One of the best parts of traveling includes learning about new cultures and putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. However, sometimes if there’s a big language barrier, unfamiliar public transportation, navigation issues, or rules you’re unaware of (like the one I learned about in South Korea, that it’s part of the culture to be completely silent on the subways out of respect to each other), among other factors, it can lead to a stressful time if you don’t plan properly.
I’ve traveled to nearly 60 countries, and after visiting Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore, I’ve seen some of the most beautiful views, met the kindest people, ate delicious food, and experienced Southeast Asian cultures on trips I’ll never forget. Yet, I still have a desire to see more.
When I knew I wanted to visit South Korea, I looked into tour companies that valued my love of adventure, culinary experiences, and art, which is when I came across Intrepid. As someone who travels solo often, I definitely see how traveling with a group, especially an age-specific group, could be beneficial. We all got very close, very fast and some of the shared activities would’ve been less fun if I was on my own.
Here’s my guide.
Getting to South Korea
On my way to South Korea flying with Cathay Pacific Airlines, I ended up with a long layover in Taiwan. With this long layover, I learned that you don’t need a visa to get into Taiwan and decided to leave the airport. I ended up doing my own thing just because I wanted to visit a specific food market, the Nanmen Market, but I learned that there are free tours from the airport as long as you have the time.
If you don’t fly Cathay Pacific Airlines, look into the Turkish Airlines flights to Seoul. Turkish Airlines actually has delicious food thanks to their chef in the sky program in business class, making the journey to Seoul (and it’s a long one), enjoyable, too.
How Intrepid Travel Works
Below, I break down the individual activities that we did through the Intrepid Travel group trip. Everything is included in the price, and when it comes to the activities, restaurants, experiences, etc., many are unique to Intrepid Tours (some experiences and restaurants without websites or unavailable to book on your own).
This itinerary starts in Seoul, then goes to Jeonju and Busan before heading back to Seoul, South Korea. Their pricing fluctuates, but on average the trip costs around $1,700 USD.
PART I — Where To Stay in Seoul
L7 Hongdae Hotel
I made my way into the hotel and immediately the first thing I noticed was the street art style playful murals throughout the hotel entrance. The location of L7 Hongdae is convenient walking distance from a lot. Not only does the hotel have their own coffee shop and cocktail bars on property, but it’s in a great neighborhood where there’s a good amount of young travelers, locals, live music, karaoke bars, restaurants and shops to explore. Adding to that, the shops stay open until midnight. We were shopping for clothes until about then, and the streets were packed with no evidence of closing anytime soon, so we felt safe walking back to our hotel. The nightlife is booming here and you could make the most of your days exploring this area. The rooftop pool comes in clutch during those warmer months, and the rooms are cozy. Minimalistic with a comfortable bed to dive into after a long travel day.
KEY AMENITIES
- Free high-speed wired/wireless Internet
- L7 signature drip coffee
- Fitness Center with the latest exercise equipment from -TechnoGym
- Bathrobe
- Great selection on the breakfast buffet
ROOM RATE
Rooms start around $250. This is covered under the cost with Intrepid.
Where To Stay in Jeonju
Hanok village stay at GGotjari Hanok, 꽃자리한옥
Staying in a transition Hanok Village is a niche kind of stay, but worth exploring. Hanoks are not the place to go if you want a luxury stay with a big soaking tub, balcony with a view, or strong Wi-Fi. It’s the place that you go to unplug with very basic, minimalistic amenities. That’s the point. To give you an idea, some of the rooms don’t even have beds, but more of a cushioned mat on the ground to connect you to the earth and the shower is the same room as the toilet, with a small drain in the middle of the room and slippers to throw on, so you’re not walking in the wet water if you have to use the toilet. Why stay here? Intrepid found it important to offer this as an experience because it brings you a sense of the culture. The Hanok Village owners, Yeong Seng & Paiksonok, were so lovely and welcoming. The outside design of the hanok wooden frame is thoughtfully designed and the rooms are clean. It’s just a few minutes walking to town with cute shops, places to eat, and even a 24 hour Korean bath house which is quite nice if you wake up with jet lag.
