Seoul Tower (N Tower)

Yesterday I went to the Seoul Tower (남산서울타워), a wonderful observatory in Yongsan-gu. Its easy to get to, but beware that automobiles aren't allowed to go up all to the top so there's a little walk you need to make to get to the observatory. I was told there are some nice hiking trails nearby there as well so you could definitely make a day of it!

The Seoul Tower is an observatory in the Namsan Mountains where you can see a wonderful 365 degree view of the entire city - so beautiful! They are open until 10p, and I went there around 5 or 6p so I saw the sunset from the observatory and it was beautiful. There are also little stores, coffee shops, and restaurants to check out.

One of the neat things there that you don't hear much about is some of the romance posts in the N Tower. There are a set of "trees" (metal posts that look like trees from a distance) outside the observatory with locks and messages on the locks about keeping love. In the observatory, you can find tiles where couples put love messages together which is also really sweet.

Links:
Official Website
Travel Guide details
Seoul Tower Reviews

Directions:
Map
산1-3 Yongsandong 2(i)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
02-3455-9277

To get there:
Take the Yellow Namsan Bus #02. The subway stations near this bus is: Chungmuro Station (line 3 and 4) exit 1 (in front of Daehan Cinema), and Dongguk Univ. Station (line 3) exit 6. Then, take the 02 bus to N Seoul tower. You can also take a cable car there as well.

Seoul Subway System

You think its easy to find your way around Seoul but let me tell you, it definitely can have its misaps! Its easy to find a lot of maps online that you can use and the subway system is really efficient, clean, and easy to use with minimal Korean knowledge.

Doug and I were travelling once and we didn't realize we took the Express subway instead of the regular one, so we went 30 minutes out of our way before we realized our mistake! And of course, there are always times when you go the wrong direction....welcome foreigner!

So it can be a bit daunting when you first start out, but once you figure it out its pretty simple. My favorite go-to tips:

• Keep your ticket on you. You need to pay when you enter the subway and when you exit (price of the subway ride varies on the distance you travel)
• Grab a seat if you can.
• If you're travelling during rush hour, line up as you wait for the subway. You'll see others start lining up (look for the "feet" to see where to line up). I didn't do it once and had to wait for the next train!
• Know which exit you need when you leave the subway station - there are so many ways to exit a subway (all numbered - e.g., "Exit 5" is where I go to get home) and make sure you know which exit you are when you're heading places.

It's amazing how Koreans can sleep on the subway and magically wake up when they are at the right stop. If you're not sleeping, you're watching tv on your cell phone. When you get to this point in travelling on the Korean subway line, you know you've made it.

Here is a good subway map to use.