Seoul is truly the central hub of all life in South Korea. It is one of the world’s most vibrant cities with fantastic public transportation and cultural attractions throughout. Due to its mountainous terrain, there are also plenty of parks interspersed throughout the city in a way that feels more like Hong Kong than Tokyo or New York.

Although Google Maps has come a long way since I studied abroad in Seoul, it still only has transit directions and lacks walking or driving. I have also found the open hours of places to be less reliable, although I am sure it is frequently improving. Accordingly, I have included Naver Maps links as the default as well as the typical Google Maps if you are going to try to make it with just that. Kakao maps works well too, but I found Naver to have a friendlier interface for English speakers.

•  Huam Gimbap (Google Maps) was where I ate lunch most of my days in Seoul. It was only a few minutes walk from where I lived and sells cheap, fresh, and delicious gimbap. I befriended the two Koreans who own and work there and would try out what little Korean I was able to pick up when ordering (pictures below, show them who sent you if you go!)

• Lao Shangai Tea (Google Maps) was my favorite Chinese tea shop in Seoul. You can go there and order off there extensive menu of teas and soak in the atmosphere while having great conversation with friends. They also have these really cool kettles that automatically refill when the water is getting low.

• Mapo Korean Snack Shop (Google Maps) sells tteokbokki that has beets incorporated into the sauce. This alters the flavor slightly and gives the sauce a beautiful reddish purplish hue. Order it with tempura vegetables to soak up the sauce left after you finish the rice cakes.

• Gwangjang Market Noodles (Google Maps) was featured on Netflix Street Food Asia and sells some of the best handcut noodle soup and dumplings in the city. They even have some nice tea to go with your meal that comes around in pitchers at the stall. You can read more about it on this blog here. If you are walking around the market, you should see a sign that says Netflix, towards the eastern side of the main throughfare.

• Bar Cham (Google Maps) is a fantastic establishment and one of my roommates’ favorite bars in the city. Set in a traditional Korean house, it only has a few seats but is well worth the wait. I would go here and join the waitlist as soon as possible and then find a way to kill time in the area, perhaps by checking our Cobbler (see below) or other bars. You can read more about it here.

• Cobbler (Google Maps) is a bar in the same part of the city as Bar Cham, so they are great to combine in the same evening. They get their name from the fact that they serve you a piece of cobbler as soon as you sit down to enjoy while you order your drinks. That said, you should expect a wait to be seated. You can read more about it here.

• Le Chamber (Google Maps) is a speakeasy hidden behind a book shelf and one of the best bars in Seoul as well as the broader continent. Its drinks are as fun and playful to look at as they are to drink. I spent my 22nd birthday there and had a blast. You can read more about it here.