Two nights in Seoul

[HalcyonDaze]

Hit me with ideas people.

Even though I'd love to be staying in a cute guesthouse, with LC and his allergies we'll probably go for a higher star western style hotel. Then we can feed him nonstop on eggs at a buffet breakfast, to make up for his not having had much food on the plane.

I've been told staying in Gangnam area may not be the most kid friendly of places, so thinking more downtown?

As for what to do - we are thinking of walking round one of the areas where we can see some of 'old Seoul' - hanok village. We don't want to be doing too much, as this is more a rest stop for us. And I'm not a huge fan of shopping in malls, so that won't really appeal at all.

Maybe finding a good park for LC to have a run around will also be a good option - though at the end of August it may well be too hot to do that.

[treehugger]

There's a palace in the city you can visit and walk around (or run) and a street market area I thought was amazing and wish I'd found earlier. Also, you could meet up with cool figjammers

[sprite]

was that namdaemoon?

insadong is the area which has traditional music and art supply shops. i think it's near a temple. and i know this sounds odd, but i remember fantastic stationary stores--big ones--which had all sorts of bizarre things with fun characters on. might make for some nice cheap souvenirs to become toys for the next long plane ride.

[ozziegiraffe]

I stayed here www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294197-d455970-Reviews-Savoy_Hotel_Seoul-Seoul.html#REVIEWS
You may even find my review and photos. Very close to everything, including a very safe street market.
Seoul has an excellent train system. I didn't use them, but a younger friend did when visiting a university there, to get to one of the palaces.
I did a guided tour which visited too many palaces!
There are tours to the demilitarised zone, which your family might enjoy, but they're not my cup of tea. From what I've heard, Gangnam is definitely not a good place to stay.
I felt very safe in the areas I visited.
And if you do a tour, they will take you to ginseng and jewellery factories and be confused if you aren't interested in buying them.
Forgot to say, some market items, like socks, are cheap, but the t-shirts were a rip-off.

[krazykatie]

How old is LC I don't spend too much time in Seoul and when I do it is usually for a concert or something so very focussed. I do have a few friends with kids up there I can ask. Also air BnB is becoming quite popular and you might find something on there.

[Phoenix]

In August, don't be surprised if it rains and it will be quite humid. Take or buy rain gear.

If you've got two nights and you want to chill between flights , I wouldn't do a DMZ tour. It's a lot of time on a bus.

Definitely check Airbnb, but beware of extensive use of Photoshop. I've stayed in 2 Airbnb places in Seoul. One was good and as advertised. The other wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good. The freshly arrived firmly middle-class Americans I was traveling with were appalled.

[sprite]

yeah, rainy season. warm but wet. i just wore shorts and sandals and accepted that my umbrella could only possibly protect my upper body.

now i'm really hankering for korean food.

[treehugger]

Yeah, I have to say re:AirBnB in Seoul... that's the one place I've had a bad AirBnB experience. Pubes and stains between the sheets.

[dieterextruder]

Jongno area just north of the Han is full of reasonably-priced yeogwan. You can get two of those rooms much cheaper than a single room in a Hilton or Meridien or whatever. Insadong is the arts-and-crafts area, within walking distance, and Dongdaemun is also close. There's very little left of Old Seoul - the place was flattened in 1953, when the armistace went into effect. It's not an attractive city, but you can eat really well there.