Korea Day 15: Geongbuk Palace, Insadong, and Banpo Bridge (Han River)

Carol | August 3, 2019 | Featured, South Korea | No Comments

What a day! This was the Saturday of my one and only free weekend in Seoul so I packed as much as I could into it and had an absolute blast exploring Seoul with my new friends.

Seven of us decided to spend the first part of the day renting Hanbok and visiting Geongbuk Palace. We spent the afternoon shopping in Insadong, and then in the evening the guys and I took a bus to Banpo Bridge to visit the Han River and spend an hour on a little donut boat. It was an exhilarating day and probably my favorite day overall from my trip to Korea.

Day 15 Highlights

Jongno-gu
- Hanbok rentals
- Geongbuk Palace
- Lunch at Pizza School
Insadong Shopping Street
Banpo Bridge, Han River
- Boating

Hanbok Rentals

Hanbok literally means ‘Korean clothing’ but generally refers to traditional Korean garb from the Josoen period. Renting Hanbok is a popular activity that honors Korean traditions, and is fun for locals and tourists alike.

We rented our Hanbok from a shop called The Artist HanBok. They provided lockers for storing our clothes and belongings, and had a variety of outfits, hats, and accessories to choose from. They also provided basic hair styling services. Bethany and I both got our hair put up in braids. It was so much fun and we felt so pretty!

Geongbuk Palace

Geongbuk Palace is the largest of the Five Grand Palaces built during the Joseon dynasty. Located in the heart of Seoul, it’s a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Visitors dressed in Hanbok don’t have to pay an entry fee. What a great idea that helps add to the atmosphere.

Our group had a great time exploring and posing for photos.

Walking along the exterior of the palace wall.

more photo fun

Lunch at Pizza School

We returned our Hanbok. Bethany and Tabitha returned to Kookmin, while the rest of us walked around in search of a place to eat lunch. We stopped by a little convenience store for refreshments on our way to a small pizza restaurant called Pizza School.

Insadong Shopping Street

After lunch we took a bus to Insadong to visit it’s main shopping street, said to be one of the best places to purchase souvenirs and traditional Korean crafts. This ended up being one of my favorite part of Seoul.

Ssamzigil (쌈지길)

Ssamzigil is a really cool bazaar type mall with a spiral ramp walkway that loops around the building from level to level. It’s filled with cute shops, many run by local artisans, and restaurants. It’s super artsy and is my favorite spot in Insadong.

The infamous poop themed cafe is located on the top level directly across from me.

Banpo Bridge, Han River

Several of us had yet to visit the Han river so Jeremiah, Kevin, Mausuam, Sushant, and I decided to take a bus to Banpo Bridge, a bridge featuring the world’s longest rainbow fountain aka Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. I was delighted to find lots of fun activities in the area from viewing the bridge and river from a riverside park, taking photos at numerous photo op spots, playing games at an indoor arcade, and donut boat rentals. What a fun night!

The Han River runs through the middle of Seoul

The popup eatery doubled as a DJ so we danced as we waited nearby.

All the photo op spots!

Boating

We found a little boat rental area nearby and paid just a little over $10 each to take a boat out for an hour. I’m so glad we did this. Not only was it refreshing but we had an absolute blast singing and dancing in our seats to a variety of music. Some of the people in nearby boats were encouraged by our enthusiasm and joined us by dancing in their seats as well. What an absolute treat!