KEY AMENITIES
- Very clean
- Great location
- Truthfully, not much. That’s the point, to bring it to the most minimalistic level.
ROOM RATE
Rooms start around $65 USD.
Where To Stay in Busan
Felix by STX Hotel and Suites
Felix by STX is a basic hotel stay with a comfortable bed and a great location when staying in Busan. I had a patio which was nice to bring in some fresh air. The room is large with a small kitchen section. Nothing truly out of the ordinary, but a clean, convenient place to sleep. The city is quite large, so getting around you might need to plan on taking a few Ubers. That said, this hotel is a great location to explore some bars and restaurants in the area. The Haeundae neighborhood has a youthful crowd, ready to enjoy the nightlife.
KEY AMENITIES
- Free Wi-Fi
- Breakfast
- Free parking
- Air-conditioned
ROOM RATE
Rooms start around $170 USD.
PART II — Seoul
Gwangjang Market
Address: 88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
The Gwangjang Market is insanely busy, but definitely worth checking out. This is a great place to try some local dishes like tteokbokki (rice cake), Korean raw beef, liver, blood sausage, oyster pancakes, veggie tempura, and more. However, I can’t stress enough that this is one of the biggest and oldest traditional markets in the country, so you’ll be dealing with some crowns, and occasional pushing. Just go with a level of patience, understanding, and calmness to fully get the best experience.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Address: 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Seeing the changing of the guards’ demonstration at Gyeongbokgung Palace is a special experience worth seeking out in Seoul, offered through Intrepid. From the Joseon Dynasty, created in the late 1300s, the palace was home to the government and the royal family over the years.
HiKR art exhibit
Address: 40 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea
If you enjoy art, the HiKR experience was interactive. Visitors can see video light demonstrations, animation, and there are multiple places to film your own music video with props and backdrops like the coin laundry room, the subway, and the main stage. We blasted K-pop and performed our own music videos. This is a great location to shoot some Reels and TikToks, or honestly just have some fun.
FRZM Dance Studio
Address: 19-24 Wausan-ro 17-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
To say this was hilarious is an understatement. I can’t recommend this enough, we had so much fun and it was an activity that gives you a little bit of exercise. We danced to Super Shy and learned choreography from our instructor Shin Chae Yeon (her nickname is Peri) at the FRZM Dance Studio. She was patient with us and taught us slowly at first. Eventually, we picked up speed and gained some confidence with it, and it was such a good time doing this coordinated dance together to K-pop!
Korean Lesson
I was unsure about this activity at first when I saw it on the itinerary through Intrepid. I wasn’t sure if I would get a lot of use out of what I learned in this class. I was humbled quickly, this class was incredibly helpful. We learned basic phrases that were useful at local markets, when we had downtime and were exploring the area alone, and even just polite phrases like how to say thank you for us to use throughout the week. Our instructor was so patient with us and broke down how to properly pronounce things, having us repeat the phrases and working with us directly.
Address: Seoul Mapogu Dongyoro 197(서울 마포구 동교로 197)
Hot pot is such a great way to dine together as a big group. With a pot in the center of the table full of seasoned simmering broth, they gave us a giant bowl of freshly grown mushrooms that they grow themselves in house, among other greens and veggies, noodles, and meat to cook in the pot as we chat and pass around Soju. After we’re done, they take the cooked down veggies and seasoned broth and turn it into porridge with rice and additional fresh vegetables that tasted like the inside of a chicken pot pie. It was absolutely delicious and such a great experience.
Korean Food Lecture
One of the really unique opportunities that came through Intrepid was a food lecture in a local’s apartment. We went to Gwangyang and visited Yoonie and Dan Park in their home where they live with Yoonie’s mother and their three children. They made us an incredible lunch, followed by tea, and showed us how to make dalgona (shout out to all of the Squid Game fans) from scratch!
Shopping
Shopping in Korea is an absolute must. Seoul is full of mini boutiques, clothing stores, vintage shops and thrifting, and of course, plenty of Korean skincare and beauty stores. You can go to stores like Olive Young and load up on collagen eye patches, pimple patches, some of the best sunscreen, lip masks, wrinkle patches and so much more to bring home to test out.
