"Seoul Bus" | Seoul City Tour

With the Yonsei International Summer School, I toured to the famous spots in Seoul: Gyeongbok Palace, Insa-dong Street, and Namsan Seoul Tower on Friday, July 6 for one of the 1-Day Field Trips.

Gyeongbok Palace (경복궁: gyeongbokgung)

Our first stop was to the ever-so famous Gyeongbok Palace. Arriving at the location, we witnessed the changing of the guards ceremony with workers stressed in full costume in the hot summer sun. This palace is very popular for tourists to take picures in 한복 (hanbok: traditional Korean clothing) which you can rent at many different shops outside the venue. Inside, you can explore the many buildings and learn more about Korean culture. Our tour guide told us more details about the buildings and their usages; fun fact: the palace had a specific party venue surrounded by water. There is also a museum where past artifacts are displayed. It was a great opportunity to immerse myself in traditional Korean culture as well as an excellent photoshoot location!

Insa-dong (인사동: insadong)

Following that, we headed to Insa-dong Street, which focuses on Korean traditional culture and crafts. In this area, many vendors sell Korean souvenirs, being a great location to buy gifts for friends! I bought nine Seoul keychains for 5000 ₩. In addition to keychains, metal chopsticks and spoons, paper fans, mirrors, magnets, and many more are sold there. My friends and I bought the Korean court cake called 꿀타래 (kkul-tarae: "King's Candy") which is honey dough stretched into silky threads that wraps a type of filling; we got the peanut flavor box which came with 10 pieces for 5000 ₩. After purchasing the item, they grab a box stored from the refrigerator since the dessert is better served cold. It was very delicious but messy to eat; if you try to rip it in half, all the threads will start flying into the air.

Namsan Seoul Tower (N서울타워: N Seoul Tower)

You can't go on a tour of Seoul without heading to Namsan Seoul Tower! This has a great view of the city and is very popular amongst couples because of the heart locks on the fences. At night, the tower lights up different colors, so visit during the daytime and nighttime if you want to have the different perspectives of the city.

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K.E.V.

This 1-Day Field Trip tour offered by YISS was a great experience since I was able to cross off some of my things-to-do on my personal bucket list as well as learn more about the history behind traditional Korea.