island, drive to Seogwipo

Breakfast: Coffee and salt bread from Mass Coffee. Anko butter pretzel scone from bitterbutter. Sandwiches from Jimmy John's. Everything's good. JJ's was a much needed break from Korean fermented food to fresh vegetables.

Flight: from Gimpo Airport via Jeju Air. Generally smooth experience. Was reminded of how rude Koreans, especially Korean men, can be on planes and in general. Less than 1 hour flight. Easy commute to airport from Gwanghwamun. Landed in Jeju at 1:35 p.m. Had to wait for checked bags and navigate to car rental office. Slight annoyance as well from boys on a school trip being rowdy and inconsiderate.

Car rental: via Lotte rent a car from Jeju airport. A little tricky finding the shuttle but we did it. Driving in Jeju is frustrating given the very slow speed limits and so many speed cameras - 30-60 km/hr, often 30 or 50 km/hr, rarely 60-80 km/hr. 50 min drive to go to 44km from Jeju city to Seogwipo.

Hotel: at Run Hotel in Seogwipo. It is spacious and clean with working a/c. Conveniently located. Arrived a little before 4 p.m., official check-in time.

Walking tour: at 6:30 p.m. Expected it to be leisurely but we ended up walking a 5k... Only able to eat close to 9 p.m. I was struggling. Overall it was a pleasant and beautiful evening - on the west side of Seogwipo, saw Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, walked across the Sunset Point bridge, saw a light show and live singer/guitarist, hiked around a a path by the bridge, and walked all the way back to the city center through Olle Maile Market. Still, it felt very rushed. I was cranky.

Day 5: Scuba diving, Netflix & chill

Breakfast: instant ramen, snacks, CU coffee

Diving: fun! Went with MJ Diving Club and three other women - from Germany, Netherlands, and USA (Florida). We were all considered advanced divers, which our divemaster mentioned as enjoybable since she could skip the basic dive site and dive longer with us (~43+ minutes) in 20C water. I saw a lot of soft coral, lionfish, clownfish, Dory, nudibranches, and even a crab! I think we all got along well. MJ was a very good DM, taking care of carrying our equipment and and even providing snacks and towels for the surface interval.

Late lunch / early dinner: Black pork bbq with soybean soup and Jeju cocktails. Delicious inside a spacious, clean, quiet restaurant with friendly staff.

Netflix and chillin' after.

Day 6: Laundry, Jeongbang & Sojeongbang waterfalls, omakase dinner

Felt so tired from the last several days, so taking it easy this day.

Laundry: at 24-hour coin self-service laundry. 4500 won for wash. Found a great place to eat nearby while waiting for the clothes...

Breakfast: at Boxmeal, 33000 won for an olive basil grilled sandwich, jamon cheese grilled sandwich, french fries, and 2 americanos. A great way to start our day.

Picked up the clothes, hung them to dry in our room, and rested some more. Then, wanted to watch the World Cup game between South Korea and Czechia at a sports pub but the only one that was open for the game was full. We changed plans...

Lunch: at Monstera Vietnamese restaurant. So good. Pho bo, banh mi, 2 spring rolls, iced hibiscus tea, and iced limeade for 33000 won.

Next, Jeongbang (2,000 won ticket per person) and Sojeongbang waterfalls - east Seogwipo, 20 min walk from our hotel. So pretty and great island vibe paths. Just made us unpleasantly sweaty in the heat. Stopped by quickly at the Castle of Shell for a little rest.

Dinner: Omajeju - Omakase experience with local ingredients. + Japanese sake. There were 2 other Korean couples. Was about 1.5 hours, 18 courses. Generally quite good. Chef spoke limited English but was kind to us.

Day 7: Haenyeo, hiking, Americana pizza

Breakfast: Starbucks iced coffee, hot coffee, jeju cake, sandwiches. The sandwiches looked good on the touch screen but in reality were bad. Everything else was pretty good. The Starbucks interior was gorgeous and spacious.

