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Korean Hiking Culture: Why Koreans Dress Like They're Climbing Everest

Get on a Seoul subway around 8 on a Saturday morning and you'll see it. Neon jackets. Trekking poles folded into backpacks. Visors, gloves, serious-looking boots. Half the car seems to be heading off on an expedition, and you're just going to brunch. Don't worry, it's not a club outing. (Well, sometimes it is.) It's just Saturday in Korea. Quick facts About 70 percent of Korea is mountainous Bukhansan recorded about 7.53 million visits in 2025 Core hikers are in their 40s, 50s and 60s "First foliage" means about 20 percent turned, "peak" means 80 percent Start early, before 9 a.m. if you can Why does everyone hike? Look out almost any apartment window here and there's a good chance you'll see a mountain. Roughly 70 percent of the country is mountainous, depending on who's counting, and our cities got squeezed into whatever flat land was left. So the mountain isn't a trip. It's the thing behind the supermarket. That chang...

Seoul Royal Palaces: Gyeongbokgung vs Changdeokgung vs Deoksugung

Pick one palace. That's my advice if you've got a single free afternoon in Seoul, and I know it sounds stingy. On a map the five Joseon palaces look like neighbors (Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Gyeonghuigung), so it's tempting to think you'll knock out all five before dinner. Your feet will vote against that by about 3 p.m. One palace, maybe two if you skip lunch. That's the real number for most people. So which one? "It depends" is a lazy thing to read on a travel blog, so here's my straight answer up front. Never been to Seoul before? Gyeongbokgung. Hate crowds and love trees? Changdeokgung. Only free after dinner? Deoksugung. Now the details. Quick facts Closed days: Gyeongbokgung on Tuesdays, Changdeokgung and Deoksugung on Mondays Admission: Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung 3,000 won, Deoksugung 1,000 won Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung stay open until 9 p.m. Secret Garden: guided visit only, extra 5,000 won Roya...

How to Ride the Bus and Subway in Seoul: Cards, Transfers, Bus Lanes

Every day on my commute I transfer between the bus and the subway, going to work and coming home again. For Seoul commuters it's so normal that nobody even mentions it. But if you're visiting, a Seoul bus stop can look like a test you didn't study for. The route maps are mostly in Korean, the numbers run to four digits, and three buses pull in at once while everyone around you already seems to know which one is theirs. Good news, though. Once you've got one transit card in your pocket, most of that stops mattering. Quick facts Fares with a card: subway 1,550 won, city bus 1,500 won Transfer window: 30 minutes after tapping off (1 hour, 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.) Tap on and off, or the transfer chain breaks Overseas contactless cards cannot tap on buses yet, planned around 2027 Tmoney Travel Card for foreigners: 4,000 won One card, one fare, the whole city Fares first, because they're cheap. A subway ride costs 1,550 won with a card (it went up from 1,400 on June 28, 202...

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