What should I avoid in Seoul?

The taxi line at Incheon Terminal 1 arrivals seems tempting after a long flight, but drivers regularly quote 70,000 to 80,000 KRW flat fares to Myeongdong or Hongdae. The AREX Express train runs from the airport basement to Seoul Station in about 43 minutes for around 9,500 KRW. That's roughly $7 versus $55 in a cab. Once in the city, Seoul's subway costs 1,400 KRW per ride with a T-money card you can buy at any convenience store in the arrivals hall for 2,500 KRW. Taxis within central Seoul are fine, but avoid unlicensed call vans that park near Itaewon on weekend nights. No meter, no insurance. Official Seoul taxis are orange or silver, and the deluxe black ones cost about 50% more but always run the meter.

Gwangjang Market is worth your time, but the stalls lining the main entrance on Jongno 4-ga are the most expensive and the least interesting. Walk 60 meters past the first row and you'll find the bindaetteok vendors where locals sit on plastic stools. A plate of those mung bean pancakes, crispy and oil-dark at the edges, runs 4,000 to 5,000 KRW versus 7,000 at the entrance. The same pattern holds at Namdaemun Market's food alley. Skip the restaurants beside the main gate of Gyeongbokgung, the palace built in 1395 on Sajik-ro, where tourist-priced bibimbap costs 15,000 to 18,000 KRW. Walk 10 minutes north to Tongin Market in Seochon instead. You can fill a brass dosirak tray with 10 market dishes for 5,000 KRW in coins, and the warm rice smell alone makes the detour worthwhile. Mind you, Tongin's coin system closes by 5pm on weekdays.

Myeongdong's cosmetics shops blast competing K-pop tracks so loud the street hums at about 85 decibels on a Saturday afternoon. The prices are not deals. Olive Young, the drugstore chain with outlets at nearly every major subway exit in Gangnam and Hongdae, sells the same Innisfree and Laneige products for 20 to 30% less. The free-sample hawkers on Myeongdong's pedestrian strip will steer you toward a 200,000 KRW premium set. Smile and keep walking. Insadong's main drag has turned into a souvenir corridor, but turn into any of the narrow side alleys and you'll find pottery studios and tea houses where the owner pours warm boricha before you've even sat down. Bukchon Hanok Village enforces quiet hours from 10am to 5pm in its residential lanes. The Jongno-gu district posted signs and sometimes deploys volunteers to remind visitors. Go before 9am or after 5:30pm, when the stone-walled alleys catch low light and you can hear wooden gates creak.

Seoul's summers hit hard. July and August bring monsoon rains that dump 300 to 400mm per month, and humidity stays above 80% for weeks. The subway stations smell like wet concrete and warm bodies during rush hour. Spring seems appealing, but March through May brings hwangsa, the yellow dust storms that blow in from the Gobi Desert. On bad days, PM2.5 readings exceed 150 µg/m³ and the city distributes free masks at subway stations. Check the AirKorea app each morning. Winter drops to -10°C in January, and the wind off the Han River makes Yeouido feel 5 to 8 degrees colder than the Jongno palace district. If you're visiting in mid-September, expect warm days around 25°C with comfortable humidity, which is about as good as Seoul's weather gets.

Seoul rates 9/10 for solo-traveler safety (see the TTDI Solo-Safety Index), and the subway runs until around midnight with well-lit stations. That said, LGBTQ+ friendliness sits at 4.5/10 (sourced from TTDI's editorial rubric), and visible same-sex affection draws stares in most neighborhoods outside Itaewon's Homo Hill area near Itaewon Station Exit 3. Avoid the pojangmacha tent bars near Jongno 3-ga if you're not comfortable with aggressive drink-pouring customs where declining a glass is considered rude. Skip the nightclub touts outside Gangnam Station Exit 10 who promise free entry. The cover is always free. The 50,000 KRW bottle service minimum is not.