South Korea Guide
Seoul
The terms "24-hour city" and "place of contrasts" are much bandied descriptions of Asian megalopolises, but enigmatic SEOUL is thoroughly deserving of either cliché. A whirring, purring maelstrom of high-rise, neon-saturated streets and pulsating commerce, its twenty-million-plus souls, packed sardine-like into a metropolitan area smaller than Luxembourg, make it one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Here you can eat at restaurants at any time of day or night, shop at gargantuan markets and underground shopping malls, or drink, dance and sing the night away in one of the high-energy student zones. But for all its non-stop consumption, Seoul is also a place of considerable tradition and history. Joseon-dynasty palaces, displayed like medals in the centre of the city, proclaim its status as a seat of regal power from as far back as 1392; the tiled roofs of wooden hanok houses gently fish-scale their way towards the ash-coloured granite crags of Bukhansan, the world's most-visited national park; the ancient songs and dances of farmhands and court performers are still clashed out in a whirligig of sound and colour along Insadong-gil. A city with a hyper-efficient transport system, a negligible rate of crime, locals eager to please foreign guests and an almost astonishing wealth of locally produced modern art: it's little wonder that so many who visit Seoul come away hugely impressed.
Highlights
1 Insadong-gil There's enough to fill a day on Seoul's most popular street – tearooms, galleries and traditional restaurants crammed into a network of alleys.
2 Dongdaemun Head to this huge market, which never sleeps and is at its most atmospheric around midnight, for an assault on the senses.
3 Namsan at sunset Make sure you're at the top of Seoul's mountain for sunset, when the city's transition from grey to neon is nothing short of spectacular.
4 Bukhansan The world's most visited national park, whose southern fringes rear up in a mountain of rock behind the palace of Gyeongbokgung.
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