South Korea - ilivetotravel's travel log

As I have written about before, when I visit a new town, I immediately look for a place from which I could get a great view. In my recent visit to Seoul, South Korea, I did some research and very quickly realized there was one clear place I had to go to get the best views of Seoul from up high: the Namsan Seoul Tower.

Most major cities abroad tend to have one of those imposing communications towers that stand out in any city’s skyline. Seoul’s does it one better: the communications tower sits atop a mountain right in the heart of the city!

The tower opened back in 1980 and boasts having had 30 millions visitors to date. Not bad.

How to get to the Namsan Seoul Tower

The good news is that, though it sits on top of a mountain, the Namsan Seoul Tower can be reached by car, bus, cable car, or on foot. If I had had more time, I would have turned the whole thing into a hike up. But, having walked part of the mountain a day earlier, on the day of my visit to the tower, I decided to speed things up. I took the cable car.

The best time for the best views of Seoul from the tower

I wanted to get up before the crowds started arriving and the tower opened at 10 AM. A second reason for getting there as early as possible is that the sun would rise opposite the side of the tower with the best views. That is, the stuff I wanted to photograph would face me while the sun would be behind me. I didn’t want the sun to be up high (say, around noon) and diminish the quality of the colors of the views.

Namsan Seoul Tower, best views of Seoul, South Korea

While this is a good photo, it is almost facing in the direction of the sun, so not as vivid

The cable car

The cable car, luckily as I did not plan this, was just two blocks from my hotel near the Myeongdong subway station. To get to the cable car lower station, one either climbs a series of staircases (quite steep), or one takes a short tram. However, the tram had weekly maintenance that morning so it was not an option. So up the stairs I went! Good workout…

Namsan Seoul Tower, South Korea, best views of Seoul

The tram on the right and the cable car station on the left

Namsan Seoul Tower, South Korea, Seoul from up high

A little portion of the stairs!

Myeongdong, Namsan Seoul Tower, Seoul, South Korea, travel, cityscape

Even from the stairs, there is a view

Once you get to the cable car station, just buy the ticket (you get a better deal if you buy the round-trip up front). The cable car opens at 10 AM and I got there just a couple of minutes past that time. The line was 10 deep and I was able to move quickly from it to the platform in little time. The next car was full and I was one of the last ones in but I made it.

Namsan Seoul Tower, cable car station, Seoul, South Korea, travel

The cable car station

Going up the tower

The tower complex boasts “attractions” and other neat spots (the love lock handrails in the main plaza after you exit the cable car station). Its website provides a glimpse of all they offer.

Namsan Seoul Tower, love locks, Seoul, South Korea, colorful

Locks galore; other handrails were completely covered up

Once up at the plaza at the other end of the cable car, I went straight to the ticket office though it is a big enough space to explore and walk around.

Namsan Seoul Tower, ticket office, Seoul, travel, South Korea

Entrance to take the elevator up

There was no line to take the elevator up and it was waiting for me. The ride was fairly quick in an enclosed (not panoramic) elevator car which was OK since the best views were about to come. The ticket to go to the viewing platform cost 10,000 Korean Won for an adult (around US $10) so not bad at all for such a unique attraction.

The best views of Seoul from up high – finally!

Once you get up, the viewing platform is quite large, not terribly crowded at that time. There are shops for souvenirs or candy. There is a restaurant, a bar and restrooms in the other levels up there. I was tempted to come at sunset and enjoy those views but my time in Seoul was limited (5 days) and I wanted to see and experience other things. I imagine it would be really neat to go up, have a drink, and enjoy a spectacular sunset lighting up the city with some good golden colors (perfect for photos!).

Facing NW or so

Moving further towards the north

Towards the Gyeongbukgung Palace in the distance (not really visible here)

Close up shows at the base of the mountain the Blue House – the home of the President of the ROK

Continuing eastward, the vast green space is Jongmyo Shrine in the front and another palace in the back

One cool thing is that there was free wi-fi up there so I video-called family members to show them the view live.

As you walk around the view platform, you can look 360 at Seoul all around you. And you can walk around to find your favorite city around the world on the glass windows so you know you are looking out in its direction.

Namsan Seoul Tower, South Korea, Seoul, great view, views over Seoul, best views of Seoul

Atlanta did not show up on the glass but D.C. is close enough!

A restroom to remember!

Ah… not to say that the best was for last but… it may have been the best surprise… I decided to run to the restroom before leaving and went to the men’s room in the floor below the viewing platform. I was in for a surprise indeed. Can’t speak to the setup of the women’s restroom but get a look at this!

Seoul, South Korea, Namsan Seoul Tower, restroom up high, urinal with a view

I think the urinals would point towards North Korea…

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I would definitely give the Namsan Seoul Tower a thumbs-up in the must-see spots in the South Korean capital! The best views of Seoul for sure.

The shadow of the tower on the Namsan mountain

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Other “best views” spots around the world from past travels:

Pin this to your bucket list board!

