2015 Winter Free and Easy Korea Seoul - Mid December with Kids
Itinerary At A Glance ......
Gimpo International Airport
Cheonggyecheon Stream
N Seoul Tower / Namsan Tower
Edae , Sinchon, Hongdae
Sinchon graffiti tunnel
Korean Children's Center Snow Sledding Field
Mario Outlet, Lotte Mart (Seoul Station)
Dongdaemun Toy Shopping
Namiseon Island
Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort
Mt. Bukhansan Hiking
City Hall - Ice Skating
Bukchon Hanok Village
Gyeongbokgung Palace
We took Japan Airlines' flight to Korea. Our kids love Japan Airlines. They got to choose their own free toys!
During our stopover at ( I think) Haneda airport in Japan, we left one baggage in the plane. And guess what, that's the baggage where we kept our winter jackets!!! WHAT ?!!! We were happily walking around, window shopping in the airport when I suddenly looked at our luggage trolley and thought that a.... something was not right... All our faces turned to ice right after we realised that we had left it in the plane and 3 of our winter jackets were inside!! Panicking, we grabbed anyone in flight uniform to ask about what we should do next... but it was like chicken and duck communicating.... Nobody understood English.. !! Eventually, after a round of Charade with an air stewardess (can't remember which airline), she finally understood us and took the pain to help us communicate with the relevant parties. PHEW!
Stayed at Guest house Myeongdong 2 for the whole of our Korea trip. Easily accessible by Chungmuro subway station (Line 3/4) , just 2-3 minutes walk from exit 4. Family room comes with 1 double and 2 single beds. Room is small (after putting in 3 beds) but clean, free wifi , free simple breakfast (delicious creamy soup). Friendly lady boss and staff.
Advise : do not bring big luggage for the Seoul trip; difficult to lug around the subway STAIRS.....bring permanent marker .. buy a unique and striking lock if you intend to have your "locks of love" at N Seoul Tower. As the seoul subway card for children is similar to the adult's card, you may want to indicate on it using a marker.
Day 1 - (-4 to 3degC)
Purchase T-money card (stored value card) for subway and bus at the airport railroad
station control. Children card is available as well , just need to tell them their age.
(There's no GS25 convenience store at Gimpo Airport) Recharge the amount at the
card reload devices inside subway stations.
Myeongdong Money changer just opposite Embassy of China ,I think
(actual day rate 1 SGD to 832 Won, Myeongdong rate 821-823 W around there) Rate
there is better than in Singapore.
Cheonggyecheon Stream at subway station Euljiro 4 (sa) -ga.
A big disappointment ! This part of the Stream is not worth going at all. Nicest part of
Cheonggyecheon Stream should be the main entrance, at Gwanghwamun station
Exit 5 .
The cold chilly wind was too much for us to bear on the first day... Hibernate time...
Day 2 - (-7 to 1degC)
N Seoul Tower which sits atop Namsan Mountain.
Chungmuro subway station exit 2, take yellow bus No. 2 (every 6mins) at the bus stop
in front of the subway station, using T-money card. Most cost effective way, as walking
up the tower from Namsan Park would be too strenuous for us. Get off at the N Seoul
tower bus stop which is the last stop. Walk up the slope (around 5mins) and enjoy the
scenary.
Next stops, Edae , Sinchon, Hongdae
Edae is at Ewha Womans Univ. subway station.
Had our lunch at this restaurant 2 minutes walk from Ewha Woman's Univ. Station Exit 2.
Highly recommend this restaurant. Cheap and good food which we love. The exact location should be the red circle drawn on the map below. It is opposite a fried chicken take away shop.
Shopping here is cheap and good! I love it. There are a few shops selling handbags at 10,000W (which is around S$10) Bought my cosmetics here as well.
Think most of the Street food stalls are only opened in the evenings.
We walked to Sinchon subway station which looked deserted. Came out from a lift near the toilet and chanced upon this tunnel full of colourful drawings.Sinchon graffiti tunnel.
Distance from Sinchon to Hongik University subway station is quite far.. Taking the subway would be a better choice. By the time we reached Hongik Univ. station by foot, we were too exhausted to explore Hongdae.. (live performances, crispy hotteoks...)
Day 3 - (-8 to 1 degC)
(Another important advise, check the opening dates on the actual websites not the
Korean tourism website , the day before going)
We went all the way to Korean Children's Center Snow
Sledding Field at Children's Grand Park station (Exit 2) but it was not
opened!!!! This was my most anticipated place to go!!
