Visiting Seoul, South Korea (Part 1 of 2 ) [76 Images)

9 min readJul 24, 2024

~ Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Blog Post ~

Me at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea last May 2024 (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 1 of 76

I visited Seoul, South Korea with my Dad from May 24 to 27, 2024. Our tour also consisted of visiting the Demilitarized Zone in Paju. South Korea is an industrialized country. Its highly developed mixed economy is worth US$1.72 trillion or ₩2.24 quadrillion by nominal gross domestic product or GDP. As of 2024, South Korea is Asia’s fourth-largest economy and the 14th-largest in the world, according to the 2024 data from the International Monetary Fund.

This East Asian economic giant’s well-known exports consist of Hyundai and Kia vehicles, Samsung gadgets, and the popular Hallyu culture — K-pop music (BTS, TXT, Enhypen, Blackpink, Rain, PSY, and so on), Korean drama and movies, Korean cuisine (Korean ginseng, kimchi, kimbap, and so forth), and online games, among many others. Samsung and Seoul lured me to love South Korea, especially when I served as an English teacher of South Korean K-to-12 and college students and expatriates for nine years. Seeing the 2008 Samsung Soul smartphone advertisement also added to my fascination with the Land of the Morning Calm and its being one of the world’s technology hubs.

With My Dad at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea last May 2024 (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 2 of 76

South Korea gained renown for its fast economic advancement to a developed and high-income country from an underdeveloped nation in a few generations. This economic development is hailed as “the Miracle on the Han River,” permitting the country to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD and the G20.

As an OECD member, South Korea is among the 38 member countries that are democratic and support free-market economies. This East Asian country is also a member of the Group of 20 or G20, an inter-governmental forum composed of the finance ministries of most of the world’s largest economies. Moreover, the G20 accounts for roughly 80 percent of gross world product, 75 percent of international trade, two-thirds of the global population, and 60 percent of the world’s land area.

Me at the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 3 of 76

As an OECD country, South Korea has a highly efficient and robust social security system. With social expenditure at about 15.5 percent of the South Korean GDP, the country spends approximately 4.93 percent of its GDP on advanced research and development across the economy’s diverse sectors.

I must say visiting Seoul last May was a breath of fresh air. This major city is very clean and fragrant with ginkgo biloba trees lining the avenues and absorbing carbon dioxide. My Dad and I loved walking around the area during the chilly mornings before our breakfast at Hotel Skypark in Central Myeongdong. Moreover, coffee shops are everywhere, including Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Sunday Coffee, and other local brands. Our tourist guide informed us that Seoul and Korean people generally prefer gathering in coffee shops since many live in apartments with limited space.

Having coffee after dinner at Seoul’s Myeongdong District (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 4 of 76

Like any major city, Seoul is a business district with sprawling shopping malls like the Lotte Department Store, Lotte Young Plaza, Shinsegae Mall, The Hyundai Seoul, and so on. I can compare Shinsegae Mall to Macy’s and Lotte Department Store to Saks Fifth Avenue. They sell mostly Western luxury cosmetics and fashion merchandise. Seoul is also definitely expensive when it comes to acquiring residential and commercial real estate properties since this capital is an international city and a highly developed business locale enticing global investors and visitors.

Me at The Hyundai Seoul mall (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 5 of 76

I observed that South Korea safeguards its local car industry quite well. I saw mostly Hyundai cars and only two units of Japanese cars — Toyota and Honda. The South Korean auto industry is protected to a great extent against its Japanese competitors. Furthermore, I saw many Western luxury auto brands in Seoul such as Hyundai Genesis, Porsche, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery, and BMW. There are plenty of these foreign hybrid and high-end executive vehicles in Gangnam District, Seoul’s most expensive area. Gangnam features South Korean and foreign luxury and fashion stores like Prettica, Diptyque, Charles and Keith, and so forth. I can compare this particular part of Seoul to the Thames Street shopping site in Newport, Rhode Island.

My Dad, me, and our two tourist guides had lunch at Seoul’s Gangnam District. Yes, it’s the most expensive area of South Korea’s capital which was featured in the famous song by Psy, “Gangnam Style”. I can compare Gangnam District, Seoul’s most expensive area, to the Thames Street shopping site in Newport, Rhode Island. (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 6 of 76

My Dad and I enjoyed South Korea’s appetizing food culture. We relished the samgyetang in Goyang situated at Seoul’s outskirts. Samgyetang is a heartwarming dish of boiled whole chicken that is so tender and stuffed with rice. Additionally, I love the super-spicy ojingeo bokkeum, which was the first dish I tried for lunch when my Dad and I arrived in Seoul. We purchased this South Korean specialty in the streets of Myeongdong District. It tasted so scrumptious with rice rolled in laver.

My Dad and I relished the *samgyetang* in Goyang situated at Seoul’s outskirts. *Samgyetang* is a heartwarming dish of boiled whole chicken that is so tender and stuffed with rice. (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 9 of 76

Dinner at Myeongdong District, Seoul, South Korea (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 11 of 76

What made my Seoul trip truly unforgettable was when I had the defective screen of my Samsung Galaxy S20+ smartphone replaced at a Samsung service center located at the Kyowon building in Seoul’s Jung District. The technician accepted my credit card payment (which was in the neighborhood of US$200) and completed the service in just 30 minutes. I’m very pleased because South Korea is Samsung’s home and no doubt, getting the help I need for my old smartphone in that country is convenient and easy !

This 2024, the revenue of South Korea’s tourism and travel market is anticipated to balloon to US$13.66 billion, per Statista. This segment of the East Asian country’s economy is expected to demonstrate a yearly growth rate of 4.58 percent, which leads to a projected market volume of US$17.09 billion by 2029. These numbers mean more visitors are expected to flock to South Korea, thanks to its relaxed policies for foreign visitors and unlimited exciting travel offerings and tourist attractions.

Me at Myeongdong, one of Seoul’s famous shopping districts (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 12 of 76

My Dad at Seoul’s Myeongdong District where our hotel — Hotel Skypark Central Myeongdong — is located. We loved walking around the area during the chilly mornings before having our breakfast at the hotel. (Sheena Ricarte, May 2024) — Image 13 of 76

Seoul is a major city like Japan’s Tokyo, New York City, London, and so forth. As such, it is also a financial center in Asia. To put this blog post in the context of my passion for finance and personal finance, I am sharing images of myself photographed in front of South Korean banks and financial institutions in the second and last part of this blog post series. I will write more blog posts about my South Korea trip next time. I feel refreshed after our tour last May and next year, 2025, I will come back to South Korea with my whole family. Besides Seoul, we will also visit Busan and Jeju Island.

Anyhow, here are more must-see images of my Dad and I’s super-memorable 2024 Seoul, South Korea trip: