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David's Korea Adventure ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ท
Seoul โ Busan โ Seoul ยท Apr 15โ29, 2026
๐
15 days
๐๏ธ 2 cities
๐ 60+ places
๐ฝ๏ธ 1 Michelin star
๐ 2 KTX rides
๐จ 4 stays
Day 1 โ Arrival โ
Wed, Apr 15 ยท Seoul
Landed at Incheon T1 after the overnight SWISS flight from Zurich. Dropped bags at Hithere City in Myeongdong, then made a quick pilgrimage to LoL Park in Jongno. Afternoon massage at Happy Massage to fight jet-lag, napped at the hostel, then hit Myeongdong for Isaac Toast and street food โ tornado potato, egg bread, cheese lobster. Low-key arrival day, exactly right for jet-lag.
Day 2 โ Big day โ
Thu, Apr 16 ยท Seoul
Packed day. Started at Seokchon Lake โ caught the late cherry blossoms. Up to Seoul Sky at Lotte World Tower (555m observation deck), browsed Lotte World Mall, then crossed town to London Bagel Museum. Hit Hongdae for K-pop street dancers, a shooting range, archery, and Zzang Games arcade. Dinner at Yuksangyang for Korean BBQ. Seokchon blossoms + Seoul Sky views + Hongdae gaming crawl was perfect.
Day 3 โ Skin, dakgalbi & jjimjilbang โ
Fri, Apr 17 ยท Seoul
Slept until noon after the packed Day 2. Went to PPEUM Global Clinic in Myeongdong for skin cleaning + analysis โ they tried hard to sell injections, declined. Then a long hair care / scalp treatment session. Dinner at Yoogane Dakgalbi โ cheese dakgalbi with a big shared platter of chicken and melted mozzarella, great. Then the wild card: Sparex Dongdaemun jjimjilbang (B3F of Good Morning City). Sauna rooms, baths, the works. Korean beauty industry is aggressive with the upselling. Dakgalbi + jjimjilbang combo was peak Korea.
Day 4 โ DDP + Meat Juice โ
Sat, Apr 18 ยท Seoul
Move day. Checked out of Hithere City, moved to G Seoul Airbnb (34 Sogong-ro 3-gil). Then DDP โ Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Zaha Hadid's spaceship building. Amazing, stayed too long. Wandered into Doota Mall next door โ the underground gaming station was a surprise hit. Dinner at ๊ณ ๊ธฐ์ฆ๊ด๋ฆฌ์ (Meat Juice Management Office) near Yangjae Station. Incredible name, incredible food. Best BBQ of the trip.
Day 5 โ Gangnam & closed doors โ
Sun, Apr 19 ยท Seoul
Woke up at 2pm. Forest walk through Namsan Park near G Seoul, breakfast at Buttons. Then the Gangnam run: showed up at Samsung D'light โ permanently closed. Doors shut. Pivoted to COEX Mall and Starfield Library, then COEX Aquarium which was fantastic. Tried WAVE / K-pop Square next โ also closed. Two bad recs in one day. But Bongeunsa Temple at dusk was magical โ redeemed everything. Night gaming session at Top PC Bang in Gangnam.
Day 6 โ Museum, Ikseon & Nanta โ
Mon, Apr 20 ยท Seoul
Started with gym and Overte Donuts (great). National Museum of Korea โ massive, free, impressive. Took the subway to Ikseon-dong for Rain Report Rainbow cafe โ almost sold out, location not spectacular, rushed. But Ikseon-dong's hanok alleys were incredible โ want to go back. Nanta Show at 8pm โ OK, nothing out of this world. Skipped T1 Base Camp after โ too far (25min subway to Hongdae). Ended up at Myeongdong street food instead.
Day 7 โ DMZ & Gwangjang โ
Tue, Apr 21 ยท DMZ + Seoul
Early pickup for the DMZ tour. Dora Observatory โ views straight into North Korea. Then 70 meters underground in the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. A suspension bridge in the DMZ area. Back to Seoul by 4pm. Evening: Ikseon-dong round 2 โ properly explored this time. Then finally hit Gwangjang Market. Stumbled into a huge fashion market nearby. GGX gaming cafe. Korean BBQ near home. DMZ was powerful. Gwangjang lived up to the hype.
Day 8 โ Seoul โ Busan โ
Wed, Apr 22 ยท Transit
Checked out of G Seoul. KTX to Busan โ zoomed past the countryside. Arrived Busan Station at 3:30, ate at the station. Settled into the Gwangalli Airbnb (49 Millaksubyeon-ro). Evening stroll at Millac The Market. Travel day, took it easy. Gwangalli neighborhood is great.
Day 9 โ BIFF & ARTE โ
Thu, Apr 23 ยท Busan
Rainy day, feeling a bit sick. Went to BIFF Square in Nampo-dong โ the film festival area. Found a rescue cat cafe nearby with abandoned cats, cool find. Then ARTE Museum Busan โ immersive digital art, really great. Cut the day short and headed home early. ARTE Museum was the highlight.
Day 10 โ Beaches & Palate โ
Fri, Apr 24 ยท Busan
Still sick but pushed through. Chilled at Gwangalli Beach, then took the train to Haeundae. Rode the Blue Line Park Sky Capsule โ glass floor pods along the coast. Hit Busan X the Sky observation deck. Then the highlight: dinner at Palate, a Michelin 1-star contemporary French restaurant on Dalmaji Hill. 7-course tasting menu. Super nice โ a trip highlight. Great day despite feeling rough.
Day 11 โ Gamcheon & cable cars โ
Sat, Apr 25 ยท Busan
Last full Busan day. Changed Airbnbs, then headed to Gamcheon Culture Village โ the colorful hillside village with murals and alleys. Found an amazing duck cafe inside the village, loved it. Then Songdo Cable Car โ glass floor crystal cabin over the ocean to a small island and back. Went home and missed the Gwangalli Saturday drone show. Gamcheon was great. Sad about the drones.
Day 12 โ Busan โ Seoul โ
Sun, Apr 26 ยท Transit
KTX back to Seoul. Went straight to Lotte World theme park โ rides, indoor park, shopping. Dinner at Gordon Ramsay Burger. Settled into the new Seoul Airbnb (22 Sowol-ro 26-gil, Yongsan). Collapsed from tiredness.
Day 13 โ Seongsu shopping โ
Mon, Apr 27 ยท Seoul
Shopping day. Seongsu-dong โ Seoul's Brooklyn. Converted warehouses, concept stores, indie fashion brands, pop-ups everywhere. Amazing. Lunch at GTS Burger in Seongsu. Then back to Lotte World Mall for more clothes shopping. Best shopping area of the trip.
Day 14 โ Last day โ
Tue, Apr 28 ยท Seoul
Low-key final day. Bad brunch somewhere in Myeongdong (not worth naming). Went to ALAND at COEX for more browsing, mall ratting but didn't buy much. Ended up at Cheese Room in COEX โ melted cheesecake. Then home. The trip is winding down.
Day 15 โ Fly home โ
Wed, Apr 29 ยท Departure
Checked out of the Yongsan Airbnb. AREX to ICN T1. LH713 to Frankfurt, then LH5740 to Zurich. 15 days. Seoul โ Busan โ Seoul. ํ์ดํ ! We did it. ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ท
Full trip map โ
Every place, every day. Click any pin for details.