Getting to Seoul from Incheon International Airport is quite easy. The airport is extremely modern, clean and well-signed. Very important for me as a new visitor into the city as I knew, based on my prior research, that I would find my way to my desired transportation method without an issue. Besides traditional services like private cars, buses or taxis, train service into the city is available. Going from Incheon to Seoul should not be anything you worry about when planning your visit to the capital of South Korea!

Very modern architecture

How to decide which way to go from Incheon to Seoul Station?

Incheon Airport is an hour away or so (by train) from Seoul’s city center (Seoul Station) so a taxi ride may be more than folks may want to pay for if they are traveling without lots of luggage. (There is a luggage service if you are flying with certain airlines to help with that if you take the train; read more about it here). Besides the extra cost of vehicle service, you would suffer, er, experience big city traffic, which would also be a concern with bus service. So, for me, nothing beat the train service with its generally uninterrupted movement towards the destination!

Is train service available from Incheon to Seoul?

Yes, indeed! Now, there are two train types available: the AREX express train or the AREX commuter line “all-stop” train. Let’s look at both options:

Option 1: The AREX all-stop train is cheaper (about half of the cost of the AREX express train). But it does not have dedicated storage space for luggage so you would have to be managing your luggage as people enter and exit the train car at the stops. This train option takes longer due to the stops the train will make between the airport and the Seoul Station (10-20 mins longer depending on which terminal you are landing/departing from at Incheon). However, if your destination is close to one of those stops, then the all-stop may make good sense.
Option 2: If you are heading into the city proper (as I was), you may want to use the AREX express train which connects the airport to Seoul Station in the heart of the city without any stops outside of the two airport terminals. When you buy a ticket (9,500 Korean Won as of this writing, about $9.50US;), it automatically assigns you to a train car and a seat. I am not sure if I could have picked my seat but was not paying attention both times I bought a ticket. The train has wi-fi for free and the seats recline, and even have footrests (the all-stop train is just a regular subway-like train).

Express train seats

How to use the AREX express train service

Once you clear immigration and customs, you will be on the lookout for “Airport Railroad” signage. This will take you to the area with both ticket vending machines or a staffed kiosk.

Signage at airport makes the direction stand out

AREX ticket kiosk

At the airport, there was plenty of help and it was all very easy to navigate. On the reverse, Seoul Station is quite big and the path to the AREX tracks varies depending on whether you take a subway line in or you walk into Seoul Station. More on this part later.

Once you get to the train area, they have done a good job of signing which way to the express train and which way to the all-stop train. The former is all signed in orange, and the latter all signed in blue.

The orange turnstiles are for the AREX express train

Using the AREX express train vending machines

After you have gone to the AREX express train area, you will see the orange vending machines or the staffed kiosk. The machines were super intuitive to use and took credit card or cash.

AREX express train vending machine

When you first approach it and see its touchscreen, you will see it all in Korean except, in a row of buttons, one that says “English.” That was the only European language available as far as I could tell. Once you press it, follow the menus. On the way into the city, there is no option. You are headed to Seoul Station. On the way into the airport, you will need to know from which of the two terminals your flight is departing from: Terminal 1 or 2. You will specify that, how many tickets and the time of the train you want to take.

You then proceed to pay and the machine will issue two items: one is your train time and seat assignment; the other is the single journey card you will use to get through the automatic gates in and out the train track area (so only ticketed passengers get to access the platform).

Seat ticket and single journey card coming out of the machine

AREX, Seoul airport, Incheon airport, AREX ticket kiosk, AREX ticket

The yellow (or orange) single journey ticket and the seat assignment receipt

There is no security or anything else. It will just take however long the elevator wait and ride down take. There are clear signs indicating where each train car will be so you can pre-position yourself by your car if the train is not already there.

Clear signage on where to find the right train car at Terminal 2

Once you get into the train car, put away your luggage on the racks (there is overhead space above the seats for carry-on sized items) and lay back for the next 45 mins or so – you are headed to Seoul! (Or the airport!)

Getting stuck in Seoul Station on the way to the airport

As I alluded to earlier, I had a glitch on the way to the airport before I even got to the AREX express train. I got “stuck” heading into AREX train area from the subway’s Line 4 at Seoul Station. But I will say Seoul Station was well-signed to get me from the regular subway to the AREX departure area!

Signs at Seoul Station directing passengers to the AREX train

Signage at Seoul Station even included floor signs (this one for the all-stop train)!

Signage at Seoul Station guides you to the right floor for buying tickets

In any case, my single journey card for the subway was not intended to allow me to enter the AREX train area just to exit the subway proper. I was not aware of that so I only had that one card. Why is this necessary is beyond me – it adds confusion to visitors.

I could not access the area where you buy the AREX tickets NOR to buy a new single journey card to let me through. I was at a loss of what to do. I spotted a man walking with an AREX ID card and asked for help – he used his ID card to let me in and I proceeded to buy the ticket. He got a nice “kumapsunida” from me and a smile.