Last weekend was one of the best weekends I had so far despite this Covid-19 era. Together with two other Bloggers, we were able to travel to Seoul, South Korea in just 4Days,3Nights! In this special Travel article, I will be guiding you step by step on your journey to the world of Kdrama and Kpop, get ready coz you're going to meet your Oppa and Nonna in Seoul in no time!!!
QUICK LINKS OF CONTENTS
BOOK YOUR CEBU-SEOUL AIRPLANE TICKET
In case you do not know, my favorite Airline, Cebu Pacific Air is flying from Cebu To Seoul thrice a week (Monday, Thursday, and Sunday). You can book directly from their website or from their official mobile app.
💡 TIPS:
- Always check their app or website as they are doing a monthly sale on all their international flights or even their domestic destinations.
- If you already booked a ticket, always pre-order your inflight meals using their website
- For hassle-free securing of Travel insurance, you may purchase an add-on to your flight and choose CEB Travel Insurance. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Travel insurance is a requirement from CEBU's Bureau of Immigration. You cannot fly without Travel Insurance)
BOOK YOUR HOSTEL/HOTEL IN SEOUL
Where to stay when in Seoul? I have two suggestions for you! Personally, I prefer these two Hostels because they are situated in the center of Seoul where Tourist Destinations are just nearby and can be done via a Walking Tour. These two Hostels were my personal choices but my friends and I booked the Insadong Hostel.
INSADONG HOSTEL - BOOK HERE
Why Insadong? It's very near to Souvenir/Pasalubong market and our Tourist Destinations were just nearby. Restaurants, Bars, and other essentials such as Convenience Stores are definitely a walk away. Not to mention the very accommodating Mr. Kim, owner of Insa Hostel, even though he is having a hard time understanding English - he still manages to help us. In addition, this hostel offers FREE BREAKFAST!!!!
PRICE: PHP 1232/person
FREE SERVICES:
Breakfast (8 a.m.~11 a.m)
Towel
Laundry Machine
Steam Iron
Print, Scan, Fax
Keeping luggage
Wifi (You can use it without password)
NAMSAN GUEST HOUSE - BOOK HERE
Namsan Guest House can be another option if you wish to live near the iconic N.Seoul Tower.
GETTING YOUR SOUTH KOREA VISA
Cebu has been so lucky when it comes to Korean visas because we have a Cebu-Korea Embassy office here just on the 12th floor of Chinabank Corporate Center.
💡 TIPS:
💡 TIPS:
- You can check their website for a complete list of requirements for getting a Korean Visa. Click HERE
- But for unemployed individuals, please click this article entitled "Korean Tourist Visa Requirements For Unemployed Or No Employer" as I dedicated an article for this special case.
- If you have any questions, please feel free to comment or leave a message on our Facebook Page, The Mark Monta or FaceCebu.net
PREPARING YOUR DOCUMENTS PRIOR TO FLYING TO SEOUL
1. RT PCR - Online Booking of slot
A day before your flight, make sure to register online for a smooth RT PCR test at Incheon International Airport. Where is the Covid 19 Center Located? Since Cebu Pacific Flight 5J128 arrived in Terminal 1, better book the EAST SIDE of the Covid-19 Center (it's across the Gate/Bay 10 or 11). Book Here.
2. Seoul's Q-COde
A day before your flight, make sure to signup for their QCode or quarantine information pre-entry system Q quarantine I information P re-entry S system. It's an 8-Steps registration and make sure to save your QR Code for future reference. Register here.
💡 TIPS:
- After your RT-PCR Test is done (3-4 hours), you can then upload the PDF file to your QR Code above. Important Note: If you are tested positive, better contact the Covid 19 center for assistance but if negative result, you only need to upload the PDF file, or else, Korean Embassy/Airport will keep on emailing you to upload the results.
- You can always check the Korean Embassy website for the complete checklist for Foreigners entering South Korea.
As per government regulations, all outbound Filipinos must submit the Bureau of Immigration Declaration Form acknowledging the risks involved in traveling. Please ask our airline staff to fill out the lower portion of the form before submitting it to the Immigration Officer.
5. Cebu Pacific Air Flight Itinerary - You can have this printed or saved on your phone as a softcopy
6. Visa Grant Notice - Unlike in previous years, Korean Visa is now another paper - it is now a separate Certificate. The Korean embassy will discuss this further. This is what the Visa Grant Notice looks like.
7. Travel Insurance - For hassle-free, just choose Cebu Pacific Travel Insurance in the Add ons. Just in case the app is not working, you can go to the Cebu Pacific Air ticketing office located at the 1st floor of Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 1.
8. Passport - Always bring your passport with you, especially during your Tour in Seoul.
9. Gov IDs - Any Government ID will such as UMID or Philippine National ID. Just bring any of this just in case immigration would ask for additional ID. But recently, we did not show any Gov ID except for Passport.
10. Vax Cards (Vaxcert and BOQ) - Do not rely on your LGU Cards. Please secure BOQ or VAXCert ASAP if you wish to travel soon. If you are looking for how to secure BOQ Yellow Vax Card, check my article here.
9. Gov IDs - Any Government ID will such as UMID or Philippine National ID. Just bring any of this just in case immigration would ask for additional ID. But recently, we did not show any Gov ID except for Passport.
10. Vax Cards (Vaxcert and BOQ) - Do not rely on your LGU Cards. Please secure BOQ or VAXCert ASAP if you wish to travel soon. If you are looking for how to secure BOQ Yellow Vax Card, check my article here.