Hongdae Cocktail & Highball Bar PINKS
Address: 39 Jandari-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
When it comes to nightlife, there are so many incredible bars in Seoul. One that really stuck out to us was the Pink Bar, with hot pink lights and pink everything, pink pink pink! It’s giving Barbie vibes. You can spot it from a mile away on the street, and it has a funky ambience, a rooftop bar, cocktails, and a wide variety of flavored Soju like grape, grapefruit, and lemon (skip the lemon in my opinion, unless you like the taste of cleaner, but the grape was bomb).
Su Noraebang
Address: 367-39 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Doing Noraebang is an absolute must while you’re in Korea. Saying that they take it seriously is an understatement. First of all, I absolutely love that the majority of the bars give you your own private room as a group to sing, so you can really let loose and let your personality shine in front of your friends instead of a bunch of strangers if it’s not usually your thing. They gave us our own private room with theater type seating, multiple microphones so everyone can get involved, and a huge TV surrounded by mirrors. It was such a fun experience, especially after getting a little tipsy at Pinks, we had plenty of liquid courage to belt out everything from Alanis Morissette and Beyoncé, to Gangnam Style and Let’s Get Loud by Jennifer Lopez!
PART III — Jeonju
Kimchi Cooking Class
If you like kimchi, this class is a must. Kim at Kim Myeongok Kimchi School is a certified kimchi master and is well-known in the community for her attention to detail when it comes to making her own kimchi from scratch. She makes her own shrimp paste from scratch, among other ingredients, to use within her kimchi because she didn’t like the taste of the other pastes available to buy. She goes through the process of creating kimchi, teaching you how to properly do it, and ends the class by cooking kimchi pancakes, letting us taste her radish kimchi, and enjoying food together.
Nambu Market
Address:19-3 Pungnammun 1-gil, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Walking along the Korean Market, you’ll find everything from crafts to street food like the sweet cheese filled coin bread. This is a great place to find art and souvenirs, and even try some traditional Korean snacks like the coin filled with sweet cheese. Be sure to look through the community garden, you’ll see a lot of cats that have made their home there and they’re so sweet!
Hanok Village
Address: 99 Girin-daero, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
In addition to staying in a traditional Hanok, you can explore other historical homes in town. Take a walk through the village to browse through local shops and pass by other Korean Hanok homes. There’s even a 24 hour bathhouse walkable distance from the hotel that is truly an experience on its own. One morning, I woke up and couldn’t fall back to sleep at about 5:30 AM. I decided to go check out the bathhouse and get an exfoliating scrub, a facial, and soak in the hot and cold plunges, drying off in the salt room and the sauna for around $40 USD for entry and the treatments. It’s definitely an experience, but be prepared to walk around in your birthday suit.
Jeonju GajolHeogwan(전주 가족회관)
Address: 17, Jeollagamyeong 5-gil, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do 55038 South Korea
Jeonju Bibimbap, a generational family business currently owned by Mi Yang, is the ideal place to experience traditional and modernized bibimbap. They keep it simple with only two kinds on the menu. Traditionally, there is raw egg and raw beef in the dish, so they created one with cooked beef and an egg soufflé if the idea of raw is not your thing. The side toppings and accouterments were phenomenal, all thought out and beautifully prepared, to enhance the dish. If you want to try the raw version, the egg generally cooks a bit once you mix it in with the other hot ingredients.
Waeng-i-jip
Jeonbuk Jeonjusi Wansangu Dongmungil 88(전북 전주시 완산구 동문길 88)
Instead of sipping bloody marys over pancakes after a night of fun, Jeonju has Bean Sprout “Hangover” soup for breakfast at Waeng-i-jip. Obviously, make sure you have a few drinks the night before to enjoy the traditional hangover soup with spices, bean, sprouts, and a soothing broth the right way.
