South Korea is a beautiful country with lots to offer, especially in terms of food and shopping. While 1 week is in no way sufficient to explore the entire country, it is possible to explore some of the most popular destinations - Seoul, Busan, and Jeju, and this guide is all you need.
This guide is based on our experiences during our 1 Week trip to South Korea in June 2024, where we first flew into Jeju from our home city Singapore and spent 2 days. We then took a domestic flight to Busan, where we spent 1 day. Finally we took an intercity train to Seoul, where we spent 2.5 days before returning home. This itinerary worked for us based on flight prices and our leave restrictions. However, based on our experience, we would highly recommend the following itinerary breakdown:
Jeju - 1.5 days
Busan - 1 day
Seoul - 3-4 days
Jeju
Jeju is an island at the south of the country and is known for its beaches, waterfalls, and mountains. While we enjoyed the hikes and waterfalls, we found Jeju island to be rather quiet for our liking, and would not recommend spending more than 1.5 days there, unless you are interested in several major hiking routes.
Getting Around Jeju
It is highly recommended to rent a car while visiting Jeju, as the public transport connectivity is not as good as in major cities. We used (AVIS) as our provider, and were provided with instructions to a shuttle bus pick-up location at the airport, which then took us to the car rental center. The entire process of renting the car was smooth and convenient.
Things to note:
1. In addition to your Driving License, it is mandatory to provide your International Driving Permit at the car rental. This can be issued in your home country.
2. Google Maps for driving routes does not work in South Korea. However, rental cars are equipped with good in-car navigation systems in English.
3. There are LOTS of speed cameras in Jeju, often within 50 meters of each other, so do drive with caution.
Where to Stay in Jeju
As we spent 2 nights in Jeju, we decided to stay on 2 different ends of the island to save driving time. The accommodations we chose were simple, included free parking, and were satisfactory for our budget.
All the destinations suggested below follow the path we took clockwise around the island, starting at the car rental near the airport. While there were more places that we visited, we have only included those that we recommend.
This is a beautiful volcanic crater. You can take a 15-20 minute hike to the top for some spectacular views. While it is a short hike, it can be quite tiring, so we would recommend those with mobility difficulties to be cautious.
You can also go down to the ocean and take a speed boat ride for a small extra charge, which we really enjoyed. Here at specific times in the afternoon, the female divers of Jeju catch fresh seafood and prepare it in a small restaurant by the ocean, which we did not try. In all honesty, we had higher expectations from the diver's demonstration.
This waterfall is located in a quiet park and is quite serene. We expected it to light up beautifully at night based on information online, and unfortunately we did not see anything spectacular happen. It is worth a brief visit if it is nearby, but we wouldn't recommend going out of the way to see it.
This is the only waterfall in Asia that leads into the sea. This was beautiful to see, and we got to walk up close to the waterfall, which was quite fun. We would recommend visiting this.
This was unexpectedly one of our favorite spots in Jeju. Located right next to the beautiful tea plantations, this innisfree store is a must-visit for skincare lovers. There are a couple of products available exclusive to this particular store as well. We also did a soap making activity, which was simple but fun! This is a great place for purchasing gifts for your loved ones.
We stopped by here for a quick tea break after our visit to the Innisfree house. There is a cafe with various tea flavored drinks and desserts on offer, as well as a gift shop selling a range of tea products. This is a good place to purchase some souvenirs for friends and family.
We loved exploring the various street food stalls at this market. This is where we tried some famous Jeju black pork and Korean fried chicken. We found this market to be more lively than the Seogwipo Olle Market at the other end of the island.
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Busan
Only about an hour’s flight away from Jeju, Busan is another coastal city in South Korea worth visiting for a quiet getaway. We spent about 1 day (2 half days and 1 night) in Busan, and felt that it was the perfect amount of time for us. However, we did not have the time to visit the Spaland (see list below), for which we would recommend including another half day.
Getting Around Busan
We found traveling around Busan convenient with the metro. While we purchased single tickets using cash at each station, we would highly recommend using a refillable T Money card from a convenience store for ease of use.
Where to Stay in Busan
We stayed in this studio apartment by Urbanstay that we really liked. It came furnished with some basic kitchen appliances and equipped with towels. The only thing to note is that the place is staff-free, and check-in takes place by a room code provided to you by Urbanstay, so do make sure to receive the code before arriving to avoid delays.
This location was also close to the Metro station and accessible for us to travel to our destinations.
This coastline park is a romantic and Instagrammable experience. You can opt for the Sky Capsule or the beach train, or even a combination of the two, for a pleasant trip along the coast with scenic views. The different routes are available on their website, and we would recommend booking tickets in advance.
A popular tourist spot, this cultural village is a large region of shops and residences with many small picturesque alleys that you can take your time to explore. At their visitor center you can purchase a stamp map and follow a self-guided tour collecting stamps at various landmarks throughout the village.
Undoubtedly the highlight of our trip, a visit to South Korea would be incomplete without a visit to its capital city. While in this guide we recommend spending 3-4 days in Seoul, one could easily spend an entire week in this city alone.
Getting Around Seoul
Like in Busan, the connectivity by metro in Seoul is excellent, and purchasing a refillable card is highly recommended.
Where to Stay in Seoul
Myeongdong is one of the most bustling regions of Seoul, known for its shopping streets. This is a well-connected and vibrant area to stay.
Once again we chose Urbanstay as our accommodation and were very happy with the quality of the studio apartment provided, as well as the location.
This beautiful village features traditional Korean houses and is the perfect photo spot.
We explored this area with a free walking tour by GuruWalk which we really enjoyed.
One of the notable palaces in Seoul, we would recommend visiting with a tour guide to learn more about the history. This palace was included in our walking tour from Guru Walk.
A shopaholic's paradise, Myeongdong shopping street is a must-do in Seoul. The shopping streets span large areas and feature a range of stores including skincare, fashion, and souvenirs. Many of the stores and restaurants here are open till late at night too.
We would highly recommend taking a tour to the De-militarized Zone (DMZ), near the border of South and North Korea. It was so interesting to learn about the history of the once-united countries, and we were glad to have included this in our visit.
We had a great experience with the tour company in the link provided. We also chose to include the Red Suspension Bridge in our tour package, which was very beautiful, but included a very steep walk to the bridge.
N Seoul tower is a great place to catch some views of Seoul city, but do make sure to go on a clear evening. Unfortunately, we were caught in a heavy downpour on our visit and the views were blocked by clouds and fog. Nonetheless, there are many restaurants in the tower to grab a bite. Don't miss out on the love lock fence, where you can purchase and hang a lock to immortalize your relationship!
Hands down one of the best bakeries we have been to anywhere. Cafe Onion was so good we had to visit twice, and I still think about their pistachio croissant sometimes. Prepare for an impressive queue and wait at this place, especially if you want to dine in, but we guarantee that their pastries and baked goods are worth the wait.
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We're Anand and Richa, affectionately known by friends and family as Gunner and Reeka. We are a young couple from Singapore, with big dreams of exploring the world, and we want to share the experiences and memories of our travels through this blog.
