Once a rust belt, Seongsu-dong has been reborn. It is now full of various pretty cafes and pop-up stores. Seoul Forest, a former racetrack and golf course, has various botanical gardens and benches, making it perfect for a shelter. Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a place to breathe with a dynamic Dongdaemun Fashion Town. Its flexible and soft curves are similar to the shape of a spaceship.
Gwangjang Market, which boasts a history of more than 100 years, is full of delicious foods.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
Hotel
- The place where you are staying. Covinient pick-up by private car.
Seongsu-dong cafe street
Seongsu-dong is called Ttukseom because it is close to Jungnangcheon Stream and the Han River, but it is not an island. Compared to Gangnam across the river, land price is cheaper, so small and medium-sized factories were concentrated. After the 1990s, handmade shoe factories began to gather. From the 2000s, office space, an apartment-type factory, was created, and after 2008, it was replaced by a knowledge industry center.
Seongsu-dong shoe factories began to close one by one, being pushed by cheap shoes that were automatically mass-produced. Now, about 350 handmade shoe factories remain. In Seongsu-dong, venture companies including IT companies have moved into the knowledge industry center to form an IT industrial complex.
As gentrification progressed in the Seongsu-dong factory area, it was reborn as Seongsu-dong Handmade Shoe Street. In addition, the old factories have been remodeled to create many office spaces for young startups and exhibition spaces for artists, transforming them into hot places. Therefore, it is very similar to Brooklyn, New York. The characteristic of Seongsu-dong is that the red brick factory and houses still remained. Without demolishing the existing factory building, some of the interior has been renovated and used as various spaces. There are many cafes, pop-up stores, restaurants, exhibition halls, and studios. In particular, restaurants, cafes, and pubs are concentrated around the alley of Yeonmujang-gil.
Seoul Forest
Seoul Forest, adjacent to the Han River in Seoul, is popular as a resting place for citizens due to its large lawns and various botanical gardens. The former racetrack and golf course were modeled after Central Park in New York and Haydn Park in London. Various animals can also be seen in the Wetland Ecological Garden. Seoul Forest Hillstate, Trimaje, and Acrow Seoul Forest, where famous entertainers and singers live, boast the best views. SM-Entertainment, a leader in K-pop, is located, and Understand Avenue is nearby, so it is a must-visit place. In addition, it is also a filming location and shooting place for Korean movies and dramas in spring and autumn. There are beautiful cafes and restaurants along the red brick street next to Seoul Forest, so we can feel romance.
Lunch
There are various restaurants on the Red Brick Street near the Seoul Forest, so you can have lunch here.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, designed by Zaha Hadidi, who was born in Baghdad, Iraq and studied architecture in England, is the only building in the world.
Dongdaemun Fashion Town is being created by redeveloping the place where Dongdaemun Stadium used to be.
Construction began in 2009 and opened in March 2014. Dongdaemun Design Plaza, built with an atypical curve, was built by Samsung C&T using 3D BIM techniques.
It has a total area of 87,000 square meters and consists of three basement floors and four ground floors. The highest point is 29 meters.
There are market, design lab, museum, art hall, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, and Dongdaemun Stadium Memorial Hall. On the bridge to the future, we can feel two different vibes. First we can see Dongdaemun area of the past and the Dongdaemun area of the future. There are Dongdaemun Stadium Memorial Hall and Dongdaemun History and Culture Park History Hall in the east. And to the west, it is Dongdammun Fashion Town.
If you look in the air, you see a protruding building in the shape of a spaceship made of cantilever techniques.
The cantilever technique is fixed with one steel structure and the other is a free space.
It's the principle of supporting the building using tensile force.
And, it uses the megatrus method to support the entire building. The exterior wall is covered with 54,133 pieces of aluminum panels of different sizes and shapes. And the pillars of the building stand on the inside and are not visible from the outside.
Gwangjang Tradtional Market
Squid Game, which was aired on Netflix, is another symbol of the Korean Wave. The joy of eating while traveling is always the best value. Gwangjang Market, where you can always feel the vivid atmosphere, boasts a history of more than 100 years. Originating from two bridges in Cheonggyecheon, Gwangjang Market is living up to its name value. Items handled in the Gwangjang Market include Hanbok, textiles, bedding, kitchenware, fruits and dried fish. Most of all, however, it is a place with a variety of foods, so people come to visit all year round. The representative food here is bindaetteok(mungbean pancake), and it is diverse, including yukhoe(beef sasimi), jokbal(pig feet meat), sannakji(live octopus), kimbap, tteokbokki, and noodles. There are stores aired on Neckplice that attract tourists. The wide range of street stalls and the smell of delicious food attracts us. The vivid appearance of the Korean market and the delicious food experience are a bonus.
Hotel
I will drop you off where you're staying.
Ending Point
Hotel
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
- Guide fee
- Private Transportation (Fuel, parking fee) by Hyundai five-seater sedan
- Free photo service
- Food and drinks
- Personal expense
- Traveler's insurance
*This tour involves some walking, so make sure to wear comfortable shoes.
*Please let me know in advance if you have any food allergies or other dietary restrictions.
Service is available even at dawn or late night including pick-up and sending at Incheon International Airport.
Hello, I am Charlie, a tour guide. It’s very nice to meet you!
I warmly welcome you to Korea.
Korea is a beautiful country with 5,000 years of history.
Drawing on my experience working for a Korean government agency and my expertise in Korean history and culture, I would like to introduce you to many tourist attractions, including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province.
Join me on a journey, and let’s have a wonderful time together. Thank you very much!
$360/ per group