Need advise on where to stay in Seoul

Hello all,

My wife and I will be staying in Seoul next April to visit some family. This will be the first time there for both of us and we have some questions for anyone nice enough to give us advice. By the way. we%26#39;re both New York-ers, born and raised, late 30%26#39;s, professionals, and we%26#39;ll be there for 5 days.

We%26#39;ll be visiting family in Nowon-gu (I believe it%26#39;s in the NE part of Seoul.

1) What%26#39;s Nowon-gu like?

2) What%26#39;s the best area to stay in Seoul that would be convenient to Nowon-gu by subway but still in a ';fun'; part of town? By fun, I don%26#39;t mean something as busy as NYC%26#39;s Times Square but still pretty active and within walking distance to many shops/restaurants. Something like the Seoul version of NYC%26#39;s Greenwich Village (if the analogy fits).

3) What are some ';can%26#39;t miss'; things to do in Seoul?

4) How long would it take by train to Jeju Island and back? Is it a day-trip? Is it worth 1 of oour 5 days to go there?

5) Any restaurant recommendations?

Thanks all

Need advise on where to stay in Seoul

Nowon is OK; hard to describe to a first-timer. It%26#39;s high rise with lots of apartments, and a place with fairly pleasant tree lined avenues. Quite a typical Korean dormitory town.

Stay Myeongdong, or perhaps City Hall areas.

Can%26#39;t miss: palaces- at least one: Namsan mountain (go up by taxi or cable car- perhaps eat in revolving restaurant. (Also visit at night to see the lights)

Namsan folk village (by Chungmuro station; Cheongyechong stream. Bongeun temple (Samseong station) COEX mall. DMZ.

Jeju: not doable by train with any ease; it%26#39;s a flight away, and not a day trip.

Restaurants: depends on what you are looking for! Korean bbqs abound but actually vary in style a lot. Hoe (h%26#39;way) restauants serve sashimi; Jinghiz Khan (Genghiz Khan) do a hot pot on your table. Also US chains, like TGI F, Bennigans.

I%26#39;d stronlgy recommend O%26#39;Kim%26#39;s Brauhaus: there%26#39;s one in COEX. Get there about 6 pm for a real bizarre Korean/Bavarian experience (microbrewery with food from all over, and a opo band)

Need advise on where to stay in Seoul

hi, my sister %26amp; I went backpacking in seoul in 2006. seoul is pretty far from jeju so you have to take a 1hr plane ride. must see places in seoul are the palaces, hanok village, olympic park, etc. try to rent %26amp; have some pics taken wearing the hanbok (national dress)

nami island is a must see! we stayed in holiday in korea %26amp; namsan guesthouse. namsan is better but you will have to walk through a steep road going to the guesthouse from the mainroad where the subway is also located. they have free flowing coffee, free very hot/spicy noodles,bread,butter andstrawberry jam for breakfast. free use of internet too! the room is clean %26amp; robin the manager can speak english. he can even give u tips about seouls. good thing about this guesthouse they have a free ride from 9am-6pm going to seoul%26#39;s tourist destinations.

if your planning to go to jeju you can call Dami Byun at +82196953063 or email her at damidream@yahoo.com.kr

she was our tour guide in Jeju last april 2008, she is very efficient has a good command in english. she knows everything about jeju. spring %26amp; summer is a perfect place to visit jeju since a lot flowers are blooming.

-cresil

Hi, May I also suggest Best Western Premier Kukdo hotel? I am also from NYC, I really loved the hotel%26#39;s modern, sleek and boutique-feel interior (gotta love that high tech toilet!) I also loved the fact that I paid about 1/3 price compared to NYC. Its also very close to subway stations and airport shuttle bus stops right in front. Although the surrounding area is not like soho, (actually more like W 30%26#39;s), famed Myeungdong area is two subway stops away, and about 20 min walk away from Namsan Hanok Village.

I recommend DMZ tour or Korean Folk village in Yongin as a day trip. If you go Seoul in early April, it would be right on cherry blossom season, so check out Cherry blossom festival, which I believe take place on YunJung-lo(street) on Yeoi-do(island).

Jejudo is really nice, but you have to stay at least 1 night there to fully appreciate.