Was still feeling bad in the morning and running out of Advil. Kept waking up with a sore throat. Went to the pharmacy in the morning to get more ibuprofen and a mask to sleep with at night to keep my mouth hydrated with my own breath. The pharmacy experience was not my favorite - I tried my best speaking Korean to say I wanted ibuprofen and eventually got understood in a few seconds, but the worker seemed frustrated. I shrugged it off.

We left our hotel at around 11 a.m.

Haenyeo divers, lunch, and hiking at Seongsan Ichulbung sunrise peak: This was about 1 hr 10 min from our hotel on the east side of Jeju. It was a little hard at first finding this area, and I made the mistake of first going to the haenyeo museum which cost us 30-40 min of backtracking. Anyway, we saw that the divers were scheduled to do a short show at 2 p.m. We got there at 1:15 p.m., so we had some time to chill and have some food.

We ate seafood ramyeon and the local version of Sprite at their restaurant by the shore (18000 won). It was ok - more of a cultural experience and excuse to rest indoors for a bit. The actual show was quick and cool, just to see them IRL do their ritual chanting / dancing and then beginning their dives.

After that, we hiked up Seongsan Ichulbong (tickets: 4000 won pp), a tall black cliff formed by the volcanic activity on Jeju which had a massive crater at the top. The hike itself was fine to do - well maintained stairs the whole way, with a small shop, bathroom, and benches to sit - mainly difficult from the heat and straight shoot up. The view from the top was nice, and the crater impressive. The hike down was super easy and beautiful.

We rewarded ourselves with Udo peanut and Jeju hallabang orange ice cream with rice wafer!

On the way back to our car, we stopped by a cool Buddhst temple with impressive statues.

Haenyeo museum: 1,500 won pp (? super cheap). We drove back here and spent 2 hours going through the whole museum. I loved it! Plenty of displays in English. Many video interviews of modern day Haenyeo reflecting on the past decades. Learned a lot. Highly recommend. Unfortunately the gift shop closed an hour before closing, so we missed it...

Dinner: Red Rocket pizza, a short 5 min drive from the museum. Staff were friendly, practiced English with us, and even gave us a free extra coke! Pizza and fries were yummy and a good break from Korean food. Decor was hilarious fake / real Americana. Music was awesome - a lot of my 90s and early 2000s bops I haven't heard in ages. We were the only ones dining in - other people just did takeout. We had 3 slices leftover, which my husband ate when we got back to the hotel. 😋

Day 8: Hallasan, Manjanggul lava tube, Bijarim Forest

Today was all nature day.

Breakfast: I had Boxmeal sandwiches again - half fried chicken, half same jamon cheese sandwich. very good and wish I ate more of it when it was fresh. Husband felt a little sick after eating pizza night before, so skipped.

We left our hotel at around 9:15 a.m. to drive about 40 min into the center of Jeju.

Hallasan hike: I originally planned for us to do an easy 1.6km mostly flat loop. Unfortunately my GPS took us to the wrong hike entrance (there was a lower lot and and upper lot, and we had been directed to the lower lot, which was not right). We didn't know until we figured out 1.3km into this very difficult, steep hike that this didn't seem right.... 💦 Regardless, we decided to cut our losses at 1,200m elevation, turn around, and keep a good attitudee enjoying the nature, even if there wasn't a "payoff" sight. We basically were going through an uphill tunnel of forest. Regardless, we walked away with great reverence towards Mt. Halla - not to be taken lightly.

No lunch, just car snacks. Next, we drove about an hour east again.

Manjanggul lava tube: 12,000 won pp (?). We were lucky this had just reopened a couple of weeks ago after being closed for renovations for 2+ years. The inside 1km+ cave section open to the public (overall 7km+ but most of it closed off) was massive and pleasantly cool - a constant 20C. There aren't a lot of visually distinct things in the dark cave, but I still felt humbled and in awe of this geological phenomenon. It was a neat change of pace.

