Seoul Spring Adventure

Seoul was a bit of a sleeper favorite for us. We had planned several times to go to Seoul, but for some reason or other, we've always had to cancel. Finally, we went for spring break in 2024 and it did not disappoint. It's a very fun city to visit.

It can be intimidating as a foreigner as English is not as widespread as in some other Asian countries but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. There's a pretty different app ecosystem, so I'd suggest downloading a few of them in advance.

The Korean BBQ experience is incredible - from Majang Market's fresh Hanwoo beef to viral sensations like Hanmiok's brisket and egg dish. The baseball games are something else with a cheering section that sings fight songs, chants, and dances for the entire game.

Getting a color analysis done is uniquely popular here, and experiences like the Nanta show (kind of like a Korean Blue Man Group but with cooks) are entertaining for the whole family.

Google apps don't work well for navigation as South Korea has a law that requires local navigation data to reside in South Korea. Use Kakao or Naver maps instead.

Key apps to download:
- Papago for translation
- Kakao T for taxis (faster than Uber)
- Catchtable for restaurant reservations
- Klook, Creatrip, or Trazy for booking experiences
- T Money card for public transit

Quick tip for Kakao or Naver: sometimes searching in English with the words smooshed together gets better results.