Traveling in Korea: St Patrick’s Day in Seoul
One of the best things about this country is how cheap and easy traveling in Korea can be. You can get from anywhere to just about anywhere in the country within a few hours.
This means you can do cheap weekend trips to Seoul, Busan, Daegu or wherever else you’d want to go. Lot’s of foreigners I’ve talked to go away just about every weekend.
So when the opportunity came up to head to Seoul for Saint Patrick’s day it was a no brainer for me: one of the craziest celebrations in one of the biggest mega cities on the planet? Yup, I’m going.
Shot quite a bit of footage from the day and night in Seoul and cut it into the video below.
I also break down traveling to Seoul, partying and accommodation.
Check it out!
Sweet!
Here’s a further breakdown on travelling in Korea:
Traveling in Korea: Seoul
From where I live, just outside of Daegu, the trip to Seoul takes 2 hours by KTX high speed rail, or 3 hours by the slower line.
It may sound like a long trip but for some reason traveling in Korea never really feels like it takes long: you jump on the train with a bunch of friends and next thing you know you’re in one of the world’s coolest cities.
At around 15 000 won ($15) it’s not too expensive to get a ticket, especially considering the salary you’re making.
Partying in Seoul
Saint Patrick’s Day Party
I wasn’t really sure if Koreans would know or celebrate St Patrick’s day in Seoul, and it turns out for the most part they don’t. When we arrived at the main event in the city it was a sea of a few thousand green clad foreigners.
The day party we went to was from 12 – 6pm. It was loads of fun – people bought drinks at the 7/11 and drank and danced and were merry. There was a stage with live music and fiddles and whatnot. There was also a group of Koreans doing some Irish dancing which was kind of bizarre.
Itaewon, Seoul – One of the big 3
The main party areas in Seoul are Itaewon, Hongdae, and Gangnam (yes, like Gangnam Style). After the day event the majority of people headed for Itaewon, which is a cool mix of Koreans and foreigners, with lots of restaurants and bars.
We got some Mexican food at a small spot which was pretty amazing. When we left, there was a cue of about 10 people waiting to get a seat.
The rest of the night involved going from bar to bar – everything from The Bulldog, a 80s and 90s style bar, to The Barrel and Something, an Irish pub. There was definitely at least an hour of noribang (Korean style kareoke), as well as exploring as much of the area as we could.
The area itself is magical, with bright lights, cool back alleys with traditional restaurants, a fusion of East and West with a great feel to it. The mix of foreigners and locals makes it really accessible to non-Koreans and easy to meet both locals and other foreigners.
Accommodation in Seoul
One of the great things about traveling to the big city on weekends is it’s really cheap to get a spot to crash. You’ve got a few options:
Jjimjilbangs:
These spas with sleep-on-a-mat options are an amazing way to get some shut eye after a big night out, on the cheap.
You get a free shower, clothes to sleep in and a mat to sleep on. Find a spot on the heated floor among the other people. It’s as weird as it sounds but also kind of “works”.
Price: About 10, 000 won ($10)
Hostels
Pretty much the normal gig as anywhere else in the world. Get a cheap bunk in a communal room, or pay a little more for a bit more privacy. A good option is to book out a big room for you and a big group of friends
Price: Starting at about 15 000 won ($15)
Love Motels
As blatantly obvious as you’d expect with a name like that, the love motels are usually tall buildings with flashy lights and neon hearts on the exterior. They’re pretty nice inside, often with themed interiors, and you can crash there for a night… even if you’re alone 🙂
You can find them almost anywhere. The idea behind them is that many Koreans live with their families for as long as their late twenties and so it’s a way for couples to get a little privacy. It’s totally cool just to book in to sleep there for a night, and it’s as simple as swiping you card and getting handed a key.
Price: About 30 000 won ($30)
There we go. What are your thoughts on traveling in Korea? Leave a comment in the comments section belooooooow.
Koreans doing an Irish jig? I think I’d pay to see that. Also love that you added the “Shipping up to Boston” song in your video 🙂
Yeah it was pretty funny. One of those “wait… what?” moments 🙂
Looks like you had a good time! I still remember my first night out in Seoul. 🙂 Good times.
Just a note about your info. at the bottom, the spas are called Jimjilbangs.
Mexican places seem to be everywhere in Seoul these days. We’ll be up there next weekend, and Mexican food is always on our agenda. hehe
Fixed! Was up in Seoul again this weekend. Can’t get enough of this place wow.
I love traveling around Korea and I try to do it as much as possible. Seoul’s a great place to visit and it’s so easy to get around, but there are so many other amazing places. If you get a chance, you should definitely visit Busan and Gyeongju. Jeju Island is really lovely as well.
Busan is next on the list! 🙂
I had no idea Korea had such elaborate St. Paddy’s day celebrations!
It was quite a surprise, I won’t lie.
Nice post. I got excited just reading about it and the video was also cool. The music was really appropriate. I live near Seoul and don’t always go into the city anymore, but I used to a lot. It’s my favorite city for drinking and having a good time, but I’m glad you did it instead of me, I’m getting to old to do that now.
It looks like you had a really good time, and you mentioned something interesting about transportation being cheap and convenient. It really is, especially for drinkers, unlike in the states where you have to drive everywhere or take an expensive taxi. In Korea, taxis are 1/10 the price, or you can stay somewhere cheap like you mentioned (I think you were referring to a JIMjil bang earlier.)
It’s just nice to live in a country where you can get blasted but still not have to have a designated driver.
Never really lived in a big city but I’m massively drawn to them. I think Seoul is my favourite city I’ve traveled to out of the 14 or so countries I’ve been to. I love everything about it!
Wow, they still do the St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the same spot… total flashback for me. Seoul is definitely a fun place to go out; seems like this year’s St. Patrick’s Day party was a good one 🙂
You’re lucky Seoul has so much to offer for such an event. Where I lived, there was hardly anything. Seoul is always a great place to hang out once in a while.. just not a place for me to live.
Seoul is just a great place to get wild or cool down. Happy to be here too ( :