A Full Day in Seoul for Under RM100 — Our First Day in Korea 🇰🇷
- Jul 24
- 5 min read
There’s something special about the first day in a new city.
You’re tired from the flight. You haven’t figured out the trains yet. Everything on the street looks slightly unfamiliar.
And somehow, those are usually the days you remember the most.
This was our first day in Seoul.
No fancy restaurants. No packed itinerary. No expensive attractions.
We simply walked, ate, explored a few neighbourhoods and ended the evening sitting beside the Han River.
And somehow, the entire day cost us less than RM100.
🎥 Watch our Seoul Day 1 vlog here:
Landing in Seoul Korea 🇰🇷
We arrived at Incheon International Airport and made our way into Seoul.
That first train ride from the airport always feels like the real beginning of a trip.
Outside the window, the scenery slowly changes.
Highways become buildings.
Buildings become neighbourhoods.
And suddenly, you realise:
Okay. We’re actually in Korea.
We dropped our things at Brooklyn Blues Hotel before heading straight out.
There was no time to waste.
Seoul was waiting.
First Stop: Gwangjang Market 广藏市场
Naturally, our first proper stop had to involve food.
We headed to Gwangjang Market, one of Seoul’s most famous traditional markets.
Walking inside feels completely different from the modern Seoul you see in places like Gangnam.
Small stalls sit tightly beside one another.
People squeeze through narrow walkways.
Aunties prepare food right in front of you.
Steam rises from giant pots while everyone sits around small counters eating tteokbokki, gimbap, noodles, pancakes and whatever else looks good.
And honestly?
That is half the fun.
We didn’t come with a checklist of famous stalls.
We just walked around, looked at what people were eating and tried whatever caught our attention.
Sometimes that is the best way to experience a market.
Taking a Break at Cheonggyecheon 清溪川
After eating, we walked towards Cheonggyecheon.
And Seoul suddenly became quiet.
Cheonggyecheon is a stream running right through the middle of the city.
Above you are roads, offices, shops and people rushing everywhere.
But walk a few steps down towards the water and the atmosphere completely changes.
People sit beside the stream.
You hear the water moving.
People walk slowly.
Nobody seems particularly rushed.
So we bought some food and sat down for a small picnic.
Nothing spectacular happened here.
And maybe that is exactly why I liked it.
Travel doesn’t always have to be about seeing the biggest attraction.
Sometimes you're just sitting beside a river in a city thousands of kilometres away from home thinking:
This is nice.
Exploring Seoul's University Neighbourhoods
From there, we continued towards Ewha Womans University.
I already knew Seoul had beautiful university campuses, but walking through this area made me understand why university neighbourhoods appear in so many Korean dramas.
The streets feel young.
There are cafés everywhere.
Students are walking between classes.
Small shops line the roads.
And the university itself is incredibly photogenic.
After Ewha, we continued towards Yonsei University.
This was probably one of the most unexpectedly beautiful parts of the day.
Old stone buildings.
Trees lining the pathways.
Huge green spaces.
For a moment, it genuinely felt like we had walked into a movie set.
Except everyone around us was actually going to class. 😂
A Very Glamorous Korean Meal…
McDonald’s. 🤣
By this point we had already been walking for hours.
One thing I’ve realised about travelling is that not every meal needs to be some famous restaurant you found on TikTok.
Sometimes you just want somewhere to sit down.
Something familiar.
Something cheap.
And food immediately.
So yes.
We ate McDonald’s in Korea.
No regrets.
Hongdae at Golden Hour
Later in the afternoon, we made our way towards Hongdae.
This is where Seoul's energy changed again.
Hongdae feels younger, louder and slightly more chaotic.
There are street performers.
Fashion stores.
Cafés.
People hanging out everywhere.
Music coming from different directions.
After spending the earlier part of the day around markets, rivers and university campuses, Hongdae felt like somebody suddenly turned Seoul’s volume up.
We walked around without much of a plan.
And honestly, Hongdae is probably better that way.
You don’t necessarily need a destination here.
Just walk.
Enter random stores.
Watch someone performing on the street.
Buy something you absolutely did not plan to buy. 😅
Then keep walking.
Our RM100 Seoul Date
As evening approached, we headed towards one of the places I was looking forward to the most:
Yeouido Hangang Park.
We bought some food, found a spot near the river and had a simple picnic.
This might have been my favourite moment of the entire day.
You have Seoul’s skyline in the distance.
Cyclists passing behind you.
Groups of friends sitting around talking.
Couples having picnics.
People eating instant noodles beside the river.
And slowly, the sky gets darker.
There was nothing luxurious about our date.
But sitting there together, somewhere far away from home, eating beside the Han River… it felt pretty perfect.
And that is when we realised something funny.
After an entire day exploring Seoul—
the markets,
the universities,
Hongdae,
the food,
the trains,
and our picnic—
we had spent less than RM100 on our date. 😂
Turns out you don't necessarily need a huge budget to enjoy Seoul.
Seeing DDP for the First Time
Our final major stop was Dongdaemun Design Plaza — DDP.
I studied architecture, so naturally this was something I really wanted to see.
And seeing it at night was even better.
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, DDP looks almost unreal against the surrounding city.
There are hardly any conventional straight walls.
Instead, the entire building seems to curve and flow around you.
It almost feels less like a building and more like a giant object that landed in the middle of Seoul.
We walked around for a while just taking everything in.
After spending the whole day seeing traditional markets, university campuses and neighbourhood streets, ending at something this futuristic felt strangely fitting.
Seoul constantly switches between different personalities.
Old.
Young.
Quiet.
Chaotic.
Traditional.
Futuristic.
Sometimes within a few train stations.
One Last Stop: APM Place
Because apparently we still hadn't done enough exploring…
We stopped by APM Place, one of Dongdaemun's famous fashion wholesale malls.
Floor after floor.
Clothes everywhere.
People buying stock.
Shops packed tightly beside each other.
If you love fashion or just enjoy seeing where many Korean fashion trends start, it is an interesting place to walk around even when you're not planning to buy much.
Eventually, though, our legs surrendered.
It was time to head back.
Seoul Day 1 Route
For anyone who wants to recreate a similar day:
Incheon Airport → Gwangjang Market → Cheonggyecheon → Ewha Womans University → Yonsei University → Hongdae → Yeouido Hangang Park → Dongdaemun Design Plaza → APM Place
It’s a long day, so wear comfortable shoes.
Comments