S. Korea vacation plan - first timer

Hello, I am planning a family vacation to Korea this coming Dec. And, looking for inexpensive way to tour Korea for family of 5 (3 kids under 16yrs old). Any good advice?

S. Korea vacation plan - first timer

Hotels in Seoul is spacious but not quite a bargain as in Southeast Asia, but you can definitely enjoy strong US Dollar against Won.

Since you are traveling with kids, I recommend residence hotel like Fraser Suites, which has multiple bedrooms plus kitchen and washer/dryer, and they also provide free breakfast and sauna. This hotel is in pretty good location near Insa-dong, an area filled with Korean arts and antique galleries, souvenior shops, trendy design shops, many tasty restaurants and wonderful tea cafes. (I loved traditional Korean teas and they serve free Korean pastries with tea!)

The subways are clean, efficient and have English signs (Seriously I was depressed after riding Seoul%26#39;s high-tech subways, I had to ride again dirty NY subways) Fares are relatively cheap. Do check out SEOUL CITY PASS which combines the 20 passes per day for subway/bus and Seoul City Tour Bus that take you around the downtown and palaces as many times as you wish. Do check out this website for travel info; http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto

If you want to save money on food, Korea has plenty of option for inexpensive meals. There are plenty of western restaurants and fast food joints but keep in mind they are generally more expensive than Korean foods. I loved numerous food carts (pojangmaacha) that sells many cheap snacks; sticky and sweet rice pancake, fish cake on stick, roasted chestnuts, cooked sausages, korean sushi-rolls (no raw meat), red hot chilly rice cakes %26amp; so on. You will never go hungry in that counrty!

Question, how long are you planing to stay in Korea? If you are staying a weeklong, you can travel to another cities like Gyengju via KTX (bullet train) or fly to Jeju Island, which has climate like S Carolina.

You may also check out Suwon fortess (Unesco Heritage site) or Folk Village which are about 1 hr from Seoul. Everland, the biggest outdoor themepark is also nearby.