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South Korea 2023 + 2024 - A Vegan Photographer's Journey

Spring trip to Seoul was our 2nd time to South Korea. In this trip, I have included a 7 day itinerary during Spring, popular tourist spots, cherry blossom spots & places to eat for vegans and vegetarians! I have also included tips from my Fall 2023 trip to Seoul and Busan.

(Travel IG: https://www.instagram.com/traveling.toes11/)

April - Spring break trip

Day 1: April 5th

Landed in Seoul at around 6:30pm - after a smooth check out we took a cab to Insadong (Orakai Suites)

Checked in and dressed up to go out to have dinner.

Walked to a Tibetan restaurant near by called Potala Restaurant. Had Thukpa (Veggie noodle soup), Indian food such as palak paneer, Naan and rice.

Because we arrived at peak Spring time (April 5th to April 12th), the cherry blossoms were in peak bloom and the entire place was filled with the fragrant flowers. We took a walk back to the hotel and slept to get energized for the week’s adventures. Our goal during this trip was to take it slow and that's exactly what we did.

Jongno District

Jongno District

Day 2: April 6th

Before booking a hotel, the first thing we noticed was how close is the hotel to all the attractions and restaurants. I found Orakai on google map. I saw the distance from all the attractions, the rating of the hotel, hotel room’s images before booking. The room had 2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms a living space and a kitchen, which was super convenient for us.

Our first stop was Gyeongbokgung palace. We had a cup of coffee and toast in our room. The palace was just around 15-20 minutes by walk from the hotel. We arrived exactly 10 mins before they opened the ticket counter in the morning. The crowd is lesser during early morning and its calmer if you have to take some architecture and landscape photos. So we always target either early morning or late evening to visit any place.

Gyeongbokung Palace Oct 2023

Gyeongbokgung palace is my #1 favorite palace in Seoul. Its also the most popular palace where many movies and KDramas have been filmed. Because it was calmer in the morning and we couldn't take our family portrait during our previous visit, we spent lot of time in taking our portraits and family photos. The palace has many cherry blossom & foliage trees and its just beautiful to during all seasons. Spend atleast 3-4 hours in this palace. Look around at all the beautiful architecture and try to recognize the places where the dramas or movies were filmed. If you are lucky, you might also get to see some live performances/enactments at the palace entrance.

Right after you exit the side gate of the palace, you enter the grounds of Folk Museum of Korea. They have few displays from 70s and 80s for everyone to just learn and enjoy.

Gyeongbokung Palace Oct 2023

Gyeongbokung Palace April 2024

We took a walk to my favorite Vegan restaurant near by. This was my 2nd time visiting Mananim restaurant. The lady chef is a little bit funny with her strict regime but I promise you, her food will never disappoint. She makes really fresh and homely food. It's a very small restaurant so if you are a big group, call her and book your table as she cooks alone and she has no staff to help.

Vegan food at Mananim Restaurant

Right after that, we went to Insadong in search of a good cup of coffee. There are many ascetic cafes in Insadog for all tastes. But only few will have the options of alternate milk and nut free snacks. Every single cafe in insadong is vibrant, colorful with amazing coffee. We tried in most cafe and restaurant there and we were not disappointed.

CAFES AT INSADONG

We then took a walk to Cheonggyecheon Stream. Its a cute little walk with some street performers and colorful lights between the downtown buildings. It's also a popular spot where few Korean Dramas have been filmed (the recent one being Queen of Tears).

We then walked back to Insadog (we had already finished 20k steps by then) and had our dinner at another Vegan restaurant called Osegye Hyang. This was one of the best experiences for me as well. Their tofu soup with rice and sides was super scrumptious and so satisfying. After dinner we headed back to the hotel. End of a beautiful day!

VEGAN FOOD AT OSEGYE HYANG

Day 3: April 7th

After having breakfast and coffee at the hotel, we headed out to Yeouido Hangang Park. It was heavily crowded early in the morning at around 9am. We walked a little bit to enjoy the cherry blossom though the park trail is very long. My husband and son decided to go on a bike ride while I decided to talk a walk and enjoy some street photography. They had a small controlled & a safe stream near Han River which was a play area for kids and adults. Lot of people enjoyed soaking in their feet and walking in that stream as the day was a little warm and it was perfect to enjoy the water. Nearby many families had set up tents and enjoying a picnic at the shore. I noticed there were several food stalls and people renting out picnic mats which was totally fascinating for me. They. cleaned the mat every time someone returned it and it was ready to be let out again! It was a perfect park to sit down and enjoy cherry blossom, Han river, hot food and drinks. Or you can just pitch ur tent, play badminton or go on a bike ride. Highly recommend this park if you want to have a relaxed day.

Yeouido Hangang Park

After the bike ride, we were all famished and we retuned back to Insadong as they have many restaurants to eat at. We ate Italian food at Zio Cucina Ikseon. They had few vegetarian and vegan options which catered to all 3 of us.

