naver map or kakao map has english menus

Day 1 to 5 covers all the main spots pretty well.

For day 6, Gangnam is ok to visit during the day. A bit of shopping + food + people watching. Itaewon is boring during the day tbh. It only comes alive at night and its mostly bars and clubs if you are into that kind of scene. Yongsan is kinda meh because electronics in Korea is more expensive than Malaysia and choices are not that great.

Other places in Seoul to consider are Garosugil, Apgujeong, Ehwa, Seongsu, Yeuido Park, Seoul Forest Park, just on top of my head

If you want to venture a bit further out from Seoul, you can consider Busan, Daegu, Gyeonju, Incheon, Gyeonggi, DMZ (may not be open now)

The places of interest in Seoul are not too far away from each other, especially by subway. Depending on how much time you spend at each location, you can easily cover 3 to 4 locations in a day. If your family are tired of walking, taxi is not crazy expensive tbh. It's about 10k+ won within 20km distances.

Sorry guys. Cherry blossom is pretty much over. It’s all green now.

Pic taken on 9 April.


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Mid to low 10s for sure, possibly below 10 at night. Korean winter is long and quite brutal, so be prepared. Kids need to be layered properly.

Dec is not the coldest month for winter so it wont be super cold. It goes below zero in Jan and Feb.

Most hotels and homes in Korea have very good heating. They use the underfloor hot water heating system that is nice and warm in all rooms except for the toilets. Lol. Even for places that don't have them, they have the portable heaters that are quite good as well.

I've not been to Busan yet, so I can't really recommend any places. Sorry.

Lol. They don’t care and won’t check since it’s visa on arrival.

The average for the past 4 to 5 months was about 3.6, so just go ahead. FYI, if you change RM10k, you save about RM150. So, if you are gonna change a lot less, you can do the math...

Its mid 20s in the day, and 10+ at night now. Don't really need a jacket in the day. Some nights may be a bit chilly/windy but a light jacket will do. It's nice spring weather.

Weather is now is rather nice. 26 to 29 in the day time. 22 to 23 at night. You get a bit of wind sometimes. Summer this year won't be super hot like last year it seems.

August is summer weather, so it will be just as hot and humid like Malaysia. Not very nice weather for walking around to be honest. Most people visit in spring or autumn. Also, the aircons in Korea suck. They are really weak, even in the shops and malls.

Korea is very card friendly. All shops accept credit card. Only street food stalls take cash. If you want to use the subway a lot, get a T money card from the convi stores like GS or CU. You can top it up at the reload machines in the station. The T money card can be used in convi stores too.

Yup, good plan. Enjoy the heat. lol.

Some general tips for you guys since the same questions are being asked all the time.

Kakao Taxi is the most popular taxi hailing app but its not that foreigner friendly even though its in English. By the way, it's not a private hire car service. The app is just to book regular taxis really. I'm not sure if it still needs a Korean number to work as well. Better to just get a regular taxi from the street and show them the address (better if its in Korean) that you want to go, but be prepared to get rejected if the driver doesn't speak English or don't know the address. Taxi drivers are supposed to use the meter all the time so don't be afraid to say no to any driver insisting on a fixed price to go to your destination. Uber is in Korea but its 1.5x to 2x more expensive because it is only available in Uber Black. Also, its only really available in some areas, so it can be your last resort if you can't find a taxi late at night.

Subway is the best way to travel around Seoul if the places you want to go are nearby the stations. Walking around in great in any weather except in summer. lol. The price are between 1500 to 2000 won for most stops. Go get a T-Money card from the station or convenience store and top it up if you plan to use the subway regularly. The T-money card can be used at convenience stores and taxis too. You can of course buy single journey tickets as well. Download KakaoMetro or any similar app to get the station list and timings.

Korea is very card-friendly. It's the law that every shop and taxi must accept card payments. Even in small towns or Jeju. The only ones that can't are the street stalls or trucks. All shops in the popular tourist areas like Myeondong, Dongdaemun, Garosugil, Gangnam, etc will take any card with no issues. Cash is just for emergencies or buying stuff/food from street stalls really. I haven't use Big Pay before so I don't know how that works. I don't think there is any reason it would not work or not be accepted.

Naver Map and Kakao Map are both in English. They are the best for getting around. Google Map doesn't work in Korea. Take note that sometimes you can't find the names of the places you want to go in English on the map app because the way Koreans label places in English is not consistent. You may have to try the different English names you find online to find the right one.

If this helps, the cost of a "cheap" meal is Korea is like anywhere from 4000 to 10,000 won. Don't expect anything amazing. More like gimbap, ramyeon, teokbokki, jiggae kind of food. Mostly convenient stores, small shops or real street food pricing. Midrange is about 10,000 to 25,000 won per person/dish. This is the average price you will pay for a typical Korean restaurant for most types of food. This is what you'll pay for the "street food stalls" at touristy places like Myeongdong too. lol. Do note that some dishes come in large portions like fried chicken and budae jiggae. They can be shared but some restaurants may require you order one dish per person. High end places will be 25,000 won and above. It's for the fancy modern Korean places or foreign food like Italian, French, etc.

This post has been edited by thurtin: Oct 21 2019, 03:15 PM

I prefer Kakao Map because I could directly call a taxi on Kakao Taxi through it. Naver Map works just as well so either one is ok.

Street food in Korea nowadays are really food trucks. The local city councils have banned the old street food stalls and they can only operate through food trucks. In some areas like Gangnam, the food trucks selling odeng, teobokki, sausages, etc are not that common except at night near the party/drinking places. To be honest, they are not that great even for the "cheap" price. If you are really on a budget, just go to any convenient store like CU, GS or 7-11 to get some. Some of the stuff like the dosirak and gimbap is quite ok. The street food stuff in places in Myeongdong is alright, but its marked up quite a bit. If you just want to try a few of them, you can.

Cheap food in Korea are usually near the university areas like Ehwa and Sinchon, and non-office areas. Generally, the restaurants not in the main tourist attraction areas are a bit cheaper too so maybe you can explore around a bit. Just check the pricing on the menu before you go in or sit down.

Best way is by renting a car because Jeju is a big island and the places to go are quite far apart. Bus is not that frequent and you will waste a lot of time waiting.

Was told that Korean Air flies twice a week. About RM3k one way.