November is seven months away and I have not booked a single thing.
This is not irresponsibility. This is how I travel. I decide on the destination first, I live with it for a while, I research it properly, and then I book. Booking too early when the energy is just excitement and not yet preparation means booking the wrong things.
But I want to document this process because I think the journey to a trip is as interesting as the trip itself. And if you are also thinking about Seoul, this series will do the research with you in real time.
Why Seoul
I have been watching K-dramas for longer than I am willing to admit publicly. And at some point watching became wanting. The food markets, the palaces sitting inside a modern city, the Han River at night, the energy of a place that seems to move fast and be intensely beautiful at the same time.
Seoul also sits in Asia, which is a continent I keep returning to. Thailand three times. Singapore. Indonesia. There is something about the energy of South and East Asia that keeps calling me back.
Where I am in the planning right now
I have the month confirmed. November 2026. I have not nailed down the exact dates but I am looking at three weeks minimum. Seoul rewards staying. A week is enough to see it. Three weeks is enough to start to know it.
I am currently looking at flights and comparing airlines. Emirates, Qatar, Ethiopian, and a few others. The routing from Cape Town via Johannesburg matters. I will write a full post on the airline decision once I have made it.
I am also beginning to look at accommodation. The debate for me is between Hongdae, which has the energy and the nightlife, and Mapo or Yongsan, which are slightly quieter but well located. I have not decided.
What I am most looking forward to
The food. Specifically the street food. The tteokbokki, the Korean fried chicken, the hotteok, the army stew. I have a list already and it is embarrassingly long.
The palaces. Gyeongbokgung Palace in the early morning before the crowds arrive is on the list. So is Bukchon Hanok Village.
And honestly, just the experience of being alone in a city where I do not speak the language and having to figure it out. That specific feeling of being very small in a very big place is one of my favourite feelings in the world.
More updates coming as I plan. Come with me.