The banner just outside it indicated it should already be opened for the second day but the website shows 5days later!
Next destination, Mario Outlet at Gasan Digital Complex station (outlet mall
having end of year 90% discount!)
That is Asia's largest outlet shopping mall. Sounds tempting ? Don't ! What 90%,
the mall is quite empty in terms of customers.
Things there are not cheap at all. Bought nothing there. Wasted trip.
Next on the list, Lotte Mart at Seoul Station.
The Mart is so super crowded as it was a weekend. Wanted to buy more things but in
the end only grab a few. Bring own shopping bag.
The restaurant at the ground floor of Lotte Mart as shown below is highly
recommended. (Bennigan's) Food there is so yummy!
Our kids can't wait to go Dongdaemun Toy shopping. Take Exit 4, second
alley on the right Dongdaemun Stationary Store Street. There's a bigger toy store
Seungjin Toy (승진완구) somewhere in the middle when you come to a cross junction.
The sign is yellow with the Lego word on it. It's a two storey toy shop with toys selling
at 30% cheaper than other retailers.
There's also a winter clothings store just outside Exit 4 of Dongdaemun station. We
bought 2 children winter jackets there at 30 000 Won each (roughly S$32).
Day 4 - (-6 to 5 degC)
Nami Island
Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort
Food on Nami Island (small food stalls) cost similar to those in Seoul.
Must eat : Nami Sausage (so yummy!) Finally got a chance to try the hot pancakes
here. Good!
How to go to Nami Island : Take subway to Gapyeong, journey 1h 40mins ,
2 transfers.
From Chungmuro take line 3 to Oksu, transfer at Oksu to Gyeongui Jungang line to
Mangu station, transfer at Mangu to Gyeongchun line to Gapyeong. The waiting time
for the Gyeongchun line is rather long (maybe around 20 mins) and listen to the
subway announcements, there is another line using the same platform.
From Gapyeong station, take 10mins (3000-4000W) taxi ride to the ferry wharf.
Buy Entry Visa to Nami Island 8000 W (adults) 4000W (children) round trip
Ferry schedule : 7.30-9 (30min intervals)
9-18:00 (10-20min intervals)
18:00-21.40 (30min intervals)
Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort is 2 stops away from the subway station to
Nami Island) It is the only ski resort that can be reached via subway.
There's no snow sledding rentals here though.. we only played with the snow. (3000 W
each) Skiing here costs about 60-70 000 W (around there) for 4 hours.
I've also read about Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort near Seoul , in a region that experiences
heavy snow.. (one week forecast shows none of the resorts having snowfall...
sigh...)
How to go to Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort - from Gapyeong station, take train to
Baegyangri station ( 2 stops away, direction towards Chuncheon), then take free
shuttle bus to the resort. The shuttle bus is parked just outside the Baeyangri station ,
on the right.
Day 5 - (-5 to 6degC)
Mountain Hiking at Mt. Bukhansan
We chose the Bukhansan Mountain Dulle-gil trail (Huingureum-gil Section)
http://ecotour.knps.or.kr/dulegil/dulegil03_e.asp#
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=1421574
Take Line 4 to Gireum (towards Dongdaemun History & Culture Park)
Exit 3, Take bus 1014/1114 , get off at the last station which is the Bukhansan Ecological
Forest Entrance
As you can see, the main map shown there is in Korean.. and there's no information centre
to ask. Since there were a lot of trails, we did not know which was the one that we
intended to take. We found a lot of hammocks and tables on one of the slope, rested and
took a break there before we moved on.
Next stop. City Hall Station - Ice Skating (Exit 6)
Price : 1000W for 1 hr inclusive of skate rental! Sooooo cheap! And since it's sooo cheap..
it was full by the time we went there 2pm (Weekend). We booked our 2hrs later time slot.
Bukchon Hanok Village at Anguk subway station line 3 , and just 3 stops
from our Chungmuro station. Exit 2 walk straight for 300m.
Just 1 subway station away is Gyeongbokgung Palace at Gyeongbokgung Palace Station , Exit 5. This palace is closed on Tuesdays.
You'll find these useful for the Korea (Seoul) winter trip.
1. Interactive Subway app
2. Subway app - Explore Seoul subway map (iPhone, iPad)
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