Early Memories of Seoul
My earliest memory of Seoul was the bloodshot, bulging eyeballs of Ben Johnson as he powered past the field in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Men’s 100m final… only for him to be disqualified days later for failing a drugs test. A high profile introduction to a city I knew nothing about.
A Near‑Spoiled Arrival
Nearly forty years later, the only bulging eyeballs were the ones for sale at the local market as we finally arrived in this mega‑city — the last stop of the first half of our mammoth adventure.
After an easy two‑hour flight from Osaka, we reached our pokey apartment late in the dark cold of night… only to discover our host had forgotten we existed. After some frantic messaging and a little bit of a panic, we were saved by our incredibly helpful taxi driver. Welcome to Seoul.
Seoul: A Very Brief History
Seoul was chosen as the capital centuries ago thanks to the protective ring of mountains surrounding it. Today, nearly 10 million people call it home — a sprawling mix of neon lights, high‑rises, sizzling street food, and the unmistakable aroma of kimchi drifting through the air. The mountains soften the skyline, giving the city a surprisingly scenic backdrop.
Keeping It Low‑Key
Five months of travel have caught up with us. We are finding cities hard work – louder, busier and just tiring getting around. So, we kept things simple.
After our SkyTree experience in Tokyo, we swore no more observation decks… yet somehow ended up at Lotte Tower, Korea’s tallest building. We didn’t go up — we admired the 555 metres of glass soaring into the sky from the cherry‑blossom walkway around the lake instead. Much calmer, cheaper and much needed.
A Day Out with locals
One of our favourite days was at Children’s Grand Park — a slightly misleading name because it’s brilliant for adults too. Playgrounds, lakes, fountains, botanical gardens, a mini theme park, cafés, and even a free zoo. It’s got it all to make a great day out.
We met up with a local contact of my brother’s and her seven‑year‑old son. The kids had an absolute blast, and we got a lovely glimpse into Korean family life.
Forgiving Koreans (Thankfully)
If we struggled with the Japanese language, Korean took things to a new level. Even “hello” and “thank you” felt like full‑length tongue‑twisters. In the end, we just mumbled something vaguely similar and smiled a lot.
Thankfully, Koreans are incredibly forgiving — warm, friendly, and especially fascinated by our two blond‑haired monkeys. And yes, the monkeying around continued: swinging from signs, running down escalators, arguing on the metro. At this point, we’d pretty much given up.
The Last Supper
For our final dinner, we ditched the street food and treated ourselves to a proper Korean BBQ, where we could finally sit down and eat rather than the usual spilling our culinary delights down our tops as we walked the streets.
The waiter arrived with a tray of hot coals and impressive chunks of pork, immediately getting to work on the grill. Then came the endless stream of side dishes — every fermented vegetable imaginable — and some rice for the kids, who of course ignored everything except the rice.
The meat was incredible. The sides were full of flavour. The kids still ate only rice. Some things never change.
Looking Ahead to the UK
After just six days — barely scratching the surface of Seoul, let alone Korea — our five months on the road came to an end.
We’re now heading back to the UK for a much‑needed break, a proper routine, and the peace of rural Suffolk… where life moves a lot slower than a drug‑fuelled sprinter.
