DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/20/08
Here's what you need to know if you're planning a trip to South Korea:
Getting there
 Betty Gordon / AJC | ||
| Where the streets of Seoul are too narrow for large trucks to navigate near the massive Dongdaemun market, horsepower gives way to manpower as workers ready to deliver carpets. Jongmyo. | ||
 Betty Gordon / AJC | ||
| Women shopping for fabric for a custom-made hanbok, the traditional Korean costume, can select from a rainbow of colors. | ||
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Delta Air Lines and code-share partner Korean Airlines fly nonstop from Hartfield-Jackson to Inchon International Airport. Expect to pay about $1,700 in summer, though if you have flexible dates and fly midweek, you can sometimes find fares around $900. The fall is a splendid time to go. It's cooler, there isn't much rain and you can enjoy the changing colors of the foliage. From the airport, you can get a bus into Seoul for about $9.25 (at 975 won to $1). The trip takes about 90 minutes. You can also get a train from Inchon Airport to Gimpo Airport and connect to the subway from there.
Getting around
The subway is the fastest and easiest way to see Seoul. Eight lines cover the city. At a subway station or some convenience stores, you can purchase a rechargeable, nonrefundable T-money card(about $2.50), about the size of a credit card. You can load up to 90,000 won on it. Single-ticket trips cost 1,000 (about $1); the T-money card discounts that to 900 (92 cents). At the entrance gate, tap the card on the sensor. It will deduct the 900 and tell you how much money is left on your card. To exit, tap the card again; if you've taken a longer journey, say out to Suwon to see the fortress, it will automatically deduct the extra fare. You can use the card on buses and for some museums; in the future, taxis will also accept them. www.seoulsubway.co.kr.
Where to stay
• Best Western Premier Kukdo. From ground level, take an escalator up to the hotel, which is about a year old. Spacious, well-lighted rooms with a large picture window and a plasma-screen TV. The walk-in shower has a huge showerhead, like a mushroom cap on steroids. From $140 a night, tax included (ask about discounts). 310 Euljiro 4 Ga, Jung-gu. 011-82-02-2266-7117, 011-82-02-6466-1234; www.hotelkukdo.com. Or www.bestwestern.com; 1-800-780-7234. The airport bus stops in front of the hotel.
• Hotel Ibis Myeong-dong. Clean, functional rooms, but what the hotel has going for it is its prime location in a hip area with lots of places to eat and shop. From $115 per night, taxes included. 59-5 Myeong-dong 1 Ga, Jung-gu. 011-82-02-6361-8888; www.ambatel.com/ibis.
• COEX InterContinental Seoul. Rooms from $250. COEX Mall is a large complex of entertainment, shopping and eating outlets plus a convention and exhibition center. 159 Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu. 1-800-496,7621; www.intercontinental.com.
Where to eat
Should lack of adventurousness get the better of you, most well-known American fast-food chains, such as McDonald's, KFC, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks, have numerous outlets.
• Yongsusan Taepyungno Korean Cuisine. For lunch, try the multicourse set menu, from 24,000 won (about $24.60). For 38,000 won ($39), your small portions will include cucumber soup, tempura vegetables, kimchi, julienned vegetables, mung bean noodles, asparagus and mushrooms on a skewer, tender marinated beef short ribs, green tea, and persimmon punch flavored with ginger, cinnamon and honey. Seoul Finance Center, 105-A, 84, Taepyungno 1 ga, Joong-gu, 011-82-02-771-5553; www.yongsusan.co.kr.
• In Insadong: Friendly Miss Hyun Ja, Ssamzie Market, first floor, Gwanghun-dong 44, Jongno-gu, 011-82-02-725-7360. The Ssamzie Market is seven floors of boutiques, art galleries and places to eat.
• Din Tai Fung. A branch of the dumpling empire that started in Taipei, Taiwan. Many of the same delicacies offered as in the flagship store: soups, rice, noodles, beef and pork dishes, vegetable side dishes and, of course, the bamboo-basket-steamed dumplings. Also multicourse set menus from 27,000 (about $28). 104 Myeong-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu. 011-82-02-771-2778, www.dintaifung.co.kr.
• Lotte department store, Myeong-dong: In addition to a well-stocked supermarket on the lower level that has prepared foods in case you want to pack a picnic, an extensive food court offers traditional Korean cuisine and Japanese and Chinese selections. All shops have a number, and the food is numbered with pictures. Decide what you want and order at the central booth, though some counters have their own cash registers. Your receipt number will appear on a lighted board when you order is ready. This is a wildly popular place; you may have to walk around to find a seat. Outlets to wash your hands and to get cold water to drink are among the chairs and tables. There are also mouthwash dispensers (Korean food is spiced with lots of garlic and hot chiles). The 10 upper floors are an upscale department store. Lotte also has supermarkets around town where you can dine in. Directly across the street from the Hotel Ibis Myeong-dong. 1 Sogong-dong, Jung-gu. www.lottedfs.com (mostly in Korean).
• Kraze Burger: Decor reminiscent of 1950s American diners; very good made-to-order hamburgers and fries. COEX mall, Samseong Station, Subway line 2 (green line); other locations around town.
Guidebooks
• "Seoul City Guide" by Martin Robinson (Lonely Planet, fifth edition, $19.99).
• "Korea" by Martin Robinson, Ray Bartlett and Rob Whyte (Lonely Planet, seventh edition, $25.99).
Information
Korea Tourism Organization: www.visitkorea.or.kr; Seoul Tourism: english.visitseoul.net.
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