Seoul Trip Report
3 Days in Seoul in late April.
Accommodation - An airbnb place for about US $60 per night. It was clean, quiet and comfortable and everything worked properly. It's in a quiet residential neighborhood but still close to everything. Look on airbnb for "btw Seoul Station and Hongdae."
Food - Not easy to find places for breakfast and I never found the good bibimbap that I was hoping for, but there are lots of good dumplings.
Costs - Very low. Food, subways, taxis, museums are all very good value.
Weather - It rained almost the entire time.
People - Not all that much English spoken, but I was able to get by perfectly well. On a few occasions people came over to ask if I needed help finding something.
Sights:
Temples - Saw three of the main ones. I suppose if you are an architecture buff, you will enjoy them. For me, they all looked pretty much the same. I took the Secret Garden Tour which was no big deal. Perhaps in the fall it is better.
Museums - The Korean War Museum was ok, but surprisingly outdated. It was a victory for liberal democracy over communist tyranny? The south was just as tyrannical as the north at that time. The Seodaemun Prison was more interesting. And I found the World Cup museum enjoyable. It was nice to have the stadium entirely to myself.
The Cheonggyecheon stream promenade was a nice walk. And though I don't know which one, one of the mountains was located right near the apt I stayed at. It was an easy climb and with great views. I also liked walking around Insadong and Itaewon.
Jimjilbangs - Went to three. The Silloam was a bit hard to find, but interesting with about a hundred nude Korean bathers. At Itaewonland, there were only about 6 other people there. Both were about US $6 to enter. The Spa on Air at Incheon airport is the most expensive and least clean, but also least crowded and a nice treat before or after a flight.