Seoul was such a unique place to visit. I've traveled all over Asia, and there's a lot of overlap with certain cities. I went with one of my friend,s and we made it a self-care beauty trip since we both turn 30 this year!
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Getting There
You can probably snag a direct flight from major cities in the US (e.g., Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, etc.). I was flying to Taiwan for work, so I just squeezed in a stop in Seoul on my way back. The flight from Taipei is only 2 hours, and Japan is even closer! You will likely fly into ICN airport, which is about an hour from Seoul. I took an Uber taxi, and it was around $40-$50 USD one was,y which was pretty affordable and convenient to my hotel, but if you don't have a lot of bags, then take the public transit (make sure you bring cash to load your transit card!).
Where to Stay
We stayed for 9 days in December, which was plenty of time for a trip to South Korea. I would recommend staying in Myeongdong because it will keep you central to all the things. You're near all the shopping and tourist things as well as the historic sites. We stayed at the Nine Tree hotel, which was right off the main strip, so nice and quiet for sleeping, but very easy and quick access to the transit system and main shopping area. Everywhere felt safe in Seoul, so I think you'll be fine with wherever you choose. If you want to stay in Bukchon near more of the historic places, then opt for Somerset Palace Seoul, or stay at L7 Gangnam by Lotte if you want to be closer to all the facial clinics.
Getting Around
Public transport is the cheapest and most convenient option. You can get a transit card at the convenience stores, and then you need to load it with Korean cash/Won; you cannot add money to it with a credit card. We got the unlimited rides 7-day pass for $14. You can also take Uber taxi around the city, but this is more expensive. You can use Google Maps and Naver (Naver works for estimating walking distances since you can't use Google Maps for this, but I used Google Maps for finding out which trains to take).
All Things Korean Beauty
professional color season analysis and makeup ($260)
If you're willing to splurge a little like I did, then you can also get your professional color analysis before buying the makeup. I enjoyed this experience, it's significantly cheaper than in the US, and Korea is known for this! I went with someone I researched and found on reddit. Here is her instagram, and you can message her to schedule an appointment. It's a little more if you want to also book the professional makeup. I would budget around $200-$280 for this. The analysis and makeup took about 2.5-3 hours, so it was very worth it to me. I left with so much useful information about shades, textures, patterns, and contrast colors, and even jewelry and makeup recommendations. She helped assign me a cool summer muted/light color season.
We went through what seemed like every shade of every color, and then we crossed off ones that didn't work well for me, and she explained why (e.g., dark blacks aged me, tomato reds added more redness to my face, etc) This has been a game changer for elevating my style and outfits back home! I went through my closet and sold pieces that I loved on the rack but not on myself (and could never figure out why before). Here's a photo below of the results. I returned home from my trip and transformed my closet so I can more easily choose pieces that are low contrast and complement my skin tone.
15-step scalp treatment ($125)
The next day we got our 15-step scalp revival at Eco Jardin in Myeongdong; I reached out to them on instagram to make my reservation, but you could probably do a walk-in too; we booked this a few weeks in advance. We did the 15-step scalp revival, and it was definitely hyped, but worked pretty well. My hair was SO soft after,r and I have fine, thinner hair! My only recommendation is to bring your own leave-in conditioner/detangler and detangler brush because they do try to upsell you to buy the conditioner add-on, which was another 80K won, which was insane. We said no and opted not to dry our hair, then just went home and conditioned since our hotel was super close. I didn't enjoy the upsell experience, but I did enjoy the results. I did see a good amount of baby hair growth, too upon returning home. I wanted to continue scalp prep after returning home. I did some research to help address my flaky scalp concerns and decided I'll be washing my hair every 4-5 days (since it gets oily) and I use the UNOVE silk essence hair serum since I got back and it's been amazing! I use it on the ends on days my hair isn't and this verb oil for shine. I'm using the scalp revival pre-wash by briogeo (I prefer this to just straight rosemary oil for hair growth).
korean spa and full body scrub/dead skin removal ($53)
Before your facial, you can go to the Korean spa, i went to Insadong. Keep in mind, if you've never been to a Korean spa before then you should be aware you are not allowed to wear clothes. I went to these a lot back in the states, but my friend ended up not going after they refused to allow her to wear her swimsuit. I had a nice few hours getting my full body scrub/dead skin removal (they even gave me a free little scrubber to take home!). I soaked in the pools, did my cold plunge for a few minutes, and then finished off in the dry sauna, which was super relaxing. It was a little stone-covered dome with pink salt crystals on the ground. You don't need reservations, just go in and enjoy.
When I got home, I continued the body scrubbing on a monthly basis using Aesop's exfoliating body scrub! It smells so good and makes my skin so soft.
facials ($45-$115)
After the wash, we went to Lienjang clinic in Gangnam for our facials. Direct message them here on Instagram to schedule your appointment. Certain locations will not have the full list of services, I recommend going to the Gangnam location. Check out the list of prices here, and click "facial skincare" for non-invasive items. You start by checking in and getting a free consultation. The woman guided me to get the LHALA facial and LDM treatment. She also wanted me to consider laser treatment for my rosacea, but I declined since I didn't have sufficient time to research it, but it's worth looking into before your trip, as these are more affordable over there. These are both non-invasiv,e which we preferred since I'm not comfortable with Botox/needles. The pricing was really good, only about $45ish for each of the treatments. My skin was SO smooth the next day, literally so soft.
