#Tables for 10 people cost £1.500

[thetoplessbanana]

DAY 2 |  GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE  & BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE

Breakfast

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Bukchon Hanok Village

Lunch

Cheonggyecheon River & Lotte duty free

Dinner & back to the hotel

Breakfast

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Everyday servings:

Sandwich bread with jams & cereals.

Coffee, milk and tea.

My experience | Apparently, plain breakfast is usual in guesthouse as you will get what you pay for. Therefore, we decided to look for another restaurant to have a more decent breakfast. 

We hardly found any restaurant prior to 9 AM. Fortunately, we went back to the food zone last night and found the restaurant introduced on Day 1 opened.

Total price | 24.000₩ for 3 bowl of Korean noodles

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to borrow umbrellas in case of rain and rent a portable WiFi at 5.000₩/day.

Road to Gyeongbokgung Palace

Our hotel is only 200m away from Namdaemun Market, 15-minute walk to Myeongdong Shopping District and 5-7-minute walk to Subway City Hall Station.

Destination | Gyeongbokgung Palace.

How to go |

Get on | City Hall Station - Exit 7 (your nearest subway station).

Get off | Gyeongbokgung Station - Exit 5. After go out through Exit 5, walk 5 minutes.

Whenever you get lost, ask young people or tourist assistants as most likely their English is better and they can guide you a lot. They also know how to use Google Map to help you find the way. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Be sure to check on the website for the operating hours.  Usually from 9 AM to 5 PM. The palace is closed every Tuesday.  

Prior to entering Gyeongbokgung Palace, you might want to pay a visit to the National Palace Museum and watch the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony. 

The surroundings outside of the Palace are also worth sightseeing.

National Palace Museum of Korea

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Time visit | 0.5 - 1 hour.

Price | Free.

We unintentionally dropped by this Museum as we arrived late at 10:10 AM and had to wait till 11:00 AM for the next Royal Changing Ceremony.

I also bought many cute little badges, stickers and fridge magnets here for my girlfriend and she loved it. 

Royal Guard Changing Ceremony

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Besides the beauty of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Changing Ceremony looks absolutely majestic and entertaining to watch. 

Time visit | as below.

Price | Free.

Sumunjang (Royal Guard) Changing Ceremony: 10:00, 13:00, 15:00 / three times a day / 20 minutes per ceremony

Gwanghwamun Gate Guard-on-Duty Performance: 11:00, 14:00, 16:00 / three times a day / 10 minutes per ceremony

Sumungun (Gatekeeper) Military Training (outside Hyeopsaengmun Gate): 9:35 (15 minutes) / 12:35 (15 minutes) / before and after the Guard Changing Ceremony and the Guard-on-Duty Performance

Gyeongbokgung Palace - inside

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Total damage | 7.500₩. Including:

Adult: 3.000₩.

Children: 1.500₩.

Activities |

Try out traditional Korean costume - Hanbok and take pictures. Also free entrance if you wear Hanbok.

Here’s a store with good reviews I found on Tripadvisor you may refer:

Store | 3355 Hanbok Rental Gyeongbokgung. 

Where | in front of the Palace Gate. About 5-minute walk.

Price | approximately 13.000 ~ 15.000₩/person.   

Time | The preparation phase may take up to 20 minutes - 1 hour for choosing the costumes and hair makeup.

There are many other stores nearby the palace for your choice. High-quality costume may even cost more. 

I would definitely try out male Hanbok if I had more time. Maybe next time then.

Or simply, enjoy the breath-taking view inside the Palace

After a long walk, we took a break in a coffee shop inside the Palace. 

We tried some rice water, fresh and delightful. Perhaps it was best seller in the coffee shop as many people bought this drink.

After ‘getting lost’ in this amazing palace, we found our way out at this gate and headed to Bukchon Hanok Village.

Road to Bukchon Hanok Village

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

25 - 30 minute walk from the Palace

Turn right at the Palace Gate (opposite the Blue House). Then follow the sign instructions, ask people around and use Google Map to find way to the Village.

There are many beautiful coffee shops, souvenir stores, accessories outlets, art galleries, etc. on the way to Bukchon Hanok Village. 

The atmosphere was also pleasing and peaceful for a walk. 

On the way, we stopped by a fruit stall to buy some fruits

and ice cream...

and even more of some street foods...

At this point, rain kept falling intermittently and we leapt shops after shops that did cost us a lot. LOL.

Bukchon Hanok Village

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

There are even more clothing shops, accessories stores, restaurants and coffee shops in this village. 

Arriving at 1:30 PM, we urged to find a place for lunch since we were so hungry.

Regardless of the village was filled with great Western restaurants, I desperately wanted to try authentic Korean food.

Lunch

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

And we found this fine-dining restaurant:

Byeokodong Gahan Table D'Hote / 벽오동가한정식 

Where | 18 Ahn-ku, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Opening hours | 11:30 - 21:00.

I later found that the restaurant did not have many good reviews and I think it was a little bit overpriced. The service was acceptable.  

Nevertheless, nothing would be more satisfying than having a warm place under heavy rains with hot, spicy food back then.  

And here we find 2 signature dishes of Korean, which was Jukkumi Bokkem (쭈꾸미 볶음) and Samgyetang (삼계탕).

Total damage | 47.000₩. Including: 

Spicy stir-fried octopus |  26.000₩.

Ginseng chicken soup | 15.000₩.

Rice and soup | 6.000₩.

Wandered around the village

2:30 PM - 5:00 PM

After stuffing our stomach with good food, we kept wandering around the village and took many pictures.

I also found this signature wall in Bukchon Hanok Village.

Back to hotel

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

We went back to the hotel to take some rest and take a shower. 

On our way, we popped in a Gong Cha (bubble tea) shop near our hotel and had a sip. 

Price | 8.000₩/2 people. 4.000₩ for 1 large size cup. Here they called it large (regular) and jumbo (big) size.

Cheonggyecheon Stream &  Lotte Duty Free

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

This is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul and also a nice place to take a stroll. 

My experience | Headed out to Cheonggyecheon Stream, we kinda disappointed since there was no light as well as no activity at night.  My comment about this place is: Timing. If you intend to visit the stream, consider time of the day. Also, it depends on the seasons and festivals (e.g. New Year Eve, Christmas, Lantern Festival, etc.) 

We then went to Lotte Duty Free for shopping as an alternative and bought some gifts for our friends there.

Dinner & back to the hotel

9:00 PM - 10:00 PM

We were so tired after a long wandering day. Hence, we randomly stopped by a small restaurant just to grab some food for dinner so we could get back to the hotel swiftly and have some rest. 

Total damage | 24.000₩. Including:

Beef porridge x 2 |  16.000₩.

Curry rice | 6.000₩.

End of Day 2.

Checkout other great posts here!

> Day 3 | Noryangjin Fish Market & Dongdaemun

> Day 4 | Part 1 | Nami Island

> Day 4 | Part 2 | Itaewon

< Day 1 | Myeongdong

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