Two Saturdays ago, my son and I joined a trip to Gyeongbok Palace supported by the Jongro Family Center. My husband had to go to work that day. There were about 30 or so families that joined the free guided tour (by curators of the National Museum). I had to sneak out from the tour group really early since my son wasn’t in the mood to listen to a lecture. It was quite interesting though since I learned something I didn’t know before.
I brought my son to Namsan Hanok Village, which is located in Chungmuro, the “Hollywood of Korea”. It wasn’t our first time of course and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been there. It’s a nice inexpensive (free admission!) place that showcases “hanok” or traditional Korean noble houses without leaving Seoul and it’s so near a subway station. More about this in a later post (hopefully!)
After the visit at Namsan Hanok Village, we took the yellow bus to Namsan’s N Seoul Tower. The last time I visited the place was in April. Eventhough I’ve been there lots of times, I don’t get tired of the place since there is always something new to discover everytime.
Once we got off the bus, we had to take a hike to where the tower is located.
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This time, I took my son to the observatory and I had to pay 7,000 won for the admission ticket. My son is free since he’s younger than 4. We took the elevator at the basement area and it didn’t take us long to reach the top.
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The observatory has one of the nicest toilets in Korea! It’s just annoying that the floor is a bit wet.
We didn’t spend a lot of time at the observatory since there really isn’t much to do there 🙂 We went down the elevator and proceeded to the second floor deck where the “locks of love” are located.
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Like a lot of places in Seoul, this tourist area isn’t devoid of “art works” like this flying man?
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At the second floor deck too is a huge teddy bear that failed to get my son’s attention! There is a Teddy Bear Museum with an admission fee. There is also a Teddy Bear Museum store at the lobby where you can get Teddy Bear souvenirs.
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Some scenes at N Seoul Tower:
A guy in a suit and a woman in hanbok is a scene stealer in the summer heat!
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View of the N Seoul Tower lobby from the second floor deck:
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I don’t remember seeing Coldstone back in April. Search for the best fat burner before getting your favorite Coldstone concoction.
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A palgakjeong is an eight-sided gazebo. A traditional sight at modern N Seoul Tower.
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Oh how difficult it is to take a full shot of the tower! I did this before…
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A group of teens approached this Caucasian family and asked if they could pose with them for a picture.
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Smoke signals
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I chatted with these three young Pinoys for almost half an hour but I forgot to ask their names.
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I thought that we’ll took the cable car to go down but the line was really long, so I just decided to walk down this side of the mountain. We passed by a “photo deck” where I saw a couple wearing matching BANC shirts. BANC is currently IN.
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Here’s a view of Myeongdong from the photo deck.
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A Namsan Cable Car
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A view of N Seoul Tower from the Namsan Public Library. This place is a popular filming location for Korean dramas and movies. Remember Beethoven Virus?
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This one is for MNIKSS fans:
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The “historical” stairs.
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Thanks for posting this info again.
This is one of the places that will be a “MUST” that I’m going to see. I will be in Korea from August 27 to Sept 3. I will also try to travel all over Korea as I have a KORAIL pass for 5 days.
Btw, what subway I have to take to go to Namsan Hanok Village? I’m also going to buy the 3 day unlimited Seoul and be staying close to the subway station.
Thanks again…..
Hi Reiner! I hope you’ll your vacation here. I’ve been receiving requests for itineraries but I haven’t replied to all emails. Namsan Hanok is near Chungmuro Station, orange line.
Thanks Betchay.
Well I’m not really requesting an itineraries but it would be nice to have some sort of a guide. What I’m going to do is just go wherever I decide in the morning when I wake up. Maybe KTO office would have something for say a 1 week stay where you can go all over Korea.
I admire that woman in hanbok, it just shows how proud she is as a Korean. I don’t even see a young Filipina wearing “saya” during ordinary days unless they are required to do so…what more if it’s summer she’s not going to wear it^^
Thanks ate betchay. I really enjoyed the photos. It’s like I’m touring with you and your son. ^^
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Ate Betchay, mascot po ba yung bear? Meron bang Teddy Bear na keychain?
.-= eden´s last blog ..Fave iPod/ iPhone applications =-.
Yep, Namsan is cool.
I always visit this place whenever I go to Korea.
But never ko pang napuntahan yung area ng Namsan Public Library. Nasa BV ba yun? Saang part? Di ko na maalala ata! >.<
I think this was your best post among other “Travel Guide” post
Yep, I agree.
.-= owbEe´s last blog ..Entertainment Live’s interview with Dara of 2NE1 =-.
ate, actually i haven’t gone to the tower yet although i thought it was really near when we went to tbs. last summer vacation, alex originally wanted us to drop by on our way home but we kept on driving around gyeonggi-do scouting for a place to visit this autumn maybe so we lost time, got caught in the traffic around jongro, found it difficult to find a good restaurant kase naging mapili kami pareho, and when we were almost there na, he just said we return some other time. yeah, we ate somewhere near myeongdong….
Thank you very much Ms. Betchay. I was in Korea last Week for 1 week vacation. I had a blast. I used your guides, tips and travel spots suggestions to know my way there. Salamat talaga. Continue posting and blogging.
Hi Eugene! Thanks for the nice words. ayan na-enganyo mo tuloy ako lalo 😉
is this tower the same one dun sa Boys Before Flowers?
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You’re lucky. We were at the tower last month, and it was so hazy we could barely see anything. Looks like it was much clearer on your visit.
.-= The Sanity Inspector´s last blog ..Korea Trip, 2009 =-.
I wish I was there that day para mega chika din ako sa’yo Ms Betch. I’m still hoping to meet you someday before I leave Korea. Btw, I live in Ichon area close to the National Museum. I’ve been here for almost nine months and still don’t know my way around the city. I’d get lost every now and then but I’m enjoying it.. he,he,he
Your blog is very helpful.
Hi! I just want to thank you for your great travel tips. We went to korea 2 weeks ago and we used a lot of the info we got from your site. It was really helpful. Thanks a lot! We will be back soon! We love korea to death! Everything was perfect!
hi betchay im planning to go there in korea but im not yet sure when is it coz my passport is still ongoing pls. i want to contact me coz i really need a friend! wla po aqng killa s korea the reason why i want to go there is to see TVXQ,bigbang and leeminho i really want 2 see them.. keep in touch my # 09055688567 my eadd punky_gurl53 i just really need a frnd nattakot po ako n maligaw s korea..
If we’re to explore Namsan, what’s the best route or is there only one route? Of course, I’d like to go to the famous spot like the N-Seoul Tower, ride the cable car, take a picture at the ‘Samsoon’ stairs. I also want to drop by the Seoul Animation Center (was this supposed to be ‘Coffee Prince’ Han Gyul’s apartment?) Namsan Fountain (reminds me of ‘Lovers in Paris’, Hyatt Hotel. Me and my friends want to save time so we’d like to know if there’s a better ‘starting point’ to visit all these spots. Thanks.
Dear Sis,
I, hubby and soon-to-be 3yr old son will be travelling on our own for the first time to South Korea and my main must-visit place is N Seoul Tower. I wish to celebrate my son’s bday on 2nd April and would be very much appreciate if you could tell us if it is possible to bring stroller or prem to the top? Is it advisable to take cable car?
Thanking you in advance.