South Korea Welcome to Korea! We are in the capital city of Seoul. Seoul is a city surrounded by mountains where you find skyscrapers and bustling business districts alongside narrow alleyways of traditional Korean houses. A city where palaces and temples meet modern urban design and creative arts. The friendly people here make you feel welcome as you tune into the frequency of Seoul and fall into the pace of life in Koreaās largest city. In this video, weāre showing you around
some of the top places to visit in this amazing and unique Korean capital. SEE THE ROYAL GUARD CHANGING CEREMONY Observing the royal guard changing
ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace is a chance to see how it was done
during the Joseon dynasty when the royal guards here were the gatekeepers. Itās free to come, you donāt need an admission ticket. It takes place four times a day
here in the courtyard of the palace and itās a chance to hear the music, see the traditional dress and the weapons that are based on historical record. WEAR TRADITIONAL KOREAN CLOTHING (HANBOK) The traditional āhanbokā style of dress
is still worn in Korea today for special occasions like weddings. And itās not just foreign visitors that you see
renting the hanbok at these shops. Koreans enjoy it as well and you see big groups
of people out on the street just having a good time. Bye! Bye. Bye bye! Bye bye. Oh! I almost felt walking around more comfortable
wearing hanbok than I would have in my everyday dress because there are just so many people. And itās definitely viewed by locals as a way of
stepping into Korean culture and history in a really fun way. Okay? Okay. Oh yeah. This is great! Your Majesty. Thank you. Very cool! Okay. Amazing. Your Majesty. Okay! She says this is the ātall personā section. Oh the ātall personā section. Yeah. And I have to pick a colour. Oh man. I kind of like pink. Well, youāre going to look like a
Disney princess no matter what soā¦ May as well go for pink.
-Oh this is pretty too, look. Itās like a darker pink. Maybe dark pink is better. Darker pink. Yeah. Like this? Yeah. Oh yeah, thatās the one. Thatās it! Okay. Colour acquired. Okay, I think this one. I definitely feel like a princess. Oh, beautiful! Now Iām complete. Howās it look?
-So good. Oh, a purse too. Oh! Beautiful. Now Iāve got a place to put my traditional iPhone. Yeah! Oh yeah! Beautiful! I love it! VISIT A 14TH-CENTURY PALACE Gyeongbokgung Palace was the first and largest
of the palaces built during the Joseon dynasty. It was built in 1395 and today,
itās located in Seoulās Central Business District and admission is free if youāre wearing traditional hanbok. DISCOVER OLD SEOUL Bukchon Hanok Village is an amazing place to walk around. āHanokā are traditional Korean houses
and in this area, you find hundreds of them. There are narrow little streets,
cozy cafes, and lots of boutiques. TURN A NEW PAGE Iām standing in the Starfield Library
at the Starfield Coex Mall. A beautiful example of urban design. The Starfield Coex Mall is the largest
underground mall in all of Asia. The massive bookshelves here are 13 metres high and more than 70,000 books fill the shelves. This airy light-filled space is free and open
for everyone to come and enjoy and they also do events like readings and concerts. TRY KOREAN STREET FOOD Gwangjang Market was the first permanent
market in Korea and it continues to thrive today. It started out as a small trading centre
to bring in goods from nearby regions and now itās a place where you can find
everything from groceries, to shoes, to candy, to delicious Korean food. And youāll probably want to spend
most of your time on the food street, which is right behind me, where you can get some delicious Korean dishes and also watch them be prepared right in front of you. EXPERIENCE WORLD-CLASS ARCHITECTURE The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or DDP as itās also known, is the worldās largest 3-dimensional atypical structure. It was designed by Zaha Hadid. She is a world-renowned architect and DDP opened in 2014. Seeing it in person is really a marvel of architecture. Itās truly stunning to just walk around here and even if youāre not someone
who typically loves seeing architecture, I have a feeling that visiting here
might change your mind. The architecture looks different
depending on the time and space so as you move around the building
and as the time of day changes, so too does the structure itself. Youāll notice that the building is made up of points and curves without a single straight line anywhere. And I think like all really great architecture,
this is based on an idea. If a straight line is a predictable idea,
then a curve symbolizes a new one. A new flow that has never been seen before. Photos and video really donāt do DDP justice. It really does need to be seen in person to be truly appreciated. HANG OUT IN HONGDAE The neighbourhood of Hongdae is
a part of Seoul known for its cool vibe. There are a lot of students here, a lot of young creative people, and thereās a really youthful energy that you feel
as youāre walking around the streets. There are places to shop, there are places to eat, and I would say primarily, itās known for its cafes. And not the kind of cafes that you might be thinking of. The cafes that have a very specific theme. So thereās an archery cafe, a fortune telling cafe,
a Harry Potter cafe, a study cafe. Whatever you are looking for, Iām sure
that thereās a cafe for you in Hongdae. We visited a cafe called Meerkat Friends,
which was less cafe, more like a zoo where they had meerkats that you could cuddle with as well as a wallaby, a fox, a cat,
and lots of animals to make friends with. Oh you like that. You like that little belly rub. Little belly rub. Oh my god! Heās like under my shirt. Thereās nothing back there for you. Thereās nothing there. SHOP AT A SHIPPING CONTAINER MALL I love spaces and buildings that have
been repurposed and reimagined and Iām here at a shopping mall
entirely made out of shipping containers. Two hundred shipping containers to be exact. Itās been here since 2015. Itās the first shipping container mall in Korea. Itās also the worldās largest shipping container shopping mall. Youāll find places to shop and to eat, lots of great art on the walls here and because itās all made out of shipping containers, it can be added onto and rearranged like giant life-size LEGO. CRUISE THE HAN RIVER One of the best ways to slow down in Seoul
is to take a cruise on the Han River. Weāre doing it at sunset and the light is absolutely beautiful. You get to pass underneath some of the bridges
that you see all over the city, thereās an island over there, and you get a different perspective
looking at the city from the water. Thereās also some rather unexpected
āon-board entertainment,ā shall we say? Because they actually encourage seagulls
to follow along with the cruise. You can even buy food to feed to them and so as youāre cruising along the river,
they are gliding alongside you in the air. Itās just a wonderful way to relax
and get a different view on Seoul. ENJOY 360Ā° VIEWS If you want to get a fantastic view of Seoul,
then you need to come to the N Seoul Tower. Itās built right on a mountaintop. The mountain is called Namsan and itās
right in the middle of the city. And the experience of getting up to the tower
is really fun with views all along the way. You start out taking the Namsan cable car. We came at magic hour as the sun was setting and the light was absolutely beautiful. Then you take an elevator to the top of the N Seoul Tower where 360Ā° of windows are waiting for you. Looking out you can see the mountains in the distance
and downtown Seoul all around you. As you can see, there is so much to see and do in Seoul. We have loved spending time in Korea and clearly we need to come back because really,
we have just barely scratched the surface. We hope that you guys have enjoyed this video. If you did, please give it a like, and if you havenāt already, subscribe to our channel
for lots more travel adventures. I will link more of our videos around Asia
in the description box if youād like to check them out and weāll see you in our next video. Bye.
