For another year, BTS brings us closer to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, through their various tours only made for us!

Each of the members will show us different sides of Seoul like we’ve never seen before. A true beauty; breathtaking at many angles. Seoul has been a favorite tourist destination now for this reason, but of course, we want those who are yet to experience this beauty to know why they must visit Seoul!

In this post, we will look into the cultural and traditional experiences and travel places RM recommends in his ‘Old But New‘ Seoul Tour.

#1 Bosingak (Bosingak Bell-Ringing Ceremony)

Bosingak has a long history behind it as it was used during the Joseon Dynasty to keep the time. Now, located in Jongno-gu–the center of Seoul, Bosingak is a place where tourists and locals can actually enjoy the bell-ringing ceremony that takes place for one hour every day (except Mondays), starting at 11:20.

Also, Bosingak serves as the location of Korea’s very own ‘ball drop ceremony’ during New Year’s Eve to welcome the next year. On this day, the once busy streets surrounding the belfry are closed to traffic so people can gather to celebrate the new year with striking the bell.

Location: 54 Jong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Bosingak Pavilion)

Open Hours: all year round (Closed Monday, Mar 1, Aug 15, Dec 31, and other designated dates by Seoul Metropolitan Government)

Website: culture.seoul.go.kr

#2 Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace was the first palace to be built among the royal palaces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and is the largest of them all. Here, visitors can enjoy different sections of the palace and its surroundings while wearing hanbok that they can actually rent to get more of the traditional Korean vibe. Gyeongbokgung is very nice to visit during the day while enjoying clear blue skies and also at night to see the palace come alive under the moonlight.

Location: 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Website: www.royalpalace.go.kr

Admission Fee: 3000 won (Free for ages 65 & up, ages 24 & below, disabled, hanbok wearer)

#3 Bukchon Hanok Village

Continue the tour while wearing hanbok to Bukchon Hanok Village, which literally means ‘north village’. The village is located north of the Cheonggyecheon stream and Jongno-gu. It is a traditional hanok village built near the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace and then Jongmyo Shrine.

So, many hanok houses line this place that walking around would be a real delight for travelers. So, be sure to visit it, take lots of selfies and go back in time through this stroll around one of Seoul’s traditional neighborhood.

Location: 37 Gyedong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Website: hanok.seoul.go.kr

#4 Namsangol Hanok Village

Namsangol Hanok Village is on the north of Namsan Mountain. The village has 5 restored traditional Korean houses, a performance stage/theater, a pavillion, a traditional garden, and a time capsule plaza (where they buried a time capsule which is scheduled to be reopened four hundred years later in 2394).

The traditional houses and the peaceful ambiance around this area will take you to a leisure walk as if you’re going back to the past. You can enjoy sightseeing and even get to see the inside of one of these hanok houses which they have opened to the public for a more vivid experience.

They also have lots of traditional programs and activities that locals and tourists can participate in such as wearing hanbok, folding hanji, writing in Korea, traditional tea ceremony, taekwondo performances, falconry and you can also try their traditional games like yutnori.

Address: 28 Toegye-ro 34-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (Namsangol Hanok Village)

Open Hours: (Apr – Oct) 09:00 – 21:00, (Nov – Mar) 09:00 – 20:00 / Open except on Mondays

Website: www.hanokmaeul.or.kr

#5 Kyulyun Taekkyeon Association, Taekkyeon Experience

Taekkyeon is one of the oldest martial art form of Korea. It is known for it’s lyrical, dance-like movements and techniques that are used to take down one’s opponent.

If you are looking to learn Taekkyeon you can actually sign up for classes at the Kyulyun Taekkyeon Martial Arts Center, which caters training and demonstration of the art of Taekkyeon for anyone who is interested.

Location: 407 Samil-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Website: www.taekyun.org

Okay, so there you have it! This is it for now. I’ll be sharing too some interesting tour information that our other six remaining BTS special tour guides has shown us from their TVC in the near future. Look forward to it!

RM’s Seoul City TVC

Additional Snaps from the TVC

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Sources: Visit Seoul | Visit Korea