Everyone on Reddit made me think the treatments wouldn't be spa-like, but I enjoyed it. It was efficient and the staff was friendly, so I overall had a positive experience! They also provided a custom serum set that catered for my skin needs. My total for everything was $117.
Skin age analysis and skincare haul ($235)
I recommend starting your trip at Beauty Play and Mixsoon for your free skin assessment. Mixsoon is a beauty brand, and you can get some free samples if you post on Instagram as well as win a free item; I won a free skin essence! Beauty Play is run by the government,t and they have a free color analysis machine and skin analysis machine. You do not need a reservation as a foreigner, simply show up and scan the QR code upon entering and wait your turn; it was not busy when we went. They use the machine to take photos of your face and tell you your skin age. As a white person who has had a few really bad sunburns and sun poisoning cases after living in sunny, high-elevation Colorado, I was super anxious about analyzing my skin. My skin was the age I was about to turn (I was about to turn 30 in a few months, and it was estimated to be 30), so that was alright. My friend who has much clearer skin (no history of acne like me) had around 26 years for her skin, which was great! Overall, it was helpful to understand more about the areas I need to improve. She also did the skincare analysis at Mixsoon, which uses a skin reader to determine the moisture levels. The report is pretty in-depth, but I'm not sure how accurate they are, so treat it as a starting point. I pay for a ChatGPT subscription, and I uploaded the PDF for it to analyze and create a skincare routine for me. Also, the 1+1 is the same asa buy one get one free kind of deal in Korea, many of the products have this feature on the box; I accidentally bought extras when I didn't need to.
You can also get a lot of the skincare products at Costco for cheaper (but more in bulk), so I recommend viewing Olive Young first, then checking Costco prices, the subway stop takes you right to Costco, and you need to bring your physical card as they don't accept the app version. If you're traveling with a friend and you want similar products, consider splitting the bulk options at Costco.
After your free skincare analysis, you can head over to the large Olive Young and start buying your products! It's about a 15-second walk from Beauty Play in Myeongdong. I brought an entire empty suitcase to stock up on skincare for me, my friends, and family! They have lots of sales here and also sell makeup.
custom essence and foundation match, and lipstick match
You have to go to the Songesou location for Amore Pacific Songesou, and you do not need a reservation, just simply show up and plan to spend some time here. If you want a custom lipstick, you will need a reservation, though, but not for the custom match foundation. You can make your custom match foundation here, and custom essence, and name it. They have a skin analysis machine that you'll use first, and you answer questions about your skin. Then you can choose from all the different textures for your custom essence. I use ChatGPT to help guide what choices to make for texture. The custom Essence was $28, and the custom match silk foundation was $49.
shopping
Gangnam has a lot of the facial things, but also lots of brand-name stores. Myeondong and Hongdae have lots of fast fashion clothing stores, stick-on nail art, as well as popular brands Adidas (I picked up a limited edition running shoe for my marathon next year). I liked Songesou area for a more balanced shopping experience. There was a way less crowded cafe onion here, and after amore pacficia you can also check out Lador; their storefront is super aesthetic and cute! Starfield library is also around here, and it's worth visiting while you're shopping at the mall nearby!
If you're looking to shop for gifts, Daiso has cheap items like metal chopsticks and local arts and craft stores insa-dong! I really loved the Insa-dong area, it was way larger than I expected; you can walk around here for a while (there's a cute kimchi museum nearby too where you can make kimchi!) I kept seeing these amazing bowls at restaurants and finally asked one of the workers where to buy them to bring home, and he shared with me the store in this area called Napcheong Bronzeware. They're heavy, though so make sure to keep in your carry-on.
Historic Things
The Blue House: You can visit and enter for free if you show your foreign passport, so be sure to stop and see it! After traveling all over Asia, it was so cool to see a different colored temple-style architecture. The blue is really beautiful in person. I was in awe of almost every room's ceiling.
Food
Some of my favorite things I had in Korea were the kimchi and seafood pancakes, warm sweet potato latte, tofu stew, pasta, and gimbap! I mostly eat vegetarian, so it was extremely hard to find food options for me. If you eat meat, you can enjoy Korean BBQ pretty much anywhere. You most likely will need to use the Naver app to find food options as that is more useful than Google Maps in Korea.
Nature
If you want a break from the bustle of the city, you can take public transit for a short ride to Inwangsan Mountain. It's mostly all steps, so you can do it in your sneakers. It's almost like a mini wall of China, you can see all around the city with panoramic views, and it's only a mile long! We did this in mid-December.
Tips:
Bring cash or a debit card, as you have to load your public transit card with cash only. The rest of the city accepts card/Apple Pay.
Get your free skin analysis report done first, then go shopping for skincare. Get your color analysis done, then go shopping for makeup and clothes after, so your choices are aligned with your color season.
Some things you should aim to reserve in advance are your official color analysis, your facials of choice, and scalp treatment.
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