February worth a visit?
 

Thanks to the Great AA Devaluation of 2016 I spent most of the rest of my miles to get to BKK next February. Now I need to figure out what to do about a return trip to get home.

I had been considering a return to Singapore which I like a lot, but I've been there twice already. In poking around a bit I thought Seoul might be a decent choice. I have about 43K KE miles thanks to their US Bank credit card. And could source plenty more via a potential SPG transfer and/or UR transfer. Since KE allows one ways and stopovers it would cost me 95K miles in F class from BKK to IAD with a stopover in Seoul. This seems like a good value to me.

So, after that long intro, my question is whether the consensus would be that it's a good time to be in Seoul (mid-late February). According to the weather site I consulted it will be cold of course. This wouldn't be a huge issue except for the fact that I will be in the tropics of Bangkok immediately before which could complicate packing.

I've never been to Korea, but it's been on my list for a while. And I really dig Korean Indie music and CNBLUE. I'd probably spend about a week there. Worth doing, or just pick some place else tropical instead?

I just spent 4 days in Seoul at the very beginning of March.
Yes, the weather was a little nippy compared to the Australian summer I had just left, but not freezing (highs of 10c/50f).
Personally I thought Seoul itself was basically just another city - not up to the excitement levels of say, Tokyo or Hong Kong - although many would say a more "real" experience.
The highlight for me was a visit to the DMZ at Panmunjeom, which I found fascinating, although you do need to be at least a little bit into politics and/or history.
Overall, I would say it is worth a few days as a stopover.

Seoul is a perfect city for a few days stopover. I absolutely love living here, but I can say as a tourist, a long weekend like Thursday to Monday, or a few days during the week is ample. Day trip to the DMZ, spend a day in Myeongdong/Jongno/palaces, a day in Gangnam, go out at night. Seoul ABSOLUTELY shines in the food and nightlife department. I can honestly say it's the best nightlife in Asia. Nowhere else has come close for me yet!

Thanks. Just waiting for my SPG transfer to show up in my KE account.

Personally I prefer spending a little too long in a place and not feeling like I have to jam too much into a day. Current idea is to arrive Saturday early afternoon and depart the following Saturday morning. KTO has a very extensive and detailed website. I'm guessing I will find plenty of stuff to do, maybe a day trip or two if they make sense.

As for nightlife, I'm not a drinker (or especially social, frankly). I understand that S.Korea has a pretty big alcohol problem. Hopefully some of my favorite bands will be playing while I'm there.

How's the weather in mid May?

https://weatherspark.com/

http://seoulistic.com/travel-to-kore...o-visit-korea/

Cherry blossoms should be starting to come out now, meaning getting warm enough for flowers. Maybe warm enough for us.

Come on out to Seoul! Late Feb shouldn't be all that bad. March 1st is Korea's Independence Day. So you might see lots of flags out. Anything I can do to help with your trip, please let me know.

Thanks. I may take you up on that. At the moment I'm waiting to see if I can move it a month later to March. So I have to wait until AA's award booking window opens.

Ended up moving my trip. Managed to switch my dates for the outbound to Bangkok from mid-Feb to late March (which is probably less than ideal for that part of the trip) and then I'll spend a week in Korea April 1-8. Gotta love KE's free stopover on awards.

Early April is a good time. Usually not too hot or cold. Also yellow dust starts to kick in towards the second half of April.

I did a week in Seoul and Busan in mid-March (15th-21st). It was cold at night, about 35F when I was out, but the sunny and 60F temperatures during the day were very pleasant. I didn't wear my jacket once during the days.

That said, I think Seoul is the kind of city I'd enjoy even if it were really cold, I wouldn't hesitate to visit in February.