Yangban For A Day: Suiting Up A Hanbok

Renting a hanbok and walking around Seoul in it has become a cool activity for both tourists and locals alike. The popular area where you can see people strolling and sightseeing in hanboks is Jongno-gu, home to four of the five grand palaces of Seoul and the traditional neighborhood of Insadong and Bukchon. 

Since planning our trip to South Korea, suiting up a hanbok was already part of our to-do list. We wanted to visit the palaces and capture the historic feels by wearing such traditional clothing. We also wanted to look good and take lots of photos for social media sharing. Lastly, we wanted to take advantage of the free admission to the palaces when wearing a hanbok.

A beautiful wangseja hanbok

The great news is there are a lot of hanbok rental shops all over central Seoul. We were able to research several shops before choosing Hanbok Girls due to its proximity to Gyeongbokgung Palace and the positive reviews on Google. We tried making a reservation via email but Hanbok Girls only accept reservations for groups of 10 or more. Although there are no guarantees that there'll be no queue and we'll be getting our preferred hanboks, we still decided to try our luck walking in. 

Experiencing Palatial Grandeur Inside Gyeongbokgung Palace

When we visited Seoul last month, Gyeongbokgung Palace was one of our top places to visit. We've seen the palace countless times in various sageuk or Korean historical dramas and we wanted to have the opportunity to walk through its walls and experience moments to revel in its historical legacy.

Gyeongbokgung Palace, arguably Seoul's grandest and most beautiful palace

Eager and full of energy, we set off early that day for our first stop - Hanbok Girls, one of the many hanbok rental shops within the neighborhoods near the royal palaces. After all, wearing these traditional clothes gives visitors free access to any of the five grand palaces of Seoul. We also wanted to experience what would it have been like visiting the palace during the ancient Joseon Dynasty.

Gyeongbokgung Palace which means "Greatly Blessed by Heaven" was constructed in 1395, during the early days of the Joseon Dynasty. As it was the main palace of the capital city, Gyeongbokgung was extraordinary in size. It spans an area of 41 hectares with 5,792 rooms and surrounded by walls reaching 2,404 meters in length. At its height, the palace was a self-functioning unit comparable to China's Forbidden City. 

After donning our beautiful and surprisingly comfortable hanboks, we made our way inside the palace to begin our exploration. 

Seoul: A Budget Travel Guide for Juans

Seoul is on almost everyone's preferred travel destinations. However, budget travel in South Korea's capital is not common. Rightly so because the city consistently makes it into the list of the ten most expensive places in the world. As such, Seoul may seem like a pricey destination to get lost into for a lot of Juans. 

The beautiful and grand Gyeongbokgung Palace

But whether you want to experience its rich history, indulge in its fascinating food culture, see its futuristic structures, or visit the beautiful filming locations of popular K-dramas, there is a way to see Seoul on a budget of less than PHP25,000. Here's our guide to doing it. 

Note: Exchange rate used is PHP1 for every KRW20.83.

Flights
Airfare is nearly always one of the biggest expenses when traveling. So for us, it's really important to get the cheapest flights we possibly can. By taking advantage of lower airfares, we were able to drastically reduce many of our trips' total costs. 

For our trip to Seoul, we booked our tickets back in January during Jeju Air's Super Sale Event. At that time, one way fare from Manila to Incheon were offered from as low as PHP800 before taxes. Although we were not able to book the lowest fares, we still managed to score a pretty good deal on our flights. We each paid PHP6,262.65 for discounted round trip flight tickets to Incheon. 

Passport and Jeju Air boarding passes

Tip: To book cheap flights, you must first be able to recognize a good fare. Do some research to establish the going rate for flights to your destination. When you find seat sales, be ready to make an immediate purchase as these low fares sell out really fast. Lastly, be flexible. In a lot of cases, adjustments of a day or two in your travel dates can make a big difference in the price.  

Airfare: PHP6,262.65 total per person 
Travel Tax: PHP1,620.00 total per person

Seoul: A Travel Guide for First Timers

South Korea has become one of the top travel picks for Juans, thanks to the Korean wave that has swept across Asia in the past few years. Korean mobile phones, beauty products, pop music, movies, and television dramas have become so popular that travelling to this country is now a hip thing. 

Seoul, being the capital city, is probably the easiest and most ideal destination for first time travelers to South Korea. So if you are planning to visit Seoul, it's best to know a few of the basics. Here's our beginner's guide for travelers to this vibrant city. 

Seoul as seen from the top of N Seoul Tower,
distance to Manila is printed on the glass 

The City
Seoul has long been the political and economic capital of South Korea. It has a history of two thousand years through the period of the Three Kingdoms, Goryeo, and Joseon. As an ancient city, Seoul is where history and traditions live on. 

Today, Seoul is the country's world city and one of East Asia's financial and cultural centers. As a modern city, it offers cutting-edge technology, vast nightlife districts, trendsetting culture, and extraordinary architecture. 

Seoul is truly a fascinating blend of the old and the new. 

A fascinating blend of the old and the new

Travel Requirements
Any foreign visitor in South Korea must have a valid passport and a visa. There are two types of entry visas - single entry visa that allows one-time entry and multiple entry visa that allows entry to Korea two or more times. Only citizens of a country under the visa exemption agreement with Korea are permitted to enter without a visa. Unfortunately, Filipinos are still required to get a valid visa prior to entering the country.

Read our guide: How to Apply for a South Korea Tourist Visa for Filipinos

For more details, visit the website of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines here.

Time Zone
Korea Standard Time is nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +9). This means that the time in Seoul is 1 hour ahead of the time in the Philippines. Make sure to adjust your watch to ensure you do not miss your scheduled tours and return flight.