Off the Beaten Path - Seoul, South Korea

While You're in Korea enjoying some tasty bulgogi head for the capital. Seoul has some truly amazing sights, but it also has a few hidden areas worth a bit of exploring.

Tombs of the Kings and a 500-year-old Ginkgo Tree

Here’s a World Heritage site that you can visit for just $1 (1,000 won). It’s called Seolleung-Jeongneung and is the final resting place of two kings and one queen from the Joseon dynasty.

The verdant green hill tombs and little red shrines are a quiet getaway from the hustle and bustle of the Gangnam financial district that surrounds the area. There are also some cool stone statues in the shape of zodiac animals that guard the tombs.

Don’t miss the giant ginkgo tree that has stood watch over the tombs ever since King Jungjong was buried here in the 16th century. Magnificent in summer, watch out for fallen gingko nuts that quickly turn smelly in autumn.

Korea’s first church, Yakhyeon Catholic Church

Most travel guides list the Myeongdong Cathedral as one of Seoul’s key attractions that tourists would want to tick off their list. But did you know that Seoul is home to a church that is even older and more beautiful than Myeongdong Cathedral?

Yakhyeon Catholic Church is one of Seoul’s better-kept secrets, perhaps because it isn’t located within the shopping district. The church itself is a gorgeous red brick building in the Gothic style. Originally built in 1892, it was reconstructed after a fire.  The church compound also has a museum about the birth of Christianity in Korea. This is really interesting because Korea is the only country where Christianity was not spread through missionaries from Europe, but by local Koreans who obtained scriptures from China. Don’t miss the chapel with relics from the martyrs executed just a stone’s throw away at the Seosomun Park. 
Historically, this was the area in front of the western city gate of Hanyang (Seoul), hence it’s use as an execution ground to set an example to the common folk. But far from stamping out the spread of Christianity, the sight of the Korean martyrs going joyfully to their deaths, with the promise of eternal salvation, was somehow attractive to the oppressed masses who converted by the thousands.

Café in the Forest

This cafe is in a rather quiet corner of Seoul National University and even some students don’t know about it.

Cafe Pascucci is quite a big chain but this outlet is special because it’s nestled in SNU’s Gwanak mountain campus and surrounded by beautiful pine trees. The counter is on the first floor and the second floor has ample space for you to lounge on the nice sofas and lose yourself in the forest.

There is also a sheltered open-air deck where you can have your coffee with the scent of the forest.

To get there, take the subway to Seoul National University station (Line 2, green) Exit 3. Get on bus 5511 and get off at the Gwanaksa dormitory. Then cross the road to the College of Education. Alternatively, take the subway to Nakseongdae station Exit 4 and catch bus 02 to the same bus stop.

Hiking at Namhan Sanseong

Want to catch a breath of nature’s fresh air without breaking a sweat? Namhan Sanseong is one of the easiest hiking areas in Seoul, as it’s possible to take a bus up the mountain and save your strength for exploring the fortress wall and other attractions.

First, get to Sanseong Station (Line 8) in Seoul’s southeastern quarter. Leave by Exit 2, walk straight and catch bus 52 that brings you up the windy mountain road and into the fortress. Alternatively, you can hike from the train station all the way up the mountain (it took me about an hour) along a quiet wooded path.

Once you’re inside the fortress, there are lots of things to see as well as restaurants and snack shops.

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