SEOUL POST ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINE
RT PCR Covid-19 Test upon arrival
ㅇ Short-term foreigners arriving at Incheon, Gimhae, and Jeju International Airports are requested to undergo a PCR test after entry at the airport Corona 19 testing center for convenient entry into Korea.
- Incheon International Airport Corona 19 Test Center Reservation Site: https://safe2gopass.com
💡 TIPS:
- A day before your flight, make sure to register online for a smooth RT PCR test at Incheon International Airport
- Where is the Covid 19 Center Located? Since Cebu Pacific Flight 5J128 arrived in Terminal 1, better book the EAST SIDE of the Covid 19 Center (it's across the Gate/Bay 10 or 11). Book Here.
- The RT PCR Test is worth PHP 80,000 WON or PHP 3324.28
- Once the test result is available, upload it to the QCode you had registered a day before flying.
T-Money Card or Cash Bee
These two Cards are very useful when you travel around Seoul but the best card to choose is T-Money. Unluckily, we bought Cash bee during our stay and most of the Restaurants denied our Cash bee Card. But both cards are useful for Subway, Bus, Taxi, and Convenience Stores.
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| Cash Bee Card in Seoul, South Korea |
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| T Money Card in Seoul, South Korea |
Internet in Seoul
Just to be safe, book a South Korea 4G Pocket WiFi (KR Airports Pick Up) from KT Olleh via Klook. It's PHP 132/per day and is very useful, especially since the internet is essential when touring around Seoul.
💡 TIP: If you wish to own a sim card while in Seoul with 5 days of unlimited internet, then buy an LGU+ Sim Card. Book at Klook!
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| LGU+ Sim Card in Seoul |
WHERE IS THE BEST EXCHANGE RATE FOR PESO TO KOREAN WON?
In our case, we had different ways of exchanging our Pesos for Korean Won. Lloyd of LloydandBehold went to Foreign Exchange Center at Raintree Mall in Cebu City (near Mango Avenue) while I and Etienne decided to change our Peso in Incheon Airport which was a bad idea - the exchange was very very low compared to the one with Lloyd. As a lesson, we better cash out our Peso and change to Korean Won here in Cebu.
4 DAYS 3 NIGHTS ITINERARY IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
Now that you already have the requirements for this travel, let's go to the exciting part - the Itinerary of your Tour in Seoul!!!
💡 TIPS:
- Before you begin the tour, always bring with you your passport, T-Money Card, and some Korean Cash just in case
- Other documents such as Klook Vouchers, etc.
- Make sure to bring a power bank since it's a whole day tour to charge your gadgets
- A bottle of water to stay hydrated since this is a walking tour
- When traveling around Seoul, you need to install NAVER MAP or GOOGLE MAP since you will be struggling with what bus or subway train you're going to ride for your destinations.
- Chill and Enjoy Seoul!!!!
DAY 1 - Arrival Day
Since our Cebu Pacific Air Flight landed in the afternoon in Seoul, the rest of the day was spent getting Internet Wifi, RT PCR Test, and almost 2 hr of travel to Seoul from Incheon via subway train and lastly, checking-in in our Hostel - Insa Hostel. So what we did on our first night was just explore the neighborhood and of course, try their world-class convenience store for some good food for dinner. By the way, we had our dinner in the kitchen of our Hostel so it was very comfy.
DAY 2
MORNING
📍 Bukchon Hanok Village
Address: South Korea, Seoul, Jongno-gu, 계동길 37
Phone: +82 2-2133-1371
NO ENTRANCE FEE
WALK TOUR
What to expect? A village of beautiful 900 Hanok (traditional korean houses) in one village. Please be mindful of your voice, this is a residential area - so keep quiet always. You can rent a Hanbok, Korean Traditional Dress, to complete your OOTD within the village.
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📍 National Folk Museum of Korea
Address: 37 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82 2-3704-3114
NO ENTRANCE FEE
WALK TOUR
What to expect? It's Korea's National Museum which is very interesting as it shows the history and culture of Seoul and South Korea or even Korea in general.
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📍 Gyeongbokgung Palace
dress: 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82 2-3700-3900
ENTRANCE FEE: 3000 Korean won
WALK TOUR (From National Folk Museum)
What to expect? This is the largest among 5 palaces in Seoul. This is where some KDramas shoot their Palace Videos.
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| Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace Photo by Wikipedia |
AFTERNOON
📍 N Seoul Tower (Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower) 🗼🗼🗼
📝 Entrance Fee To Observatory - 10,000 WON
📝 It is a communication and observation tower located on Nam Mountain in central Seoul, South Korea. It is famous for its highest tower which gives a bird's eye view of the beautiful skyscraper of Seoul.
#klookph #klooktravel
🏷️ For a Hassle-free Booking of Tickets, head to Klook and book this! (🎟️+🍔🍟🍹)
N Seoul Tower Ticket in Seoul - Observatory + NBurger ( Fries, Burger, Drinks) because we planned to have lunch there!!
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| Once you have a QR code from Klook, you just go to the voucher exchanging station hassle-free |
Evening Of Day 2
📍 Myeongdong Shopping Street + Avenue of Youth
📝 Myeongdong is Korea's best-known shopping street - the primary shopping district in Seoul
📝 We had dinner - Samgyupsar + Soju at a Restaurant near Oyo Hostel.
📝 We capped the night with some Beer and Soju at Jonggak Avenue of Youth, Gwancheol-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Myeongdong Shopping Street Shots
Jonggak Avenue of Youth Snaps
DAY 3
DAY 4 - Departure Day
