Seoul can be overwhelming. Everything glitters, flashes, shines. You can’t read a single sign or menu – but you can feel it: something is pulsing here.
In the saddle through glitter and history
And then suddenly you’re sitting on a bike. Next to you: Hoon. In a great mood, super fit, crazy about cycling – and your key to another side of this mega-metropolis. Hoon comes from Pohang, has lived in Seoul for six years and already knows the city better than Google Maps. With him, you cruise through hidden neighbourhoods, past gleaming palaces of the Joseon dynasty, through streets steeped in centuries of history – and then back among neon signs, bubble-tea shops and an oversized cartoon figure that was originally a palace guard.
Seoul loves kitsch. And tradition. And snacks. Hoon shows you both: from the quiet courtyard of Gyeongbokgung to “BBQ Village”, where you reward yourself with golden fried chicken and ice-cold beer.
And then it goes quiet. Our group stands in the Peace Plaza, right in front of the War Memorial of Korea. All around us flutter the flags of the 21 countries that supported South Korea during the Korean War. The border with North Korea isn’t far away, says Hoon. Then he turns to the Americans in our group, bows – and thanks them. For the help of the USA in the Korean War. Without it, he says, this Seoul wouldn’t exist. A moment of gratitude. And one that moves you.
This tour is more than sightseeing. It is a crash course in Korean culture, a workout with a view – and an emotional journey into a country that has reinvented itself with strength, help from outside and an awful lot of pride.
Where you really taste Korea – street food with Han
Loud, wild, spicy. Seoul is sensory overload – in culinary terms, too. Especially at the legendary street-food markets in the east of the city: Dongdaemun and Gwangjang. Here, vendors shout their specialities in your face, steam rises from the pans, and somewhere between fish cakes, blood sausage and fermented radish, there you stand – hungry, but clueless. And then along comes Han.
Han is a local guide – and a lifesaver for anyone who doesn’t know whether they are eating seaweed or beef lung. He seems to know not only every one of the roughly 5000 food stalls, but their stories too. He knows where grandmothers still roll gimbap by hand and which kimchi stall made it onto Netflix.
His tour is a ramble through Seoul’s belly. It starts at Dongdaemun Market: history meets fried chicken, grilled squid and rice cakes on skewers. Then on to Gwangjang Market – according to Koreans, the best place for authentic cuisine. Here you sit among seamstresses on their lunch break, TikTok foodies and hungry night owls. And suddenly you’re sharing a table with a couple from Busan you’ve never met, drinking makgeolli and talking about K-pop.
Seoul city tips
A report by Raphael Hadad
