I've seen a lot of reels that joke about people not having any money after spending all their money just to get to Seoul, so here is a short list of activities that you can do to enjoy Seoul on a budget and still have that K-Drama experience!
1. Visit a Kyobo Book Center - Book Lovers!
Located all around Seoul, the Kyobo Book Center offers a calm and gentle atmosphere. You can sit amongst the bookshelves, read, and browse. You can also look at the lovely stationery and products they have. If you love books and a little bit of quiet, this is the perfect experience for you! They also have an adorable 'Goodbye' song to gently nudge you out the door as they're closing, it was the first time I'd heard anything like it.
Link for Kyobo Book Center: https://www.kyobobook.co.kr/
2. Find a Local Cafe - Coffee Lovers
Instagram and TikTok tempt us with the many, many cafes advertised or made reels about but there's nothing quite like finding a local gem because these are the places that enchant you the most! For those who may not know, Korea has very distinct scents, some pleasant and others not so pleasant, but that's just like any other place, one distinct scent in Korea is that of coffee.
Visit any neighborhood and at least 70% of them will have a hidden cafe or coffee shop in its midst. If you see one and like the look of it or have a good feeling give it a try, it's always the cute, little unknown places that I feel are the most magic. The cafe featured is one I visited out of curiosity, the coffee was delicious.
Hey Buddy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey_buddy79/
3. Visit a Coin Noraebang (코인노래방) - Singers or Not!
Love to sing or just love a good time? Then the Coin Karaoke is for you. If you go to normal karaoke rooms, these can be a little pricey but visiting a coin karaoke is much more cost-effective. It's a smaller room but no less fun than the ordinary karaoke rooms. A lot of Koreans go to the coin karaoke rooms, some places can have exceptionally big rooms for larger groups of people, and others have very small rooms. It doesn't cost too much and usually, we'd say it's better to pay for the number of songs than the time because time flies! To add to the K-Drama experience of coin karaoke, this would be quite fun after drinking (but not too drunk and disorderly please).
Those are just three of our budget-friendly ideas for visiting Seoul. Stay tuned for more! Do these tips help you? Comment below if there's anything you'd like to know about!