Yetchon Makgeolli
Address: 8 Jungsanjungang-ro, Junghwasan-dong 2(i)-ga, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
If you’re looking to dive into some very traditional Korean dishes, an important aspect for Intrepid when they design their tours with foodies in mind, Yetchun Makgeolli is the ideal spot to try some menu items in addition to rice beer. We filled the table with raw marinated crab (silky texture with sweet crab meat and spice from the marinade), smoked fish, pork, prawns, pig feet, fermented fish with kimchi, and pancakes.
PART IV — Busan
We spent the morning exploring a Buddhist temple right on the water. The path opened up into a stunning temple with waves crashing, creating this peaceful environment. It was such a stunning view and a great way to start the day. On the path back, there were places to try dalgona candy, local snacks, and shop fenders to buy products from Korean artists.
Stop along the way from Jeonju to Busan
On the way to Busan, we explored more local art at Palbok Art Factory. Created in the late 1970s, the building was once used as a manufacturing plant for cassette tapes. You’ll even find a few Easter eggs about this in the art around the building. After we drove a bit more, we stopped at Webosansung. Sure, this was a historical mountain fortress used to shield residents during the Joseon Dynasty…but you know what else it was used for? A BTS photoshoot. Obviously, we had to recreate the picture.
Haewondae Lamb Skewers
Address: Busan, Haewoondaegu Gunamro 12bungil 4, Second floor
The meal we had at Haewondae Lamb Skewers in Busan was easily one of my absolute favorites. It’s Korean barbecue and shared plates. We roasted lamb skewers over the barbecue, and while those were cooking, we passed around dishes like oimuchim (a crunchy, acidic cucumber salad), eggplant, gamjachae bokum (pan fried sliced potato), and my personal favorite, the tangsuyuk (a fried pork in sweet and sour sauce that had a chewy, thin layer of rice mochi). As always, there was plenty of Soju and beer to go around.
Martial Arts Black Belt Academy
One of the highlights for me was definitely the taekwondo class at Martial Arts Black Belt Academy with our instructors Shin, Gyu sik and Goo, Jiwoo. Intrepid and the Martial Arts Black Belt Academy set up a private taekwondo class led by Kyunghee Taekwondo. This class honestly made me want to look into doing taekwondo further because it was such a good stress relief. You stretch out your entire body and then punch, kick, and shout your way through an amazing workout. Sometimes you just need that, am I right?
Urban Smart Farm
We visited an Urban Smart Farm, where they showed us how they’re using agricultural technology to grow greens, flowers, ginger, mushrooms, and more in the middle of the city within shipping containers to create fresh produce in populated areas. An effort led by CEO, Ms. Jeon Jeong Wook. As a group, we were able to help pick the mushrooms, taste the products, and learn about how these efforts are helping the community.
Gamcheon village
Gamcheon-dong, Saha District, Busan, South Korea
Don’t skip Gamcheon Culture Village! Easily one of my favorite parts of the trip, it looks like Korea’s version of the Amalfi Coast with colorful, beautiful buildings scaling the hills. There are cafés, shopping, art, artisan crafts to purchase, and plenty of snacks along the streets of this village. I seriously can’t recommend it enough, very good for pictures if you’re a photographer, but plenty to do if you just want to enjoy.
Jagalchi Market
Address: 52 Jagalchihaean-ro, Jung-gu, Busan, South Korea
If you love seafood as much as I do, when you’re in Busan, they’re famous for it. One place to check out a lot of local dishes, or even purchase some seafood if you’re looking to do so, is the Jagalchi Market. This world famous market is known for their wide variety of fresh fish and seafood. I came here to try their live octopus. No, it’s not actually alive, but after they slice it and toss it in sesame oil and chili sauce, the tentacles still move, so they call it “live” octopus. It doesn’t really get fresher than that!
Taejongdae Yolo Grilled Clams
Address:Busan Yeongdogu Gamjigil 87bungil 21(부산 영도구 감지길87번길 21 욜로조개구이)
Speaking of fresh seafood, another place to try seafood while in Busan is Taejongdae Yolo Grilled Clams. We tried some very traditional dishes, like live octopus (yum), spoon worms and silkworms (worth a try, but too mushy), in addition to some more modern dishes incorporating the fresh seafood like scallops and clams grilled over an open fire, gochujang fried rice, veggie dishes and more.
