Is Seoul safe for solo female travelers?(Part 1: Do&Dont, Must-visit places)

The guide to Seoul for solo female travelers
Made by NomadHers with love 💚

How much does NomadHer recommend Seoul for solo female travelers? (😩 Bad, 😊 Fine, 😍 Amazing). Our score is: 😍 Amazing

Welcome to Seoul!🌸
A vibrant mix of traditional and modern, the fast-paced capital of South Korea has been growing stronger and stronger as one of the biggest tourist destinations in the Far East. Bustling with life and endless entertainment opportunities, the city that never sleeps has managed to retain its historic charm amidst the blazing neon lights and karaoke bars. All to the sound of K-pop tunes.

Museums, art galleries, charming traditional districts, riverside parks, spas for every taste, cutting-edge technology, and culinary culture to remember, you are sure to find something for you in Seoul.

✳️Do’s

⚈Enjoy a long sauna in a Jjimjilbang.
A Jjimjilbang is a traditional Korean sauna. They are sex-segregated and very popular in South Korea. On top of hot saunas, Jjimjilbangs offers many other services, like cafeterias, entertainment rooms, TV lounges, and even sleeping areas with sleeping mats. Boiled eggs and *Sikhye* (sweet rice drink) are typical Jjimjilbang treats.

⚈Enjoy endless street foods. wherever you go! Some good places to find street food are:
-Ewha Womans University and Hongik University: The streets around these universities are full of food stalls!

-Myeongdong: One of Seoul’s major tourist districts with a huge street food scene that will leave you wanting more! It’s full of top-notch food stalls, cafes, and restaurants.

-ShinChon: A lively neighborhood, where many youngsters hang out, it’s full of delicious food that won’t drain your budget!

-Gwangjang Market: The oldest continually functioning market in all of South Korea is one of the ultimate places to experience traditional Korean street food and culture. Some must-try street foods are Tteokbokki(Korean spicy rice), Bindaetteok(Potato Pancake), and Hotteok(Korean fried pancake). More on the food section below!

⚈Rent a bicycle at Han River for 1 hour.
The Han-River is the symbol of Seoul and it traverses the entire city. You can rent a bicycle for an hour and enjoy a relaxing ride along the river.

⚈Enjoy Cup-Noodles (Cup-Ramen)at a convenience store.
You can enjoy amazingly delicious cup noodles at convenience stores, which are open 24 hours a day. Cup noodles are instant Korean-style Ramen with different flavours with soup, and South Korean people love to eat them as a late-night snack.

⚈Go to a Norae-bang(Korean Karaoke)
where you can let loose, sing and dance crazily, and even order food and drinks! Why not try dancing to the tunes of the famous Korean band BTS?

⚈Visit a Korean PC-bang (PC Room)
This is the place where you will see many people sitting and enjoying online games, or dating in front of computer screens. You can order many different kinds of food here. Try to order Ramen (Korean spicy noodles) or Jja-jang-myoen (Korean black noodles) and, when it is ready, they will bring it in front of your screen!

⚈Visit and walk around a Korean traditional market, such as Gwang-jang market, and enjoy spending some time looking around different types of fish, and Korean rice cakes (Tteok).

⚈Enjoy a baseball match! Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Korea. What makes Korean baseball special is the cheering culture! The fans sing and dance all together while enjoying Chimaek(fried chicken with beer). It’s like a huge party! The baseball season starts around March and it ends in the autumn. There are 2 baseball stadiums in Seoul and the tickets are very affordable.

⚈Prepare for extreme weather. Korea’s weather is quite extreme. In Seoul, it can get up to 40 degrees Celsius in the summer and down to -18 degrees Celsius in the winter. Get your clothes ready: Korea has a long raining season around July and August. If you’re planning to visit Seoul around then, bring a strong umbrella!

✳️Dont’s

⚈Don’t sit on the seats for the elderly on the subway.
In the Korean subway, there are seats specially reserved for the elderly, the handicapped, and pregnant women. It’s better to leave those seats empty for those in need.

⚈Don’t gulp or talk loud on the subway or public transportation.
It can be seen as very impolite to talk in a loud voice or gulp in the subway.

⚈Don’t say ‘안녕’ to say “Hi”.
There are 2 ways to say “Hi” in Korean: “안녕(Annyeong)” and “안녕하세요(Anneyonghaseyo)”. The former (Annyeong) is a very friendly and casual version, whereas the latter (Anneyonghaseyo) is more polite. You should say Anneyonghaseyo to strangers.

⚈Don’t hesitate to ask for “less spicy” in restaurants.
Korean foods are quite spicy in general. If you’re not used to spicy food, just tell them to make it less spicy when you order in restaurants.

⚈Don’t leave tips.
There’s no tipping culture in Korea, so you shouldn’t leave tips at restaurants, for example.

✳️Must-visit

⚈Bukchon Hanok Village
It is a traditional Korean village with more than 600 years of history. A Hanok is a traditional Korean house. Once a neighborhood for the nobility, it’s a great place for you to experience the Korean village environment and see the old wood and stone houses, many of which have now been turned into cafes and tea houses.
Many famous K-Dramas were filmed in this village, including “Goblin”.

⚈Go to Cheonggye Stream, an 11 km-long stream that runs through downtown Seoul. It was created as part of an urban renewal project, and it offers a calm and pleasant place to stroll. Walk around and visit the Kyobo bookstore, the landmark of Seoul, where you will find an endless variety of books.

⚈DMZ (demilitarized zone)
The demilitarized zone is a strip of land that acts as a border and buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. There are many day tours to DMZ. At the DMZ, you’ll understand more about the Korean war, how Korea got separated into 2 countries and what the relationship between them is like nowadays. The tours usually include a visit to a cave that was dug by North Korean soldiers during the war and an observatory from where you can actually see North Korean territory.

⚈Hongdae
One of the youngest neighborhoods in Seoul. The streets are full of lively shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, and clubs. The streets never sleep. You’ll be surprised to see them alive up to 3 am.

More about NomadHer

NomadHer is an app for female globetrotters to encourage solo travelling safely. NomadHer has a vision of empowering women through travelling.
To join the community of female globetrotters, you can download NomadHer App on IOS & Android
Follow NomadHer on Instagram: @nomad_her