Prior to the cave, we did a quick walk through the site's information center / museum to get an idea of the scientific background. Maybe spent an hour or so here.

Bijarim Forest: 3,000 won pp (?). Maybe a 10 or 15 min drive from the lava tube. This was a park of 10,000+ nutmeg trees. Very easy "hiking". We spent about 40 min going through the forest. Unfortunately this Love tree which has naturally twisted branches forming a heart was closed off. Still, it was a nice leisurely way to cap off the nature adventures.

We rewarded ourselves with more Udo peanut and Jeju hallabang topped milk cream ice cream.

We drove back to the hotel in about an hour 10 min.

Dinner: Aka sushi - Japanese omakase by the water, with some Jeju ingredients. IMO way better than Omajeju, with the price to justify! Honestly the fatty tuna and eel sushi may have tasted better than in Japan... Was so umami. We also ordered nice sake. 2 other (younger) Korean couples with us. Lovely seeing the sunset, a rainbow (!), and the evening creep in through the seaside window.

Day 9: Fly to Seoul, Dahlia Dining

Breakfast: Leftover sandwiches from Boxmeal, Ediya coffee.

We left our hotel at around 8 a.m. Drive back to Jeju City in an hour, but had a hard time finding a gas station that seemed easy to turn into given Korea's confusing (to us) turning laws. We eventually figured it out. Car return was fine, and we got to the airport. I recommend Lotte rent a car!

Jeju airport: Here we bought what ended up being our primary Korea souvenirs - Jeju Airport exclusive Paris Baguette cookie sandwiches, magnets for my husband's coworkers and us, and Haenyeo / Jeju orange water bottles for us.

Lunch: Lotteria spicy crispy chicken sandwich, small fries, coke. The sandwich was very... adequate. The fries were fine. Unfortunately had to scarf these down and didn't have time to shop for other things before boarding. But glad otherwise all our logistics worked out - drive, car rental drop-off, flight check-in, flight on time. ❤️

We landed back in Seoul, picked up our checked bags, and navigated our way to our next and last hotel in Apugojeong / Gangnam.

hotel: Andaz Seoul Gangnam. So glad I got this for free with CSR -> World of Hyatt points! By far the best Hyatt hotel I've been to. Room was incredibly spacious and luxurious for us, with a wonderful view of the city. Location was excellent, literally right next to the station and walking distance to many restaurants (including SUPERPAN, coincidentally).

Dinner: Dahlia Dining. Italian vegan food with Culinary Class Wars White Spoon head chef Choi Hyeon Suk. A la carte from a touchscreen. Fun experience. Food was good, not great, though moderately priced. Bubbly wine was yummy. https://dahlia-dining.imweb.me/team

We walked around a nearby park - with another cool set of outdoor gym equipment - and toured this fancy multi-floor glasses store called Gentle Monster. It had elaborate automatons and a gastronomic cafe on the bottom floor. The cafe mostly ran out of menu items except for one, so we decided to come back the next day.

Day 10: artsy pastries, tacos, Onitsuka Tiger, baseball

We lazily got out of our super super comfortable bed, then walked back to the Gentle Monster Nudake Cafe shortly after it opened at 11 a.m.

breakfast: tomato shaped strawberry filled jelly, black cake with matcha filling, coffee at Nudake Cafe. Super cool and chill experience. Was afraid it would be busy but it was quiet - well, actually after we ordered, a small line had formed, but even so. Recommend!

We walked around the surrounding area after, which was super cute and full of shops. We spent the most time at a surprise Onitsuka Tiger shop! and we each ended up buying a pair of shoes and a shirt. I was so happy that my husband said that was actually one of the funniest experiences for him, as he doesn't normally like shopping... He admitted part of the fun was seeing ow happy I was, but it seemed he was genuinely into it himself too!

Lunch: tacos