We walked around and boys enjoyed Purple berry ice cream at a store next door. We enjoyed the walk looking at all the different cafes and restaurants noting down what they had to offer for our next meals.

We then headed over to DEOKSUGUNG Palace for the 2nd time. We had visited the same place at night during our previous trip. It's a beautiful small place with lovely light setup. The outside stone walls of this palace is very popular and you may have seen it in many KDramas if you are a Drama fan. The same street has many ginkgo trees and it's beautiful during autumn. Posting pictures of the walk from last autumn trip below.

We then had a light dinner that night with some Belgian waffle near the Palace and some vegan Kimbap from Maruj ja Yeonsik Gimbap near our hotel in Insadong. I went to the Kimbap stall 3 times during our trip as it was super easy to eat and carry it as a sandwich with us.

Day 4: April 8th

Our main goal for Day 4 was to see more of Cherry Blossom. We took a cab to Seoul Forest park. We walked for at least 3 hours at the park enjoying the tulips and many cherry blossom trees, a small deer park and a beautiful bridge from which you can see the top view of rows of cherry blossom trees.

SEOUL FOREST PARK

We took a random turn and started walking in a small alley with many cafes and restaurants. We stopped at Perment Bake Shop. Boys enjoyed some pastries and I had a cup of oat milk coffee which was so delicious that I want to go back to have more! We then took a cab back to Insadong and had lunch at Vegan Insa. It's one of the best vegan places ever! We had Korean Fried soy chicken and their Rice Cake dumpling soup is one of the best food I have ever eaten. Highly recommend trying both!

We headed back to the hotel room, took a 2 hours break and went out to enjoy the night lights in Jong-ro 8 gil area which is very close to Insadong. There were so many restaurants, cafes, arcade games & karaoke bars. We had our dinner at Himalayan Nepali and Indian restaurant and walked back to our hotel after enjoying a relaxed evening.

Gaming at a random arcade

Day 5: April 9th

Since we took easy the previous day, we decided to head out a little further away to Korean Folk Village in Gyeonggi-do which was an hour plus cab drive from Insadong. It's a must visit place if you have an extra day. You can spend the whole day at this Folk village which is like a mini Disney land. The park is divided into 2 parts: 1. The folk village with many traditional houses, staged for drama shoot and it's like a museum for us all to see. 2. It's a small amusement park on the other side of the folk village where many kids and families enjoyed some rides and food.

You have to take a bus and then walk for 15-20 mins or take a cab to this Korean Folk Village.

They also have dance performances, traditional flute musical show, live skit performances (all in Korean language), some games, etc. We spent the whole day at this park and really enjoyed it a lot. We then had to walk around 20 minutes to the bus stop and we went back to Jongno-Gu as we were hungry for dinner.

We walked into Balwoo Gongyang. We didn't know the place needs reservations for dinner but they were gracious enough to give us a table. It's a Michelin star restaurant that has separate rooms for each table. We were served with a 5 course meal which is scrumptious and I can never forget the awesome experience.

After the lovely dinner, we visited the JOGYESA Temple thats right opposite to the restaurant. This was our 2nd visit to the Buddha temple and this time we saw it filled with colorful lanterns. We walked back to the hotel from there and crashed in!

JOGYESA

Day 6: April 10th

The next morning we went back to Insadong to have coffee and breakfast. We then took a cab to the Lotte tower hotel and Seokchon Park thats popular for the Lotte Tower hotel and cherry blossom view. Its a beautiful loop and you can walk around for 1-2 hour enjoying the trees and view but its very crowded during the peak season. Plan to reach there early in the morning to avoid large crowds. They also light it up during the night for everyone to enjoy!

Lotte Tower from Seokchon Park

Seokchon Park

We walked & shopped at the Lotte mall and enjoyed coffee at Matte Black. It's a cafe that in monochrome (all done in black and white and it was so fun that I felt I transported right into a comic book). Coffee there was excellent as well - it's not about ambience.

After enjoying the coffee and lunch at PF Chang's at the mall, we took a cab back to our hotel and rested for an hour. We then took a long walk to Changgyeong Palace for the night tour. The best way to explore any place is by foot so we walked along the palace wall during blue hour and reached for the night tour. You can purchase a tour ahead of time or buy tickers online or at the gate. We didn't have plans to take a guided tour but instead explored the palace ourselves. It was one stunning palace at night - the night light was kinda spooky and yet mesmerizing. They also had some cherry blossom trees and they had light up those trees beautifully! After the palace, we stopped by at a random street food place and eat some snacks, enjoyed an arcade game and went back to sleep.

