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Exploring Seoul

Seoul neighbourhoods, markets, hikes and nights out — what each place is actually like on the ground.

2026-09-24

Movie Theaters in Seoul: The Film Starts Ten Minutes Late, and Culture Day Moved in 2026

This is what I would tell a friend before their first movie theater Seoul trip: which chain…

2026-09-15

Namdaemun Market Opening Hours: The Market's Own List Has 38 Timetables, and Some Floors Open at 11 p.m.

Some of those floors open before midnight and close the next afternoon. Others shut at two on Saturday. None of them list Sunday hours at all.

2026-09-14

Ikseon-dong: The Redevelopment That Never Happened Is Why the Hanok Are Cafés

Nobody decided that. It happened because a redevelopment plan sat on the neighbourhood for ten years and then collapsed.

2026-09-14

Euljiro, Seoul: The Bars Grew Out of a Tool Market, and the Famous Street Tables Came Off the Road in 2022

That is worth knowing before you plan an evening around it. This is a practical guide to Euljiro Seoul: where Nogari Alley actually is, what changed on that…

2026-09-09

Gwangjang Market: The Opening Hours Are Three Different Answers, and the Price Rule Changed on 1 September

The market sells three different things under one roof and each part keeps its own hours, which is why some visitors arrive at seven in the evening to find…

2026-09-03

N Seoul Tower: Getting Up the Mountain Costs 1,500 Won. Getting Inside Costs 29,000.

That is because getting up the mountain and getting inside the tower are two separate purchases, and almost every itinerary online blends them into one number.

2026-08-16

Coin Karaoke in Korea: The Karaoke Etiquette Fight That Cannot Happen Here

He looked through the door for a while before going in. Then he said something I have thought about ever since.

2026-08-14

Baseball Game in Seoul: I Don't Follow Baseball. I Go for the Food and the Noise.

What I remember is dropping a whole bag of Homerun Ball on the floor because I was waving my arms too hard at something everyone else was waving their arms at.

2026-08-12

Hiking in Seoul: The Mountain I Take Foreign Friends To (And Why It Isn't Bukhansan)

That's the problem. If you have four days in this city, you can't spend one of them on a mountain.

2026-08-11

Jjimjilbang in Seoul: What You Actually Pay For, and How to Sleep There Overnight

Dragon Hill Spa in Yongsan closed during the pandemic and never reopened. Its Naver Place listing was removed in June 2025.