Changgyeong Palace

Day 7: April 11th

We woke up determined to visit the Ddong cafe (poop cafe). It was so hilarious & totally cracked up my little one. It was in the 3rd floor of a lovely strip mall with several interesting stores. We walked up admiring all the art work and fun stores to the cafe. Unfortunately they did not cater to Vegans (no non dairy products). My husband enjoyed a cupa and we walked down to enjoy all the small shops and purchased couple of art work for the house and also tried a small art studio & my son was able to enjoy a hand made art souvenir.

Ddong Cafe products

Would you drink out of this?

We then stopped at a random Korean restaurant which was one of the friendliest places ever. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos at the entrance of the restaurant and I don't remember the name of the place. its in a small alley at Insadong that catered with 1-2 vegan food. The staff were super kind and friendly and provided us delicious food without allergens. If I come across that restaurant again, I will definitely add the name here later. We then walked around and did some souvenir shopping, enjoyed some open space park and relaxed.

That night we went to San Chon Temple Cooking in Insadong. They had a lovely setup like an Indian taali with multiple varieties of Vegan food. The ambience and the food was very enjoyable. That was a perfect way to say goodbye to Seoul as we headed back home next day to Seattle.

This was our 2nd trip to Seoul and I want to briefly add our first trip experience which was a little different to us as we took a train to Busan. YES! A train to Busan but we didn't see Gong Yoo or Zombies! Too bad :(

Busan highlights and things to see in Fall:

The bullet train from Seoul to Busan is very convenient. Book ahead of time. We stayed at the Park Hyatt in Busan with one amazing view! Our 2 days trip to Busan was pretty good and I would recommend 2-3 days in Busan if you have extra time to enjoy a seaside location.

1. A must see location during fall in Busan is the pink grass. We took a guided tour that was recommended by Hyatt Hotels and Steve (who was born and raised in the US, moved to Busan and he is a tour guide there. Here is where you can contact if you are looking for a guided private tour in Busan on whatsapp: BUSAN TOURISM CENTER (+82 10- 9549-6335). They were very professional even though a bit pricy but it was worth it! Steve took us to a farm that had pink grass and I enjoyed taking photos of a different landscape that I had never see before. We then visited Haedong Yonggungsa Temple thats on a cliff near the ocean. It's quite a bit of walk & I did not see any elevators there for wheelchair so I am not recommending this place for those who have difficulties to walk or on wheelchair. It's an old Buddha temple that was very unique to see on the cliff and it gave me a sense of peace to be there and pray in silence.

View from Park Hyatt, Busan

A random far near Busan with pink grass

Local Busan ladies diving to get fresh seafood

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

After the temple, we then went to Gamcheon Culture Village to see colorful abandoned houses. It's a nice place for photographers to take photos of colorful houses and for some reason it reminded me of Gibli studio movies. We then got dropped off at downtown Busan to a random Indian restaurant and we had our lunch and walked around to see some local stores, arcades and seasonal flower show.

Gamcheon Culture Village

2. Haundae Blue Line is a very cute sky capsule train that goes along the coastal path. It's a slow ride but with a fanatic view and the capsules are colorful and cute. Its very instagram worthy :)

3. Haundae beach is a definite must visit place! It's very colorful, alive with activities and buzz and the water color is beautiful to see!

Haundae Beach

View from Park Hyatt, Busan

Few Other worthy places to see in Seoul for photographers both during Spring and Autumn:

1. Namsan Seoul Tower

Cable car to Namsan Seoul Tower

View from Namsan Tower

A popular K Drama spot - Namsan Tower

2. Buckchon Hanok village (rent a hanbok and dress up at this traditional looking place. Be respectful of the residents and stay quite and visit only during the allocated time)

Buckchon Hanok Village

3. Myeongdong Shopping Street - For street food and street photography

Meyongdong shopping street

Meyongdong shopping street

4. Gwanghwamun Square (Check local events calendar for colorful musical or special events) - Statues of Admiral Yi Sun Sin & King Sejong The Great Of Josen (the founder of Korean Alphabets).

Gwanghwamun Square

6. Starfield library at CoExmall - a popular IG spot

Starfield Library

7. Bongeunsa Temple near CoEx Mall - very colorful during Autumn

Bongeunsa Temple

8. Changdeokgung Palace & Secret Gardens (The secret garden is a guided tour and you will have to book ahead of time for English tours. This is a very popular place seen on many period Kdramas).

Changdeokgung Palace Secret Garden in Autumn

Changdeokgung Palace in Autumn

Changdeokgung Palace Secret Garden in Autumn

9. Namdaemun Market (Busy food market)

10. Gangnam Statue - CoEx Mall

11. Deoksugung palace (go at night)

12. Gyeonghoeru Pavilon

Gears used for photos:

iPhone 13 - casual food, cafes, restaurant & Gangnam statue pics.

Sony A1

50mm, 16-35mm & 70-200mm G master lenses

I hope you all find this very helpful to plan your trip. Feel free to see more of my South Korea images on my website :)

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Friday, January 17, 2025

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